Binge Watching 101: Streaming Recommendations

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Genre: Comedy

Number of Seasons:  1 (13 episodes, 30 minutes each)

Risk of Getting Addicted: High

 

Here’s the story: after fifteen years of living in an underground bunker because she was told the world ended, Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper) is rescued and moves to New York City.

Sound dark?

Here’s the funny part: because she’s been underground for fifteen years, Kimmy is discovering everything that has changed while she’s been gone. Her roommate, Titus Andromedon (Tituss Burgess) , helps her adapt to modern life, while she helps him pursue his dream of becoming an actor on Broadway.

Don’t even get me started on the theme song.  It’s what kept me clicking to watch the next episode. It will be stuck in your head in no time.

The show is addicting, but it’s still new. You have plenty of time to catch up on the episodes you’ve missed. It won’t take up a lot of your time.

The show is written by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, which is what originally hooked me. Kimmy Schmidt is ridiculously funny, but also has a lot of heart. Kimmy’s optimism is contagious and after an episode, you’ll feel like you can do anything, which is great because you’re probably going to watch this show when you have homework you’ve been avoiding.

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Rizzoli and Isles

Genre: Drama

Number of Seasons 6.5 (86 episodes, 43 minutes)

Risk of Getting Addicted: Extremely High

If you think all cop shows are the same, think again.

“Rizzoli and Isles” is a TNT drama, based off of a book series by Tess Gerritsen, about the crime-solving team of Jane Rizzoli, Boston Homicide Detective, and Maura Isles, Boston’s Chief Medical Examiner. Of course they solves crimes; what kind of crime show would it be if they didn’t? But what makes the show so great is more than just the episode-to-episode murder solving.

You’ll want Jane, played by Angie Harmon, to be your best friend. She’s sarcastic and funny but also caring, and determined to get justice for the victims. Maura, portrayed by Sasha Alexander, is a little more “out there.” She’s brilliant, albeit a bit disconnected from the real world. Luckily, she has Jane to keep her firmly grounded in reality, and Jane has Maura to remind her to take care of herself.

Add Jane’s family—Angela (Lorraine Bracco), her mother; Frankie (Jordan Bridges), her brother and a fellow detective; and Tommy (Colin Egglesfield), the black sheep of the family—Detectives Korsak (Bruce McGill) and Frost (Lee Thompson Young), and tech specialist Holiday (Idara Victor), and you’ve got yourself quite a cast. You’ll immediately be sucked into their backstories and interpersonal relationships.

The drama in this show is high. The girls get sucked into all kinds of crazy and dangerous situations. Because the show airs on cable, they’re allowed to say and show so much more to amp up the dramatic tension.

Rizzoli and Isles will have you on the edge of your seat, going from cracking up, to sobbing, to being in a state of panic, all within a 43-minute episode.

The only downside of this show? “Rizzoli and Isles” is only available for streaming on Amazon Prime and, in addition to paying for Prime service, you have to pay either per episode or per season ($1.99 for the standard episodes, $2.99 if you want them in HD.)

The seasons range in price from $16.99 for the first season, to $29.99 for the current season that allows you to watch new episodes the day after they air.
The season six summer finale premiered on TNT on Sept. 1. There is no word on when the winter premiere will be, though seasons four and five came back to TV in February.