Sure, you love your family. But sometimes you need space. We recommend these shows for when it’s time to Netflix and chill … by yourself.
THE CROWN
Do you want to watch a captivating drama about British royalty with your half-in-the-bag brother asking questions like “Which ones are the Windsors” and “Does the queen outrank the prime minister?” Of course not. “The Crown” is to be savored in solitude.
DOCUMENTARY NOW!
Bill Hader and Fred Armisen’s IFC series satirizes the kind of good but vaguely depressing documentaries you half-watch while eating leftovers. The extreme specificity of the jokes will add to your sense of delicious isolation.
30 FOR 30
The ESPN documentaries are just incredible, even if you aren’t into sports. Watch the one about the ’85 Bears, go down to the cellar to ask your dad about Walter Payton, and have your first real talk with the old man in years.
BLACK MIRROR
Feeling downright misanthropic, are we? Wallow in the irony of using your phone or laptop to hide under the covers and watch a show about technology dividing us from the people we love most.
THE TWILIGHT ZONE
When I was a kid growing up in Los Angeles, I waited all year for the “Twilight Zone” marathon on KTLA. Now everyone in America can join in, without their moms asking them to turn it back to the parade. (Haven’t heard of “The Twilight Zone?” It’s “Black Mirror” for old people.)
MAKING A MURDERER
The coldness of the Wisconsin murder mystery parallels the chill in the air when your family starts talking politics. Switch to the last-resort topic sure to make any meal fly by: Did Steven Avery do it? (Here are some recent updates.)
WITH BOB & DAVID
You need dose of absurdity right now, and Bob Odenkirk and David Cross are masters of it. You should also seek out and watch every single episode of their 1990s HBO series “Mr. Show.”
BREAKING BAD
Your relatives don’t understand: You do everything for them … just like Walter White, who starts cooking meth to provide for his family. Why can’t everyone see that he’s a hero?
BETTER CALL SAUL
We like Odenkirk a lot, OK? “Better Call Saul” shows how the “Breaking Bad” star broke from his loved ones to become such a loner, not that you’re going in that direction, not at all.
NARCOS
Let’s just say it: Holidays can be depressing, and one way to avoid binging on drugs is to binge on shows about drugs.
MAD MEN
You know those “good old days” your grandpa is always talking about? These are those “good old days.” They weren’t that good.
HONORABLE MENTION: ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
You know what? Go ahead and watch this one with everyone. It will spark some good healthy discussion and debate.
If you enjoyed this gallery and are still hiding on the porch, “checking work emails,” you might enjoy these related ones:
… and, finally, “Making a Murderer”: 26 Updates Since the Series’ Debut
