The last Christmas I only had a few goals: unwind with the family, make a plan for the new year and binge watch This Is Us and The Crown! I’m very happy to report that I accomplished all of my goals!
I’ve said it before that I don’t actually watch shows that often anymore. We don’t have cable (haven’t for years) and truth be told, when I have down time at the end of the day once the kids are in bed, I often find I get the best work done then. I think many entrepreneurs and business owners will attest to spending lots of their “extra” hours doing work stuff.
But then this past weekend, I got really sick. Like in bed for four straight days kind of sick. It’s been awful. But you know what that meant? That Netflix and I had a nice, long date again!
So I thought I would share with you five binge-worthy shows that I’ve watched over the holidays and this last weekend that I think you would also enjoy, if you haven’t already seen them yourself!
5 Binge-Worthy Shows You Should Watch Now
1. This Is Us
I feel like this one was obvious, before you even opened this blog, right?! I mean EVERYONE is watching This Is Us! To be honest, we hadn’t gotten a chance to watch it yet because we don’t have cable. I had kind of forgotten about it until the second season started airing and everyone was freaking out about it online. So I checked Netflix and low and behold, the first season was there! I knew straight away that this was part of my Christmas plans!
There really is something so special about this show. From the premise, to the stories they tell to the characters that bring them to life, it just feels SO relatable. I find it relatable in a number of ways for me personally, from not only the number of kids that they have but also the same dynamic of two boys and one girl. Also the storyline of the girl with her weight…that’s something that’s always been a struggle for me, which I’ve talked openly about before. I can almost assure you that anyone watching will be able to identify with one of the characters and storyline and get sucked right into it!
I was also able to find Season 2 on iTunes, which I purchased and binged on the first half of the season and now, as each episode airs on tv, it will automatically download into iTunes for me the next day! Pretty awesome way to stay current without cable!
2. The Crown
Again, I feel like this is a more popular choice, but I have to tell you, Season 2 of The Crown did NOT disappoint. Ok, well, actually there was ONE disappointment…there were only 10 episodes! GAH! I wanted more…so much MORE! The episodes though were phenomenal! I really have to give Netflix a standing ovation for their work on these original series…truly incredible from the actors to the sets to the costumes…you really feel like you have a seat at the royal table! If you haven’t watched the first or second season of The Crown, I highly recommend you do so NOW! So so good! And if you are curious to learn more about the first Season, read my recap here.
3. American Crime Story: People V. OJ Simpson
I’ve been wanting to watch this show since I first heard about it last year, but it wasn’t available on Netflix and we don’t have cable. But while I was laying in bed this weekend, I decided to try and find it online and realized I could purchase it on iTunes! I binged on all 10 episodes straight! It was so good. My only complaint is actually with iTunes, not the show itself. I was wondering why The Verdict episodes was in the MIDDLE of the season on episode five and then the whole series concluded on the episode called “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.” This seemed to odd to me and I was convinced that there must have been MORE episodes that perhaps iTunes hadn’t included. So I went searching online only to discover that iTunes has all the episodes completely out of order!!! Now, because I knew a little bit about the OJ trial, I could piece things together, but there were definitely a few times during watching I thought, what a bizarre way to finish an episode and never feel like the issue was resolved. Even more bizarre to hear his conviction part way through the series. So that was a bit of a letdown and I’ve actually contacted iTunes to let them know so that they can change it for others. So if you do purchase it there, just make sure to check out wikipedia or IMDb to see the actual order that the episodes go in and watch them in the proper sequence!
Other than that, the show was excellent. As I said, I thought I knew a lot about the trial, but there were so many facets that I had no idea about. From the massive racial tensions to the shady cops to the media circus that surrounded it to even the way the female prosecutor Marcia Clark was treated for being a strong woman and a mom, it was so eye opening to see it all played out.
4. The Story of Diana
We are back to the Royal family! The Story of Diane is only a two-part (more than 160 minutes) show that came out last year. If you don’t have a lot of time to devote to a 10 episode season, take time to watch this one. Her brother, former driver and old friends tell her story like one I’ve never heard before. Although I was only 14 years old when she died, I do remember exactly where I was when we heard the news and I can remember feeling a great sense of loss. How can a Princess die?!
Similarly to the OJ story, I don’t think I ever realized just how much of a media circus surrounded both that trial and Princess Diana’s life. While I knew that her death was largely blamed on the media, I didn’t realize just how sought-after she really was. This two-part documentary is so eye opening to how she and many other famous people today are treated. It’s no wonder they often hide behind their hands or bags or have to have an army of bodyguards to just go out to get coffee.
5. Manhunt: Unabomber
This suggestion came from a blogger friend of mine on Instagram. After binging through all of the above and still sick in bed, I needed MORE! So I put it out on Instagram stories to ask for suggestions and a bunch came back in. This was the first response that I opened and I decided to give it a try.
One thing I realized when making this list is that I really do have a fascination for documentaries about real-life events or people. With the exception of This Is Us, all of these shows are based on real people and real life events that happened and I find it all so fascinating. I guess perhaps cause I feel like I’m getting a brief history lesson in a way I would never get anywhere else.
And when it comes to this specific show on the Unabomber, I’ll be honest, I don’t remember hearing anything about this when I was growing up. Probably because I was quite young when it was happening but either way, I found it absolutely fascinating to learn about this story – how it happened and how they ultimately found him. The one episode that sucked me in deep was episode six called “Ted” where you learn all about the Unabomber’s childhood. As a mom watching it, it broke my heart to see how he was treated and then ultimately manipulated (I won’t give much more away) during his college years. You can really see how much damage can be caused by events like that during adolescence.
I will say there is one thing I will caution you though for this series, there is one graphic scene that caught me off guard in the last episode and I kind of wish Netflix would have put up a warning before this specific episode, especially as it might be a trigger for some. But there is a scene of attempted suicide which came out of nowhere (perhaps if you know the Unabomber story, you might know that fact, but I didn’t) and bothered me. So just be aware if you do watch it…if you are bothered by that, to be ready to look away. Because other than that one scene, the rest of the show was really well done and I found it incredibly fascinating to watch them try to figure this case out.
Well there you have it my friends! If you are looking for a few new shows to binge watch late at night or this coming weekend, give one of these a try, especially if you like more real-life documentary style. These won’t disappoint!
Love & Blessings,
