Quarantine? More like quaran-SCREEN, am I right? Sorry, my jokes are rusty from all of the inside time.
During normal times, I like to watch at least two hours of television per day. It’s good for the heart, great for the soul, and excellent for winning pop culture trivia game nights.
During pandemics, I like to double or even triple my television watching. Unless you are one of the hero essential workers who are bravely and selflessly saving our butts right now, stay home and watch these shows:
Tiger King - Netflix
Tiger King is a docu-series focused on big cat breeding, backyard zoos, and the eccentric characters who take part. If you think it’s just about tigers, you’re underestimating it.
How to Fix a Drug Scandal - Netflix
With only four episodes and a mesmerizing topic, you’ll get through this before you’ve changed out of your pyjamas and into your day-time sweat suit. The series is centered on the crimes of two drug lab chemists and how they effected the judicial system.
Fleabag - Prime Video
Fleabag reminded me of Sex and the City (if it were darker and only centered on Miranda). We follow actress and show creator, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, as she navigates life through grief. The show is messy, funny, poignant, and has a perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Challenge - MTV
I know … I know … I’m a 32-year-old woman and I still watch MTV but hear me out!
The Challenge is the best reality television show. Period. It has everything from athletic competition to relationship drama as contestants live together, compete in weekly challenges and eliminations, whittling down the numbers until someone wins a large cash prize.
The Busch Family Brewed - MTV
Homeschooling your children? Try this math problem on for size. One season, 10 episodes, 20 minutes per episode, and I watched them all in one day. How many hours did I spend slouched on my couch? The reality show focuses on Billy Busch Sr., grandson of the owner of wildly successful beer company Anheuser-Busch and the St. Louis Cardinals, and his humungous family. Billy and his wife, Christina, have seven children and the show mainly focuses on their individual relationships and the entire family dynamic.
Westworld on HBO - Crave
I think Westworld is one of the greatest shows of all time. It’s a futuristic series where an amusement park uses incredibly realistic high functioning robots to give guests whatever experience they could dream of. Things go wrong when the robots begin malfunctioning and seem to be gaining more autonomy than programmed. The cast is star studded and the plot is surprising, captivating and thought provoking.
Have another two months to kill? Ozark and The Sinner have both released their third seasons. My watch list on Prime Video includes Homecoming starring Julia Roberts, Modern Love, Forever, and Summer House.
Keely Turner takes a look at pop culture through the eyes of a P.E.I. girl with a big city attitude. Keely lives in Toronto, working as a fitness trainer and writer, with her husband and beagle. You can find her on Instagram @KeelyMTurner
