10 Things to Watch During the Fall Semester Slump
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters
Feeling tired? Lethargic and burnt out? Defeated with the ongoing, crushing weight of life responsibilities and school? If you're anything like me, you may be craving the sweet and simple joy of disassociating in front of your screen for an hour and a half.
Here are ten recommendations for what to watch when everything gets to be too much:
1. Grey's Anatomy
It's ridiculous and trite, and even superstar Ellen Pompeo is a bit tired of it, but it's so ridiculous and trite that you don't have to worry about focusing on the plot line and can instead enjoy 15+ seasons of increasingly comedic plotlines. Available on Netflix.
2. The Bear
This one requires a serious first-time watch for the full intensity of chosen family. From the second time on, however, you can kick back and relax in this modern version of a sentimental comedy. Available on Hulu.
3. Grace and Frankie
There's something to be said about the comfort of a show where everything ends up okay. Grace and Frankie, two septuagenarians, are thrown together in the aftermath of a major life upheaval and gradually discover their own happily ever after. Available on Netflix.
4. Only Murders in the Building
Unlikely found family. Culturally appropriate comedy and intriguing mystery. 'Nuff said. Available on Hulu.
5. The X-Files
It's insane and outdated and ripe with awful special effects. But it's got just enough plot to give you something to pay attention to and not enough to have any lasting permanence on your psyche. Available on Hulu.
6. M*A*S*H
The true meaning of an "oldie but a goody." The first few seasons have the irrelevant slapstick comedy of the 70s. While its heavyhandedness abates somewhat in the following nine seasons, it remains prevalent enough to balance the intensity of the overarching war critique. Available on Hulu.
7. The Walking Dead
Unless you've been living under a bridge for the last decade-plus, you've surely heard of the rise and fall of The Walking Dead. Long past its prime, the show is trekking slowly to its end. Regardless, the groan of the living dead still provides lovely background noise to those mid-week assigned readings. Available on Netflix.
8. Sabrina: The Teenage Witch
A classic. The bad special effects are more than redeemed by Salem and the lack of infuriating apocalyptic stakes. Available on Hulu.
9. Dead to Me
Here, the drama of a Netflix Original is tempered sweetly by the comedic sentimentality of a Hulu series. If you're looking for a slightly morally skewed Velma and Christina Applegate embodying the harried franticness of a single mother/widow, this is the show for you. Available on Netflix.
10. Law and Order: SVU
While the older seasons embody cop-propaganda, the overarching mission provides a not insignificant counterpoint. Though this show isn't for everyone, there's attractive stability in a series with a twenty-plus-year run. Available on Hulu.
