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Our colleague Kelly Lawler from the USA TODAY Entertainment team is here to share 100 TV shows to get you through any long days indoors.
Movie theaters may be closed, concerts postponed and school out long before summer, but TV is still here for us.
As much of the USA stays home to fight the coronavirus pandemic, our eyes have turned to our TV screens for entertainment and distraction, and there have never been more choices for what to watch. But not every TV show is right for every viewer in this tumultuous era (now is probably not a good time to watch HBO’s “The Leftovers,” wonderful as it may be).
Here are 100 TV shows worth watching while practicing social distancing, whether you want to laugh, bond with your kids or finally discover what’s behind the hype about all those “must watch” shows your friends are obsessed with.
When you need something, unabashedly, positively joyful
1. “The Carol Burnett Show” (Amazon) There are a multitude of series from the mid-20th century available to stream, when TV was a positive affair across the board. We’re partial to the timeless sketch comedy of Burnett, an American treasure.
2. “Fixer Upper” (Hulu) Chip and Joanna Gaines, their sweet kiddos, many adorable pets and can-do attitude may just give you the confidence you need to get through a tough time.
3. “Gilmore Girls” (Netflix) Although the Gilmore family has plenty of trials and tribulations, the world of quaint small-town Stars Hollow is usually upbeat in this beloved dramedy.
4. “The Great British Baking Show” (Netflix) Warm, friendly and with a focus on decent people doing their best (and doing their best to help each other), this British import is one of the happiest TV series ever made.
5. “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” (Disney+) A farcical mockumentary about a high school putting on a production of “High School Musical,” the stakes are low in this Disney+ series, though they seem very high (teenagers and their hormones, of course).
6. “Making It” (Hulu) The closest thing the USA has to “Baking Show,” the series manages to find sweetness in its crafting, plus a whole lot of overalls for Amy Poehler to wear.
7. “Parks and Recreation” (Netflix, Hulu or Amazon) Nothing can stop Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), not even a pandemic. NBC’s workplace sitcom is an inspiring stalwart in this genre, full of generally good people trying to do good things.
8. “Puppy Prep” (Hulu) A short-form documentary series about service dogs in training, “Puppy Prep” is like injecting furry joy right into your veins.
9. “Queer Eye” (Netflix) Inspiration, triumph, overcoming obstacles; all those heartwarming attributes are here when the Fab Five swoop into someone’s life to offer as much help as they can in a week.
10. “Schitt’s Creek” (Netflix) Full of beautiful romance, sunny settings and plenty of humor, Pop TV’s sitcom about a rich family that loses it all but gains a little perspective is always a mood booster. (New episodes on Pop Tuesdays, 9 EDT/PDT; series finale airs April.)
When you want to travel to a new world
11. “Battlestar Galactica” (Syfy) A bold, breathtaking space opera that is one of the best shows made in response to 9/11; you won’t be able to stop hitting “next episode.”
12. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (Hulu) The story of a 16-year-old charged with protecting the world from supernatural evil is a genuine classic, and most fantasy TV series still sit in its large, fanged shadow, more than 20 years after its debut.
13. “Charmed” (Netflix) The late ’90s/early 2000s fashions alone makes “Charmed” a nostalgia trip, but the sweet family stories and (slightly silly) demons also help.
14. “A Discovery of Witches” (Sundance Now) A quick, immensely satisfying binge-watch for fans of “The Vampire Diaries” and “Outlander,” the series, based on the “All Souls” book trilogy, nails a fantasy romance.
15. “Doctor Who” (BBC America and BritBox) With more than 50 years of time-and-space traveling episodes, there is no limit to where (or when) the Doctor (currently embodied by Jodi Whittaker) can take you in this British institution.
16. “The Expanse” (Amazon) Set in a slightly nearer future than many sci-fi epics, “Expanse” marries politics and space battles in the story of a future when we populate the solar system but remain culturally divided.
17. “The Magicians” (Netflix and Syfy) Something of an R-rated hybrid of “Harry Potter” and “The Chronicles of Narnia,” the superb fantasy series follows a group of adult magicians who discover a fictional world from popular children’s books is real – and dangerous.
18. “The Mandalorian” (Disney+) The first live-action “Star Wars” TV series lived up to the storied franchise, and not just because of Baby Yoda.
19. “Outlander” (Starz, Netflix) The sweeping, time-traveling romance verges on the melodramatic with its century-hopping plot, but it barely matters as the central love story never loses its chemistry or verve.
20. “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (or any “Trek”) (CBS All Access, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu) A winning combination of great science-fiction storytelling and a sense of hope and optimism, the “Trek” franchise is the kind of inspiration we could all use right now, and “Next Generation” remains the best of the bunch.
21. “Wynonna Earp” (Netflix and Syfy) If you’ve already seen “Buffy,” try this similar story of a super-powered young woman protecting her small town, this time a descendant of Wyatt Earp charged with keeping his undead enemies at bay.