Favorite Shows for Binge Watching

This is completely random, yet again, and has absolutely nothing to do with Thanksgiving or Christmas. Let's begin!

Nate and I have been watching a decent amount of TV in the past year, sticking to Netflix after the kids go down. We go in streaks, truly binging on a show until it's completed and then we take a break for awhile because we feel very unproductive when vegging out in front of the TV each night. BUT STILL. It's fun to binge watch in streaks.

1. Weeds: I am currently watching Weeds by myself, it's been my go-to 'treadmill' show and I'm really into it. I'm in the middle of season three and have decided that Nancy is hilarious but her wardrobe is somewhat 'off', Andy is the best and the most cringe-worthy, and Celia is amazing and also awful. And Doug? Best character ever. See how this show is full of characters that are both great and horrible? My cliff notes for those who haven't seen it: Nancy is a suburban mom/widow who sells pot, and she is just the right mix of totally crazy but relatable. She also loves to drink from a straw. It's weird, it's funny, it's intriguing. I dig it.

2. Narcos: Nate and I just started this series, so we are on season one. Another show about drugs, but this time no suburban mom and much less humor involved compared to Weeds. I mean, the drug is cocaine and not weed so it's obviously a little more intense. Lots of subtitle reading, for those of us not fluent in Spanish, and it's pretty gruesome/gory. I can't wait to see how Pablo turns out. He's apparently the Robin Hood of Colombia, and is a bajillionaire drug trafficker. Intense and a little depressing but somehow we are hooked.

3. Walking Dead: no drugs, just zombies here! This was one show that Nate began last year at this time and I absolutely REFUSED to watch with him. I could hear the nasty gurgling of the zombies from the other room and really hated the way the 'walkers' walked. I mean, what a horrible premise for a show, right? Well, gradually the nasty audio effects started to become less repulsive and the characters started to grow on me. Seriously, these characters are so lovable, so relatable---for the end-of-the-world, must-kill-zombies type of thing. We binged on all of the old seasons and then caught up to real time seasons. And now the current season is back on AMC, so we bought the season pass on iTunes because we don't have cable. The start of this season gave me actual nightmares and it sort of stole our mojo with the entire show. So depressing. Really want the hope to come back, ASAP.

4. Nurse Jackie: this was the last 'treadmill show' I watched without Nate. Huh, another show about drugs---what is my problem?! I LOVED this show though, it was a little dark but still had the right mix of humor and awesome characters. Jackie is the main character, she is an ER nurse, pretty hard core, and addicted to pills. You want her to kick the habit for the entire series and root for her to move on with her life. On the very last episode of the series, I had no idea it was the last. When it ended, I was so confused and kept flipping through Netflix looking for the next season. Then I read a bunch of stuff online feeling panicked and like I didn't pay enough attention to the last show ever! I have come to terms with it, though.

5. Stranger Things: Nate and I whipped through this show in about three days. Only one season so far, and you cannot go wrong with 80's nostalgia! It seemed super creepy at first, like I didn't want to watch it alone and didn't really get the hype. By the end we were all in, Eleven is the best and the Christmas light scene still kind of haunts me.

6. Dexter: we finished this series about a year ago, I think. I might have mentioned it here but we just really liked it a lot. A likable serial killer? I know, sounds ridiculous. Really dark and intense but still so good. Probably the most gruesome one of the bunch, besides Breaking Bad which also gave me nightmares.

Series that we couldn't finish/didn't care enough:
1. Orange is the New Black: we watched the first two seasons and then just didn't want to watch anymore. Very meh after season one.

2. House of Cards: obsessed for the first few seasons, and after the subway incident I think it went downhill. That was a heart-stopper, though!

3. Mad Men: people love this show but it was so SLOW for us. We did finish the first season but fizzled out sometime in the second. Perhaps we should re-watch it sometime?

Personal favorite 'binge' show of all times: (drum roll, please)...

Friday Night Lights: a far cry from the above 'drug and murder' shows, this one still gets me right in the ticker. Just hearing the theme song is enough to make me weak in the knees. I am one million percent on Team Saracen, just so you know. I'm sorry, Riggins fans. His hair is too oily and needs a headband to keep it out of his face. Matt Saracen is perfection. DO NOT ARGUE, it's true. I am not a fan of Julie Taylor though. And the whole story line with Lyla and...the other quarterback who was paralyzed (help me on his name, can't remember!) got a little drawn out for me. I think this show kind of reminds me of my high school for the small town, football obsessed feel of things. But the characters are amped up, beautified versions of my high school, of course. Anyway, my parents have watched this show several times and it makes me want to start from the very beginning and get at it. This show will always remind me of Porter's pregnancy, so tender feelings abound.

So what should be our next show? I promise we don't only like dark, drug, murder-y ones.

29 comments:

  1. I loved white collar - fun, snappy, interesting but not stressful. Then I got into burn notice, more violent but also fun esp the beginning. Hubs is super into Suits and I'm now watching Person of Interest which I wasn't sure about but am now into (it's more likely to give me weird dreams but I am a pansy).

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    1. I've never heard of any of these! I think my dreams are pretty easily swayed, too, but with so many intense shows I might be getting harder;)

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    2. I can second Kimberly on White Collar - that was going to be my suggestion! I'm in the third season & I love it! Smart, funny and interesting!

      www.natyouraveragestory.com

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  2. I'm looking for new binge shows for my treadmill time as well so this is great! I have always thought about trying Weeds ... that might be next up for me! My husband and I are watching Homeland right now and it's pretty great - we are about half way through season 1. So far its pretty gripping although I find Claire Danes a little annoying. I am also watching Suits which is amazing and I like Nashville as well - these are 2 of my treadmill shows too. And Friday Night Lights... sigh. I wish I could watch that all over again for the first time - I LOVED that one!

