If you’re in the Northeast, you’re probably stuck inside because of the snow. If you live anywhere else and you’re antisocial/introverted like me, you’re probably stuck inside because people freak you out. And if you’re a normal person with normal attitudes towards others, you probably just like to binge watch TV shows because, let’s face it, it’s fun.
But maybe you look at Netflix or Amazon and get overwhelmed at the amount of choices you have for shows to binge watch. That’s where I come in. I, your friendly neighborhood binge watcher, am here to give you some guidance on what you should lose sleep over next weekend.
I thought about making this a comprehensive list, comprised of a number of shows from different genres but I don’t watch soap opera-y, overly dramatic shows like Scandal or Revenge and I’ve never seen an episode of Gilmore Girls (I tend not to watch most shows like that) and as far as documentary style shows, I mostly just watch anything with Morgan Spurlock as the host. So, as I mentioned last week, we’re going to stick with violent, gritty crime shows.
Except for the addition of Freaks and Geeks and Friday Night Lights. Watch those, too. Seriously. They’re two of my most favorite shows ever and you won’t be sorry for the time you’ll spend watching them and in fact, you’ll probably watch them each more than once (which is less time for Freaks and Geeks than FNL because F&G only has 18 episodes) and when you’re done with them, let me know so you can tell me that I was right about their sheer awesomeness.
Note: the shows on this list are culled from what’s on Netflix and Amazon, which is why previously mentioned shows like SouthLAnd are not on here. I want to make it easy for you to find them, not have to wait days for the library to find the DVDs.
That said, here’s my list of 6 shows you need to binge watch (that aren’t Orange Is the New Black):
Sons of Anarchy. On the list with FNL and F&G as one of my all-time favorites. If you’ve passed on this one, get yourself right and watch it. Sure, it’s graphic and violent and a bit over the top and you’ll find yourself wondering how Jax NEVER gets blood on his shoes but it’s a well written, engrossing show filled with weird, detestable and also likable bikers, racists, and gang members. Found on Netflix and Amazon
The Shield. I watched this after I finished SOA, so it was fun to see all the connections between the two shows (thanks to Kurt Sutter). Vic Mackey, the main character, is one of the most reprehensible, morally ambiguous, yet highly likable characters I’ve watched. The show is nonstop, edge of your seat drama and occasionally, you’ll have to remind yourself to breathe. Found on Amazon
Oz. This show is tough to stomach sometimes. It was on HBO so the graphic violence quotient is insanely high. So high it makes SOA look like a regular primetime network show. It takes place inside a prison and they use actual former inmates as extras and yes, things are exaggerated for dramatic effect but it feels so freaking real, it’s ridiculous. Also, once you watch it, you’ll never look at Christopher Meloni the same. Found on Amazon
The Wire. All I can say about this show is WATCH IT. I thought SouthLAnd was my favorite cop/crime drama of all time but nope. The Wire is. Every one of the five seasons is incredible and its portrayal of life in that world, both on the streets and the politics among the police and city officials, is dead on balls accurate. Season 4 kicked me in the gut especially hard (because kids) and I plan to rewatch all 5 seasons at some point. Found on Amazon.
The Killing. A warning. Season 2 sucked hard. But don’t let that deter you from this show. It’s dark and rainy and there’s all kinds of twists and turns that get you at just the right moment and unlike the other shows, the graphic violence isn’t always gratuitous. There’s usually a reason for it. However, like the other shows, the leads are completely flawed protagonists but it just makes them all the more watchable. If nothing else, watch it for Detective Holder’s one-liners. Found on Netflix
Justified. This show’s final season started last week so if you set your DVR now, you won’t have that horrible lag time between finishing a show and waiting for the next season. I can’t remember how I heard about this one, just that I did and it sounded like something I would like and, fun fact, it’s actually the reason I signed up for Amazon Prime (it’s on Netflix now, too). The show is based on an Elmore Leonard short story, is set in Kentucky and is about yet another morally ambiguous law person, Raylan Givens, and his sworn enemy, Boyd Crowder (played by Walton Goggins. He’s in 3 of the shows on this list. I’m trying to figure that one out). Found on Amazon and Netflix.
Honorable mentions: Hell on Wheels, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, White Collar (a little lighter than the rest), Longmire, Rescue Me, and Prison Break (also a little lighter, and you can totally tell when it started going off the rails but Wentworth Miller).
What are your binge watching recommendations?
