Last week we shared a Valentine's Day Gift Guide, which was so fun, and we got a few requests to put together a date night guide. 2020 hasn't been our year to "go out," but when it comes to date nights, we honestly like to keep things casual – are you surprised, us being the homebodies that we are? There's nothing more fun than making a big ol' charcuterie board and binge watching a show together. When Chris says, "'nother episode?" it's thrilling!! Yes! Keep! It! Going!!
This last year especially, we've spent a lot of hours binging some of our favorite shows (as I'm sure many of you have), and we wanted to put together a list of our our favorites we watched together. Because yes, I loved Brigerton. But I didn't watch it with Chris. And Chris loves Mandalorian. (But that isn't my thing.) So we put our heads together and made a list of our top binge-y shows to watch together! This was honestly harder than we thought, because there's so many good ones out right now, but we narrowed it down to 16. So slide into your favorite homebody sweatshirt, grab a bowl of popcorn, and enjoy.
Survivor - Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime - We are among the few that didn't watch Survivor growing up. In fact, the latest season is the first that we watched in real time and it was torturous to wait a whole week! This is a really really fun binge show because there's about 13 episodes in a season and nearly every one ends with a cliff-hanger. We have followed this guide to the best seasons and stayed in the top 15, but went in order from earliest.
Alone - Netflix, Hulu - This is another reality show that's so mind-blowing to us. Think survivor, but it's you against you. Just how long can you stay out in the harshest climate on earth, hunting your own food, making your own shelter, all by yourself. Oh, and it's always cold. It was fascinating watching each contestant battle the mental over almost everything else. Highly highly recommend it!
Friday Night Lights - Hulu, YouTube TV - Texas forever, am I right? This is feel good and drama and high school football all wrapped into one and one of our favorite series ever (and we aren't even sports people!)
Ted Lasso - Apple TV+ - This is a quick binge and so heart-warming, honestly. Football coach, turns soccer coach. It's inspiring and funny and Ted is impossible not to love.
Parenthood - Hulu, Amazon Prime - Everyone wants to be a Braverman, right? I mean, right? Parenthood is one of the best series ever created and in the midst of being highly entertained, you'll probably pick up some communication and life skills.
The Office - YouTube TV - No explanation needed. We always keep the Office in our back pocket because the episodes are only about 22 minutes so if we need some comedy relief after watching something particularly heavy or scary. But then we also find ourselves watching the entire thing every other year, too. Soooo....
Schitt's Creek - Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube TV - "Moira" and "David" are now a part of my every day vocab. We laugh. OUT. LOUD! and reference this show almost daily. It's just a part of us now.
The Last Dance - Netflix - If you think this is only for basketball fans, you're gravely mistaken. Remember us? Not sports people! And yet this documentary on Michael Jordan was one of the best things we watched last year. It was motivational and eye-opening and now we just say things like, Pippen!, and feel cool. It's on our re-watch list already. You really really must.
The Good Place - Netflix - Witty and Clever, plus Kristen Bell is just a gem. I've recommended it to a few people and they have come back and said, "I just can't get into it." But here's the thing---you HAVE to give it to the end of season 1 and then you'll be hooked. ;)
Last Man on Earth - Hulu - Absurd and hilarious. This is probably Chris's favorite show. He does this cry laugh where he can't breathe and squeals which makes me laugh even harder. It's comedy gold!!
Free Solo - Disney+ - Not a series, but a really thrilling documentary about rock-climbing without any safeties! It's 100 minutes of pure nail biting adrenaline.
New Girl - Netflix - Another feel-gooder. Chris belly laughs the entire time, and it's my favorite.
The Jinx - Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube TV - The Jinx is not new but there's still so many people that haven't seen it and YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT. It's a documentary and we had to pick our jaws up off the floor – over and over and over again. It's the most bingeable show of all time.
The Great British Baking Show - Netflix, Amazon Prime - This might work best for us, because Chris likes to cook, but when you want something light and kind and sweet-this show is all of that plus accents, sensory appeal, and pastels.
