You’re at university, and whether you’re a third or first year, you are away from home for probably the first time, and it doesn’t get any easier. Maybe you’re not able to go home for a while, or you need just that one little pick me up before you can tackle the essay waiting to be written. These shows and films are for anyone at anytime, but as winter approaches and the longing for comfort and the familiar warmth of home grows, now is as good a time as any to get a dose of that comfort that is always present when found family is around.
This is spoiler free!
classic comforts
new girl
Three men and one woman live together in a flat. Add on a best friend and a myriad of family members and love interests, and you’ve got the recipe for disaster. Or… found family.
Five people are thrown together and get to experience life together for however long. Sound familiar? They may be pushing thirty, but we’re living the same experience. So cuddle up and watch them play True American, attempt to cook Thanksgiving dinner (multiple times), and just generally stumble through life. (And it has the best love story in any sitcom ever… IMO.)
Abbott Elementary
Workplace sitcom!!! That should be enough to encourage you to watch it anyway. However, throw in mother figures (or Lesbian Aunts) Melissa and Barbara, insta-famous Ava, scary grandad Mr Johnson, tired brother-in-law Gregory, slightly strange cousin Jacob, and puppy dog daughter Janine, how could you ever say no?
This show is one of the funniest I have ever seen and the child actors are incredible, but when the emotions hit, they HIT!
friends
A classic. It’s similar to New Girl in that it’s a group of friends navigating adulthood whilst having fun along the way. You can’t go wrong with a found family sitcom.
Now, these next two might seem like the opposite of comfort, but if you’re like me and have been hyperfixated with either (or both!) of these, then you’ll know the absolute joy of a found family domestic scene after the most earth-shattering traumatic episode!
criminal minds
My current (since February, still going strong) hyperfixation. Procedural drama? Check! Workplace drama? Check! Constant trauma for my favourite characters? Check! Found family? Check!
Yes, they are very serious FBI agents who catch serial killers and other monsters, but they are also a family who care for each other like no one else. And the scenes where that care shows through are enough to fill any cold heart during these late months.
Grey’s anatomy
Again: lots of trauma, lots of sadness, lots of serious business. But what about MAGIC? Or MAJAC? The familial bonds in this show are some of the strongest I have ever seen in any media, and that’s saying something! I promise you now with my whole heart that you will not be disappointed.
Grey’s Anatomy is calling out to you: Pick me! Choose me! Love me!
movies
We’ve got three movies now to add to the list for that short burst of comfort you may need on a particularly gloomy day!
dead poet’s society
Right, I’m sure you read that and thought I had made a mistake. Maybe I have, but hear me out.
You only need to look at the colour palette of the movie (search Dead Poets Society on Pinterest) to see it is an autumn watch. A New England boarding school, a beautiful old building in the countryside, in the middle of autumn as the leaves take their turn and jumpers get pulled from the back of the cupboard. Led by the inimitable Mr Keating, a group of upper-class teenage boys tackle the meaning of life. Shakespeare is read, poems are written and revolutions are created!
the holdovers
An Indie hit from last year that shared so much love and joy it made it all the way to the Oscars, including an incredible first win for Da’Vine Joy Randolph in the best supporting actress category, and never has it been more deserved. Dominic Sessa acted like he had been on screen for years, not like this was his breakout role. Another New England boarding school, this time set during the Christmas holidays and focused around a fragile but feisty student, a tired teacher, and a school cook who had just lost her son.
An unlikely group who are thrown into spending Christmas together? Sounds like the perfect conditions for found family to me!
love actually
A genuinely perfect movie for this time of year. Everyone is interlinked and everyone has to look out for each other. Everyone is going through their own thing and need that comfort from the people they love; we all know how that feels. So get all your friends together, bring out the popcorn, and allow yourself to be surrounded by love as you watch these people flow in and out and in between each other’s lives; forming a family.
And just remember, love actually is all around.
(Pro Tip: For a funnier experience, watch it lined up with commentary from some the actors that can be found on YouTube!)
and finally, franchises
harry potter
The obvious answer. You’ve got eight whole movies that are the peak of comfort, whether you watched them as a child or you recently discovered them, the friendships and found family carry them. Even if you’re not into the whole magic thing (although why wouldn’t you be, it’s the perfect escape), the Halloween and autumn vibes are enough to carry it!
Although, please stream it somewhere that the TERF author won’t profit from!
twilight
It wouldn’t be an Autumn comfort/found family list without a Twilight mention. Just look at the colour palette. It’s guaranteed to make you laugh (’Bella, where the hell have you been, Loca?’), but it will also almost definitely fill up that little space in your heart that needed the comfort of a classic movie series like this.
There we have it! Enough comfort to carry you through to Christmas and beyond! So get your pumpkin spice latte, your warmest fluffy blanket, and your favourite movie night snack and settle in for love, comfort, and most importantly, found family!