As the third week of the Fall semester comes to end, many students just want to unwind, lie in bed and watch Netflix for the entire day. Here are three TV shows to watch this weekend — though hailing from very different genres, what they all have in common is that they are extremely binge-worthy. Apologies in advance if you end up watching TV the entire weekend instead of catching up on those reading assignments.
“Community”
It was a sad year for sitcom fans as “Friends” was taken off Netflix, but don’t fret — “Community” has been added to Netflix to fill the void of your new favorite sitcom. Coming from the same network as “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation,” “Community” is a highly underrated NBC sitcom, airing from 2009-2015. “Community” boasts an impressive creative team — before “Rick and Morty,” Dan Harmon was the creative mind behind “Community,” and before the success of “Infinity War” and “Endgame,” the Russo Brothers also played a prominent role behind the scenes as executive producers. “Community” was also Donald Glover’s — also known by his rap alter ego Childish Gambino — first major acting role. “Community” stars Joel McHale as former lawyer Jeff Winger, who gets caught with a fake college degree. He decides to attend Greendale Community College, where he then meets fellow students Britta (Gillian Jacobs), Annie (Alison Brie), Troy (Glover), Abed (Danny Pudi), Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) and Pierce (Chevy Chase) as they form a study group. Although the study group consists of a range of ages and clashing personalities, they all quickly become close friends. “Community” often pokes fun at TV and movie tropes by having elaborate concept episodes that shift from the usual plot, changing the show’s tone to parody a specific genre — a fan favorite being the paintball assassins episodes, the show’s parody of action movies. Due to its witty humor and eccentric characters, you won’t be able to stop watching “Community” until the end.
“Elite”
“Elite” is the type of show that will leave you wanting answers as you continuously click “next episode.” The Netflix original is “Gossip Girl” meets “Riverdale,” as the murder of a student rocks the show’s central high school. Set in Spain, three working-class students, Samuel, Nadia and Christian are offered a scholarship to attend a prestigious private high school, quickly disrupting the previously established hierarchy. “Elite” consists of the archetypal themes present in all teen dramas, but it also addresses many social issues such as class division, Islamophobia, the reality of living with HIV and the adversity LGBTQ+ individuals who come from religious families face. Similar to “13 Reasons Why,” the first season of “Elite” also switches from the past to the present. If you are looking for a dark thriller with a mix of teen drama tropes, “Elite” will have you on the edge of your seat trying to solve this murder mystery.
“High School Musical: The Musical: the Series”
You may be thinking that this show will be cringy and will not serve the original “High School Musical” justice, but you’ll be surprised to learn that “High School Musical: The Musical: the Series” — also known as “HSMTMTS” — is incredibly entertaining to watch due to its original songs, classic love triangle plot and its effective homage to the original “High School Musical.” “High School Musical: The Musical: the Series” is a mockumentary set in East High, where the original “High School Musical” movie was filmed, starring theatre students who are putting on “High School Musical” as their school production. The show has many great songs including “All I Want,” “Just for a Moment,” “Wondering” and “I Think I Kinda, You Know.” To make these songs even better, many of them were written by the talented stars of the show — Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett. Throughout the show, they also perform songs from the original movie, leaving the audience with a feeling of nostalgia. After the success of the first season, Disney+ renewed “High School Musical: The Musical: the Series” for a second season and it was recently announced that the East High students will be staging “Beauty and the Beast” for their next musical. It’s unclear when season two of “High School Musical: The Musical: the Series” will premiere, due to setbacks in production due to COVID-19, but its eventual release will certainly warrant a watch party.
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