There’s no basketball and you can’t go anywhere. Here’s a list of great TV to stream.
There’s no basketball or hockey. No concerts. No art shows. No parties.
There’s just coronavirus anxiety, social distancing and boredom.
After you finish organizing your stacks of toilet paper, kill a few hours catching up on some of the shows you’ve been meaning to watch but never had the time. You know, because of the basketball and the hockey and the concerts and the art shows and the parties. (Sigh.)
Here are a few recommendations from Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, CBS All Access, Disney+ and Apple TV+.
Netflix
“Cheer” - Despite the subject matter, this is more docuseries than straight up reality TV — and trust me when I say it’s better than it sounds. It follows a competitive cheering squad at Navarro College in rural Texas as they train for a national title. It’s riveting and sometimes a little shocking, but we promise you’ll have some complicated feelings about Monica (the coach) and you’ll fall in love with Jerry and his exuberant personality. (If your tastes run more toward traditional-slash-trashy reality TV, opt for “Love Is Blind” instead.)
“The Pharmacist” - This gripping documentary series starts with the murder of a young man who was killed while buying drugs, but it’s really about his father — pharmacist Dan Schneider — who devoted his life to shedding light on the prescription drug practices that have led to the opioid crisis.
“The Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez” - You may think you know everything there is to know about the former NFL player convicted of murder, but you probably don’t. This moving and eye-opening documentary series examines Hernandez’s crimes — the 2015 murder of Odin Lloyd, for which he was convicted, as well as two homicides for which he was acquitted — but also looks at his football career, both in college and in the pros, and at his personal life, including his childhood and relationships with his parents.
“The Crown” - You can’t go wrong with this deep dive into the (imagined) personal lives of the Royal Family, brilliantly acted in the most recent season (Season 3) by Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth and Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret. If you haven’t caught up with Season 3, do it now. If you haven’t watched it at all, start!
“You” - For the sheer insanity of it, you have to check out “You.” But carve out some time because once you start, you won’t be able to stop. The story follows Joe, played by Penn Badgley, a bookstore owner who becomes obsessed with and then stalks and falls in love with a series of women. Season 1 is set in New York, and Season 2, in which Joe must assume a new identity, is set in Los Angeles. It’s absolutely ridiculous and so good.
Hulu
“High Fidelity” - Maybe you read the book, maybe you saw the film. Either way, you have to check out the update in which Zoe Kravitz plays Rob, a record-store owner in a gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood who recalls past relationships through music while trying to get over the love that got away.
“Castle Rock” - This original series borrows from the stories, characters and settings of Stephen King books to create a brand new story that sort of weaves it all together. There are two seasons, and actors known for their roles in some of King’s greatest works are present: Sissy Spacek (“Carrie”) in Season 1 and Tim Robbins (“Shawshank Redemption”) in Season 2. Throughout, there are plenty of delicious Easter Eggs for King fans.
“Hillary” - This newly released and widely acclaimed four-part documentary series aims to show the real Hillary Clinton — her history, her personal life and her failed 2016 run for president. It includes behind-the-scenes footage from the campaign and candid interviews with former campaign staffers. It’s directed by Nanette Burstein.
“The Act” - Patricia Arquette won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her dramatic turn as Dee Dee Blanchard, a woman who abused her daughter Gypsy Rose Blanchard with her Munchausen by Proxy schemes, and was later murdered by Gypsy’s boyfriend. It’s sometimes hard to watch, especially knowing it’s based on a true story, but the performances are amazing (Joey King, who played Gypsy, was nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe).
Amazon Prime
“Troop Zero” - If you want a truly feel-good experience in only about an hour and a half, you can’t go wrong with this star-studded movie released earlier this year. Set in rural Georgia in 1977, “Troop Zero” follows a little girl named Christmas and her efforts to connect with her dead mother by becoming a Birdie Scout, winning a talent show at the Birdie Scout Jamboree, and sending her voice into space.
The cast is fantastic, from top to bottom. Viola Davis plays Christmas’ reluctant Birdie Scout troop mother, Allison Janney plays the school principal (and scout mother to a rival troop of monsters), Jim Gaffigan plays Christmas’ affable but struggling father and Mckenna Grace (“I, Tonya”) is both inspiring and heartbreaking as Christmas Flint. And there’s another delightful bonus: Apex’s own Johanna Colón makes her film debut as Smash, part of the rag-tag Birdie Scout Troop #0.
