Give me 10... TV SHOWS TO BINGE DURING LOCKDOWN
By Andrea Loftus / 1/2/2021
Photo by Olena Sergienko on Unsplash
You rise from a long and busy day slaving away behind your medium-sized-screen, your eyes blurred from endless zooms and breaks spent in a ‘scroll hole’ on your small-sized-screen. As the clock chimes 5 pm, it is finally time to divert your gaze back to the one constant in your lockdown nightlife - the big screen.
Bingeing TV shows and then scouring IMDB for every ounce of information on their soundtrack, the name of that film you saw the hunky extra in and whether this show is being turned into a musical by Gen Z is our closest thing to a sport right now. Devouring box sets and series’ over the past (gulp) ten months has been the perfect way to escape our monotonous routines whilst sticking to the rules, so here are ten more slices of TV to add to your ever-dwindling watch list.
1. The Great
[Available on 4OD]
Nothing says a period piece like having to ... wait a WEEK to watch the next episode. Well, The Great is far from your average Sunday night viewing and worth the seven-day interlude, as Elle Fanning shines as Catherine the Great and Nicholas Hoult shocks as Emperor Peter III. If you were a fan of The Favourite, then Tony McNamara has arguably stretched his genre-bending style even further to invite a little drama to the end of another week with this crude and anti-historical satire of eighteenth-century Russia. Let’s just hope when the pubs open again we can share a Huzzah! or two without the smashing of the glasses.
2. It's a Sin
[Boxset on 4OD]
The AID's crisis is often sidelined in prime time TV, referenced without wishing to offend those who would prefer to forget the events of 40 years ago rather than confront the stark realities. Enter It's a Sin, Russell T Davies’ new star-studded drama placing the AID’s crisis centre stage, the spotlight on an endearing and daring group of friends whose stories chronicle the impact of misinformation and stigma on the LGBTQ+ community. By interlacing humour with humanity and layering on a much-needed dusting of flamboyance, five episodes of tyranny and tears are waiting to be devoured by you on 4OD right now.
3. Trigonometry
[Available on BBC iPlayer]
Romantic love is too often seen as a binary, as something reserved for just two people in the comfort of their own home. However, when money gets tight, Kieran and Gemma rent out their spare room to Ray, who brings more than some spare cash into their lives. Trigonometry contrasts the comfort and strength of a relationship with the flurry of new love, as the three realise they want to share more than just a postcode. This show gently explores narratives around sexuality, intimacy and monogamy and is one to watch for sure.
4. Love Life
[Available on BBC iPlayer]
Maybe you’re bored of endlessly swiping on people you fear you’ll never get to meet, or your partner’s newest lockdown hobby has got you questioning whether maybe Bumble should be your new form of entertainment. Look no more, you can immerse yourself in the endearingly aimless and often unlucky Love Life of Darby. Played by Anna Kendrick, who proves that maybe your first love wasn’t meant to be your last, and every bad date is a necessary boulder when you’re scaling the rocky cliff face of modern dating.
5. Winter Walks
[Available on BBC iPlayer]
Sure, walking is all we are allowed to do these days to spice up our 9-5s, so why would you want to spare any free time you do have to watch… other people walk? Well, five minutes into an episode of BBC’s Winter Walks will have you wide-eyed at the unrelenting raw beauty of our British landscape and swaddled by the blanketing calm created by each storyteller as their 360 camera makes a walk in the great outdoors feel like the epitome of freedom. If you need more convincing, I recommend the episode featuring Simon Armitage and spending half an hour watching him intermingling poetry and pints.
6. Elite
[Available on Netflix]
Schools may be closed for the foreseeable, but Elite brings all the fervour of teenage drama with the class conflicts embedded in the spanish school systems. As love, sex and money merge the boundaries of their morality, this group of exceptionally preened teens find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation... more than once.
7. Grace & Frankie
[Available on Netflix]
As their husbands reveal that they are not just business partners, Grace and Frankie go from rivalry wives to housemates as the assets are divided up. Watching the cinematic matriarchs, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, as their families flourish across the six seasons, you'll reluctantly become invested in their chaotic business ventures and be constantly reminded that life doesn't end when you turn 25. So, whether you also want to design a vibrator for the elderly or fall in love with a man half your age, you've got all the time in the world to do it, baby, sixty’s the new thirty.
8. La Casa de Papel (Money Heist)
[Available on Netflix]
If you’re sick of being hounded by the Duolingo owl but refuse to give up on your New Year’s Resolution of learning a language, then bang this baby on with subtitles and let the sensual and sculpted Spanish sonics wash over you for four whole seasons of La Casa de Papel. As a tweed-clad criminal mastermind known as ‘The Professor’ employs a misfit group of outrageous yet endearing criminals known only by the city-based pseudonym they’re given, you’re taken along as a very willing hostage to witness the biggest heist attempt in Spanish history.
9. Love Sick
[Available on Netflix]
One quick google of Lovesick will inform you that this show was meant to be called 'Scrotal Recall', need I say more? This painfully British sitcom with a cast of familiar faces follows hopeless romantic Dylan, a 20-something lothario, who has to retrace his long list of lovers when he finds out he has an STI. From the pain of unrequited love to the equally painful ‘what if’ of past relationships, this easy watch lets you maintain your dignity and simply observe someone else’s romantic dalliance go south from the safety of your sofa.
10. Small Axe
[Available on BBC iPlayer]
Steve McQueen's Small Axe is a series of five exquisite true stories from the last half of the twentieth century, the title of which is derived from the West Indian proverb "If you are the big tree, we are the small axe". The rich combination of friendship, family, love and lament casts light on the West Indian community of London, from the pure joy and richness of their culture to the relentless racism and discrimination waiting on their doorsteps. The whole cinematic anthology is available to watch on iPlayer now.
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