Netflix shows are where it’s aaaaaaaaaaaaat. Actually, I hate ending sentences in a preposition so let’s restate that: you need Netflix in your life, and I have 5 binge-worthy TV shows I recommend you binge-watch immediately.
If you’re just getting started with my favorite Netflix shows / recommendations, you can start here:
- Narcos (with a disclaimer)
Let’s get onto more of the good stuff now.
If you haven’t seen House of Cards by now, it’s time to get started. Fasten your seat-belt and prep your living room for the apocalypse because you won’t be going anywhere for awhile. It’s a show about American politics and the minutia of the daily life of a senator climbing to the top of the political game one person at a time. The writing is SO good you can’t believe it. It’s such an enormous leap up from your standard TV fare, never-mind the terrific acting and twist and turn plot, it’s no wonder people crashed the Netflix server when season 3 was released.
I watched Friday Night Lights years ago when it first came out, and at the time it was the best thing on TV. It still holds up as some of the most realistic writing out there. The story follows a coach (Coach Taylor forever!) and his family as he starts a new job as the head football coach at the high school in a small Texas town. Apparently Texas takes its football very seriously, and FNL follows the inter-weaved life stories of everyone in the town and high school through the lens of their shared love of football. It’s so good I wish I could watch it again for the first time. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose!
Parks and Rec stars Amy Poehler, the Saturday Night Live darling who also directed and wrote several episodes of the show. I’ll be honest, I’d follow Amy Poehler (and real-life BFF Tina Fey) to the ends of the earth. I watch pretty much anything she stars in, so it was a delightful surprise that following Fey’s successful show 30 Rock, Poehler starred in her own show, Parks and Rec. She’s hilarious working in the Parks and Recreation department, mired in small-town, petty office politics, surrounded by lunatics. It’s so good.
I watched Girlmore Girls waaaaay back when, when I wasn’t too far removed from high school myself, and identified with Rory, one of the story’s main protagonists. In fact, I started watching the show because Rory attends a snooty private school in Connecticut and wears a uniform almost exactly like the one I wore at MY snooty private school in Utah. Gilmore Girls is centered around Rory (the aforementioned high schooler) and her mother Lorelai and their small town of Stars Hollow. Lorelai is a young single mom trying to stay afloat and Rory is her precocious smartypants daughter with her sights set on Harvard. It’s delightful, cotton candy fun.
I stumbled on Jane the Virgin one night when my husband was out of town with both kids (my very favorite kind of vacation – in my own house!) and I ran out of things to watch. It had been recommended to me by Netflix (who rarely steers me wrong) but it looked so dumb I just couldn’t do it. It is kind of dumb, but in the best way, and once you’re in, you’re in. The premise of the show is a fun departure from most TV shows, a Telenovela within a Telenovela, narrated by a purring Latino voice, making fun of itself along the way. Jane, the heroine of the show, is a virgin who ends up pregnant, and the show unfolds as she decides what to do about the baby. I ended up loving it, and can’t wait for season two.
There you go, a whole new batch of Netflix shows for you to binge-watch!
// P.S. this post is in partnership as a member of the Netflix Stream Team. Which just means I watch Netflix for you and find all the good stuff so you can spend your time doing useful things. See also: I live to meet your entertainment needs. //
Allison
Hello there! I'm Allison Czarnecki, founder + editor of Petit Elefant, a blog all about style on a budget for every part of your life: style / home / travel / family. I do a lot of how-to beauty + style tutorials, travel posts, easy recipes, home remodel projects, and cool DIY crafts you totally want to try. I'm super happily married (to a hot Polish immigrant) and am the mother of two kids, a daughter and son, all of whom are featured here on the regular. We live in the country but we're a little bit rock + roll. Welcome!
