Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Hannah Einbinder, Jean Smart, Mark Indelicato, Megan Stalter, Paul W. Downs
Chasing the feel of watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? Here are the movies we recommend you watch right after.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Hannah Einbinder, Jean Smart, Mark Indelicato, Megan Stalter, Paul W. Downs
Genre: Drama
Actor: Amelia Bullmore, Gemma Jones, Gemma Whelan, Joe Armstrong, Rosie Cavaliero, Shaun Dooley, Sophie Rundle, Suranne Jones, Timothy West, Vincent Franklin
For those familiar with the original book series, you’ll already know what kind of show to expect. The Apple+ cartoon is centered on the two titular amphibians going through universal adventures that makes or breaks your day. From finding the willpower to resist eating delicious cookies, to hoping a friend would contact you when you’re lonely, each episode keeps a gentle sort of humor, poking lighthearted fun at the differences between the emotional Toad and more sensible Frog. With each episode’s twenty minute runtime, and two adventures per episode, Frog and Toad is a sweet, nostalgic series that’s easy to breeze through for millennial parents and their kids.
Genre: Animation, Family, Kids
Actor: Kevin Michael Richardson, Nat Faxon
What if the 1960s space race never ended? For All Mankind imagines such a world; here, Russia's cosmonauts arrive on the moon first, the galaxy holds resources beyond belief, and global wars have expanded in stakes and scale. More than just the final frontier, outer space is now the focal point of warring nations hungry to capitalize and claim new assets.
For All Mankind's out-of-this-world premise alone make it a thrilling watch, but you'll be glad to know that the show also feels intimate and affecting thanks to its fully fleshed-out characters. If you're looking for an epic but grounded story to lose yourself in, this is it.
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Science Fiction, War & Politics
Actor: Casey Johnson, Casey W. Johnson, Coral Peña, Cynthy Wu, Edi Gathegi, Jodi Balfour, Joel Kinnaman, Krys Marshall, Michael Dorman, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten, Sonya Walger, Wrenn Schmidt
Genre: Drama
Actor: Allison Williams, Jelani Alladin, Jonathan Bailey, Linus Roache, Matt Bomer, Noah J. Ricketts
Despite their rising popularity, K-dramas have sustained a reputation for being, at times, too sentimental for their own good. Extraordinary Attorney Woo is not exempt from that tendency, but when it does shoot for schmaltz, it makes sure to aim right at your heart. Thanks to clever twists and moving performances across the board, Extraordinary Attorney Woo is an excellently emotional series. Every romantic encounter will make you swoon, every courtroom scene will have you cheer, and every ending will leave you in tears.
Moreover, it’s not a show that simply happens to be about lawyers. It is a law procedural that deals with each new case with the utmost care. It’s smart and educational, with the proceedings and resolutions blending seamlessly into the characters’ own arcs.
There’s something for everyone in this series, and it’s sure to be an easy favorite for one reason or another.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family
Actor: Baek Ji-won, Ha Yoon-kyung, Im Sung-jae, Jeon Bae-soo, Jin Kyung, Joo Hyun-young, Joo Jong-hyuk, Kang Ki-young, Kang Tae-oh, Kim Hieora, Koo Kyo-hwan, Park Eun-bin
Director: Yoo In-sik
Imagine if the show Girls was Marvel-ized (or if you like, Derry Girls blended with Encanto): that’s kind of what this series is, but actually good.
It has all the trappings of a quarter-life-crisis sitcom—broke 25-year-olds with big dreams and little prospects living under one roof—while also being set in a world where everyday humans develop a superpower by the age of 18. The British series follows Jen, a late bloomer who has yet to find her power. Having had enough of sucky jobs and boyfriends, she sets out to discover her power in the hopes of finally knowing more about herself. It’s a bizarre premise with an authentic, endearing core that's certainly worth checking out.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy
Actor: Mairéad Tyers, Robbie Gee, Safia Oakley-Green, Siobhan McSweeney, Sofia Oxenham
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend starts with a very familiar setup. A girl leaves town to follow a boy she loves, and along the way, she picks up a best friend who blindly supports her, a rival who gets in romance’s way, and a second guy who, little does she know, loves her for who she is. That girl, Rebecca Bunch (played by writer-creator Rachel Bloom), is our romcom hero, and she knows it. She views life as one big musical movie where she’s supposed to get the guy and live happily ever after.
Except, in real life, things are never as simple—and people never as one-dimensional—as that. This confuses Rebecca, who then goes out of her way to craft the perfect happy ending, even if it means hurting people (including herself) along the way.
In a series of wackily addictive songs, playfully subversive twists, and heart-aching breakthroughs, we join Rebecca as she learns to overcome her demons and live in the real world. Her journey to self-awareness and self-love can get frustratingly slow and surprisingly bleak, but it’s also deeply comforting and reassuring.
Watch this if you’re interested in subversive takes on love, affecting female friendships, genuinely catchy tunes, proper mental health representation, and seeing reductive stereotypes, the “crazy ex-girlfriend” just being one of many, fleshed out and reclaimed with great aplomb.
