Quarantine Comfortable TV, According to Lifehacker Staff
It has been a very long three weeks since many cities in the United States issued asylum orders to combat the spread of COVID-19, and life will not return to normal anytime soon . It’s time to get away with a TV show that makes you feel good – or at least makes you feel something other than overwhelming existential fear.
“Calming” means a million things to a million people, but above all else, I think comfortable television should be familiar. During the Extended Quarantine scenario, abundance is also key – there must be so many episodes that it seems impossible to complete them all. Whichever genre you choose for yourself on television – fluffy comedies, trashy reality shows, nature documentaries, or prestigious dramas – now is not the time to dive into something unfamiliar and potentially disappointing. Stick to shows you already know that have enough backlog to keep you busy for a long time.
For me, that means going back to my desert island shows: The Americans ( all on Prime Video ) and King of the Hill ( same but Hulu ). I just can’t get enough of the Jennings and the Hills and their countless companions; Each character in both series is so familiar to me that it feels like hanging out with old friends to watch them. (Or, for Americans , a deeply dysfunctional extended family.) It doesn’t hurt that both worked long enough to give me a few weeks of ready-made entertainment.
Next up on the home TV agenda is Justified (Hulu) , which my boyfriend loves but I’ve never seen – and if we’re going through a brutal meditation on loss and grief, maybe The Leftovers (HBO Go) . As diehard fans of Pain, Suffering and Olivia Coleman, another revision of Peep Show (Hulu) also seems imminent. If you need more inspiration, here’s what else Lifehacker employees observe during quarantine.
Timothy Mulkerin, Social Media Editor
HOUSE OF HUNTERS once in infinity . Shitta Stream . And maybe it’s too niche , but the YouTube show UNHhhh is incredible.
[ Author’s note: keep in mind that every episode of UNHhhh is wild and fun NSFW. But if you work from home, maybe this is not as important as usual? I guess just don’t play it accidentally when you call Zoom.]
Joel Cunningham, Managing Editor
Nailed it! on Netflix . Oh oh oh, and Jeopardy !
David Murphy, Senior Technical Editor
Second stream Shitta . I also love watching hellish cuisine , which I find oddly soothing, as well as the usual chef show reviews: Master Chef this and that, “we used a very expensive camera to film this $ 700 meal in slow motion.” Netflix or whatnot, and it worked ! which is a national treasure. I have also caught a lot of YouTube videos about Battlestar Galactica and Downton Abbey that seem to be at odds with each other. I’m not sure what that says about destroying the Zen of my life.
Joel Kahn, Senior Video Producer
Best Chef . I revisit every season that has a current all-star contributor for the new season.
Abu Zafar, video producer
Chopped , The Great British Bake-Off , Master Chef Junior , Parks and Recreation , Key & Peele and Community .
Lisa Rowan, finance writer
Watching The Repair Shop on Netflix is like a soothing British lullaby for fans of antiques, collectibles and the “make-it-yourself” process.
Claire Lower, Senior Food and Beverage Editor
You already know mine – Star Trek: The Next Generation . I also rewatched everything I think you should leave and a good bit About cinema in the cinema , which is a YouTube show by Tim Geidecker and Gregg Turkington. I highly recommend ” Joe Pera” “Conversations with You” , which is soothing and amusing, and somehow very spicy and sweet, but also makes me cry a lot.
Oddly enough, now I absolutely cannot keep track of the food content. I don’t usually watch a ton of this movie because it doesn’t offer me any escape from reality, but I’m particularly uninterested in it at the moment. [ Author’s note: Ditto.]