It’s 11 p.m. You have a test tomorrow, and the anxiety is getting to you. Even if you studied – or if you didn’t study at all – if you don’t distract yourself, the anxiety will only get worse. You could read a book, or force your eyes to close and your brain to shut off, but why do that when you can watch TV? Whether you watch a three-season series or an hour-long movie, it’s a great way to distract your mind from pre-test anxiety, or to help distract your brain long enough to focus on a task. Since you might not know what to watch or binge, here’s a list of five student faves and their plots, ranked from least to most loved.
Number Five – Outer Banks is a series with three seasons that follows the “Pogues,” a group of working-class kids who discover a map related to their leader, John B’s missing father.
This starts up a treasure hunt in which they frantically search for a sunken wreck worth millions of dollars. Throughout this treasure hunt, they face wealthy rivals, or the “Kooks,” dangerous criminals, and authorities while also dealing with romance, friendship, and a broken social system. Even with its interesting plot and pulling episodes, Outer Banks is low on our list, but loved nonetheless.
Number Four – Brooklyn Nine-Nine; an eight-season series centered around a police force in Brooklyn. The story follows an immature but talented new detective, Jake Peralta, whose indifference and carefree attitude when it comes to policing is contested by the arrival of the new commanding officer, Captain Raymond Halt. The story revolves around Halt whipping his team of detectives into shape while they help him become less strict and relax a little. Its comedy and long running episodes make it a perfect choice for distracting yourself from the horrors of studying and doing homework, despite it only being number four.
Number Three – Coraline, a stop-motion movie centered around a neglected 11-year-old who finds an alternate world from a secret door in her room. She meets the Other Mother, a parallel of her mother who tries to keep her inside the alternate world, and also meets alternates of her friends and family along the way. She must use her bravery as well as other resources in order to escape back to her own family and life. Loved for its nostalgic aesthetics and sweet storyline, it stands third place among the most liked.
Number Two – The ever-humorous, dramatic and relatable Ginny and Georgia. This series follows the Millers, a family who has just moved to a New England town for a fresh start. It centers around the contrasting backgrounds of Ginny and Georgia, with Ginny’s struggles with coming of age against Georgia’s secretive and dark past, involving many crimes. Georgia’s past threatens their new life constantly, leading to strained relationships and secrets within the family. One of the show’s best qualities is its relatability; with the different characters, their nuances, their diverse backgrounds, and stories, the show pulls a wide range of people in who have experienced – or are experiencing – the same situations.
Number One – A well-known and arguably loved show; Stranger Things. Known for its retro background and its thriller plot, Stranger Things stands at the top of the list for best binges. In Hawkins, Indiana, the main four, Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin, meet a strange girl with telekinetic powers who they call Eleven. With her, they discover government conspiracies and battle with monsters from the Upside Down, an alternate dimension identical to Hawkins. Stranger Things fought its way for the number one spot with Ginny and Georgia, as both shows have a similar idea with very different stories. Although many have mixed feelings over Stranger Things season five, it still remains a beloved series through its nostalgia and plot.