Between March 2020 and March 2021, I spent eight months living with my parents. That is eight out of 12 months. Two-thirds of a year. Nearly every weeknight, and on some weekend nights too, weād plop down on the couch, someone would turn on the TV, and then that same someone would say, āSo, what should we put on?ā Even though that someone was often my dad, it wasnāt always ā because he got to the point where heād sooner sit in a silent room than have to piece together the jigsaw puzzle titled, āSomething Inoffensive, Entertaining, Digestible, and Broadly Appealing.ā
As Iām sure youāve experienced with family members, it is extremely difficult to find something to watch that fits into those categories. And among me and my parents, the Venn diagram of our TV interests intersects in a space no larger than a chia seed.
Anything we watched had to satisfy these criteria:
Nothing political (thereās a time and a place for that, but itās just...not every single night after dinner)
No reality TV (my mom and I love it, my dad hates it)
Nothing too murdery (in a fun generational twist, my parents adore Dateline, but it kept me up at night in our quiet suburban house)
Preferably no movies (my mom and I donāt have the patience, my dad absolutely does)
Extra points if itās a documentary
Preferably something in multiple parts, to stave off the next search for a show for as long as possible
Unsurprisingly, many nights passed where I watched Too Hot to Handle on my iPad while my parents watched Mecum Auto Auctions (donāt ask) next to me on the couch. I know I could go to my room like an angsty teenager ā I was in my childhood home, after all ā but the time with my parents felt sacred and fleeting, even though, as I have to point out again, it lasted eight months in total. So I really, really wanted to solve that jigsaw puzzle (both literally and figuratively; I love a j-puzz).
And by god, we really did manage to find some stuff that we all not only tolerated, but actually really liked. And Iām telling you, if these worked for me and my parents, then you and yours will absolutely like them too. Consider this your next TV show playlist for the next holiday, visit home, family vacation, or, god forbid, extended global pandemic.
Stuff you maybe havenāt watched yet, but should
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates. At the start of the pandemic, I started paying for a PBS subscription, thereby giving me streaming access to their entire library of programs (including Ken Burns documentaries and entire live recordings of Broadway shows, both of which always get a collective āhell yeahā from Bob and Carol). Itās one of the best things I did, partially because it gave us access to this jewel of a show. Gates meets up with celebrities of all stripes (Jordan Peele! Bernie Sanders!), traces their lineage, tells them stories about their ancestors they never knew, and sometimes tells them about other celebs theyāre related to. (This is the show where it was discovered that Larry David and Bernie are actually related.) Itās so charming, offers a very personal insight into history, and Gates is an engaging, delightful host. I liked it so much Iāve been watching ever since I went back to my own apartment.
Only Connect. This is an extremely British game show in which teams of three try to make connections among seemingly disparate bits of trivia and words. When I say itās extremely British, I mean there are countless questions about cricket, āfootballers,ā British counties and towns, and at least one question about some creature named Basil Brush. Even if you consider yourself a smart person, it will make you feel like an idiot, but itās so fun, I promise. The host, Victoria Coren Mitchell, is equal parts warm, witty, and excoriating, and has a ton of fun with the supremely nerdy contestants who toil away at the questions for literally no prize other than a plaque. It airs on the BBC in the UK, but you can watch on YouTube in the U.S.
The Food that Made America. This is a docu-series on the History Channel, because you know I had to include something from the History Channel on a list of shows I watched with my parents. This one is super fun: It traces the history of some of the most iconic food brands, like Coca-Cola, Hersheyās, and Frito-Lay, and intersperses it with some truly cringe-worthy reenactments. Somehow, every single company was founded by two brothers who eventually hated each other because one only cared about the business and the other wanted to fuck around. Anyway. Itās pretty entertaining, and you learn stuff! And crave some snacks.
Modern Marvels. This comes on right after The Food that Made America, and if you, like my mom, have a tendency to fall asleep during a show for 10 minutes or more, you might wake up and be like, āOh cool, same show.ā But this one has Adam Richman (the Man vs. Food guy), and in the most recent season I watched, he shows you how all kinds of foods are made. He shows you chocolate chip cookies, chips, ice cream, and goes inside the factories, and itās all very informative and mouth-watering and broadly appealing. No one will object. What more are you really asking for?
The World Poker Tour. Listen, sometimes you need to space out and listen to Vince van Patten and Tony Dunst narrate the action as some dude name Joe tries to hide that he has pocket aces. I finally got somewhat decent at playing poker while I was home, so we watched a lot of the World Poker Tour. Even though the ads are interminable, it was pretty entertaining, and helped me beat my 8-year-old niece at the game at least twice. If you want something thatās literally always on, no matter when you want to watch it, this is perfect.
Buying Alaska. This is somehow not on HGTV. It follows people trying to buy homes in Alaska, the more remote and the fewer the toilets, the better. Itās pretty entertaining because it includes more about the lifestyle of Alaskans than HGTV shows tend to include ā but also, some people just really want to live among the moose, and I find that charming.
The Plot Against America. This was really gripping stuff! Itās alternate history based on a book by Philip Roth about what the world would look like if Charles Lindbergh defeated FDR in the 1940 presidential election. Itās obviously fiction, but the sobering depiction of rising fascism and antisemitism feltā¦ not that far off! I know I said we usually avoid anything remotely political, but weāre Jewish, and the story about a Jewish family really hooked us in.
Some stuff youāve definitely heard of and/or watched, but shouldnāt discount:
Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives
Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Stanley Tucci CNN show in Italy
The Queenās Gambit
The Crown
Thank you, Terri! Finally, here are a few of my personal recs for family-friendly entertainment: Defunctland (make a playlist of all the vids that sound good to you and let it rock), The Last Dance, Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks, Untold: Crime & Penalties, The Imagineering Story, and Ken Burnsā Prohibition (which it will not surprise you to hear that Terri actually recommended to me a few years ago). āRWM šŗ
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