The Best Shows to Binge-Watch on Your Next Couch Rot Day
The hangout comedy is an art form in and of itself, and there is arguably no greater execution of this than Happy Endings. Over the course of three seasons, the ABC comedy chronicled the lives of six friends in Chicago, but it wasn’t the premise of Happy Endings that was remarkable; Like many similar entries to the genre, it navigated the personal and professional lives of our main characters, but the breakneck speed of jokes and incredible chemistry of the cast (which includes the likes of Damon Wayans Jr., Adam Pally, Casey Wilson, and more) elevate it to can’t-miss territory.
Minka Kelly and Josh Duhamel star in Ransom Canyon, a recent Netflix release set in a Texas ranch town that is on the verge of being usurped by industrialists trying to access a water pipeline. If you’re a fan of Friday Night Lights, which is no longer streaming, Ransom Canyon may scratch the itch as a soapier spiritual successor to the NBC drama, as it tackles the complicated interpersonal relationships across the various generations that still inhabit the town.
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Based on the real life of Lakers owner Jeannie Buss, Kate Hudson stars as the president of the fictional Los Angeles Waves, who was thrust into the family business after her brother overdosed. The 10-episode comedy flies by with an interesting plot, fun secondary characters, and great comedy—it is from the mind of Mindy Kaling, after all.
For three perfect seasons, Somebody Somewhere was a truly feel-good and optimistic dramedy. In the Kansas-set series, Sam (Bridget Everett, who also created the show) returns to her hometown after the death of her sister to pick up the pieces of her life. With only 21 episodes, the HBO series is a bingeable slice-of-life show about found family and the power of adulthood friendships that will make you laugh, cry, and everything in between.
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If you’ve been loving the Hollywood takedown of The Studio, you may enjoy The Other Two, a three-season comedy that also lovingly skewered the entertainment industry. The titular duo—aspiring actor Cary (Drew Tarver) and his adrift sister Brooke (Helene Yorke)—must contend with their younger brother’s Justin Bieber-esque overnight stardom. It’s a laugh-out-loud comedy from former SNL writers, and also features an incredible supporting performance from Molly Shannon as the family matriarch whose life is turned upside down when her son’s success launches her into the spotlight.
Hello, true crime lovers. Fans of the genre should binge the five seasons of this scripted thriller, which literally gets into the twisted mind of fictional serial killer Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley). You’s genius is that we are embedded in Joe’s head to witness his misogynistic justifications for his actions, but it doesn’t glorify him.
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Indian dramas haven’t gotten the K-drama crossover treatment from audiences yet, but if there’s one title that may make you pay attention to content from the subcontinent, it’s Made in Heaven. Following two wedding planners (Sobhita Dhulipala and Arjun Mathur), the series employs a “wedding of the week” structure to speak to prevalent cultural and societal issues like abortion, casteism, patriarchy, and more. Moreover, the series created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti seamlessly touches on the modern-day push-and-pull between conservative traditional values and evolved progressive ideals via thorny characters and morally gray subplots. You’ll come for the superb storytelling and acting, and stay for the drama and incredible wardrobe.
If you’re already missing Lauren Ambrose on your TV screen after the events of Yellowjackets’ latest season, you can get your fill of the actress from the show that put her on the map: Six Feet Under. The HBO series from the early 2000s checks in with the L.A.-based Fisher family after the death of their patriarch, which forces the eldest son Nate (Peter Krause) to reluctantly take over their family funeral home business. Six Feet Under regularly interrogates the meaning of life and death via the weekly clients at the funeral home, but at its core, it’s a series about a dysfunctional family learning to navigate their grief, understand their dreams, and learn to love each other for who they are.
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Bilal Baig created and starred in this Canadian gem that follows a non-binary millennial named Sabi as they explore their identity in the face of a conservative Pakistani upbringing. That concept might sound like a heavy watch, but the three seasons of Sort Of lend the parent characters grace in their journey to acceptance and is chock-full of deadpan humor and colorful personalities. And perhaps most importantly, the series spends most of its energy on centering Sabi’s found family and on the joy of living life on your own terms.
If you’re currently nursing a hangover from mainlining the first season of The Pitt, let one of the most successful medical dramas of all time, with creative ties to the HBO Max phenomenon—ER—be the slow IV drip you need. ER ran for 15 seasons and 331 episodes, and traverses plenty of crazy cases, ethical dilemmas, and wild interpersonal stories that test our main cast of doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff. Come for young Noah Wyle and stay for young George Clooney.
