5 feel good shows I’ve loved watching on Netflix lately

I watch a lot of TV. That is a fact, my fiancé will tell you as much. I watch sitcoms, dramas, romance, crime… I love it! This past year, with Covid and the lockdowns, I probably went through more shows than I would normally, and under the circumstances, I would say that was to be expected! I have especially been keen to watch some feel good, light-hearted shows, since our day-to-day lives have been anything but fun these past few months. We could all use some joy in our lives at the moment, so I’ve compiled a list of 5 feel-good TV shows that I’ve loved watching on Netflix recently. They are shows I would honestly re-watch in their entirety every year, I love them that much!

Grace & Frankie

I discovered Grace & Frankie a couple of years ago, when I was looking to watch something light-hearted and short to unwind after exams. I loved it from the first episode, and I ended up binge-watching the first three seasons! The show follows Grace and Frankie, whose husbands tell them one day that they want a divorce because they’re gay and in love with each other. After they receive the shocking news, the two women, who are completely different people and don’t particularly like each other, are forced to live together and help each other face the consequences of their husbands’ confession. I thought the premise of the story was very original and that’s what pulled me towards it; and the storylines throughout the show manage to surprise you even after 6 seasons! I love all of the characters in the show, and the characters are well developed over the course of the show, especially Brianna in my opinion, and despite some of the questionable decisions some of them make, you just can’t bring yourself to hate them. Ultimately, the show is really all about family, because despite the tension that builds up between them sometimes, they know they’re a family, for better or for worse. What I also liked about it is that although it’s a comedy TV show, it also tackles more serious topics, but without ever becoming dramatic. I can’t recommend Grace & Frankie enough if you’re looking for a light-hearted comedy to watch at the end of a long work day!

The Good Place

I’ve loved Kristen Bell since her Veronica Mars days, so when I saw that she was starring in a new show, and sitcom at that, I just knew I had to watch it! The show follows Eleanor Shellstrop, who upon her death was sent to the good place, a kind of paradise that welcomes people who have accomplished exceptional things when they were alive. However, Eleanor was never a good person on Earth and quickly realises she’s been sent to the good place by mistake and that really, she should be spending her death in the bad place, or hell. Truthfully, it’d been a while since I loved a show that much! I loved the story, I thought it was super original and the whole storyline unfolds really well while being very goofy and funny! I loved the characters, who are all so different but complement each other really well; I have to say my favourite character was probably Jason or Tahani, who I thought was such an interesting woman! The storylines were consistently good and I honestly loved the ending of the show, which is something that is really hard to do! They didn’t drag it on even though the show was really popular and I really appreciated that. Highly recommend!

Parks & Recreation

I have to say, I had my doubts about this show when my partner said we should watch it – I don’t know why, but I just wasn’t feeling it for some reason. And oh how wrong I was, because we loved it and binge watched all seven seasons of it! The show is a “mockumentary” and follows the Parks and Recreation department of Pawnee, Indiana, and their employees. We follow Leslie Knope and her team, who are trying to build a new park on an abandoned construction site. But this is just the premise, and the story evolves into so much more than this initial plot line. But beyond the funny storylines, what makes this show is undeniably the characters. One of my favourites is definitely Ron Swanson, who’s just one of the best characters of all time – I stand by that! The dynamics that exist between them is what makes the show such a warm, funny watch, like the friendship between Leslie and Ann, Tom and Donna, and the love stories that come into it later on. Leslie is just a ball of positivity and optimism, and I have to say that there are some days when we watched it where I really needed that! Even when you’re supposed to dislike some characters, the comedy that radiates off them is enough to make you forget about it and just laugh along with their goofiness! I was so happy to see that they’d reunited during lockdown to make a special episode – and I’m hopeful that they’ll decide to make one more season in the future! If you haven’t given that show a watch yet and you’re in need of a pick-me-up, I can only recommend that you do!

Derry Girls

We randomly found Derry Girls on Netflix last year, when we looking to start a new series, and we decided to give it go. We absolutely loved it! The show follows the daily life of four Northern Irish girls (teenagers) and one of the girl’s English cousin during the Troubles in Derry, one of the most affected areas during the conflict, and attend a Catholic all girls school. Being from a foreign country, I never studied the Irish conflict at school, so it was so interesting to me to find out more about it. This is definitely one of my feel good go-to shows, and I always put in on when I’m in need of a good laugh! In some respect, it reminded me of The Inbetweeners, the four girls are very similar to the four boys when it comes to their personality, with Erin being Will, Michelle being Jay…  All the characters you could identify with in some way. I found that the show definitely didn’t try to erase the conflict that was going on at the time, it was perfectly incorporated into the lives of the characters and did a really good job at showing how it shaped them as people, especially as teenagers. I’m patiently waiting for season 3 to be released!

Friday Night Dinner

Friday Night Dinner is one of those shows that I just loved as soon as I started watching it – I was hooked after only a couple of episodes! Each episode is structured in the same way: Adam and Jonny, the sons of Jackie and Martin arrive at their parents’ house to have Shabbat dinner, and the evening and dinner is always interrupted by various things, including their neighbour Jim and his dog Wilson. The show is so very well done, the comedy is amazingly good, I laughed at the absurdity of some situations in literally all of the episodes! All of the characters have their own quirks which makes them so endearing, and Martin, the father, very much reminded me of my own father-in-law who also goes “what?” every time someone speaks to him because he’s slightly hard of hearing! The cast obviously is a big part of it, they’re all comedy actors who know how to play with the scenes and pull the best facial expressions when in character! The lack of any dramatic plot lines is what makes it the perfect feel-good show to me, it’s just pure comedy and joy!

Have you watched any of these shows?

Em ♥