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.