44 Best Shows to Binge Watch on Netflix

One of my guilty pleasures is to binge watch TV shows on Netflix which comes in handy while I am on a marathon cleaning session, stuck beneath a nursing baby or just need some background noise as I am getting through long and tedious tasks. And sometimes, there's nothing more relaxing than curling up on the couch and watching every single episode of a TV show you can possibly fit in.

Here is my list of best shows to binge watch on Netflix, grouped with other shows that would appeal to the same audience.

Complex, sometimes heavy, dramas.  These are shows that require full attention and maybe a cocktail to follow.

1. House of Cards, the story of a DC power couple's strategic rise and potential fall. 
2. House, a brilliant diagnostician with a complex personality.
3. Damages, if Cruella Deville were a lawyer with a host of ulterior motives.
4. The Good Wife, the post affair life of politician's wife.
5. Law & Order SVU, long running episodic police drama.
6.  Lost, a total what the eff of a puzzle show about plane crash survivors.
7. Mad Men, a 1960's drama about the life of a complex ad man.
8. Friday Night Lights, a family based drama about a high school football coach in the heart of football country (not sure it belongs here but it doesn't belong anywhere else on my list.)

Easy watching comedies. These are easily well liked shows that most people would enjoy.

1. How I Met Your Mother, my generation's Friends which follows a group of 5 from their early 20s into their mid 30s in New York. 
2. Parks and Recreation, co-workers and friends that are all ridiculous characters working for small town government.
3. The Office, predecessor to Parks and Rec but set in a paper company office.
4. 30 Rock similar to Parks and Rec and the Office, except set in a Saturday Night Live type studio workplace. 

Science fiction that even non-nerds will enjoy.

1. Battlestar Galactica, the show you will stay up until the sun comes up to watch even if you've never liked any sci fi show before. 
2. Dr. Who, a cult classic campy as hell story about a time lord who travels through space and time with various companions who are all so endearing.
3. Torchwood, a spin off of Dr. Who where another time traveler is stuck in modern day England with a team who is tasked with keeping all the unusual alien activity in check.
4. Black Mirror. A modern day twilight zone that is extremely thought provoking.
5. Heroes. A huge cast of people who have different super powers, like a new version of X-Men.
6. Warehouse 13. A campy group of government agents are tasked with capturing artifacts, or historical items, that are imbued with magical powers as a result of their ties to extreme emotion.
7. Eureka.  A town of the world's geniuses live in a idyllic small town where their inventions and intelligence cause cheesy science fiction problems.

British all the things. This is a mishmash of all the great things the Brits added to Netflix that have appeal to viewers who like British sensibilities.

1. IT Crowd, a hilarious comedy about an IT team in a company run by an idiot. 
2. Downton Abbey, a period drama that starts after WWI and continues through major world events of the time, following a family with title and their service staff.
3. Peaky Blinders, a post WWI organized crime drama of an Irish bookie family's rise to power under the sheer will of its brilliant middle brother.
4. Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch and that guy from the Hobbit/Love Actually are Sherlock and Watson in modern day England.

Unconventionally toned dramedies.

1. Veronica Mars, a teenage crime noir with pithy dialogue set in the equivalent of Malibu, CA starring Kristen Bell.
2. Dead Like Me, a hard to describe story of a group of death reapers.
3. Pushing Daisies, a mystery drama that feels like the movie Big Fish in its hyper-realistic cinematography and Dr. Seussy setting.

Drug/crime related character driven dramas.

1. Orange Is The New Black, a privileged tall blonde bisexual ends up in a woman's prison with a cast of interesting characters and back stories.
2. Breaking Bad, a high school science teacher's journey through the meth drug trade and his battle with cancer.
3. Weeds, a privileged suburban widow's journey through the weed drug trade with her family.
4. Sons of Anarchy, a family's outlaw motorcycle gang legacy loosely based on Hamlet. 

Smart comedies that some people just don't get. 

1. Arrested Development, a wonderful comedy about a wealthy Orange County, CA family that started with a Banana Stand which was inexplicably cancelled.
2. Community, a group of students at a community college which has free form evolved over time through different movie genres and re-piloting which was also constantly on the verge of cancellation until it was finally cancelled and picked up by Yahoo!
3. Portlandia, a skit based comedy about the many quirks and communities in Portland, OR.

Outlandish comedies not for the pearl clutchers. 

1. The League, a foul mouthed group of friends who like to haze each other in the name of fantasy football.
2. Archer, a ridiculous cartoon based comedy about a private intelligence agency and its narcissistic head spy. 
3. Workaholics, three best friend and roommates from college who work in a telemarketing company by day, party with booze and drugs by night resulting in hijinks.

Demons, hauntings, huntings, oh my.  

1. Walking Dead, the best zombie apocalypse drama I have seen in forever.
2. American Horror Story, each season is a different plot line revolving around ghosts, hauntings, and other spooky creepy crawlies with the same amazing cast in different roles.
3. Supernatural, two brothers become demon hunters with a lot of seasons full of twists and turns along the way.

