the best shows to watch during quarantine
there's nothing that i love better than a good tv show binge, so for this post i teamed up with my gf Fiona to put together a list of our favorite shows that we've been loving during the quarantine. Fiona is an artist and blogger who is a recent graduate from Temple University! congrats girl! she is incredibly creative, hardworking, and inspiring and i am thrilled to have her contributions on this blog. you can check out her artwork through her Instagram– @finebyfi.
Eva’s Shows
Too Hot to Handle– This show is stupid beyond belief which is one of the reasons I lowkey LOVE it. Every character other than this one guy Kelz is literally so extremely dumb and the show really plays off of that with their incredible editing. The concept of the show is hilarious. I was especially entertained because during the quarantine I feel like I’m almost in a similar situation… but instead of Lana telling me to keep it in my pants for $100,000 it’s the government telling me to keep it in my pants so I won’t get coronavirus… both stakes are veryyyyy high. The show is also really short which makes it easy to get through in a day. I highly recommend watching this tv show and also Bryce, one of the cast members, in his feature film “Counterfeiters” which is just as good as watching The Room it’s truly a work of art.
90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days– I always loved this show but now that we have a character as insane looking as Big Ed I am seriously blown AWAY. Get ready for drama unlike any other, the craziest cast in the world, and the most insane relationships you’ve ever seen. It has literally every element you’d want from a reality TV show and the best part is watching the amount of simps that make an appearance. I even found my newest jam called “I Love You” by Sojaboy. That’s right. Not Soulja Boy in the US but Sojaboy who is a 20-something year old singer from Nigeria. He wrote this song for his “baby girl Lisa” (a 60 year old lady from York, Pennsylvania) and MY GOD it is the catchiest mf song I’ve ever heard. My new quarantine jam. This show is just incredible. 10/10 recommend.
RuPaul’s Drag Race– I’ve always been a fan of drag race. I don’t like it nearly as much anymore because of RuPaul and the stupid standards the show has for drag as well as it’s transphobic comments but I will say that I still find it incredibly entertaining and have been liking the queens from Season 12 (other than Sherry Pie ofc…). I am a MUCH bigger fan of Dragula (available on Amazon Prime) but I will say I liked a lot of the guest judges on Season 12 and thought queens like Heidi, Crystal, Widow Von Du, and Jada were standouts of this season. Previous seasons are on Hulu now and I’ve been rewatching my favorite queens like Sharon Needles, Alexis Mateo, Adore, and Raja. I also love that Shea will be making an appearance on the next All Stars season and I hope she wins this upcoming season.
Dexter– This show is absolute TRASH but my god did I enjoy every second of it. Dexter takes you on so many mf twists and turns. It’s like such a dramatic ass show but was everything I needed and wanted to watch during quarantine. I finished it over the course of a few weeks. It was 8 frickin seasons long but I felt like it just flew by. I hate all the characters other than Masuka and Deb. I won’t spoil anything for you… If you’re incredibly bored and need a show to binge watch just get on Netflix right now and watch this shit.
The Staircase– I’ve seen this show at least like 3 times all the way through and I STILL don’t know what to believe. It’s one of the most fascinating crime shows on Netflix and very well done. The characters are great and I rarely ever watch the same crime episodes over and over but this one is just so damn good. Very raw and emotional. The main character is the hero and the villain. Great great story which will have you question forensic science, motivations, and just plain coincidence.
Intervention– Molly and I love to watch this over Zoom because we would always watch this together in my dorm room. It’s so dark but I love watching it for some weird reason. A lot of the episodes end in a promising way. I definitely do not think that an intervention is the way to go about curing addiction or exploiting people by documenting it… but dang is it entertaining. If you get depressed easily though do NOT watch this because it is definitely not a mood lifter. But if you love Hoarders or 600 lb Life then um this will be your jam lmfao.
Til Death Do Us Part– This show is also mad depressing but I was sooooo into it. It’s well done and is so creepy! My dad and I literally binged every episode in one frickin night. There’s just something about crime and raging couples that gets me, you know???? Unlike The Staircase, every episode has a different story line and a lot of the situations are just so insane. My favorite has gotta be the first episode and the mf detective-ass parrot... just watch the episode and you’ll understand.
The Twilight Zone– A classic. Please watch more Twilight Zone episodes if you haven’t already. Anyone who likes Black Mirror more than this is just an imbecile. Literally every episode is good. Watching it now I sometimes get irritated because it can take a while or literally the entire episode for something super important to happen but I just love this show so much. Great classic quarantine watch and good for the entire fam. Unlike most of the other shows I listed lmfao please DON’T watch those with your fam.
Fiona’s Shows
The Great–This spectacularly funny, raunchy yet drama-filled series is found on Hulu. If you enjoy historical fiction and some dark, sarcastic humor and irony this is definitely the show for you. Based on Catherine the Great of Russia who in real life organized the assassination of her husband, the emperor, Peter III, to assume power and eventually give Russia its Golden Age, Elle Fanning plays the young empress at the beginning stages of plotting on her hubby. We love a true boss bitch. I know most of the time period pieces are a bit somber seeing all that women especially had to endure during the 1700s and on, but this series does an absolutely fabulous job of being hilarious while poking fun at the characterization of men at the time, the culture of patriarchies and the hardships women endured that in today’s time are completely ghastly. Something I especially love about this show is the costume and cast. The colors and gowns are to die for and the cast has a chemistry that you can feel through the screen. Catherine and her lover whew, cute. I won’t spoil it. But like whew... Even more so, Catherine and her dear servant, once lady of the court, friend Marial have that close bond we all know is essential to any success and it is so fun to watch these women get the job done. But scheming always has its sacrifices and prices. A must watch.
