The Binge Watch List

I didn’t originally plan to take the whole month of March off from blog posts here but I think we can all agree that March was not what we anticipated. Besides three trips to the grocery store, I haven’t left my apartment in two or more weeks as I’ve been social distancing. Working from home feels like I have all this extra free time even though I really don’t. My commute to my office was ten minutes, tops. So I don’t actually have that much extra time and I’m still working 40 hours a week (which I am extremely grateful for), so really, not that much extra time.

Yet, it feels like it.

If you know me, you know I love lists, so of course I made a list of movies and shows I wanted to watch during this time. I don’t watch a lot of TV on a regular basis (unless it’s Youtube videos) but I’ve watched a lot more lately.

My list was split up into two parts – Movies and TV shows. Some I’ve already seen and want to watch again, some I haven’t but I’m always looking for new ones.

THE BINGE LIST

Movies

1. Bombshell –  Watched this one last week. Had a weird almost documentary vibe at some points but the resemblance between the cast members and the people they played, like Megyn Kelly and Charlize Theron and then the actor who played Bill O’Reilly was spot on. Over all this was a decent movie that did a good job going over events that changed Fox News.

2. Booksmart – This was one I wanted to see while in theaters but didn’t get to it. I haven’t watched it yet, but I’m sure I’ll be watching it later this week. I only wish I had a crazy high school night like they did.

3. Frozen II – I saw this in theaters opening night with a bunch of little kids, and bought it before it hit Disney+ but it’s definitely a great movie. I also have a girl crush on Idina Menzel and have since, like, 2007. So any movie that gives us more Idina showstoppers is a movie worth having.

4. Miss Sloan – I’ve seen trailers on this and Amazon has suggested this movie to me for a while so I figured now is a time to watch it.

5. Home Again – This movie has Reese Witherspoon in it and I’ve been on a Reese kick lately. Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere are two mini series I love. We all need a little feel good in our life right now. I’m hoping this movie is what will do it.

6. Road Less Traveled – This one has Lauren Alaina (anyone remember her from American Idol?). My little sister seems to love this movie and since I have extra time, why not?

7. Isn’t it Romantic? – I bought this on iTunes last year as a bundle with another movie during Valentine’s Day while I was feeling down (some dude hardcore ghosted me on a dating app and I not happy about it) but never watched either. While it’s not Valentine’s Day or anything close to that, it’s a movie I own that I haven’t seen.

8. How to Be Single – Nope, not single, happily not single for the first time in a long time (it’s crazy to think my boyfriend and I might mark our first date anniversary in social distancing mode) but this was the other movie I got in that bundle and never watched.

9. Knives Out – This was a movie the boyfriend and I saw on a date night and we both really enjoyed it. I always enjoy watching these movies again to see little hints of foreshadowing.

10. Elephant – Elephants are my favorite animals, so when I heard Disney+ had a documentary coming out, I knew I was going to watch it! Even better if the Duchess of Sussex narrates it. I’m just a fan of the royals in general.

TV Shows

1. Stumptown – I actually finished this show last week, there’s only one season, and ABC better renew this show. Cobie Smulders is AMAZING in this show and the season ended on a cliffhanger, so we need another season.

2. Little Fires Everywhere – I’ve watched the first two episodes and read the book back in September or October. This one is hard to binge as it’s still showing but I want to watch the whole show soon, like once they all come out.

3. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – I’ve heard a lot of good things about this show so this seems like a great time to watch it, or to watch all the shows on this list.
4. Absentina – This show features Stana Katic, who played Kate Beckett for eight years on ABC’s Castle. So now that she has a new show with a few seasons under its belt, I definitely want to watch. It looks to be a lot darker than Castle, so I feel like I need to be in a specific mind set for this show.

5. Shrill – I watched all of season 1 in one night (there are six episodes). There’s another season that’s about the same length so I could easily knock this out in a night.

6. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist – I watched the first episode right as this show came on and wasn’t entirely sure how I felt, but after I watched the next six episodes in one night, I think this is a show I’m a fan of. Also I might have a slight fan girl crush on Skylar Astin. If you haven’t seen the clip of him singing “If I Can’t Have You” – you are missing out.

7. Love is Blind – This was my first quarantine binge and oh my goodness. If you want mindless entertainment, this is it.. And that’s okay, sometimes we all need that.

8. Schitt’s Creek – Everyone who has watched this show that I know of, loves this show. So why not? I just don’t know what streaming services it’s on.

9. Tiger King – Yes, I watched it this past weekend when I wasn’t feeling like I wanted to be productive. If you’ve only seen memes and have no idea what this show is, it’s as crazy as the memes suggest. Take an afternoon to watch this show. Probably with a little bit of alcohol because you will need it.

10. Truth Be Told – This is on Apple, about a woman who does a podcast about a crime that happened years ago and she has some connection to (clearly I haven’t started it yet) this crime. I read a book with a similar concept back in November or December and was not that impressed, so I’m hoping this is a better story.

I still have a stack of books I want to read, too, and I’ll be going over those later on but while I try to distract myself from the loneliness of living alone and finding all my social connections here in Austin gone. I just hope that we all practice social distancing ASAP so I don’t burn through all of these shows and movies.