Food and travel life, also known as all things Anthony Bourdain. 

1. Chef's Table, a series about the food philosophies that make top world renowned chefs so amazing.
2. The Layover, Anthony Bourdain has 48 hours in one city each episode to make the most of it.
3. No Reservations, Emmy award winning series where Bourdain goes to different parts of the world and immerses himself in the culture.
4. Parts Unknown, Bourdain goes to places most people wouldn't choose to travel to in order to share authentic travel experiences.
5. The Mind of a Chef, each season follows different chefs as they source their foods, develop their recipes and find inspiration.

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No Spend Challenge Journal: Week 4

This is the final week of our No Spend February journey. Click here for Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3.


Challenge Recap
If I had to explain what I did this month, I would call it a spending cleanse. We are bombarded everyday with marketing that encourages us to let go of our money on things that we don't really need because we're led to believe it with give us something we might miss out on, whether it's convenience, experiences or a simple feeling. There is, however, diminishing returns on spending. The ability to buy anything we want when we want actually reduces the appreciation we have for the things that we buy. And it distorts our understanding of what we need.

I can't say that I could happily live like this long term but an occasional No Spending month might be exactly what my family needs to refocus our values when we stray too far into materialism.  

Day 22: I'm co-chair in a woman's craft group so I actually host a number of events at my house, including a "How to make spring rolls" event on Sunday. Everyone chips in for materials but it usually only covers 25% of the overall cost of the event and just didn't worry about it. In future months, I am going to try to better estimate the costs so it does cover the total cost instead of putting money out of pocket in lieu of spending the time to accurately estimate. Since I had the event at noon and had to prep, I bought breakfast, while I was at the market buying supplies, for my family so I wouldn't have to cook and clean up afterwards. $12 spent but on foods that I wouldn't have the ability to cook at home anyway (dim sum goodies) because I don't have the tools. And though $12 used to be nothing to me, yesterday, it felt like a luxurious splurge!
 
Day 23: Since we're winding down from ‪#‎nospendfebruary‬, I'm thinking a lot about what the future looks like. I've learned so much about mindful spending this month but worry that when I start spending money again, it will be difficult to reign back in. I also worry that all this focusing on not spending has taken away from trying to make more money. I am considering doing a ‪#‎spendlessdecluttermoremarch‬ challenge where I focus on not spending any money outside the budget while decluttering/selling what I don't need anymore.

I didn't manage to get through all my pantry and freezer items so with the exception of my husband starting to have lunch with colleagues again on Thursdays and Friday and 2 trips to Disneyland, I think we'll stay out of restaurants and keep trying to run down the pantry and freezer. I've also come up with a list of projects that I'm going to try to tackle based off the lessons of self sufficiency/homesteading I've learned this month. Establish a (maybe perennial) vegetable garden. Prevents having to continually buy seeds/plants again every season. Homemade cleaning supplies. Making all natural cleaning supplies is not only saving but also much healthier, especially with littles at home. Weekly meal planning. Prep healthier meals with a larger variety of foods. Stock emergency food stores.

Day 24: As we're planning for future no spend months, I'm looking at bulk purchases and realize there is a very slippery slope to spending. The moment I thought about spending money, it was like a flip switched on my spending mode. How do you keep that in check?

Day 25: I am contemplating a trip to Disneyland, since admission costs us nothing, and using Disney gift cards we already have (we buy them to use in the park in lieu of cash because we get a discount on the GCs) for food and drinks. I am having an internal battle over use of the GCs because in some respects I consider them cash. What we spend now on the GCs is less money to spend later.

Day 26: Husband got a surprise bonus and I got an extra paycheck forgot about from last month so we'll end up saving $8500 this month. So happy about this! We're going to have enough for the addition sooner than expected! ‪#‎nospendfebruary‬

Day 27: My husband's uncle flew in from Vancouver unexpectedly and wanted to come over for a visit. Luckily, because we ate out of our pantry for most of the challenge, I had $100 left in the food budget. Instead of cooking a meal (which I did not have time for), we ordered pizza, picked up some beers and bought some ice cream. I was going to buy a cake but then realized that ice cream is a much more cost effective treat. A small 4 person cake runs about $7 in our local market and expires in a few days but a container of their best ice cream is $5 and has a dozen servings that can be saved and eaten over time. I literally never thought about dessert in such a logical way before!

Day 28: The last day of the challenge and I spent it at Disneyland with my family. We used only the gift cards, packed some extra food, brought our own water and had a lovely time. I even got over 20K steps in which actually made me feel like my March challenge should be ‪#‎getfitandspendlessmarch‬. I checked our budget and found that we spent $30 over our budget in ‪#‎nospendfebruary‬ which was due to to some doctor's visit from my husband pulling a muscle in his back this month. I consider this month a huge win!

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