At-Home Series: What TV shows to Binge-Watch

Time to get your binge on — MP Edition 029

It’s important for all of us to stay home at a time like this but it can be difficult to fill the long hours. For those of you who are going a little stir-crazy, we’re starting a new “At-Home Series”, where we explore all the things that you can do while the world is collectively in quarantine. First up, the shows that you should binge-watch!

 

We’re in an unprecedented time right now. You’ve likely seen memes about this floating around: Our grandparents were called to war. We’re being called to sit on the couch. Let’s not screw this up!

 

But all kidding aside, it’s more important than ever to stay at home to help minimize the risk, not only for ourselves, but for the elderly, for your family, for those with compromised immune systems. Healthcare workers are on the frontlines every day for us, so we owe it to them to do our part and stay at home.

 

And there’s no better time to binge on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, basically every streaming service that’s out there, to get a little reprieve from the mayhem that is going on in the world right now. While this list is by no means extensive, we’ve rounded up some shows for you to start with.

 

So grab your snacks, slip into your comfiest PJs, and settle in. We can do this. 💪🏼

What TV shows to binge

Catch up on these shows that everyone at work is talking about around your virtual water cooler.

 

1. Tiger King: One word that is consistently used to describe Tiger King is “INSANE”. This seven-part true crime series explores a feud between Joe Exotic, a country-singing zoo owner from Oklahoma, complete with a mullet, and Carole Baskin, an animal rights activist. 
   
   
2. Love is Blind: Sometimes you just want to binge some good ol’ reality TV. Single hopeful romantics get to know each other without being able to actually see each other. The couples must get engaged and plan a wedding before they’re able to see their betrothed. In other words: pure chaos.
   
   
3. Sex Education: Asa Butterfield stars as an awkward teenager who starts offering sex counselling for money. His credentials? His mother is a sex therapist. The show tackles important issues with wildly bold humor. 
   
   
4. Cheer: A six-part docu-series follows a Texas cheer team, Navarro College Bulldogs, as they prepare to compete in the national cheerleading championship in Daytona, Florida. In particular, it focuses on the trials and tribulations of five members on the team.
   
   
5. You: Moonlighting as a bookstore owner, Penn Badgley plays creepy well. His character is a stalker and serial killer who manipulates his way into his victims’ lives. Season two is just as crazy with a location change to L.A.
   
   
6. Fleabag: Phoebe Waller-Bridge both wrote and starred in this hilarious and gut-wrenching show based on her 2013 one-woman show about a free-spirited young woman in London with an insatiable sexual appetite. Bonus: Andrew Scott as the “sexy priest”. 
   
   
7. Modern Love: An anthology of love stories based on selected stories from New York Times’ long-running column “Modern Love”. The star-studded cast includes a plethora of well-known actors from Anne Hathaway to Dev Patel. 
   
   
8. Stranger Things: This insanely addictive show features a riveting plot about government experiments done on members of a small town in Indiana. Things come to a head when Will Byers goes missing and a parallel world with horrific monsters and demons is uncovered.
   
   
9. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: This period comedy-drama set in the ’60s follows a housewife-turned-stand-up-comic. The show has everything you’d want: humor, drama, memorable characters, witty dialogue, delightful costumes, and a talented cast. 
   
   
10. Bodyguard: A real nail-biter, the British show follows David Budd, a cop with PTSD, who becomes the personal bodyguard for the Minister of the Interior. Catch up on season one as another season is highly likely to be confirmed any day now.
    
    

Oldies (more than 3 seasons)

Because it’s never too late to start watching these classics and because we’ve got nothing but time.

 

 

1. The Office: While we might all be working from home at the moment, we can get our fix of office antics from Michael Scott and company.
   
   
2. Friends: If you can’t hang with your friends in person during this time, do the next best thing: binge friends...with your friends! Try the Chrome extension Netflix Party to watch together. And ICYMI, there’s a reunion special coming this year. 
   
   
3. Gilmore Girls: The quick-witted, caffeine-fuelled show around a mother-daughter duo is always a good binge. Watch all the seasons before turning to the four-episode comeback, A Year in the Life, which picks up a few years after the finale.
   
   
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: While the world seems uncertain right now, it feels good, healing even, to watch Buffy fight one hellish creature after another and protect the world from supernatural evil right now.
   
   
5. Grey’s Anatomy: Perhaps the most popular medical TV drama ever, Grey’s Anatomy has seen many new characters, several spin-offs, and some devastating deaths, all while tugging at your heartstrings in every single episode.
   
   
6. Modern Family: The award-winning series paved the way in TV history with its diverse depictions of modern families. Not to mention it has an incredible cast that is just delightful to watch. Binge-watch all 11 seasons in time for the series finale next month. 
   
   
7. Sherlock: The BBC remake cast a perfect ensemble to bring the story of Sherlock Holmes into modern society. Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock is a high-functioning sociopath who is nothing short of brilliant. And together with Martin Freeman’s John Watson, they make the ultimate TV duo. 
   
   
8. Money Heist: The popular Spanish crime show will have you on the edge of your seat episode after episode. There are many twists and turns for a show where the majority of the characters are stuck in the middle of a heist. Season 3 kicks off the second part of the show a couple years later. Binge all three seasons quickly because the much anticipated fourth season premiers in April.
   
   
9. Schitt’s Creek: The show follows the privileged Rose family who have lost all of their wealth and must attempt to rebuild their lives in Schitt’s Creek, a town bought by Eugene Levy’s character as a joke years before. 
   
   
10. Handmaid's Tale: Based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, this dystopian series is set in a totalitarian society, where fertile women are forced to serve as handmaids to bear children for the barren wives of commanders.
    
    
11. Black Mirror: An anthology series that explores people's lives and the twisted ways that technology can manipulate humanity’s darkest instincts. The series also features a one-off in the form of Bandersnatch, a multi-choice adventure.
    
    
12. The Good Place: The afterlife series starts with the main character in heaven, aka the Good Place due to some clerical error. Antics ensue when she scrambles to avoid being found out. The first season reveals a shocking turn that sets the course for the subsequent seasons. 
    
    
13. Parks & Recreation: With an ensemble cast that features Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Rob Lowe, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, and Nick Offerman, this hilarious show that follows an Indiana town’s public officials will have you in stitches.
    
    
14. Community: The whole series revolves around a study group at a community college. The zany and clever comedy will have you hooked for all six seasons, and have you demanding for the movie we deserve at the end. #SixSeasonAndAMovie
    
    
15. The Crown: If you like the Royal Family or history in general, you’ll love the Crown. The series has three seasons so far and each cover a specific period in the life of Queen Elizabeth II. 

 

We hope these shows bring you some levity and escapism - happy binging!

 

Stay safe and healthy, Muff Fam ❤️