Love on the Spectrum - Netflix - Start it to have your eyes opened - stay for Michael.
Haunting of Hill House - Netflix - I'm not into scary anything but Chris got me to watch this and while it was quite scary, it was also incredible great story-telling. It was beautiful. Thrilling, but also, can't look away. I hear the new one is really good, too!
Of course, now we need to hear from you! What do we binge next?
Since you loved Free Solo you should watch The Dawn Wall. We loved it even more than Free Solo!
All time favorites we come back to again and again: Psych, Scrubs, Life in Pieces, The West Wing, White Collar, Good Luck Charlie (with the kids)
Honorable mentions that always make us laugh: Chuck, the Office, American Housewife, New Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier, the Goldbergs
This are great recommendations and I've started a new list of what to watch. We have loved Ozark, Designated Survivor, Yellowstone and Sneaky Pete.
Some that I haven’t seen mentioned:
Call The Midwife
30 Rock
The Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Afterlife
Modern Love
Fleabag, Mad Men, Tiger King. If you love The Office, Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine Nine.
"The Americans" with Keri Russel and Matthew Rhys is hands-down the best TV series. We've watched the whole series three times over.
Blown Away on Netflix!
One show that we both liked, that I don’t hear mentioned too often, is Greenleaf. It is on Netflix and is a drama about a family in Memphis that owns a mega church. We also both liked Dead to Me.
Dead to Me is sooooo good!!! It's one of those shows that has the Best cliffhangers and keeps you guessing. When you think you know what's about to happen it throws you a major curveball!!
Loved this post!
I didn't start The Good Place until season 2. Loved it. Loved the growth of the characters.
I just binged The Great Pottery Throw Down on HBO Max. Its as if GBBO & Blown Away had a baby & produced this amazing show!! You know you’ve done well on the show when the head judge is brought to tears & they have challenges like making toilets!
Lupin!
Blown Away on Netflix! You will not be disappointed! We binged the first two seasons last weekend. Could not turn it off. So good!
I second New Girl. Never stops being funny.
Have you tried Korean dramas? Watch crash landing on you (Netflix )
The Stranger-Netflix suspenseful but had us wondering in the end.
The Queen’s Gambit-Netflix
Dash & Lily - Netflix it’s cute and family friendly
Bless this mess- Hulu sooo funny!
West Wing. Best series ever produced.
Yep. 100% agree. I'm just gonna watch it over and over b/c nothing will ever compare.
Killing Eve and Downton Abbey. Also, Borgen
Try Borgen! It’s like the Danish West Wing
Is there, honestly, nothing more romantic than laughing at something with your partner? My husband and I always make it a point to cuddle up and watch something together at the end of the day. That special time is way better than any date night could be right now.
Yellowstone ???????? you won’t be disappointed!
Lost! Best show ever.
Watching Ted Lasso was like getting a hug my husband and I didn’t even know we needed! Plus, so many laughs!
Loved Ted Lasso
Virgin River
The Durrells of Corfu
Nashville
I think you'd really like Six Feet Under. It's old, but so so so good. It's my boyfriend's favorite show and he built it up a lot, even saying "the series finale is the best ever in the history of television." He *undersold* it!! That statement is absolutely true. Beautiful videography, interesting premise, has that "CSI" episodic feel but it's a long-running drama, plus it's a fun peek at life in the early 2000s.
When my then boyfriend, now husband, suggested we watch Survivor, I thought I’d just be humoring him. 5 years later and we have gone back and watched every season now. We have made several converts of our friends too. We tell everyone we know about Ted Lasso and the Good Place.
Shows not on your list that both me and the husband enjoy: Parks and Rec. The West Wing is the show you need to feel good about politics and is still surprisingly relevant despite being 20 years old. We also like the Nat Geo documentaries on Disney+ that feature Albert Lin, as well as their Egypt series. We’re also working our way through all the Star Trek series which is a little nerdy and kind of a commitment, but I think they’re nice in that a lot of times, episodes can stand on their own and don’t require you to have closely followed every detail in the preceding episode.
