TV Shows for When You Need a Break from the World

Ever since I was a little dude, I’ve been a TV addict. If someone was using the TV in our family room, you could find me sitting on a flipped-over laundry basket with my face jammed up against the tiny TV in our kitchen.

Nothing has changed, except now, when one of my roommates is using our living room TV, you will find me in my bed with my nose in my laptop streaming something.

My very favorite kind of TV show is the funny kind. I want to laugh, giggle, chuckle and groan. I like comedies because I think drama, crime and war are prevalent enough in the real world. I like to escape into what I am watching. My other favorite kinds of TV are travel and home improvement. When the two are combined into one show, even better!

Since there are a gazillion different streaming platforms these days, I decided I would throw together some of my favorite escapes and where to find them for those of us that need a little distraction from the world.

1. Bob’s Burgers (Hulu)

This show is currently on its twelfth season, so I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard of it. That being said, most people I’ve talked to say something like, “oh, I’ve seen a little bit here and there.” But I think it is important to focus, sit down and watch a few episodes. Getting to know each character and their endearing quirks helps you fall in love with them and get sucked in. For those who aren’t familiar, the show follows Bob Belcher and his wife Linda, who own a small burger joint that they live above. The Belchers have three hilarious, peculiar children navigating their tween and teenage years. Among the absurdity, it’s quite easy to find relatability. Each family member has personality traits and interests different from the others, yet they have so much love for each other and their time spent together. It’s a great reminder that there can be harmony among people that aren’t necessarily alike because their differences are celebrated.

The show rarely references anything from our world, so you can be fully consumed by their world and not have to worry about politics, celebrity gossip, etc., sneaking its way back into your brainwaves. This is a great show if you’re looking for a more extended binge—you can’t conceivably finish all the episodes in one night.

2. Escape to the Chateau (Peacock)

Love British accents, beautiful architecture or DIY home renovation projects? How about all of them together? It’s almost impossible not to fall in love with the unconventional couple, Lieutenant Colonel Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adoree, and their adorable children, Dorothy and Arthur. The family decided to leave their loft in Essex, England, to purchase a dilapidated Chateau in the French Countryside. After looking at a few options, they ended up with a 45-room home on twelve acres of land with several outbuildings. Yes, you read that right. As you can imagine, it’s a lot of work. But the skills and craftiness of Dick paired with the eccentric design eye of Angel is an unstoppable combination. This show is typically slow and calm, making it a great before-bed or in the background while you knit/paint/work kind of watch.

3. Disenchantment (Netflix)

This show is very underrated and underappreciated. Comedy geniuses from shows like The Simpsons and Futurama come together with a star-studded cast of voice actors like Abbi Jacobson and Eric Andre in this Medieval fantasy world. The show follows a drunk, disgraced princess and her friends—a green elf and a demon from hell, taking on the world in a constant battle of good vs. evil and magic vs. science. Seeing an animated princess who is not conventionally beautiful and has a rebellious spirit is highly refreshing. The show owns its ridiculousness so well that you forget there aren’t fairies and trolls roaming the forests and talking pigs walking the streets in our everyday lives.

4. Letterkenny (Hulu)

You’re going to need to turn your subtitles on for this one. This show is about a fictional small town in Canada made up primarily of Irish immigrant families, giving the cast of characters very thick and comical dialects. Different groups within the town, the hicks, the skids and the hockey bros, are forced to interact despite the great contrast in their ideals, which is sure to make you cackle. This show is a seemingly impossible balance of extremely witty and tragically dumb, with jokes about farting popping up regularly alongside some of the cleverest wordplay you’ll ever encounter. Each episode is on the shorter side, so it is very easy to find yourself watching five or six in one sitting.

5. What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu)

Based in the same world as the 2014 film, this show is a mockumentary style depiction of what it’s like to be a human familiar in a house full of hundred- and thousand-something-year-old vampires. Whether they are hanging out with their human neighbors or planning events with the Vampiric counsel, these vampires are causing trouble that the poor familiar is desperately trying to make right. Each vampire hails from a different part of the world and historical era, resulting in some pretty amusing accents and cultural reference points. This show can get a little raunchy, so I wouldn’t recommend watching it with your parents or children if you are awkward-moment-averse.