More restrictions are back in the province as COVID-19 active cases continue to grow. Many of us are find ourselves bored in the continuing time loop that is COVID-19 and a lack of recreational activities. And so, many like me have turned to film and television. Looking back all the way to the start of the pandemic last year, here are my favourite quarantine watches. I highly recommend any of them if you are looking to get invested in a TV series to take your mind off of our world’s current situation.
Outer Banks
Set in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, this TV show is a must watch. A band of friends, who are viewed as part of the outcast population due to the wealth divide in the area they live, find a clue to long-lost rumoured treasure, $400 million worth to be exact, and given their current poverty and downtrodden luck, the friends decide to look for the treasure. This first season, with the second slated to release on Netflix this summer, has adventure, mystery, murder, comedy and romance. Although it may seem like a teen show, I highly recommend it for all ages.
Yellowstone
Kevin Costner stars in this series as the patriarch of a powerful (and very rich), complicated family of ranchers in Montana. If there were just two words to describe this show I would say “cowboy mafia.” The show is full of shifting political alliances, murder, and a powerful family’s drive to keep influential land developers, oil and lumber corporations at bay and away from taking their ranch. This is the farmers version of Son’s of Anarchy, the action packed, cowboy starring drama is sure to have you on the edge of your seat and binge watching all three available seasons on Amazon Prime.
Superstore
Now available for streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime, I wholeheartedly recommend watching Superstore. This ensemble comedy starring America Ferrera (you might know her from Ugly Betty or the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), centers around employees and the comedic situations that befall them working at a superstore. It is a very upbeat, funny show and I highly recommend it if you are looking for a show that will boost your spirit and mood.
The Witcher
The Witcher arrived on Netflix December 2019, and although it was available before COVID-19 hit, this incredibly produced high-fantasy show is the perfect quarantine watch to transport you to another world. Starring Henry Cavill as the Witcher, who is most well known for his role as Superman in the DC Comic movies, this show is an intense blend of magic, power dynamics, and the pull of fate. It is one however, that you should be paying close attention to as you watch because of the continuous jump in timelines without warning, in addition to the fact that the lead characters’ magic stops them from aging so it is difficult at first to decipher the time jumps. The Witcher’s second season just wrapped up production so hopefully we will be able to see it on our screens before 2022.
Younger
The final season of Younger comes out this spring, so I think starting it now on Amazon Prime is a fantastic excuse to binge watch what I would probably call one of my favourite contemporary TV series ever. In Younger, 40-year-old Liza Miller, played by Sutton Foster, is on the job hunt after her teenage daughter takes off for a year studying abroad. However, the years she has spent raising her daughter has hindered her prospects in the publishing world, which her degree is in. After being mistaken for a 26-year-old when out with a friend one night, Liza decides to pretend she is younger than she is to help her get a job. This show is the perfect amount of comedy, romance, drama and really powerful friendships. Not to mention it is set in the world of book publishing in New York City, so a definite escape from one lifestyle to another on the screen.