If you’re job hunting, hiding from your work, or trying to work but are furloughed indefinitely by the powers that seem to be, and you need something to binge-watch to chase the blues away, check out these six TV shows. Binge-watching TV can be a great way to take your mind off the more gnawing things in life.
The job market has been a cause célèbre of late, whether because people are having difficulty finding them, finding satisfaction in them, or, for those furloughed, actually doing them. There are only so many LinkedIn posts you can look at before you want to scratch your eyes out, so binge-watch these shows instead, and take a break for a second.
Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)
If you are bored, frustrated at work, or furloughed and staring at the ceiling, then you need something to watch that will take you away to a fantasy world but still feel grounded enough that at least parts of it could be in your own future. Enter, Pushing Daisies, a strange comedy crime-caper.
The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie maker with the ability to resurrect dead people by laying his hands on them. However, if he ever touches said person again, they will remain dead for good. When a P.I. discovers Ned’s talent, the two pair up to solve cold case murders together.
It’s a beautifully shot and colored show that will make you feel like you’re being dropped into a storybook. Pushing Daisies has eccentric characters, smart crimes, and delightful turns of phrase and other details that fill up the screen. It’s a fairytale for adults and just the thing to binge right now.
Adventure Time (2010-2018)
Adventure Time is an animated series set in the fantastical Land of Ooo and follows Jake the Dog and Finn the Human, two best friends who travel around the land, defeating bad guys, saving princesses, making lunch, and completing all manner of strange and unusual tasks.
It sounds like a show made for children, and on its face, with its colorful animation and generally low stakes, that’s the point. However, that style belies a sharp eye for humor and character and a story that slowly unfolds into something epic. Adventure Time may not sound like your cup of tea, but give it a try.
Each episode is only about 12 minutes long, making it an easily bingeable series. You could finish a season or two in an entire afternoon if you put your mind to it. Adventure Time is filled with funny characters, inventive plots, and surprisingly thoughtful themes that will transport you away while you watch.
Enlightened (2011-2013)
The TV show Enlightened
Enlightened is the show Mike White made before White Lotus earned him worldwide recognition, but if people had been paying attention to this underrated HBO series when it premiered, he probably would have gotten his flowers earlier. The series stars Laura Dern as Amy Jellicoe, a woman returning to work from sabbatical.
Well, sabbatical is putting it lightly. In reality, a nervous breakdown at work two months earlier sent her to a treatment facility, where she learned coping mechanisms to deal with some new stresses at the office. Demoted and disregarded, Amy comes across a legacy of corruption and decides to turn whistleblower in recognition of her self-actualization.
It’s a story that may seem entirely plausible to those currently furloughed, and Amy’s breakdown and frustrations with those at work will be relatable to anyone who has wanted to pull out their hair while dealing with an HR manager hell-bent on providing you with as little information as possible.
Parks And Recreation (2009-2015)
Leslie Knope Doing Finger Guns And Smiling In The Office In Parks And Rec
If you’ve ever been frustrated by the slow wheels of your job or have felt underappreciated while trying to help people who seem unwilling to accept your help, check out Parks and Recreation, a series that makes bureaucratic government work look like a blast, even when you’re just trying to fill in a pit.
The series even has a furlough episode! Parks and Recreation is set in the nowhere town of Pawnee, Indiana, where Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) serves as the deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department. Disillusionment with her coworkers and disdain from her town don’t scare her.
It’s an easily bingeable series with characters who develop and grow across the seven seasons, with Leslie eventually becoming President. Parks and Recreation is basically a fantasy with how it depicts working at a boring job, but it also gives a look into how to make the most of wherever you are.
Abed and Joel McHale in Community
If you’re truly bored with your job, or perhaps worried that furlough may turn permanent, perhaps you’ve considered going back to school. Then you quickly realize that college has only grown more expensive since you attended. There is one avenue you can still take that’s more affordable: community college.
To get a sense of what that may look like, check out Dan Harmon’s Community, a wickedly smart, laugh-out-loud, heartwarming series about a disparate group of people who meet daily at their community college to study Spanish, only to quickly become lifelong friends who do everything together.
The series is based on Harmon’s own experiences attending community college, so beneath the school-wide paintball fights, blanket-forts, and underground chicken-finger distribution rings, there’s a lot of truth to what the show has to say about making friends in a place you were hoping to get in and out of as fast as possible.
Slow Horses (2022-Present)
Release Date
April 1, 2022
Network
Apple TV+
Slow Horses is a fantastic show for government employees who are feeling disrespected and tossed aside of late, and it’s a great binge-watch to boot. The series is centered on a group of MI5 agents relegated to the dinghy offices of Slough House, usually because they’ve messed up on the job at one point.
However, over the course of five seasons and counting, we come to learn that most of the members of Slough House are there for problems not of their own making. Even without the support of the main MI5 organ, they manage to protect England and one another while doing the job they were initially hired to do.
Every season of Slow Horses introduces a new case for the team to solve, whether they are wanted or not. Come to watch brilliant writing and acting performances led by Gary Oldman, stay because it’s a good reminder that you can still find ways to fight the good fight, whether you’ve been relegated, furloughed, or what have you.