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BINGE-WATCHING RECOMMENDATIONS DURING QUARANTINE

Guys, how is everyone holding up? If there was ever a time to binge-watch some television, it is now. I feel like the wheels have completely come off since last Thursday when word of shutdowns, closures, and cancellations started hitting the news. It has been wild at the Lutz house, that is for sure.

The great news about all of this is that we are all in it together. I want to serve as a resource for all of you during this unprecedented time, while also remaining sensitive to the ever-changing environment that we are living in. I truly believe that right now following the guidelines from the CDC on social distancing is the most important thing we can do to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. Because of that, it is going to mean a lot of time hunkered down at home for all of us.

The good news is that I am here to support you in your mission to Netflix and binge-watch your way through this quarantine. I have gathered recommendations from all of you, and included my own favorites, on the best shows to binge-watch during the quarantine. If you have any other recommendations I would love to see them so make sure to drop them in the comments section below.

NETFLIX BINGE-WATCHING RECOMMENDATIONS:

Schitt’s Creek: Guys, I started this last night, and it was exactly what I needed to escape from a ROUGH day. It’s about a super rich family that all of sudden turns broke. If you like Arrested Development or Curb Your Enthusiasm, then you will love this show. It’s full of characters that you love to hate, like Larry David. PRO TIP: Give it until the 4th episode. You will be hooked!
The Pharmacist: A pharmacist in Louisiana goes on a crusade to expose the corruption behind the opioid addiction crises after he looses his own son to addiction.
Cheer: This docuseries has swept the nation and become a pop culture phenomenon. If you have not had a chance to watch it, now if the perfect time to get caught up on what everyone is talking about. Follow the crew from Navarro College cheer as the work towards competing at Nationals.
The Goop Lab with Gwenyth Paltrow: We all know Gwenyth Paltrow is on the cutting edge of weird things we have never heard of or thought about before….um, I’m looking at you vagina steaming. This series follows Gwenyth and her team at Goop Labs as they test different wellness topics and theories such as psychedelics, cold therapy, psychic mediums and much more to bring you the tea on what it is all about.
Virgin River: If you have had enough of the scary thriller shows or heavy documentaries, then Virgin River is going to be the perfect escape for you. Based on the Virgin River series of books by Robyn Carr, we follow a nurse practitioner who abandons her life to escape her past and relocates to a remote town in California.
Next in Fashion: Calling all Project Runway fans! This reality competition show hosted by Tan France and Alexis Chung is in the search for the next hot fashion designer.
Comedy Specials: Lord knows we could all use a little laugh right now and Netflix is the king of the comedy special. You guys have recommended both John Mulaney and Sebastian Maniscalo’s specials as must-sees. A couple of my favorites are the new Kevin Hart: Irresponsible, Seth Meyers: Lobby Baby, and Ellen DeGeneres: Relatable.
Narcos: Get ready to take down some drug cartels in this Netflix series. The first two seasons focus on the notorious Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar and the third season picks up with the fall of Escobar and the continued fight against the Cali Cartel.
Love is Blind: Like Cheer, this one is another recent pop culture phenomenon that you would have to have been living under a rock not to have heard about. It is a complete trainwreck, but one that you can’t take your eyes off of.
Friends from College: A group of almost 40-year-old Harvard grads reconnects and learns that life and love haven’t necessarily gotten any easier in the twenty years since college graduation.
Trailer Park Boys: Coming from our friends in the great north of Canada, this mockumentary series features the lives of 3 friends and lifelong petty criminals who run their shenanigans out of their trailer park in Nova Scotia.
Horse Girl: Describe by the follower who recommended it as “weird, but good”, this movie features Allison Brie as a shy craft store employee who starts having increasingly bizarre dreams that start bleeding over into real life. It sounds kind of freaky, but I am definitely intrigued.

