Winnie Dear Wonders

5 Shows That Got Me Through Quarantine

We were all thrown for a loop last March when the world shut down due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. Many of us had to find new normals amid job losses, the inability to see loved ones, and the general loss of stuff to do outside of our homes. Prior to the pandemic, I was never a huge tv watcher. I had a select number of shows that I loved (and still love) that I would go back to over and over again ( The West Wing, I’m looking at you) but I rarely sought out new things. But with so much more free time on my hands while not working for almost a year and a half, I was forced to step out of my comfy tv bubble and try some new things. What’s I found were some real gems and I thought it would be fun to look back at the shows that got me through the pandemic now that Illinois has officially reached Phase 5 of their reopening plan and I am happily back at work. ( I should note that my one requirement when looking for new things to watch was that they had to be positive and couldn’t feature the pandemic in anyway, so don’t expect any Handmaids Tale or Greys Anatomy on this list.)

1. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

Pandemic aside, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is hands down the best thing I have watch in a long, long time. The concept may sound strange to some, but this show was honestly the highlight of my week every time it was on, even when the episodes felt with heavier topics. Zoey’s tells the story of a 20 something, awkward, read-headed computer coder (anyone figured out why I have connect so much with this show yet) named Zoey Clark who, while dealing with her beloved fathers impending death, accidentally develops the power to hear what the people around her are feeling through musical number that only she can see. Weird, I know. But also weirdly perfect, realistic, funny, heartfelt, and so so so fun. It was heartbreakingly just announced that NBC has cancelled this show after only two seasons, so I implore you to give this lovely show a try and if you love it as much as I do, to beg who ever it takes to get Zoey another season!

You can watch all the episodes of Zoeys on Peacock

2. The Goldbergs

This Goldbergs may be one of the best discoveries Greg and I have made together as a couple. This was a show that I had seen a trailer for once, figured it didn’t make it past one season and have never thought about it again until Greg found it on Hulu when we were looking for a new sitcom to start together and suggested we give it a try. Not only was I wrong about it only being on for a season ( it just finished airing it’s 8th season and was picked up for a 9th!) but this show has quickly stolen my heart as one of my favorite sitcoms of all time. The Goldbergs follows the lives of titular family in the 1980’s and is based on the real life of its creator Adam Goldberg. Each episode features real home video footage that inspired that episodes plot and the real life people who served as inspiration often make cameos. The Goldbergs has also been hilariously fun to watch with Greg because he too grew up in the 80’s and shared many things in common with Adam, so If you too were a child of that time, you’ll have a blast reliving your childhood with Adam, Barry, and Erica.

3. Anne With An E

Anne With An E was a show I had been hearing great things about for years, but for some reason never gave it a chance. Man do I ever regret that, because I loved every second of this beautiful show. For those that don’t know, Anne With An E is an adaptation of LM Montgomery’s classic novels Anne of Green Gables. The book and show follows a young, outspoken, red headed orphan named Anne Shirley after she is adopted by two unmarried siblings in the late 1800’s. This show was sadly cancelled by Netflix after only three seasons, but those three seasons are some of the best television I have ever watched. I felt connected with almost every side character and side plot and couldn’t wait to see what trouble Anne was going to get into next. Much like Anne herself, this show had a lot of heart.

You can stream the whole series on Netflix.

4. Superstore

If you have ever worked retail or customer service and you haven’t watched this show, you’re missing out. Superstore follows the work days of the crew of a fictional big box store called Cloud 9 and it hits every detail of being and unpaid and overworked retail worker on the head. It’s so funny, I have cry laughed several times and we’re only on season 2. The cast is phenomenal, the writing near perfect, and I couldn’t recommend it enough. I think the last season just finished airing and I really hope the rest of the show lives up to how great the first two seasons have been.

You can stream Superstore on Hulu

5. The Simpsons

Okay, So I have a couple things to confess with this one. 1) Prior to last year, I had never seen an episode of the Simpsons. Yeah, I know. 2) Number one can be explained by the fact that I’m usually super late to the game of pop culture things and 3) I definitely used needing to fill in the pop culture gap in my life as an excuse to finally get Disney+. Me and Greg started the Simpsons early on in the pandemic and are currently on season 4. All I can say is I have no idea why it took me so long to get on board with this show. Its brilliant on all fronts. Also, I always thought that my dad was most like Tim Allen on Home Improvement but I can now say that he definitely has a lot of Homer in him.

If you’re like me and have somehow lived under a rock your whole life, sign-up for Disney+ now so you can enjoy this classic.

So there you have it, the five (new to me shows) that kept me entertained and positive through quarantine. I know many of them you probably already new about but like I said, I’m often rather late to the game on things. Did you watch any of these shows over the past year? Let me know or let me know what you did watch! Fingers crossed there isn’t another pandemic for a long long long time, but I’ll start taking recommendations now!

-Cori