Winter (and finals season) is coming. It’s getting cold outside, the holidays are approaching, all you want to do is hide under a pile of blankets, and there’s a faint glimmer in the distance that resembles the end of the quarter. If you haven’t started planning out what you’re going to watch, either to procrastinate or to celebrate your newly-found freedom, here’s a list of things on Netflix to binge-watch this winter.
1. Gilmore Girls (and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life)
Featuring everyone’s favorite coffee-crazed mom-and-daughter duo, the close-knit small town of Star’s Hollow, a plethora of dating troubles, and witty and sarcastic writing, Gilmore Girls is one of the best coming-of-age TV shows. You’ll follow Rory’s journey through high school, college, and adulthood in general. And once you finish the 7 seasons of the original show, you can turn to the Netflix mini-series reboot to see Lorelai, Rory, and the town of Star’s Hollow further down the road.
2. The Great British Baking Show
Looking for a feel-good show filled with mouth-watering cakes, cookies, and pastries and beautiful shots of the English countryside? Well, The Great British Baking Show is your answer. Featuring the famed Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood as judges, the show follows amateur bakers as they tackle various baking challenges in hopes of being crowned the season’s winner. Get your snacks ready for this one because it’ll make you hungry for sure.
3. Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds follows a close-knit team of FBI profilers as they work to profile and stop the nation’s serial killers and violent criminals before they can strike again. Unlike your average crime or detective show, this one keeps you constantly on edge and each episode’s events often leave you horrified. Netflix currently has 12 seasons of the show, more than enough to keep you sufficiently thrilled and creeped out for weeks.
4. Friends
This classic 90s sitcom follows our favorite friends Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross as they navigate love, life, and work in New York City. With its short but jam-packed episodes, Friends makes it frighteningly easy but extremely fun to watch over a season a day. Plus, the show features hilarious Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes if you’re looking to get more into the holiday spirit.
5. Scandal
If you’re looking for something filled with plot twists and the scandals of modern politics, Scandal should be your go-to this winter. The show, created by Shonda Rhimes, tracks Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), an ex-White House Communications Director and literal icon, who assembles a highly intelligent and skilled team of so-called “gladiators” which work together to manage the scandals facing the financially and politically powerful. As you watch through the 7 seasons, you’ll find the political drama becoming so complex and intriguing that you won’t be able to stop watching.
6. Grey’s Anatomy
You’ve probably seen Grey’s Anatomy on every list of shows to binge-watch ever, and for good reason. Another Shonda Rhimes creation, the medical drama is both humorous and heart-wrenching, with a great soundtrack, an assortment of characters you’ll love, and an endless amount of empowering and supportive advice from Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). The first 14 seasons are available on Netflix which are sure to keep you comfy (and probably crying) on the couch for days.
Assorted Movies
If you’re looking for some comedy specials, feel-good romances, or holiday movies, there are plenty of options to choose from on Netflix, with more being added each day. Consider a few of the following, whether you’re having a solo movie night or hanging out with your friends or family:
- Iliza Shlesinger’s Elder Millenial (and her three other specials also on Netflix)
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
- Set It Up
- The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society
- Hasan Minhaj’s Homecoming King (filmed at our very own Mondavi Center!)
- Sixteen Candles
- Sex and the City: The Movie
- The Princess Diaries