TV Shows and Documentaries I Enjoy Watching

All the shows I watch are generally funny, insightful, interesting dramas and series. I have a wide range of interests, but if something is too disgusting, I won’t watch it, or if it has too many complicated subplots, or doesn’t grip my brain in the first few episodes, I let it go.

I enjoy well-developed characters, nothing too complicated, and they have to be truly deep, interesting personalities where they aren’t just “good” or “bad” but both. Some series make it on the sub-lists twice, but that’s because they fit in both categories:

If you want, I did a shorter list here: Netflix recommendations

Documentaries

Memoirs

• Fear City: NYC Mafia history – truly gripping
• American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner story; I watched with big grains of salt but it was good
• Self-Made: The story of the self-made millionaire Madam C. J. Walker

Learning

• Becoming you: Following the growth of babies around the world as they age
• 7 Days Out: The biggest events in the world, condensed down in minutes, following week by week
• James May: Our Man in Japan – He is a fantastic traveler, his episodes are witty & interesting
• Fake Famous: How to become an influencer in days

Fashion/Style

• First Monday in May: Preparing the Met Ball and exhibition (behind the scenes)
• The September Issue: Preparing the issue of Vogue (behind the scenes)

Food

• Jiro Dreams of Sushi: The sushi master behind the scenes
• Kings of Pastry: Behind the scenes of French pastry competitions

Competitions

• Spelling the Dream: Getting to the finals for the spelling bee
• Cheer: A documentary on cheerleading in Texas. It sounds boring, I promise it isn’t

Eco-friendly

• Home: Different homes and interesting architecture around the world
• Down to Earth: Zac Efron (actor) goes around the world to see eco-friendly places and so on but honestly, I try to ignore some of the quack advice and just focus on what they’re showing
• Attenborough’s Planet Earth: ANYTHING by Attenborough is worth watching

TV Series

Medical

• Grey’s Anatomy: A good drama, less on the funny side but insightful
• House: He’s rude but he’s a great doctor and it mixed medical with mystery

Fashion/Style

• The Rachel Zoe Project: I love her, because I am really into fashion so she’s fun

Feel Good

• Ted Lasso: American coach in England – lighthearted and funny
• This Is Us: It makes me cry every single episode (happy cathartic, emotional tears)
• The Marvelous Mrs Maisel: Midge is GOALS. I love her clothes, her attitude…
• Bridgerton: I hate period dramas (they’re so slow and boring), but this one is interesting with a modern music/style twist
• Dash and Lily: This one is just a throwaway cotton candy show but still a young adult sort of comedy/drama
• Hollywood: What it would have been like if things were different for women and people of colour

Drama/Fantasy

• Schitt’s Creek: Takes until Season 2 to really take off and be funny – a rich family learning to live like normals. Season 1 is awful, I won’t lie. Season 6 is the best.
• The One: What if you could just have ONE person who was meant to be your soulmate?
• Game of Thrones: I skipped the last season to avoid getting angry, but the rest of it was just so good
• Upload: What if there was life after death? Quite good

Mystery/Crime

• Lupin: Like a French Ocean’s 11.. totally fantastic
• Sherlock (BBC): Some of the best interpretations of Sherlock I have ever watched
• Elementary: An American twist on Holmes & Watson, love the duo
• Monk: Mr. Monk series – lighthearted and fantastic
• Law and Order: Criminal Intent – I only watch for actor Vincent D’Onofrio because he is a gifted actor for this particular role, the investigation is brilliant
• The Rookie: Nathan Fillion is a brilliant actor, love this cop show
• The Mentalist: Mysteries – The main character (the mentalist) played by Simon Baker is phenom, and it’s a good series
• Castle: Nathan Fillion can do no wrong, this is such a good series I rewatch it often

Feminist-centric

• The Marvelous Mrs Maisel: Midge is GOALS. I love her clothes, her attitude…
• Ted Lasso: American coach in England – lighthearted and funny
• The Queen’s Gambit: It’s centered around chess, but it is not boring in the slightest
• Why Women Kill: Women and murder but in a lighthearted, fun way
• Grace and Frankie: Being older in society & an older woman
• Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce: Learning to live for yourself and the messiness of divorce (also funny and a drama)

Reality TV

Food

• Top Chef: All of it. All the spinoffs. I have watched it all.
• James May: Oh Cook! – I’ll watch anything by him, he learns to cook
• Queer Eye: More style, focused on mostly men but I just enjoy the home decor, food & style
• Chef’s Table: Interviewing each innovative and interesting chef around the world
• The Chef Show: Jon Favreau (actor) with Roy Choi (chef) helping make iconic dishes for people
• Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted – Ramsay going around the world, traveling, cooking & a mini competition at the end

Organization/Home

• Tidying Up with Marie Kondo: Learning how to declutter and let go
• Sparking Joy: Another good one with Marie Kondo
• The Home Edit: Organizing spaces – I am more like Clea for sure…
• Fixer Upper: They come off too good to be true, but I like the Gaines’ & their fixes
• Get a room with Carson & Thom: Fantastic home decor that’s hilarious
• Queer Eye: More style, focused on mostly men but I just enjoy the home decor, food & style

Life

• Almost Famous: A mockumentary of being rich in L.A. by the Foster Sisters (hilarious)
• Love on the Spectrum: Finding love when you are slightly autistic, my heart melts & breaks
• Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives: Totally misrepresenting the real population in India, a little racist, but it’s just cultural trash TV for me
• Indian Matchmaking: A behind the scenes look of doing arranged marriages – I love the mini interviews they do of older couples
• Rich House, Poor House: I am trying so hard to find more of the series but I can only find clips of rich people swapping lives with poorer ones for a week

Fashion/Style

• Stylish: Jenna Lyons on home and styling, I just like her attitude & the tips
• Queer Eye: More style, focused on mostly men but I just enjoy the home decor, food & style