WARNING: READING THIS LIST OF BINGEWORTHY NETFLIX WILL DEFINITELY SEND YOU DOWN A RABBIT HOLE OF GOOD TV AND YOU WILL LOSE HOURS OF YOUR LIFE

With the pandemic putting travel aspirations on hold and forcing me to work from home, it’s been a prime time to catch up on all those Netflix shows that have been on my Watch List for as long as I can remember.

The downside; I have been binging the hell out of some amazing (and also pretty terrible) shows. Which has made me super unproductive when it comes to getting stuff done around the house – but we all need a little downtime, right?

So now I think I’ve got most of it out my system, here are my best bingeworthy series:

Gotham

Long before he was commissioner, rookie cop James Gordon takes on Gotham City crime and corruption to avenge the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Where do I even start?

Batman is my favourite superhero, always has been. It literally doesn’t get better than Adam West – if you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m not sure we can even be friends.

But I loved Gotham because it wasn’t about Batman. It was a super clever prequel/origin story that is mostly about Commissioner Jim Gordon when he’s a lowly detective.

It was clever, witty, gripping and addictive to say the least.

Snowpiercer

Earth has frozen over and the last surviving humans live on a giant train circling the globe, struggling to coexist amid the delicate balance onboard.

I didn’t really know what to expect with this one but if you liked Hunger Games, this is a sure winner.

The whole concept was just mind boggling. Living on a train with 1,001 cars, that can’t ever stop otherwise everyone on board will die…sheesh. And I loved it. The drama, the fight between the class systems, the crime mystery, the revolution, all of it.

Dear White People

Students of colour navigate the daily slights and slippery politics of life at an Ivy League college that’s not nearly as ‘post-racial’ as it thinks.

With the BLM movement still going strong, I felt it was high time I actually educated myself a little more. And this is a great place to start. While identity politics can be confusing and complicated, this was a great way to focus on racial identity and racism, especially when it came to highlighting how blind white people can be to racial injustice.

What I loved most was how much fun this was to watch, while also being educational in the wider context of real life. And it just made me want to go back to Uni.

Hollywood

In post-World War II Hollywood, an ambitious group of aspiring actors and filmmakers will do almost anything to make their showbiz dreams come true.

Another good one for racism, this was totally not what I expected it to be. But I loved it. It’s more about race and homosexuality than the description lets on but don’t let that deter you. It gives you an inside glimpse of Hollywood film production, and how glitz and glamour treated those from the working class or with different racial backgrounds.

Dead to Me

A hot-headed widow searching for the hit-and-run driver who mowed down her husband befriends an eccentric optimist who isn’t quite what she seems.

It might not seem it, but this was actually hilarious. I already can’t wait for the next season. I love the friendship, the sense of danger, and the thill. This seemed to have everything, and was incredibly raw – by that I mean, emotionally. It covers grief, betrayal, friendship, family and so much more.

After Life

Struggling to come to terms with his wife’s death, a writer for a local newspaper adopts a gruff new persona in an effort to push away those trying help.

If you like Dead to Me, then you’ll probably also like this. It’s a little morbid but actually quite endearing and heart warming. I’m also not a huge fan of Ricky Gervais so was surprised I liked it so much. And the dog, oh my goodness she is so sweet. I lost count the number of times this made me cry.

Hannibal

This drama series focuses on the early years of the relationship between FBI criminal profiler Will Graham and homicidal cannibal Dr Hannibal Lecter.

Okay so this one appeals to the psychological thriller in me. This is like an early prequel to the Hannibal movies where he’s not yet been caught and it is creepy. But oh so clever. You obviously know he eats people. I know he eats people. But the series never actually explicitly says so until season two – now that’s impressive. And it’s so clever. Each serial killer is a whole new kind of crazy – I’ve never seen such elaborate murders in fiction and it is on a whole other level.

Impractical Jokers

Four comedian bussies engage in an ongoing series of outrageous dares. And if they fail to meet the challenge, the penalty is even worse.

Don’t hate me for adding this in. And I’ll be the first to admit that bingeing Impractical Jokers is nothing new. But I’ve definitely watched all 4 season on Netflix at least 3 times over since the beginning of lockdown. It’s the perfect easy-going mood booster that we all need every now and again. If you’ve never seen it before, I promise you will never laugh as hard.

Floor is Lava

Teams compete to navigate rooms flooded with lava by leaping from chairs, hanging from curtains and swinging from chandeliers. Yes, really.

Okay, so this one is actually terrible. You know, the good kind of terrible we all secretly love but is just downright awful. If you want to watch something that is probably the worst thing on TV< then you definitely need to give this a go. It’s hilarious and so entertaining. I mean, who on earth thinks up this rubbish?!

Raising Dion

A widowed mom sets out to solve the mystery surrounding her young son’s emerging superpowers while keeping his extraordinary gifts under wraps.

I kind of didn’t expect the comic book angle with this but actually really loved it. And loved it even more for including the reality of Black children needing to learn about racism from an early age – it didn’t have anything to do with the actual story, other than the fact that the main characters where Black. And I think it was all the more beautiful because of it.

Reckoning

As dead bodies start showing up in a quiet, suburban community, the ensuing investigation has dire consequences for two fathers and their families.

Ooh, this one gives me shivers just remembering it. A great crime thriller, with enough twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. It is a little slow at times, but it’s a great watch.

Cuckoo

Rachel shocks her proper British parents when she marries an American hippie, but it’s just the first in a series of surprises for the family.

So I don’t really like these types of British comedies, and I don’t really like most of the actors in it, but decided to give it a go because I enjoyed Andy Samberg in Brooklyn 99. It had me literally laughing out loud – this show is hilarious!

There were some major cast changes that would have cancelled any other show, so the abrupt changes between seasons was super disappointing, but then you kind of got used to the new normal and it picked up again.

Glitch

A police officer and a doctor face an emotionally charged mystery when seven local residents inexplicably return from the dead in peak physical form.

Totally not what I expected. I don’t even know why I started watching it really, because it’s not the sort of thing I go for – I guess the trailer must have been good. Either way, I wasn’t disappointed and got totally sucked into the story and the characters. It does get slow in some places which requires persevering but overall I really enjoyed it.

The Big Bang Theory

Physicists Leonard and Sheldon find their nerd-centric social circle with pals Howard and Raj expanding when aspiring actress Penny moves in next door.

I added BBT to my list for no other reason that I sat and binged it while feeling pretty glum and it did wonders for lifting my mood. So if you find yourself in a slump, it’s a great bingeworthy series to put on in the background, or to curl up and watch in the evening.

Tiger King

A zoo owner spirals out of control amid a cast of eccentric characters in this true murder-for-hire story from the underworld of big cat breeding.

Okay, so if you’ve not seen this yet, I don’t know where you’ve been. This one should probably come with an animal cruelty warning too – I couldn’t watch the first few episodes and only came in later on when it was less about the animals and more about the people.