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This German science fiction show will bend your mind and keep you enraptured for its entire three-season run. Dark’s premise begins simply with an investigation into a missing child, but what follows is a time travel portal that connects four different families in a small town across generations and reveals a sinister conspiracy that has been at work for decades. Mystery box shows like this are begging to be binged, and the Netflix original doesn’t disappoint.
Grace Van Patten and Jackson White lead this toxic romance drama about a tumultuous relationship that fades in and out of our main characters’ lives, as seen in the show’s two timelines: the 2008 portion tells the story of their initial college courtship, while the 2015 one catches up with them post-grad at a friend’s wedding. Tell Me Lies is a highly addictive series that will have you constantly switching alliances and questioning everyone’s morality. Catch up on the first two seasons now and join the rest of us who are patiently awaiting the third.
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Derry Girls is set during the final years of The Troubles, a violent period of history in Northern Ireland, but despite a serious political backdrop, the series is laugh-out-loud funny. The series zooms in on the everyday lives of five high school girls hellbent on rebellion at their Catholic school and against their strict mothers. Nicola Coughlin, who you might recognize from Bridgerton, broke out via this comedy, and her co-stars Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, and Dylan Llewellyn will win you over during the course of your 19-episode binge.
A regular woman finds out that the man she had a one-night stand with is a famous movie star. Even crazier? He wants to seriously date her. No, this isn’t the premise of the latest book taking over BookTok; it’s the three-season comedy Starstruck created by comedian Rose Matafeo. Starstruck examines not just the highs of the romance of the central couple, but also gives equal weight to the gray areas of dating in the 21st century. Matafeo and Nikesh Patel have incredible chemistry as the will-they-won’t-they couple, and Matafeo’s comedy makes her awkward sensibilities extremely endearing.
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Can a working woman have it all? BET’s Being Mary Jane asks—and tries to answer—that question. Gabrielle Union stars as the titular Mary Jane, a successful TV news anchor who has checked every professional box in lieu of her personal life. While juggling her complicated family life and office politics, she’s also secretly searching for Mr. Right. Union is a force, and the four seasons are sexy and satisfying.
No matter what you might have heard about the Lost finale (which is great, for the record), the ABC series is one of the most engaging, addictive, and influential series of the last 20 years. After a plane crashes on a remote island, the survivors must create a new community that is threatened by both those who already inhabit the island and the secrets that each of the passengers carries with them about their lives pre-crash. Over six seasons, the mystery box show asked questions about faith vs. science, rebirth, morality, and fate, while also being wildly entertaining.
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Sutton Foster and Hilary Duff anchor this sweet comedy about a woman (Foster) who fakes her age after her divorce in order to restart her career in the publishing industry. It’s Foster’s youthful energy that propels this comedy beyond its clunky premise, and her friendship with Duff’s character and various steamy romances make this a fun, fizzy, pick-me-up binge. Plus, creator Darren Starr brings some of his Sex and the City sensibilities, especially in the fashion department.
If you’ve ever wanted to travel back in time and change a decision you’ve made, Being Erica gives you a taste of what that might look like. The Canadian series follows the titular Erica Strange (Erin Karpluk), who begins seeing a magical therapist that quite literally sends her back to crucial moments in life with the opportunity for a do-over. It’s a heartfelt, emotional, and thought-provoking series whose 49 episodes will fly by.
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If animated action adventures are your jam, look no further than the steampunk series Arcane. Set in the League of Legends universe, Arcane follows sisters Vi and Jinx (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell, respectively) who are forced to navigate the changing landscape and growing inequality between the wealthy city of Piltover and the impoverished region of Zaun where they live. The full story is told in two jam-packed seasons, making this an easy one to burn through.
Sisterhood runs deep on this Apple TV show from the brain of Sharon Horgan (creator of another excellent series Catastrophe). She co-created and stars alongside Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene, and Eve Hewson, who make up the Garvey sisters who are entangled in a life insurance claim after one of their husbands dies unexpectedly. Operating in two timelines, Bad Sisters examines the family’s violent disdain for this brother-in-law prior to his death and the investigation after. It’s a wickedly funny and bingeable tale about the power of family.
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