New Shows! To Watch!

With the world in lock down, I figured that there’s no better time to talk about television shows. These are the series that I’ve been watching and thoroughly enjoying during self-isolation.

Modern Love

I absolutely adored Modern Love, a quick eight-part series on Amazon Prime that’s based on the New York Times column of the same name. Each episode follows a different set of characters with their own plot, covering various—you guessed it—modern love stories, relationships, and human connections. It’s SO good!

Note: extra kudos to Anne Hathaway and Andrew Scott, whose performances both blew me away.

McMillions

Though documentaries aren’t normally my first choice of television, McMillions (on HBO) proved to me how entertaining, interesting, and captivating they can be. This mini-series was a brilliant exposé into a massive and historic fraud of the McDonald’s Monopoly game. There are so many twists and turns.

Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker

It didn’t take long for Chad and I to cruise through Netflix’s Self Made, a miniseries that chronicles the amazing story of Madam C.J. Walker, the first African American self-made millionaire. Octavia Spencer delivers an incredible performance as Walker, and left us wishing for more. It was wholesome, educational, and bad ass.

Virgin River

Though it’s been out for quite some time, the Netflix original series Virgin River is an enjoyable about a woman who moves to a small town to “start over.” It’s a slight upgrade from a Hallmark movie, with more a more realistic plot though an equally wholesome story about a small town community and a developing love story. We finished season one quickly and are looking forward to the next.

Tiger King

Chances are, you’ve heard about this Netflix sensation. Or, at the very least, you’ve seen some memes. Talk about a wild and crazy ride! Tiger King is a seven-episode mini documentary series that follows the incredibly bizarre world of exotic cat owners in the United States. Aside from crazy content, this series is also well-made and impressive. Please watch this so we can talk about it. My mind is still blown!

Note: McMillions walked so Tiger King could run.

Westworld

The latest season of HBO’s Westworld is on television now. It’s a weekly series and not available for straight-up binging (much to my chagrin); however, it’s excellent and we have thoroughly enjoyed each new episode. If you have access to the previous two seasons, Westworld is very much worth starting from the beginning.

Kim’s Convenience

Another of my favorite shows is back with a well-timed new season: Kim’s Convenience is an easy-to-binge series available on Netflix. The Kim family is highly lovable, easy to watch, and so hilarious. Because we have the time, Chad and I decided to re-watch KC from the beginning before jumping into the new episodes—just like the first time, we’re laughing our way through, with comments like “I love them!” for every single character.

Reality TV

After recently watching The Circle on Netflix a few months ago, Chad and I have been slowly getting into more reality television. We’re still pretty selective; it can’t be super catty and wild, and we prefer shows that are topical and have structure. Here are some that we’ve watched:

• Love is Blind. The latest Netflix reality show calls itself an experiment, testing whether or not love truly is blind. Contestants blind date through “pods,” where they can’t see each other and talk through a wall. They do this with everyone until several of the pairs connect enough to get engaged, in like 10 days. Once engaged, they get to see each other, fly to Mexico for a vacation, then head home to live together and plan a wedding in a month. At the altar, each person has the opportunity to say “I do” or “I don’t.” It’s nuts, but so, so fun to watch. #TeamLaurenAndCameronForever
• Love Island Australia. We have enjoyed watching Love Island Australia on Hulu. A bunch of strangers live in a villa together and pair up in order to find love. Those who are single are voted out, either by the others or by Australia’s voting audience. It’s an eight-or-so week timeline for the contestants to fall in love. The winners are supposed to be the real deal, and they win $25k at the end to split. We were entertained and enjoyed watching this crazy world unfold, and determine who had genuine feelings and who was “playing the game.” Note: we tried the British version, didn’t like it as much.
• Survivor. This isn’t a new show (far from it), but it’s new to me. I’ve just jumped into the latest season, per Chad’s request, which is a reunion of all past winners to celebrate 40 seasons. It’s okay, lol. I don’t know that I’m a huge fan, but it’s interesting to watch.
• House Hunters. Okay, this is super low-key. Chad and I will pop this on sometimes just to get excited about our new house. Sometimes we don’t really pay attention very well, and it’s just soothing. Other times, we get super into it and invested in the properties. The good thing is that there are thousands of these episodes, lol. Thank you, HGTV.  

Old favorites worth a binge

I could talk about these series all day, but I’ll spare you. These are some of my favorite binge-worthy shows that provide lots of laughter and good vibes. 🙂

• Derry Girls
• Parks and Rec
• The Office
• Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• The Mindy Project

What’s next?

If you have any suggestions, let me know! I’m always on the lookout for an excellent series to watch. 🙂