If you're anything like me, you love to watch TV and you would all day, every day if you could. I am constantly on the hunt for shows that will leave me wanting more. A good TV show can keep me in front of the TV for hours, just ask my poor roommate who is probably already sick of me yelling at the TV and cursing out Shonda Rhimes every Thursday night. Anyway, here are nine shows that will suck you in and keep you on your couch for the entire weekend.
1. Stranger Things
"Stranger Things" was arguably the hottest new show on Netflix this summer. I watched all eight episodes in one day — you're impressed, I know — and I loved them all. It's a limited series about a girl with some pretty crazy supernatural powers and a group of friends who fight a creature from another dimension — and some pretty scary people from our dimension — in order to save their best friend. There's some great side characters that you'll find yourself rooting for and an overall incredible plot. I can't wait for The Duffer Brothers to blow me away with season 2.
2. The Office
"The Office" is a go-to show for me. If I can't find anything new to watch, I'll start re-watching "The Office." I'll admit, it's a little hard to get into it at first, but once you make it through the first few episodes, it's amazing. It's a show all about the lives of the many people who work for Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, PA. It's filmed like a documentary with interviews of each character throughout the episodes. The dialogue is great and each character is so unique and funny. Throughout the nine seasons of the show, I became invested in the multiple running story lines and often found myself laughing hysterically, or sometimes even crying, at 3 a.m. when I was 14 episodes deep into a new season. If you're looking for a dry comedy, look no further.
3. Orange is the New Black
"Orange is the New Black" is another popular Netflix original TV series. When I first got a Netflix account — thanks mom! — "OITNB" was the first show that I watched. I powered through the first season in a weekend because this show pulls you in right away. It follows Piper Chapman, who is in prison for the first time, and the people she meets in prison. Each woman in the prison, the guards and Piper's family and friends are so richly developed that as a viewer, you feel like you're a part of their lives. The way that the writers dive into the background of the main characters through flashbacks is beautiful and truly allows the audience to better understand who they are as people. "OITNB" will make you laugh, scream at your TV and it will rip your heart out, but I promise that you will thank me for making you watch it.
4. Scandal
Let me start by saying that Kerry Washington is a goddess — and my idol — and she totally kills it in "Scandal." "Scandal" follows the life of Olivia Pope (Washington), who rises to power in Washington D.C. when she helps run — and win — the presidential campaign for Fitzgerald Grant. SPOILER ALERT: they have an affair — hence the title of the show — and throughout the show, the dynamic between Pope and Grant is explored and how their affair affects those around them. The show also depicts how Pope is a bad ass "fixer" and can solve all the problems for the wealthy and powerful people living in D.C. There are other awesome characters who help and sometimes hinder Pope throughout the show, but you'll just have to watch the five seasons of the show and revel in its glory yourself.
5. New Girl
"New Girl" is a great feel good show and is one of the funniest shows on TV right now. It follows the lives of Jessica Day, her three male roommates and her best friend, CeCe. Jess is a super quirky teacher who has virtually nothing in common with the guys that she chooses to live with after finding them online. Her roommates are Winston, Schmidt and Nick (and occasionally Coach when he decides to pop by). The show does a great job of building each character and giving them each unique relationships with one another. Luckily, you've only missed five seasons — season six just started last week and I am so happy to have the show back —, so commit to "New Girl" because it absolutely rocks.
6. Friday Night Lights
If you haven't watched "Friday Night Lights" yet, you need to immediately. It is easily in my top five favorite TV shows of all time and you can catch me re-watching it whenever I get the chance. I actually teared up just picking the gif for this show. "Friday Night Lights" is all about a football team in Texas, the Dillon Panthers. Eric Taylor comes to Dillon High School to be the new head coach of the football team and throughout the show's five seasons, the audience becomes a part of the world and you truly feel like you know each character and that you watched them grow up. You are brought into the lives of the boys on the team and their families, as well as that of Taylor and his family. "Friday Night Lights" will make you feel every single emotion possible, some so drastic that there were times when I needed to take a break from the show. However, if I haven't convinced you to start watching the show, I have two words for you: Tim Riggins.
7. How to Get Away with Murder
Shonda Rhimes is an actual genius and gift to this earth because her shows are easily some of the best on television. "HTGAWM" is one of the most intense, plot-twist filled shows that I have ever watched. It's shot in present day, but there are always flashbacks to days or months before to explain how the characters got to where they are, which is one of my favorite things about the show — besides Frank, of course. It's about a woman, Annalise Keating, who teaches law school courses at Middleton University. In the beginning of the show, she chooses five students from her criminal law class to work side by side with her at her firm. I can't say much else about the plot without giving away important details, so I will leave you with some advice: do yourself a favor and watch "HTGAWM." Don't bother trying to guess who's guilty ever or who will die because you will be questioning everything until the end.
8. How I Met Your Mother
I need one more season of "HIMYM" to feel complete; once you watch it, you'll understand. "HIMYM" is fantastic; it is basically one giant flashback on the life of Ted Mosby and his friends, Marshall Eriksen, Barney Stinson, Lily Aldrin and Robin Scherbatsky. The flashbacks serve to show how Mosby met his future wife — I promise she is real, don't lose hope — as he tells the story to his kids decades later. "HIMYM" is great because you get to be there to watch all the characters grow up to be actual adults and you get to see every important moment in their lives over many years. The show will make you laugh until you cry, but it will make you cry for real too. You will probably fall in love with Mosby at some point and scream at the girls who break his heart, but he'll be okay, and you will be too, once you reach season nine.
9. Dexter
"Dexter" will always be one of my favorite TV shows ever made. I love Michael C. Hall as Dexter, but I also hate him because he said that he would never make another season of the show — no, eight seasons was not enough. Hall plays Dexter Morgan, who is a blood spatter analyst for the Miami-Metro Police Department by day and a serial killer who murders other murderers — who do not get caught — by night. Ironic, I know. Dexter is the perfect antihero because as his character takes shape and changes throughout the show, you will find yourself rooting for him even though he is killing people. "Dexter" is also a show that I found myself taking occasional breaks from because I was so worked up over certain things that happened. One warning that I will give you before starting the show is that the series finale is one of the worst TV show endings ever, but you should still watch the show because it truly is a work of art.
Obviously this article is full of my own personal opinions on nine different TV shows, but I promise that the shows all rock. It was so hard for me to pick just one gif for each show because I had to attempt to embody the show in one short clip — so much pressure —, but you should definitely watch at least one of these shows. If you do, then you'll have a reason to procrastinate whatever it is that you're actually supposed to be doing. I watched 16 episodes of "Parks and Recreation" before I wrote this article, so trust me, binge-watching one of the above shows will get the job done.
