I have seen every episode of The Office way too many times. I started watching Friends in 11th grade, when all my friends kept telling me I was "just like Monica Geller". My journey through Downton Abbey began the summer before my senior year, and I'm still recovering even after watching the series twice all the way through. When I got to college, I started watching Gilmore Girls and met my long-lost, coffee-loving twin, Lorelai Gilmore. Finally, when my parents momentarily decided Netflix wasn't a necessity (crazy, I know), I started watching This is Us. Let me tell you, I've never been so emotionally wrecked.
Why do I credit these shows as so impactful, you may ask? I think it's time to tell you why they are binge-worthy and well worth the waste of your precious time.
1. The Office
For those times when you just need to laugh. Whether you have endless free hours or are sick and bed-ridden, there is no time better than the present to begin your journey as an apprentice of the legendary Michael Scott. As my brother and I have done more times than I can count, you will most likely stay up way past your bedtime and press rewind over and over again. From the up-and-down romance of Jim and Pam to the ceaseless shenanigans of Dwight Schrute, there's no shortage of entertainment that I'm sure will fill your life with laughs.
2. Friends
For those of us who especially resonate with the theme song: "your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's DOA". This show will undoubtedly make you feel much better about your current circumstances, regardless of how disastrous they seem. You will be comforted with the knowledge that you're not the only one who's been broke, single, and stressed for the past five years straight. The friends in Friends will become your real-life friends before you're halfway into the first season.
3. Downton Abbey
For the more refined viewer, or those who are so unrefined that they feel the need to live vicariously through the gloriously snobbish Countess of Grantham. It's enriching for one's vocabulary and gives each viewer a step-by-step guidebook on how to pull off ridiculous and potentially dangerous feats while under the close scrutiny of a judgmental family. It's guaranteed to grab your heart, break it, and then patch it back up again over and over.
4. Gilmore Girls
For the young people who dread high school, college, and entering the real world, there has never been a show more groundbreaking. Lorelai and Rory Gilmore navigate the adventures of adulthood, high school, and college at Yale under the constant direction of frightening grandparents and fueled by a never-ending supply of coffee and pop tarts. Engagements, break-ups, trips to Europe, family dramas and reconciliations fill this series with excitement.
5. This is Us
For those of us who have any capacity for feeling. This show is heart wrenching in every sense of the word. Telling powerfully human stories of family, loss, and life, This is Us has the ability to bring every viewer into hysterical fits of both crying and laughter. It's perfect for a girl's night in, a family sob-session, or a single person's exhilarating Friday night. Just a warning: you should definitely grab the tissues.