Dead to Me– Probably one of the best shows I’ve seen in a while on Netflix. Christina Applegate plays Jen Harding, a grieving real-estate agent widow raising two boys who meets a Judy Hale, played by Linda Cardellini at group therapy. The two create an understanding, sentimental friendship but not without secrets. But despite it all, these two women make a testament to real friendship which I think at least is super important to see. Truly, I thought nothing could top the first season but the second one, wow it raised the bar. The show is set in California so it has this new age, modern vibe, perhaps some slight corniness but still riddled with sarcastic humor and real drama, real crime and real love. The show was co-produced by Will Ferrell and you can so feel his touch of humor in there at times which I love. Him and Christina were coupled in Anchorman and I loved their banter and chemistry, so it was nice to see they worked on this together. There are SO many twists in this series and heartfelt moments about loss and friendship. Another awesome series to binge watch, highly recommended.
Killing Eve - This is my FAVORITE show right now. Some of the seasons (1 & 2) are on Hulu. The current one, Season 3 is on right now and you can catch up watching BBC on Demand. If you love spies, murder, double agents, and forbidden romance this is your show. Killing Eve is hot. Now I love British tv, it is just such a guilty pleasure of mine and this show is no exception. Eve, working for MI6 chasing down a Russian assassin,Villanelle. As Eve studies her obsession turns to love, and that happens for both of them. Who so a psychopath could love? This series definitely makes you think twice about right and wrong, and who made who. It is one you will fall in love with, I promise you. Sandra Oh is all of us trying to hide how deeply we’ve fallen for the wrong person and Villanelle is the badass bitch we all desire to be, and she does it oh so fashionably. If you're not watching yet, what are you even doing during this quarantine?
Freud– This one might give you nightmares. Not really sure how much it relates to Sigmund Freud honestly, but still really really good. It is scary and sexy all at the same time. Set in Vienna in 1886, Freud is trying to assert his psychological beliefs into science. This is before he is the Sigmund Freud we know of today. The father of psychology, of hypnosis and therapy. The man we meet in this series is a troubled, young Jewish man fighting for his reputation, his wife and ultimately his freedom of insecurity, Yet somehow our Freud gets involved with a Hungarian clairvoyant who is somehow tied to a whole string of killings somehow tied to hypnosis or witchcraft, or both. This is an English dubbed German series but I didn’t even notice till the third episode. If you like horror, can stand the sight of blood and love all things psychological, curl up with a blanket, a cup of tea and turn the lights out - you’re in for a ride. Found on Netflix.
Locke & Key– This series is based on comics and may come off as a kiddie show but I really enjoyed it. It has death, drama, humor, love and magic. A family tragically loses their father, moves into his childhood home and finds keys hidden throughout the house with magical properties, and someone or something is after them. Desperately after them. The kids are trying to find themselves in a new town while grieving and now handling other worldly responsibility all while being in high school. It was refreshing to see an older brother not be so typical and middle sibling sister, be reckless, fearless and full of passion and rage. I really adored the character development of them. I haven’t loved something like this show since maybe Harry Potter. Although, absolutely nothing comes close to the love I have for Harry Potter, this one does give you that familiar sense of wonder, camaraderie and danger. Another highly recommended series on Netflix.
Fargo– I stumbled upon this on Hulu because at first I thought it was the 1997 movie, Fargo by the Cohen brothers which was a quirky but intense crime- story based in Minnesota. This series does the same. Over three seasons, a different complex crime unfolds before our eyes all within the off charm of Minnesota. Somehow they are all interlinked by this mysterious place Fargo perhaps a secret service? Some of the characters reappear as well which I always like to see. Honestly, I swear you will fall for things characters and the never ending plot twists. Just when you think you know, I promise you won’t. I can’t give too much away other than it is nothing short of a wild ride. I finished all three seasons in 3 days. (Yes, all I do is binge). All I can say is there is nothing like it and you should watch only to understand how special it is.
The Sopranos– Oh Italian culture at its core. This show is an onion. So many layers and very personal to the heart. It follows Tony Soprano, mafia leader of North Jersey. (P.S. that’s where I grew up!) He struggles with mental health - depression and paranoia, a very taboo thing for an Italian and even more so a mobster. Like I said, this show is full of contradictions. It tackles so much so well you don’t even realize it's happening until you think about it afterwards. Things like what it means to be Italian, how we are depicted in American culture - what we’ve contributed. As well as what it means to be white, what it means to be white and rich from society versus ethnically white and rich from hard work and sacrifice. Italian versus Italian American. It addresses religion, womanhood, drug abuse, even the mentality of being a cowboy. There is nothing like this show, nothing at all. Found on HBO.
The Stranger– Another great British show; this one found on Netflix. This is a murder crime series all starting with a stranger coming to down revealing deep, dark secrets to people for money. It begins with Adam Price when he learns that his wife had faked a pregnancy while their relationship was almost on the way out. He then begins to question whether their current children are even his! But it does not stop there, and oh how the secrets unravel into a whirlwind of drama, and once one starts it just keeps going and going. Definitely not my absolute favorite show but the concept is really clever and probably the book is better, more time to grow attached to the characters. But I still really enjoyed it and all the mystery.
pc: Fiona
xox
