If you’re reading this, then you’ve either already got plenty of time on your hands or you’ve got so much homework that you could use some really amazing TV shows to distract you from school in order for the most effective procrastination. And when you’re in college, both can be true in the same week–so this list will be useful for you no matter which situation you find yourself in. Keep in mind that humor is the best medicine (i.e. laughing will help alleviate that stress headache, I promise).
New Girl
Watching the quirky, polka-dot-clad Jess maneuver through life with her awkward social skills and hilarious shenanigans that come up when living with four guys takes off the edge of having a term paper due Monday. Bonus points: Watch with your roommates and figure out who each person in your dorm is most like from the cast! Even more bonus points: Only choose ONE character for each person (because we all get kind of greedy about which character we actually are)!
The Mindy Project
Sassy doctor owns who she is and interacts with more attractive men than is even fair. The Mindy Project is like if your inner thoughts turned into a dialogue but with yourself, and also at twice the speed. There’s never too long of a span between jokes and it’s a great new take on the overdone “woman living in New York has fun adventures and does cool things” trope, so it never feels like you’ve already seen that episode. Even though you probably have…twice…but only because you just really hate math and used it to distract yourself.
Parks and Recreation
If you somehow managed to evade a Parks and Rec marathon, seeing Amy Poehler paraded through the streets by the Hasty Pudding should have been all you needed to convince you this show is what dreams are made of. The loud feminist message is a huge strength to the show and Amy Poehler is backed by a hilarious cast. “Treat yo’self” is a way of life that I suggest everyone get on board with because it’s exactly the way to approach finals.
Gilmore GirlsWho doesn’t want to have a super fun mom that is insanely witty and sarcastic? You’ll fall in love with the grouchy Luke and the lovable Sookie, and you’re definitely going to swoon over at least one of the guys after Rory. My bets on Jess, but then again, who’s going to resist the bad boy? I mean, the only truly unforgivable thing Gilmore Girls did was have Rory choose Yale over Harvard.
Friends
Honestly, who hasn’t watched Friends at this point. The amount of times I catch my roommate watching Friends instead of doing her physics homework is actually ridiculous–but that’s also a testament to how easy it is to get right into the show at any point. You can never go wrong with dropping a Friends reference.
Pretty Little Liars
The pre-teen within all of us who read the books or started high school watching the series will assure you that it becomes a show you watch out of loyalty. And also, how many times can they possibly come up with a new antagonist? There are only so many letters of the alphabet for them to base a character on…
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
If you liked New Girl, you’ll love this. There’s never a dull moment and amongst the crazy situations that Kimmy Schmidt finds herself in after living in a bomb shelter with others captured by a doomsday cult before being rescued and now attempting to lead a normal life in New York City. Honestly, this is the most unique plot line I’ve heard of in years, and for that alone it’s worth a try.
Orange is the New Black
It’s not often you can mix a serious issue like the treatment of women in prisons and humor, but that never stops OitNB. Piper Kerman herself, the creator of the book that OitNB is based off of, actually will be speaking at Harvard! If that’s not incentive enough to watch the first seasons by Tuesday to understand all the references, I don’t know what is. If you aren’t able to binge watch it by then, at least make sure to be caught up by the time that season three drops this summer!
If you disagree with any of the shows, just wait until you reach that plateau of productivity during Finals Week and try again! You’d be surprised what you’re capable of when you just really don’t want to think about that exam you’ve got on Tuesday.