The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Shows to make you laugh while self-distancing
If you’re anything like me you’re burning through TV series like crazy, especially if you just have it running in the background while you go about your day. Here are some shows I’ve been watching (and OK, yes rewatching) while I work from home.
Gentefied: Netflix
Pop just wants to continue running his taco shop in peace, but with skyrocketing rents and an influx of wealthier residents moving into the neighborhood, it doesn’t seem like he stands much of a chance. Even with the help of his grandkids, it appears Mama Fina’s days will be numbered unless Pop changes tactics to lure in new clientele. Netflix’s “Gentefied” follows a Mexican family doing what they can to stay in the Los Angeles neighborhood that they’ve called home for decades. While Pop’s three grandchildren mean well, their help often leads to more scuffles.
“Gentefied” has one season on Netflix.
Derry Girls: Netflix
Being a teenager in
Northern Ireland during the 1990s isn’t so different from being a teenager in other places if you ignore the bombs and armed police trucks patrolling the roads. While living in a fractured Ireland, Erin and her friends have bigger concerns to worry about, like how to avoid taking exams and trying to catch the cute boy’s eye.
“Derry Girls” has two seasons on Netflix.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Amazon
After finding out that her husband is leaving her for his secretary (how cliche?), witty Midge takes to the 1960s stand-up stage to air her marriage woes. While cracking jokes about her husband, Midge discovers she has a knack for comedy and decides to have a go at becoming a comedian. The series written by Amy Sherman Palladino (of “Gilmore Girls” fame) is a hilarious one about a woman coming into her own.
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” has three seasons on Amazon.
Dollface: Hulu
After spending five years living in the happy relationship bubble with her boyfriend, Jules is completely unprepared when he breaks up with her. She’s even less prepared when she tries to reach out to her best friend, only to find that Madison has written her off as a bad friend during her time in the boyfriend vortex. Now that she’s lost her boyfriend, Jules finds herself trying to win back the girlfriends she neglected ... only she’s not quite sure how to go about it. Kat Dennings stars in this series about the importance of female friendship.
“Dollface” has one season on Hulu.
Modern Love: Amazon
Love stories come in many shapes and forms. Love is romantic, it is friendship, it is familial — it is inevitably the one thing we all are constantly searching for. Each of the eight episodes in the series follows a different love story. Audiences will watch with rapt attention as couples fall apart and fall into one another. Some of the stories are ones we’ve heard countless times — a couple heading to therapy to try to rekindle the old spark — and others just leave viewers rooting for love — like the couple who spend their second date in the ER after a sex injury. Audiences are exposed to love as it grows in all forms; loving someone from afar like the story of the journalist’s love story that was cut off far too soon, or falling in love with an adopted child.
“Modern Love” has one season on Amazon.
Four Weddings and a Funeral: Hulu
Sure you know the Hugh Grant film, but Mindy Kaling’s spin on “Four Weddings and a Funeral” gives viewers plenty of time to fall in love with all the characters. Like the classic romcom from 1994, Kaling’s series is about an American girl who visits London, where she meets someone and sparks fly. At this point the Hulu series deviates from the source material as it follows Maya’s visit to see her best pals from college only to discover that the cute guy she met at the airport is Ainsley’s boyfriend, Kash. After Kash jilts Ainsley at the altar, he has a hard time getting Maya out of his mind.
“Four Weddings and a Funeral” has one season on Hulu.
Good Omens: Amazon
Armageddon is coming and the only force that can prevent the end of the world is the unlikely friendship between an angel and a demon. “Good Omens” is based on Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s book, “Good Omens:
The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch.” The series is a dark comedy that rotates around the centuries of (at times) begrudging friendship between Aziraphale and Crowley. Michael Sheen plays the morally gray angel Aziraphale, who really only wants to spend his time with his books and sampling different cuisines. David Tennant is Crowley, a demon who appears to regret following Lucifer, who feels his only true crime was questioning God’s actions. Both Sheen and Tennant shine in their roles, crackling with chemistry and humor as the end of the world looms over their heads.
“Good Omens” has one season on Amazon.
Sex Education: Netflix
High school student Otis becomes a reluctant therapist after he finds himself in the awkward position of helping a peer deal with a Viagra-related mishap. From there another student, Maeve, enlists Otis to run a sex clinic before and after school to help students navigate their sexual and relationship issues ... for a price.
“Sex Education” has two seasons on Netflix.