As days begin to fuse into one long waiting game, you might get exhausted with reality. So, why not steer your focus away from the quarantine and delve into a new adventure right from your couch! With a treasure trove of TV shows and movies on streaming platforms such as Netflix, HBO and Amazon Prime, there are an endless amount of choices that will keep you captivated for days. However, with so many choices, it may be difficult to know where to start. Luckily, members of the Spartan Daily staff have curated a selection of four
binge-worthy TV series to help you escape the boredom of lockdown.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Most comedy consumers will say that “The Office” is the best show to binge, but the real king of uncomfortable and relatable comedy TV is “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” available both on Hulu and HBO Now to stream.
The show is a loosely autobiographical take on “Seinfeld”-creator Larry David as he goes about his day-to-day life as a strict enforcer of social norms.
Dubbed a “social assassin,” David often winds up in outrageous situations by being unable to stop himself from freaking out at people for doing things such as putting their coffee cup down without a coaster or lying about wearing a toupee.
David has no filter and that makes for great television.
The plot lines get more and more ridiculous as the show goes on, evolving into hilarious situations such as David bringing a prostitute to a baseball game just to drive in the carpool lane or falling in love with a Palestinian chicken restaurant despite being Jewish.
Each half-hour episode is packed to the brim with jokes.
With the A, B and C plots being neatly tied together in true “Seinfeld” fashion, the sitcom structure makes for a terrific 10 seasons.
Just a warning though, you won’t be able to watch one or two episodes at a time. Clear your schedule.
Hunters
“Hunters,” set in 1977 New York City, is about a squad that seeks to bring justice to Nazis who have secretly immigrated to the United States.
Contrary to what the premise would show, the Amazon Prime show feels more like a mysterious drama and less like a grindhouse Nazi killfest, but it’s still a satisfying watch.
“Hunters” is often serious in tone, but never so dour as to solicit apathy from the audience.
Cutaway gags reminiscent of “Family Guy” and Quentin Tarantino films break up the tension and bring a few chuckles without taking viewers away from the storyline.
The characters are a likable bunch and rather than being caricatures of a forgone era, the Nazis are shown as human beings with thoughts and motivations, as terrible as they are.
The performances in the show are compelling, with standouts such as the philanthropist Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino), the shell-shocked veteran Joe Mizushima (Louis Ozawa) and the sociopathic, Darwinist Nazi Travis Leich (Greg Austin).
“Hunters” is relatively succinct with 10 hour-long episodes.
The show makes for a good binge that won’t trap you into a hundred episodes and multiple arcs.
American Horror Story
Whether it’s haunted houses, inhabitants of an insane asylum, modern day covens or suburban cults, anthology series “American Horror Story” captivates its viewers with a refreshing change of scenery every season to amp up the drama.
The FX series’ hour-long episodes kick off with classic disorienting music played over opening credits, then quickly immerse viewers in the show’s trademark dark and morbid tone.
While many cable TV shows take a serialized storyline approach spanning multiple seasons, creator Ryan Murphy who also created the hit TV show “Glee,” alongside other producers of “American Horror Story” paved the road for its success by neatly containing storylines to a single season.
This also provides an opportunity for actors to be cast in different roles each season, something the showrunners determine based on fan reactions.
From familiar favorites such as Emma Roberts and Kathy Bates, to unexpected choices like Lady Gaga and Macaulay Culkin, the creators have never shied away from taking risks with voguish casting, often securing the show’s place within the pop culture stratosphere.
The cast wouldn’t work well together if there wasn’t the right story to tell. But for nine seasons, the producers have presented the perfect union between plot and cast.
Altered Carbon
Set far in the future on a distant planet, the Netflix series “Altered Carbon” is a great escape when you can’t leave your house.
Uber-wealthy humans have found a way to cheat death by paying to have their consciousness put in small disc-shaped devices called “stacks,” which can be slotted into any human or synthetic body.
Takeshi Kovacs, also known as the Last Envoy, was part of a failed rebellion to stop that technology.
Approximately 300 years later, he is brought back to help find out who killed one of the richest humans in the settled worlds.
Kovacs also uses this opportunity to find out what happened to the woman he loves.
With world-building qualities on track to rival “Game of Thrones,” “Altered Carbon” is a sci-fi lover’s dream because of its emphasis on humanity’s sometimes questionable ethics surrounding technology.
A cynical futuristic world is anchored by heartfelt interactions between characters that make you ponder what it means to be human.
The series keeps the viewer engaged by immersing them in an enthralling space age, while teasing out the details and plot of an intense thriller.
Although there are only two seasons available so far, “Altered Carbon” can be rewatched to clear up any confusion between the two timelines viewers are plunged into and is seriously binge-worthy.
Austin Turner, Chris Padilla, Olivia Bowman and Alyson Chuyang contributed to the article.