“Troop Zero” is directed by Bert & Bertie, from a screenplay by “Beasts of the Southern Wild” co-writer Lucy Alibar and inspired by Alibar’s 2010 play “Christmas and Jubilee Behold The Meteor Shower.”
“Fleabag” - This almost goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway. If you haven’t watched “Fleabag,” you just need to watch “Fleabag.” Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays the title character, who is off-putting, vulgar, self-sabotaging, charming and hilarious. She messes up — really messes up — over and over again, but we pull for her so hard. It’s a nearly perfect series.
CBS All Access
“The Good Fight” - This is my perennial call for everyone to sign up for CBS All Access and watch “The Good Fight” — this especially goes for anyone who watched the CBS series “The Good Wife” (don’t yell at me but I think “The Good Fight” might be better). The fourth season starts in April, so go ahead and start from the beginning if you’re a newbie, so that you’ll be ready. The first two seasons are exceptional. Season 3 goes off the rails a bit, but we have faith that things will settle again in Season 4.
“Star Trek: Discovery” and “Star Trek: Picard” - If you’re a Trekkie, you know what to do. (Who are we kidding? If you’re a Trekkie you’ve already watched these.)
Disney+
“The Mandalorian” - Complete your “Star Wars” experience with this lauded release from Disney’s brand new streaming network. It’s set five years after the events in “Return of the Jedi” and 25 years before the events of “The Force Awakens,” following Din Djarin, the Mandalorian bounty hunter. If that doesn’t convince you, then how about this: Baby Yoda.
Apple TV+
“The Morning Show” - This might be my favorite new series I’ve watched in awhile. It stars Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell, Mark Duplass and Billy Crudup in the story of how a major television network’s prized morning news program imploded after the male anchor, played by Carell, is accused of sexual harassment and assault.
There are shades of Matt Lauer and “Today,” but it’s not a straight story of that disaster (although sometimes Carell looks just like Lauer). The storytelling and acting are phenomenal and the ending will leave you shaken. Hoping for another season. (Note: If you’ve purchased an Apple product recently, it should come with a free one-year subscription.)
Recommendations from you
Last week we asked you to let us know what shows you’re binging and here’s some of what we got, pretty much copied and pasted right from your emails (we’ll keep updating periodically).
“Hanna” (Amazon Prime) - A limited series based on the movie about a teenage girl whose father trains her to be a weapon. Only one season so far, but it was great fun.
“My Brilliant Friend” (HBO) - From the series of novels called “The Neapolitan Quarter” by Elena Ferrante, this is a terrific series about two women growing up in Naples in the 1950s and 1960s. Season 2 began two weeks ago. Top-notch direction, action, production. Subtitled.
“Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens” (Comedy Central) - This might be the most raucous, outrageous show on TV. Funny, surreal, often downright filthy, it is also utterly brilliant in spots and one of the most racially and sexually inclusive films on TV (I mean, it is set in Queens, d’oh!).
Another reader recommends “Upstart Crow” on Britbox and Amazon Prime, and “Call the Midwife,” a British series streaming through the PBS app (for a limited time) and Hulu.
We also got recommendations for “Hunters,” an Amazon Prime original series starring Al Pacino, and “Little Fires Everywhere,” a brand new series that started this week on Hulu. It stars Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.
From another reader, we got an amen on our recommendations for “Fleabag,” “Cheer” and “The Crown,” but also votes for some lesser-known series: “Rita” (Denmark), “Bonus Family” (Sweden) and “Shtisel” (Israel), all on Netflix; and “Srugim” (Israel) and “A Touch Away” on Amazon Prime.
Another reader likes the former ABC series “Designated Survivor,” which is now streaming on Netflix: “Lots of suspense, some cheesiness. Both my male and female friends enjoy it.”
This one sounds hard to resist: “I laughed so hard during the first episode of ‘AJ and the Queen’ (Netflix) that I became seriously addicted to this series. RuPaul is a surprisingly good actor and plays a gentle, kind soul. AJ is a streetwise kid estranged from her drug addicted mother. They balance each other out perfectly. I hope this series is renewed as I am looking forward to the next season.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 8:08 AM.
