Whether you’re coming back to university after a summer of relaxing and drinking cocktails, grinding every day at work so you can pay tuition next year, or if this is your first semester, everyone is worried about one thing: what to watch when you’re overwhelmed with papers, readings, and assignments?
As the master of procrastination, I’m here to give you my top three TV shows that never fail to get me through the first-semester blues.
1. Coupling
It’s an oldie but a goodie! This British comedy is one of the most hilarious sitcoms that I’ve seen in a while. It follows the life of a charismatic group of friends through all their frivolous adventures with relationships in their late twenties.
This plot might sound familiar to you, and if you’ve binged Friends as many times as I have, it should—this 80s, slightly sexist (but in a way that you can understand and appreciate the humour behind it) sitcom is what Friends was based on. So, if you love the 90s classic and you’re looking for more content but don’t want to branch out too far, I strongly suggest Coupling. It has the same fun-loving and comfortable vibe that I get every time I watch Friends.
2. The Vampire Diaries
A vampire classic, The Vampire Diaries is of my favourite shows to watch once I’m done with my readings and starting my notes. The cast is only attractive enough to keep me invested, the sex scenes are horrible, and the acting is even worse—but for some reason, I love this show.
However, the plot line of ‘vampire’ and ‘diaries’ become very quickly lost after the second season. Somewhere around the middle of the show, everyone becomes a vampire, so it’s no longer really a plot point (because if everyone is a vampire, there is no one to be afraid of them). As CW often loves to do, there are two spin-off shows: one is titled The Originals and is about the first vampires in existence and their half-vampire half-werewolf baby, and the second, Legacies, is about a magic school for the twin witch babies… Babies that were placed into a vampire student’s womb after a brutal attack on their mother, that is. Since her high school history teacher is the father, they have a very complicated, very uncomfortable, and very forced romance with one another.
No need to worry, though! She ends up with her love interest from the very first episode of the show. You may be wondering why I’ve just spoiled the whole show for you… and all I can say is that I’ve hardly even scratched the surface.
3. RuPaul’s Drag Race
Okay, we all know that RuPaul isn’t the best person in the world. She created a whole television series that centres around making her look as good as possible, and she uses her name to create as many puns as she can (Ru-pocalypse is my least favourite, Ru-usical is probably of the most clever), and for years, she denied trans drag queens the opportunity to appear on her show.
I know that she’s not a good person, but I don’t think we should penalize the drag queens who go on the show for that! With the artistry, colours, bright lights, funky clothes—even the ugly clothes—it’s the perfect show to have on while you’re writing an essay. There is virtually no plot to follow, most of what people say is just pointless drama, and the music is half-decent. There are so many seasons of this show, it could easily carry you through the semester with episodes to spare. There’s even a spin-off show called RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars where eliminated queens get to come back for another season and try again.
At the end of every episode, two queens perform a lip-sync to a bop of a song. To be honest, the main reason I still watch this show is because it’s so colourful and creative. While I’m writing, it really helps me to get my creative juices flowing.
I know that many people have very specific television shows that they watch when they’re stressed or studying to relax. These are three of my top downtime TV series—they’re the best for me to throw on in the background when working in silence becomes too much. Nothing beats a silly show that I don’t really care about to really pull me out of my first semester blues!