5 Feel-Good Shows to Watch During Lockdown
Before I start this post, I’ll answer the question on everyone’s minds when we talk about TV and quarantine. Yes, I’ve watched Tiger King (and I’m not ashamed to say that I’m halfway through the Tiger King podcast also). Side note: I’ve seen ads for cloth masks with Joe Exotic’s face on them and if that’s not the most 2020 thing I’ve ever seen, I don’t know what is. Ok, on to the topic of this post. I’m sure most of us have been watching more TV than usual due to the Coronavirus. I know I have. In light of that, I thought I’d put together some of my favorite feel-good shows to stream right now. Because we could all probably use a little extra feel-good content right now!
Call the Midwife
I had to list Call the Midwife first because it’s my favorite show. If you’ve never seen it before and are going to give it a try, I’m jealous of you because you have 8 wonderful seasons you can binge right now. Call the Midwife is about a group of nurse-midwives helping families in the impoverished East End of London in the 50’s and 60’s. This show is about real life, so not everything is sunshine and rainbows, but it has a way of giving meaning to those tough moments and doing it with wisdom and grace. The show has quite a few lovingly eccentric characters which makes for some funny moments as well. The producer and several actors from the show are actually going live on Facebook every Wednesday during the lockdown to help brighten the days of their fans who are stuck at home. How cool is that? Check out their Facebook page here for more info.
The current season of Call the Midwife is available to stream on the PBS website/app for a limited time. Seasons 1-8 are on Netflix.
2. Rilakkuma and Kaoru
If you’re seeing the photo and thinking “I’m not going to watch something animated”, stick with me for a second. This show is a Netflix series called Rilakkuma and Kaoru and it’s unexpectedly relaxing and cute to watch. Also it has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes so I’m not the only one who thinks so! Rilakkuma (the brown bear) and his friends (the other characters sitting at the table in the picture) were created in the early 2000’s by a Japanese company that makes books and stationary with cute characters. Last year, Netflix decided to create a series based around Rilakkuma. This is normally not the kind of thing I’d watch, but I randomly turned it on one day because I was curious and ended up liking it! It follows Kaoru, who is a twenty-something woman living in Tokyo with several animal friends who share her apartment. It follows her through the seasons as she goes through different relatable struggles of being in her 20’s. The stop-motion animation is beautiful and the attention to detail the show has makes it a calming, feel-good experience. The plots aren’t complicated so it’s something nice to even just have on in the background.
Currently, there’s one season of Rilakkuma and Kaoru, which you can stream on Netflix.
3. The Great British Baking Show
If you’ve never watched The Great British Baking Show, this is the perfect time to start. This show is a baking competition between amateur bakers (AKA people who are really, really good at baking but didn’t go to school for it and don’t bake for a job). They compete against each other and are judged by professional bakers. The vibe of the show is really cozy, which is its claim to fame. The “tent” that they compete in is decorated beautifully with pastel cabinets and KitchenAid mixers. Sometimes it even rains outside and you can see the rain spattering on the windows of the tent. It’s not a cutthroat reality competition filled with attention seeking people, it’s a diverse group of friendly people who love to bake. I don’t normally give this show my full attention when it’s on but it’s a nice thing to have on in the background because of how chill it is.
The Great British Baking Show is on Netflix.
4. Somebody Feed Phil
See the guy on the right with ice cream on his face looking like it’s the absolute best day of his life? That’s Phil and that’s how happy he looks in every episode of his show, Somebody Feed Phil. This docuseries follows Phil Rosenthal as he travels all around the world meeting different restaurant owners and trying their food. Phil is the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond. If you ever watched that show, then you can picture this show as being like if Ray Barone from the sitcom was being filmed while traveling to international destinations. They’re kind of the same person. Phil handles all of the fish-out-of-water situations he puts himself in with dad jokes and a smile on his face and it just makes me happy to watch. One of the things I like about this show is that Phil isn’t trying too hard to be cool or impress anyone with his knowledge like some of the more serious food/travel shows out there. He just listens, has conversations, and enjoys himself. It’s informational while still being fun and unpretentious. I watch the other shows on this list by myself because they don’t really interest my husband. But John and I both enjoyed watching this show together. We’re not foodies at all but it was fun to watch Phil travel around the world and try different types of dishes.
Somebody Feed Phil has 2 seasons on Netflix. The third seasons is coming to Netflix in May! Something to look forward to.
5. The Great American Baking Show
Everyone always talks about The Great British Baking Show but no one ever talks about its spin off, The Great American Baking Show! It’s pretty much the same thing as the British version, just with Americans. I watched the most recent season, season 5. It’s holiday themed, so as long as you don’t mind a bit of Christmas cheer in springtime, you can get ideas for your 2020 holiday baking!
Season 5 of The Great American Baking show is streaming on Hulu and for free on ABC’s website. There are four other seasons but they’re aren’t currently streaming at the moment.
That’s all for today. I have my next 5 shows picked out for a part 2, so be on the lookout for that if you want more ideas like this. So what do you think of these picks for feel-good shows? Have you seen any of these already? Let me know!
UPDATE: Here’s Part II if you want to check it out!
-Emily