My Favourite Binge-Worthy TV Series

One thing that I absolutely love doing is watching a TV series. Whenever I'm looking for something to watch I'll most likely choose a show rather than a film, and if I can binge-watch it all in the foreseeable future, even better. So I thought I'd make a list of my top 10 TV series in case anyone looking for anything to watch. I tried to include shorter series, ones you could actually watch in a week/weekend but there were some all-time favourites I couldn't leave out.

1) F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

This is a show that needs no introducing and you're probably thinking "is she really recommending Friends?". Well, you may be shocked to know that, until a few months ago, I had never seen Friends. Sure, I'd watched a few episodes here and there but had never followed the whole thing and I'm incredibly mad I waited this long. So this is a recommendation if you, like me, never fully watched this or believed the hype. This is the one show I'd choose as my absolute favourite if I had to. The most classic sitcom there is, following a group of six friends and their shenanigans living in New York City. From season one I knew this was going to become my all-time favourite series, but I didn't know just how much. I completely understand everyone who rewatches this every other month and if I could only watch one series in the world it would be this. Ten seasons of 20-minute episodes that make you laugh, cry and fall in love with every character. And in case you're wondering, I'm a Monica through and through and my favourite character is the love of my life, mister Chandler Bing ❤️.

2) Fleabag

If you follow me on Twitter you must have known this was coming. I first watched Fleabag earlier this year and I haven't been able to shut up about it. It is breathtaking. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is one of my favourite people in the world and I cannot comprehend how her mind does what it does. This is the story of Fleabag as she navigates life and love in London while trying to cope with tragedy. It was originally a one-woman play (which you can now watch on Amazon, all proceeds go to charities supporting those affected by COVID) that evolved into the two-season series that won all the awards everywhere, and rightfully so. Each season has six 20-minute episodes, and I watched all 12 in one single afternoon. It's incredibly funny, relatable, the format is something I've never seen before and it left me bawling and in awe of the pure TALENT.

Phoebe also has another series, called Crashing, that's only one season long. I don't think it's as good as Fleabag (because honestly, I don't think anything will ever be as good as Fleabag) but it is incredibly funny and raw and quick, so I think there's no harm in giving it a go.

3) Gilmore Girls

Another classic TV series that I needed to include because of how much I love it. This is, like Friends, one that fills you with joy and deserves the love it gets. I was also late to the party with this one, watching it only when the Netflix revival was about to come out and, although that made me finally start watching this, I don't really recommend. But you still have seven seasons of a beautiful, heartwarming series. This is about Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother-daughter duo that puts all others to shame, set in the most charming town there is, Stars Hollow. Oh, how I wish I could live there. It is also the origin of the decades-long debate: Team Dean, Team Jess or Team Logan? Personally, I'm a Jess girl but I want him for myself and not Rory, thank you.

4) Sex Education

This is a series that I was never interested in and to be quite honest, I couldn't tell you why. But after Fleabag I needed some more British humour so I gave this a go and it also became one of my all-time favourites. I think about rewatching it all the time (I soon will) and cannot wait for Season 3. This is about a boy named Otis whose mother's a sex therapist and, after some insistence from the school's "bad girl" Maeve, they decide to start a sex clinic at their school. There begins a high school journey of love, sexuality and a lot of heartbreaking fun (how that can be I don't know, but that's exactly what you'll feel). Everything about this series is spot on, from the way they handle subjects that shouldn't be taboo but still are, to the characters, the acting and the plot. Also, it is easily one of the most beautiful looking series I've ever come across. My heart aches when I think about it, I bawled my eyes out but it also made me cry laugh, the cast is one of those that you start following everyone everywhere right away and my bisexual self will never be able to choose between Otis or Maeve ❤️

5) Killing Eve

Remember my absolute love for everything Phoebe Waller-Bridge? Well, guess who's producing this one, and wrote part of the first season. This has three seasons so far, with eight 40-minute episodes each, and I believe there's a fourth season coming out soon-ish. In this, we follow Villanelle, a hired assassin to a secret organization, and Eve, a detective trying to figure out everything about this killer while being fascinated by the way she works. This made me fall in love with Jodie Comer and I cannot fathom how much of a great actress she is, as well as stanning Sandra Oh even more, and Fiona Shaw's performance is *chef's kiss*. This is full of twists and turns, has an outstanding cast, and I never know where the plot is going. Villanelle's outfits are also to die for, and this series is brilliant in exploring the balance between good and evil and how actually everyone's incredibly grey. It is quite gory and violent in case you can't stomach that, but I love it.

