Quarantine can be very boring. Being stuck in your house unable to see friends face to face is an experience that can be hard to endure. Fortunately, there is something else you can do to take up time besides Zoom classes and homework: binge watching. What better time to explore the different media that lies in your hands? Through different streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime, entertainment won’t be something you’ll lack. 

1. Brooklyn 99

Brooklyn 99 is a show that is available on Hulu and runs for four seasons of 22-minute episodes. Critics accurately describe it as comfort food in TV form. It’s a show that offers wacky office shenanigans and hijinks while the police officers stationed at the precinct solve crimes and live their lives. This show delves into some of the social problems that plague our world today and shows us amazing characters that grow as the show progresses. Brooklyn 99 is firmly a comedy slice of life show for the more light-hearted. 

       2. Kim’s Convenience

Kim’s Convenience is a show available on Netflix that details the daily lives of the Kim family and their life owning a Korean convenience store in four seasons of 21-minute episodes. This show’s genre is settled in the sitcom and comedy territory. It’s a heartwarming and hilarious show about the life that these characters lead. Critics call it a positively refreshing show that is shot like an old sitcom. 

       3. Over the Garden Wall

Over the Garden Wall is a fall-themed, spooky animated show featured on Hulu that hits that pit of childhood nostalgia that you never knew you had. It depicts the journey of Wirt and Greg as they venture through the woods in order to get home. This show mixes soft horror and a fairy-tale sort of wistfulness that lingers in your head. The mystery aspect behind it makes it the perfect show for binging. The miniseries contains one season with minute episodes and is an adventure fantasy show. Critics say that it’s “an absolutely unique series, full of details that are discovered successively. 

       4. Good Omens

Good Omens is a miniseries adaptation of the award-winning novel Good Omens by Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman. The show follows the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale through their plan to avert the apocalypse, although they prove to be utterly incompetent in the end. It features on Amazon Prime as a comedy, and critics say that it has a wonderful story with humorous and serious themes balanced. There are six episodes that run for an hour each. 

       5. Always be my Maybe

Always be my Maybe is a lovely rom-com about old childhood sweethearts. Sasha, a celebrity chef, and Marcus, a struggling musician working and living with his dad, are the stars of the show. They show that the saying opposites attract can be very true. Granted, it takes some work like any other relationship. This movie offers a mix of stereotypical tropes that are played out in a fun way. It’s a light-hearted show that can uplift a person’s life. It runs for almost an hour and a half. Critics say that it’s an unoriginal but powerful story that inhibits Asian-American culture.  

       6. One Day at a Time

One Day at a Time is a remake of a show about a Cuban family that deals with mental health problems, sexism, cultural identity, and family in a humorous package. The show contains three seasons worth of 30-minute episodes. It’s a comedy, sitcom-esque show that discusses life and the meaning of family in a way that can touch everybody’s hearts. Critics say that the show’s theme of representation is present with every part of the show without it being pandering. This show is available on Netflix. 

       7. Stranger Things

Stranger Things is a Netflix show that is set in the ’80s during the Cold War. The story is centered around an experimental lab escapee named Eleven and the group of Dungeon and Dragons nerds that she meets. It follows their journey to save their small town from evil scientists and the horrible place known as the Upside Down. The show is in the horror genre with elements of adventure thrown in. Critics praise it for its amazing portrayal of horrific events and the characters that are shown in the show. Stranger Things is currently three seasons long with close to an hour-long episodes. 

       8. Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean is a classic movie series that makes the nostalgia that lingers in your heart stay longer. This series contains five different movies following the dashing protagonists, Elizabeth Swann, Will Turner, and Captain Jack Sparrow. The story focuses on their swashbuckling lives on the sea and fills you up with a sense of adventure and daredevil spirit. Critics say that they are trope-filled and hysterical while still balancing serious themes. All of the movies are available to rent on Amazon Prime.