We also liked Trial and Error, Holey Moley, and the Hustler for some quick comedic relief.
Man in the High Castle and Poldark - both great series to watch together.
Outlander!!! There are five seasons so far on Starz.(seasons 1-4 are on Netflix) and more coming. Give it a few episodes! The Best Show!
I just started watching Outlander and gosh the videography, sets, costumes - SO beautiful! But the accents and bagpipe music and heavy storylines - I usually can't watch more than an episode at a time and I have to be in the right mood so it's slow going!
White Collar with Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay is one of my all-time favorite, binge-worthy shows. The duo solve white collar crime cases around NYC, but with a twist: Bomer’s character is a professional con man, art forger, and thief. The show is exciting and funny and lighthearted—a must watch!! New Girl, Suits (great lawyer show w a twist), the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (20th century humor), and Bureau (French drama/mystery) are also in my top 5 ❤️
Just finished Atypical on Netflix. Loved it in so many ways.
Just finished The Good Place and.... all the feels, man. It was funny it was deep and philosophical , it was sad. I was a sobbing mess at the end of the series. I want more.
White Collar with Matt Bomer and Tim DeKay is one of my all-time favorite, binge-worthy shows. The duo solve white collar crime cases around NYC, but with a twist: Bomer’s character is a professional con man, art forger, and thief. The show is exciting and funny and lighthearted—a must watch!! New Girl (adult humor), Suits (great lawyer show w a twist), the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (20th century humor), and Bureau (French drama/mystery) are also in my top 5 ❤️
Big Bang Theory! I watched it for the first time from the beginning (all 12 seasons) and I was much better & funnier than I expected.
For a new show, I can’t recommend The Unicorn enough. Laugh out loud funny and so sweet.
Please, please, please watch the BBC series Detectorists (Prime). It is AMAZING! It's a quirky, comedy about two best friends who are 'metal detectorists.' I can not recommend this show enough, the dialog is so natural, you really feel like you are literally listening to two guys having a conversation. I watch episodes like other people watch the Office.
YES! I started watching this thinking it would be a funny british humor show, I was so. wrong but in the best way. possible. I love this show!!
On Pointe on Disney +. You could watch this with you girls. We watched one episode a night to drag it out. When we ran out my husband went through withdrawal from missing the kids. Follows several ballet dancers. We were sucked right in and are not normally fans of ballet.
Our favorites of all time are Arrested Development (we’ve watched all seasons multiple times) and Seinfeld!
Shtisel is a Netflix drama that centers on an ultra Orthodox Israeli family. Even though it’s subtitled, the writing is brilliant, funny, emotional and universal. Highly recommend
Just finished The Good Place and.... all the feels, man. It was funny it was deep and philosophical , it was sad. I was a sobbing mess at the end of the series. I want more.
Unicorn - heartwarming! Netflix/CBS
Kim’s Convenience - hilarious! Netflix
Derry Girls-Netflix
Doc Martin - Amazon Prime
Well, you have to watch The Haunting of Blye Manor now! It has now taken the place of Hill House in my brain where I I just keep thinking about it randomly months and months later.
A lot of your favourite are mine too. I like to feel happy after a show and Ted Lasso was wonderful. My recommendation to watch with your girls is Julie and the Phantoms. It's fantastic. And to not watch with your girls is Insecure, Normal People, I May Destroy You, Fleabag, and I am just starting Search Party!
Just started Alone and love it! A couple others that are sooo good is Ozark with Jason Bateman, Handsmaids Tale. ♥️
We stumbled upon Ted Lasso a couple weeks ago and LOVED it! Hadn’t heard anyone talking about it, but it was one of my favorite shows we’ve watched in a while. You’re right, it’s impossible not to love Ted by the end!
You’re missing the greatest binge of all-time... OUTLANDER :)
The Good Wife! It's one of the few shows I have binged more than once! I don't usually like law shows, but it's got enough drama and humor and relationship stuff be so good!
Great list- but yes about the jinx!! Holy cow- and the ending is WILD.
The Unicorn! so funny. Loved Ted Lasso and of course Schitts Creek.