Let’s be real, none of us can really deny ourselves a good binge-watching experience. Charlotte Lloyd has some recommendations for you to view.

Hey Netflix…and Stan (I see you, too). It’s just me, back again. Look, I know that we’ve been through some ups and downs. I know I made you play that really depressing movie yesterday but I’m telling you it means nothing. Honestly, just because I watched ‘The Notebook’ doesn’t mean I want you to suggest me all the Nicholas Sparks films to date. Just like because I watched ‘Tiger King’, does not mean I am obsessed with leopard print and planning to kill my husband. And please, don’t suggest ‘How to fix a drug scandal’ just because I binged ‘Tiger King’ in like two days. I’m fine…totally fine.

Actually, you know what, I could use some recommendations. Nothing to do with ‘Tiger King’ and ‘The Notebook’, but some good ol’ binge-worthy tv shows. Some that I haven’t seen before pleeasssee.

Netflix: Actually, wait – just before we do that, can I do a quick plug for the newest iso addition? Have you heard of Netflix Party? Look, I know you can’t see your friends and catch up on the latest tv shows, but this is the best thing. Watch the same movie or tv show, at the same time, and talk about it non-stop. It’s almost as if you were sitting right next to each other. Now I know what you’re going to say, “It’s just not the same”, but this is as good as it’s gonna get, so download the chrome extension and call your friends!

Netflix/Stan: Ok, here we go….

1. Schitt’s Creek

Take a rich family (actually, a m ore than rich family) and dump them in a town called ‘Schitt’s Creek’ (which evidently, they own) and see what happens. In all seriousness though, this is one of my favourite sitcoms to watch, especially to binge-watch. It follows the family of the Rose’s who lose all their money and are forced to move into the hotel at Schitt’s Creek. The antics, humour, and pure wit that come out of this show will have you cracking up, and if not cracking up at least shedding a smile or two along the way. Johnny, Moira, David, and Alexis are the four that wind up in this small town, and from their arrival they shaking the town up a bit, giving grief, joy, and frustration to those in it. It’s a good belly laugh for sure, and if you do anything during isolation that is even the slightest bit worthwhile, it would be to binge-watch ‘Schitt’s Creek.‘ 

(Available via Netflix)

2. The Good Place

Do you believe in the afterlife? Have you ever wondered what happens when we die? Whether we are measured by all the good and bad things we have done within our lifetime? Well, if you answered yes to even one of these questions, then ‘The Good Place’ is for you. Eleanor Shellstrop, a name all those that have seen it know well (and one you’ll know by the end) has landed in…let’s call it, the ‘afterlife’….and has no idea what the ‘fork’ is going on. She is a character I think we can all relate to, and boy has she done some sh*t in her life – but that’s what makes her and everyone else human. So grab that popcorn and get watching because if there is an afterlife, by gosh I hope I’m in ‘The Good Place.’

(Available via Netflix)

3. The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair

Did you say drama? Did you say crime? Did you say scandal? Y-E-S spells yes! You might want to sit down because you’re in for a juicy rollercoaster ride with this one. It’s the story of Harry Quebert, author extraordinaire and professor, and Marcus Goldman, also an author, not a professor though. 15-year-old Nola Kellergan’s remains are found in Quebert’s backyard 33 years after her disappearance and affair with Quebert himself. I told you it was juicy! And what does Marcus Goldman have to do with it you ask? He is here to acquit Harry from the assumptions of murder and prove his innocence. Set in a small town in Maine, this mysterious American drama leaves you on the edge of your seat, holding out for each episode. I would personally recommend reading the book first, but it is a lengthy sucker, coming in at a total of 615 pages – so maybe just skip that step and jump to episode one. You won’t regret it!

(Available via Stan)

4. Hart of Dixie

I introduce to you Zoe Hart, your new best friend. If you can’t deal with Southern America, then just fast-forward to the next review. Zoe Hart accepts an offer by Dr. Wilkes to come and work at his small-town medical practice in Bluebell. Little does she know that by the time she arrives, he has carked it – and she now owns half the practice. Yay for her! Not so great for Dr. Wilkes. Along with this, there are friendship, frenemies, love, deceit, laughter, and tears. Rachel Bilson (Anyone remember ‘The O.C.’…no?…just me?) stars as the infamous Dr. Hart in this cute, wholesome town of Bluebell. Except it’s not so wholesome when people are trying to sabotage you and there is this one guy that just will not let go. Despite all this, she sticks through it. There are four seasons so it is one of the best things that can get you through some tough iso boredom. (PS: the ending is amazing!).

(Available via Stan)

5. Upper Middle Bogan

Say hello to Australian culture at its finest: ‘Upper Middle Bogan’. Take Glenn Robbins, an Australian icon to say the least (uhmm Kel Knight, purveyor of fine meats), and Michaela Banas, another Australian icon, and put them together with a family who has, uh, a little bit of class, and you have ‘Upper Middle Bogan.’ If you have never heard of it before I’m sorry, where have you been? Nonetheless, I am prepared to explain. A daughter, Bessy, and her mother finds out that her mother is not actually her mother. She then meets her biological parents and the two completely different worlds collide. Not only does she take on new parents but also new siblings, one as dumb as a doormat, one that couldn’t get more blonde, and one with a potty mouth that can’t be tamed (enter Michaela Banas). I cannot hype this show up enough. Just like ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ it leaves you wanting more and is fitting of a stereotypical, ‘upper-middle bogan,’ Australian family.

(Available via Netflix and Stan)

6. Friends From College

Are you missing your friends? (I mean obvs you would be). Do you need something quick and short for iso? Nothing too serious, just a quick fling? Then ‘Friends from College’ is for you. After meeting at Harvard, six friends face the traumatic decade before them: their 40’s. It features relationships that shouldn’t be together, relationships that should be together, and relationships that just don’t work. Get ready for a whole lot of ‘wait aren’t you with that person’ going on. Stacked with an all-star cast we have Keegan-Michael Key, Cobie Smulders, Nat Faxon, and more. And if you don’t know who they are by names; Robyn from ‘How I Met Your Mother’, Keegan-Michael Key (need I say more), Nat Faxon, I don’t know what to say, he’s in a lot, and for those ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ fans: Tom Korasick. We go through the best and worst times with this bunch and it honestly puts the thought of your 40’s in perspective.

(Available via Netflix)

7. The Inbetweeners

Crude, crude, and oh, did I say crude? This series follows four guys as they navigate the high-school scene and as they transition into adulthood. It is rude to say the least but boy does it hit the mark. Intensely relatable and oh so funny, this sitcom, also just a quick fling, is two seasons long. Oh, did I mention it’s British, a nice change from all those American tv shows amirite? It is also coupled with twin feature films so like, dive right in! The four of them are socially challenged to put it lightly, but it is how they take on the quests of high school that make it so damn funny. I love how despite you cringing at them, and laughing at them and thinking you’re nothing like them, the actual fact of the matter is, that you’re extremely similar to them no matter how much you don’t want to admit it. Follow the inbetweeners as they go through, school life, friendship, male bonding, ‘lad’ culture, largely failed sexual encounters, and everything ‘in between.’ (Hah, see what I did there?!)

(Available via Netflix and Stan)

So if sappy romantic comedies and weird docos about tigers aren’t your thing (I swear it was just a one-off), then jump on the recommendations above. Netflix and Stan have a lot to offer and this is just skimming the surface. Thank me later!

Feature Image: Daisy Peachman, Yak Media Designer