Well, we all have a lot of extra time on our hands, so I figured it would be good to compile a list of different movies, TV shows, podcasts, and music that my friends and I have been watching/listening to so far. I broke up the lists by streaming services to make it easier to find what you can watch!

YouTube

If you’re looking for a good laugh I would highly recommend watching a Starkid show. Starkid is a theater company that writes their own comedy musicals and posts them for free on YouTube. They have 12 productions (which I managed to binge-watch in a week) and they are all insanely good. A Very Potter Musical and Holy Musical, B@tman! Are two of my favorites but you can not go wrong with any of them.

If you like the true crime genre, I would highly recommend “Buzzfeed Unsolved”. Each week they document an open crime case. They then provide commentary and their theories on who committed the crime. If you are more of a supernatural/paranormal fan they also have seasons that are dedicated to that, where they investigate supernatural occurrences. Those are my personal favorites.

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the amount of depressing news these days I would recommend the new youtube series by John Krasinki’s (the actor who play Jim in “The Office”) called “Some Good News,” a show where John highlights some good news from around the world. In his first episode he interviews Steve Carell, it’s definitely a nice quick watch.

Netflix

It seems like the entire world is hooked on the show “Tiger King.” I can’t go on any of my social media without seeing someone talk about it. It explores the world of big cat breeding and is filled with eccentric characters and with twists and turns. Admittedly I have not seen it yet, but my parents watched it and gave it “a solid 8/10,” so take that as you will. 

One of my favorite books as a middle schooler was Perks of Being a Wallflower, and the movie was recently released on Netflix. It follows a high school freshman struggling with feeling like a “wallflower,” but meets two students who help him discover friendship, love, music, and more. My synopsis did not do this justice (also I would recommend the book it’s a 10/10).

If you like “The Office” or “Parks and Recreation” I would highly recommend “Arrested Development.” The show sort of falls off the deep end in the last few seasons, but the earliest ones are especially enjoyable. The show follows Michael Bluth as he has to run the family business after his father is sent to jail for committing white-collar crime. The entire Bluth family is very funny and eccentric, leading to a great show.

One of my favorite shows on Netflix is “Documentary Now!” created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and Seth Meyers. It is a show that parodies documentary films in a super funny, unique way. Each episode is basically a fake documentary, that parodies a lot of cliches in documentary films. One of my favorite episodes is season 3, episode 3 “Co-Op,” which is a parody of “Original cast album: Company.”

Here are some rapid-fire recommendations of stuff my friends have recommended: “All American” (TV), “Bojack Horseman” (TV), “Breaking Bad” (TV), “Dark Tourist” (TV), “The Pianist” (Movie), “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” (Movie), “Blade Runner” (Movie). 

Disney+

This isn’t going to come as a surprise, because I won’t stop talking about how much I have watched/listened to this movie in the past 3 weeks but I would 1000% recommend “The Muppet Movie” (1979). I have listened to the soundtrack for the movie at least once a day, every day of this quarantine and have probably in total listened 70+ times (literally listening to it as I write this article). So if you’re looking for some laughs (and probably some tears) I would definitely recommend this movie.

Disney recently released their new Pixar movie “Onward” onto Disney+. It stars Chris Pratt and Tom Holland who play elf brothers Ian and Barley who go on a magical quest to spend one more day with their father who – in true Disney fashion – is dead. The dad is also pants. 

Another new addition to Disney+ is “Frozen 2.” While I still definitely prefer the original (which is also on Disney+!) I’m a sucker for all things Frozen so this made the list. The movie follows Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven to an enchanted forest in a journey of self-discovery for all. If I were you I would watch this just to see Kristoff sing “Lost in the Woods,” it’s pretty amazing.

If you are like me, you grew up being obsessed with all the “High School Musical” movies, so if you haven’t already I would recommend the Disney+ original “High School Musical The Musical The Series” (aka the longest name for a TV show ever). It follows the drama club at the school where HSM was filmed as they put on their own production of HSM. The show won’t change your life but it’s definitely good fun.

Rapid-fire recommendations: “The Imagineering Story” (TV), “Encore!” (TV), “Coco” (Movie), “The Mandalorian” (TV), “The World According to Jeff Goldblum” (TV), “Monkey Kingdom” (Movie). 

Podcasts

Fun fact about me: I’m obsessed with Podcasts, and one that I have listened to since 7th grade is called “My Brother, My Brother, and Me.” It’s a weekly “advice” podcast hosted by three brothers. They answer questions sent in by viewers or questions they find on Yahoo answers. This podcast has never failed to make me laugh and it is my go-to and I look forward to when it comes out each week.

If you like a podcast that tells a true story, I would recommend “Serial”. It’s made by people who work on “This American Life” (another great podcast). Each season narrates a nonfiction story over multiple episodes. My favorite season is season one, which follows the court case of the murder of Hae Min Lee, and Lee’s ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed who is in jail for her murder, although he claims he is innocent.

Although there is only one episode out so far this had to make the list. My favorite straight play is a two-man show written and starring John Mulaney and Nick Kroll called “Oh Hello” which follows the lives of two old men. They just released their first episode of “Oh, Hello: the P’dcast” and it’s everything I need and more. 

When Brian Foisy was editing this article he texted me, “Where’s Bill Simmons At?” So I also recommend “The Bill Simmons Podcast” although I have never heard more than 3 minutes of any given episode. But if you enjoy sports, it seems like a good listen. 

Rapid-fire recommendations: “Jenna + Julien Podcast,” “Theater People,” “This American Life,” “My Favorite Murder,” “Dear Hank and John.” 

Music

Conan Gray has recently released his new album, “Kid Krow.” 

“The Muppet Movie” soundtrack (are you surprised?)

If you were like me in middle school you were obsessed with 5 Seconds of Summer, and they just released a new album called “Calm,” it’s honestly pretty good and very different from their older works.

Brian Foisy recommends “All of Pearl Jam”

One of my favorite bands San Fermin released a new album called “The Cormorant I & II.” It’s a good time.

Anything by Austin Weber! All of his songs are bops and a half.

Emily L’Heureux recommends “Matt Maeson”