#most my followers were originally American so yay in also hitting the uk people!

[call-me-pup2]

Its honestly so fun when I get a new follower and see they're also from the UK (bonus points if its Scotland)

[jasonhaw]

10 Shows to Binge in the Latest Golden Age of TV

.As someone obsessed with TV shows, I was pleased with the winners from last night’s 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards (full winner list here). With that, I have decided to come up with a list of 10 MUST-WATCH shows worth binging. Each show in the list comes with a binge clock from bingeclock.com, which is the site that tells you how many hours you need to binge a particular show.

Binge culture has brought us another golden age of TV. I had a hard time compiling this list because there are a ton of other shows that I have excluded, but if I had to recommend 10 shows that people should religiously watch, it would be these:

 1. If you want a less depressing version of politics: Veep (HBO)

Binge Clock: 1 day 5 hours (Season 1 to 6, final season upcoming)

Even if you are not privy to Washington politics, you will love Veep because the jokes are on point. Julia Louis Dreyfus is a powerhouse comedienne, having won Emmys across three shows (Seinfeld, New Adventures for Old Christine, and Veep). Last night’s award set her a record for not only winning the most number of Best Actress trophies (Seven!), but also winning the most Emmys playing the same character (Six in a row!)

As one friend puts it, “Everyone thinks Washington politics is like House of Cards but really everyone over there is fumbling like Veep.” These days, it’s getting harder and harder to differentiate which is the parody of the other – Veep or Trump’s White House.

A bonus you might be interested in: Julia Louis Dreyfus and Joe Biden team up together for a short during the 2014 White House Correspondent’s Dinner.

2. All-around feel good comedy: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)

Binge Clock: 18 hours 12 minutes (Season 1 to 3, Season 4 upcoming)

You probably have seen Titus gifs around the internet.

Co-creator Tina Fey originally planned to air the show on NBC as a successor to her critically-acclaimed hit 30 Rock (which you should totally binge by the way), but instead Netflix poached this show. Aside from the tons and tons of references, some of the actors were also from 30 Rock, such as Jane Krakowski (supporting actress) and Tituss Burgess (occasional guest star). Tina Fey herself shows up in some of the episodes as Kimmy’s therapist.

The title of the show explains it all – Kimmy Schmidt is unbreakable because she manages to live life in New York City even after being kidnapped by a cult leader and trapped in a bunk for 10 years. The opening sequence is one of my most favorite sequences of all time, and I never skip it.

Personal favorite? Season 3 Episode 2. Titus doing Lemonade will make you forget all your problems.

3. Show some Filipino-American pride: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (The CW)

Binge Clock: 1 day 7 hours (Season 1 and 2, Season 3 coming this fall)

Speaking of opening sequences, I also love both Season 1 and 2 opening sequences of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Again, the title of the show explains it all. Rebecca Bunch was a successful lawyer in NYC but decided to move to suburban California after serendipitously meeting her teen flame Josh Chan and spends the rest of the show obsessing over how to get him back. Given that this is California, Josh Chan is played by a Filipino-American actor (Vincent Rodriguez III). The opening sequence pretty much summarizes the premise:

Because the head writer, Rene Gube, is also Filipino-American, the show is littered with Filipino cultural references. Personal favorite: Season 1 Episode 5. Rebecca is invited to a Filipino thanksgiving and she serves up some dinuguan (pork blood stewed in vinegar) to impress the family (video below). The show is a comedy musical – you will have LSS with songs like “The Sexy Getting Ready Song.” Season 1 finale also features Filipino Broadway pride Lea Salonga.

4. All-around awesomeness: Master of None (Netflix)

Binge Clock: 10 hours (Season 1 and 2, hopefully Season 3 comes sooner!)

Speaking of Asian Americans, praise Aziz Anzari for this show. I was lukewarm to Aziz on Parks and Recreation (which you should totally binge by the way!) but I am obsessed with him on Master of None. Each episode is a standalone mini-movie: the title of the show is in reference to the phrase, “Jack of all trades, master of none.”

Personal favorites (and also both Emmy winners): Season 1 Episode 2 Parents and Season 2 Episode 8 Thanksgiving. In Parents, Aziz’s real life parents make a cameo as the parents of Dev Shah, Aziz’s character, as the episode discusses intergenerational issues in immigrant families. Thanksgiving features the coming out story of Denise, played by Lena Waithe, who is a black queer woman.

Aziz takes time writing these episodes. Season 2, which was released earlier this year, came two years after Season 1. Netflix greenlighted Season 3, but time can only tell when that is coming!