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    1. Weeds = great treadmill show!! And I really might watch FNL again, I just can't handle the amazingness!

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  3. If you like dark and drugs and murder-y you need to watch Sons of Anarchy! Meets all that criteria and more!
    Lurker of your blog who finally decided to post!

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  4. Brent and I powered through Mad Men because we kept thinking it would get better. It had some moments but overall we both felt pretty 'meh' about it. Other shows we/I have loved:
    1) Sons of Anarchy - I actually think you look like Tara - the first 3-4 seasons are amazing and then it gets super dark and twisty.
    2) Downton Abbey - AMAZING. It's on Amazon Prime, and this could go down as one of my all-time favorites.
    3) Game of Thrones is so, so good, but you have to have HBO. I've read the first 3 books too - really awesome series.
    4) I loved Parenthood!
    5) Gilmore Girls was so great and they are releasing 4 90 minute episodes TOMORROW.

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    1. I did watch Downton for two seasons! After Matthew died I could not get into it anymore and I watched it while watching Breaking Bad, which made it seem so so so slow!! Parenthood---that is one I could really get into!

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  5. Grey's anatomy.... Also addicting.

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    1. I can't believe that show is still on! I watched it sporadically back in the day.

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  6. The Americans! Very interesting and great acting. about soviet spies living in America during the 80s. Highly recommend ��

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  7. The Americans. And if you loved FNL, you will absolutely ADORE Parenthood.

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  8. I second Parenthood-SO good and it did not get the hype it deserved when it was on air. Bloodline on Netflix is amazing, especially Season 1. Also about drugs and dark stuff, but there's so much more to it.

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  9. Not sure if these are on Netflix in the US (there are weird differences between Canada and US Netflix) but right now we are really into 'Suits', and 'Scandal' was a great binge-y show too. 'House of cards' took a while to get into, but hubby likes it and I watch in on and off with him. Also after a long-time recommendation by my sisters I watched Parenthood and we LOVED it - a nice change to all the darker shows. It was actually the reason we finally got Netflix :)

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  10. FNL is definitely a favorite of mine... but it was matched by Parenthood. You've got to watch that one if you haven't yet. First season was a little slow for me, but every season was progressively better and the ending was just... perfection.

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  11. We just picked up Black Mirror on Netflix and its amazing. Also waiting to start the 2nd season of Man in the High Castle on Amazon.

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  12. If you loved FNL, you must watch Parenthood. Same creator as FNL and several actors from FNL make appearances. So. Many. Tears. Happy tears, sad tears, angry tears, tears from laughing so hard. Amazing acting performances. I'm not even a parent and could relate to this show so well, from a family dynamic perspective. I'm sure as a parent yourself, you'll relate to it hard and love it so much.

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  13. You need to watch Parenthood. And Homeland. Catastrophe is another fave (Amazon Prime!) And thank you for bringing Friday Night Lights into my life.

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  14. If you love Friday Night Lights you HAVE to watch Parenthood!!! It is awesome!

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  15. Parenthood is amazing. I'm still trying to get over the fact that they ended it!!! I like the new TV series This Is Us. Always watching The Affair which is really good but can be a little difficult to follow because it tells two different characters side of the story in one episode and does a lot of going back in time- regardless it's got me hooked! The Night Of is also really good!

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  16. Orphan Black! So, so good. One actress plays 5 different characters (clones.) It's amazing. Mr. Robot is also very good - love Christian Slater's character.

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  17. The Good Wife, Parenthood, Shameless, the recent Gilmore Girls, Bloodline, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt... I swear I barely watched TV last year and now I suck through episodes of shows.

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  18. Am I reading the comments correctly and you HAVENT seen Parenthood??? Remedy that ASAP! We just binged The Crown on Netflix and it is incredible -- I am so sad we have to wait for the second season! We are also watching Fargo at the moment -- I really enjoy it, definitely dark but with some funny moments. Catastrophe is hilarious. We love Homeland and I totally dig The Affair (we bought the Showtime pass on Amazon for these 2).

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    1. I haven't seen Parenthood but have decided it's the next show for me. I mean, I've seen bits and pieces on TV before but don't know the characters or anything. High time!

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  19. The Man in the High Castle. The Good Wife. Game of Thrones. Orphan Black. The Mindy Project. Transparent.

    For new shows? I'm digging This is Us, The Good Place, and Westworld. I'm a few episodes into Stranger Things and I really like it!

    I watched FNL when I was on maternity leave with Izzy- mostly while I pumped. Amazing!

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  20. I couldn't agree more with FNL. It sucked me in completely, and my husband too. I also loved Brothers and Sisters and Army Wives, although my husband did NOT like that one. It was too cheesy in his opinion. :)

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  21. Omg! We are kindred Netflix watchers!! I was the SAME way about The Walking Dead a few years ago while my husband watched in the other room...and then I started watching and became totally hooked!! Hated the first part of the current season but after the mid-season finale (no spoiler) I'm back and energized about the rest of the season! Also, House if Cards lost me at the exact same place it lost you...the subway scene. Nope. Done. 😳

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