A Netflix User's Guide to Feeling Better

I don’t know about you, but “these days” (read, pandemic times) when I sit down in front of the television, I want to watch something that makes me feel better. To escape the sadness and forever-ness of a world taken over by Covid.

My situation is complicated by the fact that I lost my youngest son, Torin, to suicide in March of 2020. I don’t want to go into details, but the circumstances surrounding his death, and the trauma I experienced as a result, has made it hard for me to watch some of the shows I might normally binge during lockdown… and that led me to search out other options. We don’t have cable (or even network tv!) so all of my recommendations are of the Netflix variety.

In my quest for feel-better, non-triggering television time, I landed on a few different genres:

Shows Aimed at Kids

Yup, my first recommendation is “kids’ shows”! My boyfriend and I have watched a ton of shows aimed at younger audiences over the last year… my favorites were: Avatar the Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, Hilda, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and Carmen Sandiego.

These shows allow me to relax completely, knowing that there is very little chance of any trauma triggers. I rarely struggle to follow plot-lines (grief brain is a thing, y'all!) and enjoy all the silly kid humor. They are fun to watch, have surprisingly good character development, and usually have the feel-good ending that I’m hoping for.

Cooking Shows

What could be more calming than watching someone else make delicious things to eat? Whether you’re looking for inspiration in the kitchen, or enjoy watching others compete for a prize, there are a few cooking shows that I think should go on your “must watch” list.

Let’s start with my favorite--The Great British Baking Show! There are a bazillion episodes of this available, from the early years to holiday specials to the most recent season taped during the pandemic (contestants, hosts and crew isolated together to make it possible.) I can honestly say that I’ve never tried anything I’ve seen on the show… but I now know the correct spelling of “choux” and I’m sure I could judge right alongside Paul Hollywood, with all the baking lingo I’ve picked up! The only downside to this show is that it makes me feel peckish.

And like a bit of a failure in the kitchen!

Other great food shows to add to your watch list:

Nadiya’s Time to Eat and Nadiya Bakes (more British telly for ya)

Nailed It (I find the host kind of annoying but who doesn’t love watching other people try to recreate bakery masterpieces with zero skill?)

The American Barbecue Showdown

Ugly Delicious

The Chef Show (I also highly recommend the movie that this show was born from--Chef.)

“Group of Friends (/Coworkers/Family)” Sitcoms

Community and connection are two of my favorite things, so I guess it makes sense that I like to see that in the tv I watch as well! I love seeing a group of strangers thrown together by chance… see them struggle as they discover things they love (and hate!) about others in the group… come to a place where they function as a team. Or a family. Or friends. You get the idea.

Topping this category for me: How I Met Your Mother, Parks and Rec, The Good Place, Community, New Girl, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (unfortunate trigger warning for gun violence and suicide in a few episodes… but it was a great show overall and I couldn’t bring myself to leave it off my list), Gilmore Girls and Schitt’s Creek.

Wait, you haven’t seen Schitt’s Creek?! Stop reading and go start it now! Or at least add it to your watch list. Seriously, I’ll wait.

Schitt’s Creek has taken over as my favorite show of all time. And of all the tv (oh, so much tv) I’ve watched over the last year, this show did the most for my heart. The characters became real and lovable to me… like family (totally dysfunctional family!) The cringe-worthy moments and the hit-the-pause-button-cuz-I’m-laughing-so-hard-I-can’t-breathe moments and the tears-streaming-down-my-face-because-of-the-love moments and oh, the sibling bickering moments. How the writers made such an unrelatable premise for a show feel so REAL to me, I’ll never know. But I've just convinced myself that I need to watch it again!

Friend, if you need your tv time to be a relaxing escape, I encourage you to try some of my suggestions. There will come a day when we don't have to spend so much time at home... there will. But while we have the excuse, why not watch something that makes us feel good? TV doesn’t need to be bloody and violent to be entertaining… it just doesn’t. Whether a kids' show, or a cooking show, or a “Group of Friends (/Coworkers/Family)” Sitcom, I’ll take a feel-good gem every day of the week. Happy watching 💜