5. The meta-telenovela: Jane the Virgin (The CW)

Binge Clock: 2 days 16 hours (Season 1 to 3, Season 4 coming this fall)

This show is so popular in the Philippines that major network ABS-CBN dubbed the first two seasons and showed it on primetime. The show has this classic telenovela feel, but poignantly makes fun of all of the stereotypes while still coming up with a coherent romantic comedy.

The premise is Jane, who has never had sex in her life being raised strictly as a Catholic in a Hispanic immigrant family, gets accidentally artificially inseminated with Rafael’s sperm during a routine gynecology check-up. By the end of Season 1, you will choose sides, are you Team Baby Daddy (Team Rafael) or Team Boyfriend (Team Michael)?

(Photo source here)

But beyond the love triangle, this show is psychologically smart. It deals with heartbreak, and various levels of losses in a way that’s endearing while also very educational. My personal favorite episode is when Jane finally loses her virginity in Season 3 – I won’t tell which episode exactly!

6. The news explainer: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Binge Clock: 2 days 8 hours (Season 1 to 3, Season 4 ongoing)

Jon Stewart has mentored a lot of correspondents on the Daily Show, and they have since starred in their own late night shows, such as Stephen Colbert (who starred in the highly successful Colbert Report on Comedy Central and now succeeds David Letterman on the Late Show at CBS) and Samantha Bee (her show Full Frontal is on TBS). Trevor Noah may have been Jon Stewart’s successor on The Daily Show (I also love Trevor Noah by the way), but the real successor to Jon Stewart is John Oliver.

Every Sunday on late night, John Oliver goes on a 20 or 30-minute rant about an issue that you might not be aware and you will care about it after. The monologues are available for free on the show’s YouTube channel (YAY!) which you can access here.

7. This is too real: Black Mirror (Channel 4, then moved to Netflix)

Binge Clock: 12 hours 21 minutes (Season 1 to 3, Season 4 upcoming)

Black Mirror is an allusion to the black mirrors of our smartphone/laptop/tablet screens. Each episode is a TV movie in itself, dealing with at least one ethical issue on the future of technology. It used to air on Channel 4 in the UK, where 7 episodes were successfully aired, but Netflix picked it up and ordered 6 episodes for Season 3, and another 6 coming soon.

My personal favorite is Season 3 Episode 4 San Junipero – I won’t even spoil you any details, just watch it please. I am so glad it won the two Emmy Awards it was nominated for.

8. The most underrated actress in my lifetime is in this show: Orphan Black (BBC America)

Binge Clock: 2 days 2 hours (5 Seasons, just ended over the summer)

Tatiana Maslany deserves far more recognition than what she is getting now. After getting snubbed at the Emmys for Best Drama Actress during the first three seasons, she got her due last year when she won the award, having only been nominated for the first time that year. She plays more than a dozen characters on the show, as the show revolves around life of clones under codename Project Leda.

The main 6 are shown above. Screengrab from BBC America YouTube channel. Watch the Meet The Clones video here.

The fifth and final season just ended over the summer, so for those who love to binge after the shows end, this is perfect for you.

9. Breakout comedy star: Atlanta (FX)

Binge Clock: 6 hours, 30 minutes (Season 1, Season 2 upcoming)

Donald Glover – I don’t even know where to begin explaining how awesome he is. You may love him as Childish Gambino, his musical alterego, or his character on Community (NBC, then later Yahoo! Screen). Atlanta is primarily Danny’s brainchild, where he stars, directs, and writes most of the episodes, similar to how Aziz Anzari is with Master of None.

The show revolves around Glover’s character, Alfred Miles, an up-and-coming rap artist trying to make his way into the music industry in Atlanta. I personally have not watched it yet as of date, but it is on top of my to-watch list. After winning multiple Emmy awards last night, I better make time for this.

10. Breakout drama star: The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)

Binge clock: 10 hours (Season 1, Season 2 upcoming)

Digital platforms are getting more and more savvy when competing with traditional network and cable TV. Netflix has been investing hundreds and millions of dollars producing hundreds of original content (and a lot of good ones as you can see in my list), while Amazon Prime and Hulu are following the same suit. Amazon Prime has Transparent as its centerpiece (which you should totally binge also by the way), while Hulu has found theirs recently with The Handmaid’s Tale. The show bagged a lot of awards in the Emmys this year.

Photo source here.

The show is based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name. The premise is about a dystopian future where woman are subjected as a slaves in order to address the plummeting birth rate of the human race. Its main competition during the Emmys, Westworld (HBO), also talks about a dystopian future where the rich can live out their most disgusting and illegal desires on humanlike robots on a playground called Westworld (Yes, binge Westworld also please!)

As I have mentioned, there are a ton more shows, and I know a lot of you have them in mind. But these are my personal favorites, the last two of which I cannot wait to binge.