HULU, AMAZON PRIME, HBO and SHOWTIME BINGE-WATCHING RECOMMENDATIONS

McMillions (HBO): Oh Marky Mark, you brought us so much more than just the Funky Bunch. This six-episode documentary produced by Mark Walhberg focuses on the con that one man ran that scammed the McDonald’s Monopoly game for ten years. I have heard so much about this one and I am dying to see it. If you have HBO this is a must watch!
Homecoming (Amazon): Julia Roberts works at a facility called Homecoming that supposedly specializes in helping soldiers transition back to civilian life after serving in war zones. However, all is not exactly as it seems at the facility and we are treated to a complete mind-twist as we try and piece together what exactly is going on.
Jack Ryan (Amazon): It first needs to be stated that the John Krasinski of the Jack Ryan series is a whole nother beast compared to the sweet Jim that we first met during the office. This man is RIPPED and is looking good. Congratulations to Emily Blunt. This two-season series (with rumors that the third season could be out in fall of this year) is based on the Tom Clancy books written around the Jack Ryan character. Jack Ryan is a CIA analyst, turned an unexpected field agent who is responsible for taking down some of the greatest terrorist and corrupt leaders in the world. This is a perfect series to binge with the husband because the story is amazing and the action will keep the hubs engaged the entire time….and did we mention John Krasinski looking fine as hell?
Avenue 5 (HBO): Set 40 years in the future, this comedy series features the crew of a luxury space cruise ship that runs across technical difficulties.
Outlander (Showtime, Netflix): Based on the popular book series by Diana Gabaldon, this show features Claire, a time-traveling nurse who finds herself transported back to 1700s Scotland. It follows her journey and her love story with Jamie Fraser through time and distance. This show seriously has it all- history, the most compelling romance on television, action, drama, intrigue. You will not be able to get enough. Warning, the first episode is a little slow, but once you get past that one hold on to your seats because it gets wild and action-packed quickly. The first 3 seasons are available on Netflix. Seasons 4 and 5 require a Showtime subscription.
Billions (Showtime, Hulu): This series focuses on the drama and politics involved in the world of New York finance. It features the story of a US Attorney and a hedge fund manager as they try to outmaneuver each other.
The American (Amazon Prime): An FX original series, The Americans is a period drama about the complex marriage of two KGB spies posing as Americans in suburban Washington D.C. shortly after Ronald Reagan is elected President. You guys RAVED about this one.

FREE SHOWS TO BINGE-WATCH

Good Girls (NBC current season, Netflix past seasons): This show focuses on three stay-at-home moms turned criminals. Three moms, tired of trying to make ends meet decide to pull off a robbery at their local grocery store. Things don’t go quite as planned when they are recognized by the grocery store manager on their way out.
Manifest (NBC current season, Hulu season 1): When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely after a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. Yet in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on. Now, faced with the impossible, they’re all given a second chance. But as their new realities become clear, a deeper mystery unfolds and some of the returned passengers soon realize they may be meant for something greater than they ever thought possible.
Yellowstone (Paramount Network website): Kevin Costner is the patriarch of a large ranching family in this show that focuses on the battles that the family faces along its property borders against land developers, Indian reservations, and the country’s largest national park. Per Wikipedia, “It is an intense study of a violent world far from media scrutiny, where land grabs earn developers billions, and politicians are bought and sold by the world’s largest oil and lumber corporations. Where unsolved murders are not news, they are a consequence of living in the new frontier. It is the best and worst of the United States as seen through the eyes of a family that represents both.”
Blacklist: (NBC.com current season free, Netflix and Hulu back seasons): This show has been on network television for several years…and hasn’t been cancelled, so we know it must be a good one. It focus on a former naval officer, turned one of the most notorious criminals in the world who voluntarily turns himself into the FBI and agrees to share information on the world’s deadliest criminals. His one condition is that he will only work with one specific rookie FBI profiler. The show follows the adventures they face trying to uncover some of the world’s most dangerous criminal masterminds.

And if we are all going to be stuck inside for the foreseeable future, we are definitely going to want some cute things to wear….that do not involve the use of buttons or zippers. I placed a huge loungewear order right before the news of quarantine hit (am I psychic now) and will show you what all I ordered. I also wanted to give you a bunch of really great, affordable loungewear options. I found a tons of cute stuff under $100, with most of it $50 or less. I feel like if there was ever a time to TREAT YO SELF to a new cute loungewear set, it is certainly now. How you find something you love!