Advertisement

A Viewer’s Guide To Better Binge-Watching

47:11
Download Audio
Resume

From "Gilmore Girls" to "The Crown," what to binge watch over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Loreli and Rory Gilmore (Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel) wander around the main square of their quirky Connecticut hometown of Stars Hallow in the new Netflix series, "Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life." (Netflix)
Loreli and Rory Gilmore (Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel) wander around the main square of their quirky Connecticut hometown of Stars Hallow in the new Netflix series, "Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life." (Netflix)

With the long holiday weekend coming up, we know there will be feasting. And in many homes a bunch of football. Nice walks and good talks too, we hope. And then, maybe, some binge-watching on television. Some no apologies, dive in, let-it-wash-over-you soaking in something. Something good, we hope. We’ve got two critics with a raft of suggestions, insights – from the return of the "Gilmore Girls" to "The Crown" and much more. This hour On Point, what to binge watch this Thanksgiving. — Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Margaret Lyons, writer for the New York Times’ Watching, a standalone TV and movie site and newsletter. Former writer for New York Magazine’s Vulture. (@margeincharge)

Alan Sepinwall, TV critic at the news and culture website UPROXX. Co-author, with Matt Zoller Seitz, of “TV (The Book).” Also author of “The Revolution Was Televised.” (@sepinwall)

From Tom’s Reading List

New York Times: What You Should Watch: ‘Black Mirror’ and ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’
-- "If you like musicals, I’m going to assume that you already watch 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,' the biting, sometimes-bawdy musical comedy that is finally returning for its second season. But if musical numbers are generally a turnoff, push past that initial skepticism: This is less 'Smash' and more 'BoJack Horseman.'"

UPROXX: ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life’ Is Kind Of A Mess, But One We’re Glad Exists — "We’re in the midst of a boom in TV show revivals, because nostalgia rules the entertainment world, and because familiar brand names are one of the few ways to break through the clutter of Peak TV. Jack Bauer returned to battle terror one last time in 24: Live Another Day, and Fox has a Kiefer-less sequel series debuting in January — about a year after the network’s six-part X-Files sequel. NBC tried to muster enthusiasm from the 10 people who watched Heroes all the way to the end with Heroes Reborn, while Netflix — which will release all four 90-minute episodes of A Year in the Life on November 25 — gifted the world with Fuller House. Sometime next year, we will probably get the long-awaited Twin Peaks sequel on Showtime, along with a flood of other resurrected catalog titles."

The Week: How to binge-watch TV without harming your health — "Binge-watching is bad for you. Gobs of studies have linked TV — or "excessive" TV — to things like diabetes, blood clots, and lower sperm counts. 'Every single hour of TV viewed after the age of 25 reduces the viewer's life expectancy by 21.8 minutes,' one study glumly concludes. Another asks, 'Netflix and kill?'"

Margaret And Alan's Top Binge-Worthy Shows

"Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life" (Netflix)

"The Crown" (Netflix)

"Search Party" (TBS)

"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" (The CW)

"Breaking Bad" (AMC)

"The Wire" (HBO)

"The Americans" (FX)

"Fleabag" (Amazon Prime)

"Bojack Horseman" (Netflix)

"Terriers" (FX)

This program aired on November 22, 2016.

Advertisement

More from On Point

Listen Live
Close