5 sunny shows to binge in a blizzard
If you happen to be in the Northeast, you’re surely (and reluctantly) preparing for a late winter snowstorm that’s due to start howling at the door Monday night. Hold the applause, please.
In today’s era of remote access and telecommuting, many will be able to work from home tomorrow to avoid the freezing and slushy morning commute, and that means… snow day! And what better to do on a snow day than catch up on all those shows you’ve been meaning to binge?
In honor of the imminent weather, we’re going a decidedly different route, perusing the best and most binge-worthy shows that take place in non-snowy places. Think of it as the coziest way to warm up indoors.
Jane the Virgin
Ever since delightful newcomer Gina Rodriguez clinched the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Comedy (beating out the likes of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Lena Dunham) in 2015, this telenovela-style show has grown steadily in popularity, and not only for the obvious reasons. Sure, the ups and downs are soapy-satisfying, but the show’s consistent nod to Latin-American heritage is a more than welcome note as well. Plus who wouldn’t want to get away, albeit virtually, to the Marbella Hotel and Resort in Miami?
Available on Netflix, The CW
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Enlightened
This cherished, dearly departed HBO series set in Riverside, Calif., was the love child of star Laura Dern and writer Mike White, who also appears in what fans would consider the most satisfying workplace comedy… ever. Watch Dern stomp and chew scenery as a woman wronged — and the elaborate fallout that follows after she has a mental breakdown at work. With an ever-sunny disposition, Dern’s Amy wanders through the SoCal setting with the best intentions, even if the results are enough to make you want to cringe and/or fall off the sofa laughing. Clocking in at only two seasons, this is a low-investment, high-reward binge.
Available on HBO Go
The Santa Clarita Diet
Drew Barrymore has managed to sidestep TV for much of her career (except of course for supplying her unique vocals to a few Family Guy characters, as well as her acclaimed turn in HBO’s adaptation of Grey Gardens), but that just changed with her upbeat horror/comedy The Santa Clarita Diet, which premiered on Netflix in February. Starring opposite Justified‘s Timothy Olyphant, Barrymore plays a married realtor who develops a taste for human flesh, and her loving family comes to her aid. Nothing like a dark comedy featuring blood, guts, and a sunny southern California locale.
Available on Netflix
Beverly Hills, 90210
When it comes to binge-able shows set in sunny locales, nothing beats the O.G. primetime teen soap. Running squarely throughout the entirety of the 1990s, 90210 launched the careers of several TV talents (you’ve seen Luke Perry on Riverdale, right?). Give in to your craving and binge your way through Brenda’s affair with Dylan, Donna and David’s not-so-perfect union, and good boy Brandon’s exploits.
Available on Hulu
The Love Boat
Watching the long-running TV classic The Love Boat, you might ask yourself: “Why haven’t they brought this back yet?” (They actually did, but that was 1998’s The Love Boat: The Next Wave, which only lasted two seasons). Taking the format of a procedural and infusing each episode with sumptuous love stories in lieu of half-boiled murder plots, the series became a fixture of late-’70s/early-’80s TV culture, and the show plays as a veritable yearbook of familiar TV faces (look for Teri Hatcher as one of the Love Boat Mermaids, Amy). This is the ultimate junk food cruise to watch while the snow falls outside.
Available on DirecTV, Sling
