While most of my friends embark on spring breaks filled with warm weather, cold drinks and beautiful beaches, I’ll stay in the Midwest, praying for spring to finally come. If you’re anything like me, your closest companion will be your television/laptop and good ol’ Netflix.
While you’re busy being a couch potato over the next week, here are some quality shows that are perfect for hours upon hours of watching.
10. Weeds
One of Showtime’s more prominent perceive shows, “Weeds” follows the adventure of a prototypical suburban mom who, through a series of crazy and bizarre events, finds herself deep in the drug game. This show is great because it features funnymen Kevin Nealon and Justin Kirk, who provide a good amount of comedic relief that doesn’t make this dark comedy-drama too much to bear. Plus there are eight seasons available on Netflix, which allows for a whole lotta binging!
9. Lost
If you’ve heard about what a great show “Lost” is, go on and shake the person’s hand who told you so. This is a show that lives up to its reputation. Like “Gilligan’s Island” with a dark, twisted plotline, this show does a fantastic job of crafting believable characters and getting the audience emotionally invested in their plight. Warning: Viewers’ primary complaint while “Lost” was airing on a week-by-week basis was that it always left viewers with a bunch of questions.
That’s a benefit of being able to watch all of it at once on Netflix. But I strongly recommend trying to watch as much as possible while on break so the cohesiveness of the story can really sit with you.
8. Pokémon
Let’s be real: There couldn’t be a list like this without “Pokémon” on it. Party up like it’s 1997. Bust out the Nintendo 64, maybe some Tang, and bask in the nostalgia that Netflix in all of its wonderfulness has blessed its customers with. Relive each moment as Ash goes on to be Pokémon master. You know you want to sing along with the theme song AND indulge in the Pokeraps at the end…just admit it.
7. Mad Men
To be honest, the first few episodes of “Mad Men” seem quite long and might require some patience because this is a dialogue-intensive show. But it’s worth it in the long run. We witness the life of advertising extraordinaire Don Draper as he moves through the liquor and debauchery-filled 1960s and get an amazing look at the inner dealings of “crooks of advertising.” If you’re OK with watching a show that doesn’t have too much action in it, this is just what the doctor ordered.
6. Arrested Development
“Arrested Development” garnered a lot of attention when Netflix decided to revive it after its cancellation. But Netflix did not drop the ball with its approach to revamp it. Some “Arrested Development” purists didn’t like how the narrative structure of the show changed since its revival. But as someone who personally binge-watched all four seasons on Netflix, I still thought the show still rolled with the comedic punches as we continued to watch the Bluth family and their vicious cycles of stupidity and craziness. This show will definitely keep the mood upbeat throughout the week of spring break.
5. Louie
Comedian Louis C.K. has graced the airwaves of FX with a fictional telling of his life. Think “Seinfeld,” only more cynical, without a laugh track and with a 40-something, balding redhead whose life is in a perpetual downward spiral. This show’s comedic value is subtle. Jokes do not always beg to be noticed. Sometimes, it’s purely the storytelling that keeps audiences enthralled. From my experience, the show is much funnier if you watch his stand-up comedies on Netflix first. This makes the show’s context much more understandable and gives more insight Louis C.K. and his brand of comedy.
4. American Horror Story
The greatest thing about this show is that each season is a miniseries where the “reset” button is hit (while still using many of the same actors and actresses from the previous season). This show is absolutely perfect for edge-of-the-seat suspense and for raising those hairs on the back of your neck. From its fearful “Murder House” in the first season to the creepy psych ward in season two, “American Horror Story” is perfect for those who like to walk on the scary side.
3. Orange Is the New Black
Netflix has become a juggernaut in the television production world, and this is one program that attests to the service’s quality of shows and the diversity of its original programming. From the creator of “Weeds,” Jenji Kohan, this show is a “fish-out-of-water” story following Piper, a woman oblivious to the world of crime who gets sent to prison, where she has to fend for herself in a world she never thought she would be a part of.
A mix of comedy and drama, “Orange Is the New Black” is a perfect blend of both genres. This show just got renewed for a second season due out this summer, so you’d better catch up before it gets here.
2. Breaking Bad
Arguably one of the best television shows in recent years, “Breaking Bad” just got the full Netflix treatment with the addition of the show’s final eight episodes. There is no way to explain the greatness of the show in just a few words, but let’s just say that once you watch the final episode, the memory of Bryan Cranston as the goofy dad from “Malcolm in the Middle” will be far in the rearview mirror. He does an absolutely phenomenal job of playing Walter White—a science teacher diagnosed with terminal cancer who does what he has to do to provide for his family…and himself.
1. House of Cards
The third Netflix original series on this list and no doubt the best of them all, “House of Cards” follows Frank Underwood, a power-hungry U.S. senator who will stop at absolutely nothing to become the most powerful man in the White House.
Filled with lies, deception, death and shady backdoor deals, this show keeps viewers guessing throughout and will surely keep you at the edge of your seat. Netflix just released the show’s second season, and there will no doubt be more phenomenal acting from lead actor Kevin Spacey coming in the future. Get ahead of the curve now and watch “House of Cards.”