Genre: Comedy, Music
Actor: Donna Lynne Champlin, Rachel Bloom, Scott Michael Foster, Vella Lovell
Warning: this workplace series takes everything you hate about corporate life and mirrors it back to you with alarming clarity. It takes place in a morally corrupt multinational called Hampton DeVille, and we mostly follow “junior executives in training” Matt and Jake in their daily goings-on in the office. Sometimes, they’re able to cope by sneaking a nap here or making watercooler jokes there—absurd imaginings and occasional protests also help allay their boredom—but for the most part, they’ve given up on the system and are just trudging through the everyday. While Matt optimistically hopes for a better life outside the cubicle, Jake cynically lets him (and us) know that “There no way not to waste your life.”
Like Office Space and Better Off Ted before it, Corporate is endlessly nihilistic, but unlike them, it doesn’t have a redemptive moment where the protagonists find a silver lining in their jobs. No, Corporate is as bleak as it gets. But buoyed by ridiculous hilarity, sharp social commentary, and the insane ability to perfectly describe corporate life, it remains highly watchable, like a dystopian tragicomedy inching closer and closer to real life.
Genre: Comedy
Actor: Anne Dudek, Lance Reddick
Genre: Drama
Alice in Borderland is a fast-paced heart-wrenching puzzle of a show that will have you wracking your brain and wiping your tears, often at the same time. It combines the wit of Hunger Games, the ruthlessness of Battle Royal, the goriness of Saw, and the social commentary of Squid Game, though sadly it has yet to receive the same renown as these titles.
With each game, the characters must solve a given problem before the timer runs out—when it does, they die, often violently and for others to witness. While playing the games, leads Arisu (Kento Yamazaki) and Usagi (Tao Tsuchiya) also try to solve the bigger picture by figuring out once and for all who the gamemaster is. Like the story it names, Alice in Borderland drives its characters into increasingly dark and mad situations the deeper it gets. It's also built to last like the novel, a classic in the making bound to be rediscovered and re-enjoyed in the years to come.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Aya Asahina, Ayaka Miyoshi, Ayame Misaki, Dori Sakurada, Keita Machida, Kento Yamazaki, Mizuki Yoshida, Nijiro Murakami, Nobuaki Kaneko, Riisa Naka, Sho Aoyagi, Shuntaro Yanagi, Tao Tsuchiya, Tsuyoshi Abe, Yuki Morinaga, Yutaro Watanabe
Alexa and Katie greets us with vintage Nickelodeon sitcom acting, which is far from the most inspiring. But the same can’t be said about this show’s premise and execution, which is incredibly heartfelt and commendable. Characters are supportive and mature where it counts, though it’s structured to feel like any other kids’ sitcom—which is to say that the intrinsic heaviness is handled well, and in line with Alexa’s desire that people not treat her any differently. The show is vulnerable and sweet, packaged in a familiar and comforting way for younger audiences learning to be brave with Alexa.
Genre: Comedy
Actor: Eddie Shin, Emery Kelly, Finn Carr, Isabel May, Jolie Jenkins, Paris Berelc, Tiffani Thiessen
An underrated sign of a good TV show (especially a reality show) is if you start imagining yourself in its world, wanting to explore, wanting to feel what its people are feeling. Watching this series is like going on a fun, over-the-top immersive activity with friends. Its participants are pleasant and capable, saving you the headaches and scream-fests with your TV. Sometimes, puzzle-solving leaves them in the dark for quite a while and we just have to ride out the confusion, but frankly this show’s down periods are more interesting and stressful than most other reality shows at their peak.
Genre: Reality
Actor: John Park, Karina, Kim Do-hoon, Lee Eun-ji, Lee Hye-ri, Lee Yong-jin
Director: Choi Yoon-hee, Jeong Jong-yeon, Kim Ah-ra, Kim Seo-goo, 채송이
Led by fine-tuned performances from Ben Whishaw and Hugh Grant at the top of their game, this three-episode series dives headfirst into the sex scandal between Norman Scott and former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe with devastating wit. Neither character is treated as morally superior over the other, as both become consumed by the media frenzy surrounding the English justice system's thirst for controversy. And Russell T Davies' writing and Stephen Frears' direction allow the show's tone to pivot from brilliantly timed notes of humor to profoundly sad stretches of tragedy and drama. Given its short length, A Very English Scandal seems to be designed for binge-watching, but it should still reward patient and attentive viewing.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Alex Jennings, Ben Whishaw, David Bamber, Hugh Grant, Jason Watkins, Jonathan Hyde, Monica Dolan, Naomi Battrick, Patricia Hodge
Produced by National Geographic, A Small Light is a ten-part miniseries that tells the incredible true story of Miep Gies (Bel Powley), the Dutch woman who bravely hid her Jewish friends from the Nazis during World War II. Among these friends is her kindly mentor Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber) and his daughter Anne (Billie Boullet), both of whom form a tight bond with Miep.
More than just re-adapting Anne Frank's story to the screen, A Small Light further fleshes it out by introducing other characters in depth and giving surrounding heroes their due. In fact, it's as much about courage as it is about survival as it highlights what it takes to lend a hand (and possibly lose it) when you don't need to. It also helps that this noble message comes with a massive budget and excellent performers, elements that tie everything together in this high-quality series.
Genre: Drama, War & Politics
Actor: Amira Casar, Bel Powley, Billie Boullet, Joe Cole, Liev Schreiber