6) This is Us

After years of having this on my "to watch" list, I finally started watching it earlier this year and I cried as much as everyone said I would. That was basically all I knew about this series, other than who's part of the cast (and my afore-mentioned love of Gilmore Girls and Jess Mariano lets you know that anything with Milo Ventimiglia in it sparks my interest). This is a show with multiple storylines following the Pearson family. It approaches subjects like race, obesity and body-image in beautiful ways, the acting is to die for and it is one of the cleverest written TV shows to ever exist. One of my favourite things about this is how all the storylines intersect in ways you'd never see coming and how we keep unfolding little bits of information about this family with every episode. There are currently four seasons out but I'm still halfway through season 3. After the emotional wreck season 2 left me in I've felt like nothing they do is keeping me as emotionally connected to the story but I know somethings about to happen that will pull me in again (and let's face it, even without the ugly-sobbing-hiccups inducing-heartbreaking-crying I still have tears in my eyes in basically every episode).

7) Big Little Lies

In a much more serious tone, we have Big Little Lies, the series with probably the most Hollywood cast to ever exist. We've got Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, Reese Witherspoon, Zoe Kravitz, Shailene Woodley and, in season two, Meryl Streep. So essentially some of the most talented women out there. It's a mystery drama series that follows five different families in the town of Monterey, CA, and how they all connect with each other. It's brilliant, addicting, absolutely fantastic and I highly recommend it. There are however a lot of trigger warnings for sexual assault and domestic violence, and everything linked to these subjects, in case that's something you cannot deal with, but this is yet again another one that I'm dying to 1) read the book that inspired it, by Liane Moriarty, and 2) rewatch the whole thing.

8) Sherlock

I can't wait to finish reading the Sherlock Holmes stories to finally watch this again. Benedict Cumberbatch is my personal favourite embodiment of Sherlock and I adore this series so much. The episodes are quite long, about one and a half hour, but there are only 13 in total, which is completely doable. I watched this back when I knew nothing about the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle so I don't fully know how true to the original it is, but I can say this will keep you at the edge of your seat for most of the episodes. The last season wasn't my favourite but the performances are so spot on and it's such a classic mystery that it's brilliant regardless.

9) Stranger Things

I'll be honest with you, I wasn't sold on this series from the beginning, In fact, after season one, I didn't understand what all the fuss was about. I liked the characters, the plot was intriguing and kept me watching but I didn't have the love everyone else seemed to have. Then season two came around and I got a lot more invested, but it wasn't until season three ripped my heart out that I realised I loved this as I was sobbing alone in my room at one in the morning. This is a fun series with fantastical elements, an outstanding cast and eighties vibes that make you want to wear all the colours and high-waisted trousers. A bit on the scarier side, incredibly gory but really fun and entertaining, I can't wait for season four to come out.

10) How to Get Away With Murder

Out of all of the series in the post, this is the only one that I watched as it was coming out, one episode per week. And all six seasons are enough if only to experience Viola Davis' impeccable acting. The entire cast has brilliant actors, but Viola stands out for sure. This is about Analise Keating, a lawyer and law professor, and the students that are chosen to help her out with her cases. It's full of twists and turns, mystery (most seasons start out with a murder and you spend the entire season piecing together who died and who did the killing), intrigue, badass women and a lot of good intertwining plots. Now that this is over is a perfect time to watch it as, because so much happens in a single episode, I needed to read a full recap every time this went on a break, so I'd really benefit from watching it all in one go. I didn't really like the way they didn't end it, but you might, and I promise it's worth it for all the drama and murder and Viola being a boss. Again, trigger warnings for violence, murder (duh), and sexual violence. There may be more but I can't fully remember given that it's been a while since I've watched most of the seasons.

I think this has been my longest post ever, but I had a lot to say. These are in no particular order (although my top three are definitely Friends, Fleabag and Gilmore Girls), and I do believe there's something for everyone whether you like more lighthearted fun or heartwrenching plot twists. Let me know if you've watched any of these or if you're interested in watching any of them. Also, tell me what's your favourite series in the comments below, as I'm always looking for new ones.

Love,

N.

Xx