Ah, October. The month during which each falling leaf serves as a subtle reminder that winter (read as: Netflix season) is coming. If you’ve already powered through Orange is the New Black and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, then you’re probably spiraling into a state of panic as you search for a show to help you survive this year’s hibernation. Luckily for you, we’re bringing you a list of the best shows to bingewatch. You may have missed their original runs, but, thanks to Netflix, it’s not too late. #TGFN (Thank God for Netflix. Obviously.)
1. Lost
For Fans of: Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones
With its exceptional direction and writing, talented international cast, and riveting cliffhangers, Lost arguably remains one of this century’s most influential television shows. The show’s fifth-season genre shift from a scripted, high-stakes Survivor to full-blown sci-fi may not appeal to every viewer, but the poignancy of the characters’ stories will ultimately eclipse your confusion about time travel’s properties and the island’s mythology. Once you’re sucked into the emotional vortex that is Lost, it’s impossible to go back.
Note: If this pitch still hasn’t convinced you to watch, then google “Josh Holloway shirtless Lost.” You’re welcome.
2. The West Wing
For Fans of: Scandal, The Newsroom, House of Cards
Before there was Scandal, there was The West Wing, aka: the OG high stakes political drama. If you’re a poli sci major looking to justify bingewatching as “technically studying,” then this show is most certainly for you.
3. One Tree Hill
For Fans of: Gossip Girl, Friday Night Lights
Never has the phrase “it’s so bad, it’s good” been more applicable. As the ultimate teen drama of the early 2000s, One Tree Hill has it all: shotgun weddings, psycho stalkers ruining prom night, and brooding Chad Michael Murray. The fourth season marks the main characters’ high school graduation, as well as the show’s infamous transformation from lovable melodrama to full-blown soap opera. Nonetheless, it’s almost worth sitting through the full series just to witness Brooke Davis’ (Sophia Bush) progression from shallow high school cheerleader to all around badass and feminist hero.
4. The X-Files
For Fans of: Bones, Castle
Before the reboot airs in 2016, catch up on all nine seasons of the original. If you’re a sucker for will-they-or-won’t-they partner dramas (read as: the first six seasons of Bones), then this cult show won’t disappoint; you’ll spend hours – 202, to be exact – agonizing over whether FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) will ever stop bickering over aliens and get together already.
5. The Office
For Fans of: The Mindy Project, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
To you five readers who haven’t watched The Office yet, drop what you’re doing and turn it on now. You’ll laugh at Jim’s (John Krasinski) pranks, you’ll cry watching “Casino Night” at three o’clock in the morning, you’ll order Michael Scott’s (Steve Carrell) “World’s Best Boss” mug on eBay, and – seriously, why are you still reading this article?
6. The Twilight Zone
For Fans of: Hitchcock films, The X-Files (see above)
How many times have you heard a reference to The Twilight Zone (okay, probably from your parents) that you don’t understand? Exactly. Let Netflix fill your knowledge gap. This entertaining cult classic is perfect to casually watch while you do laundry for the first time this semester, paint your nails, or wait for your Seamless order’s glorious arrival.
7. Gilmore Girls
For Fans of: Parenthood, coffee
If you didn’t power through this fast-talking mother-daughter dramedy when it came to Netflix last October, start it immediately. Gilmore Girls has it all: television’s most enviable mother-daughter relationship, will-they-or-won’t-they romances predicated entirely on coffee, and pre-Bridesmaids Melissa McCarthy. What more could you ask for? Plus, the setting – a cozy Connecticut town – makes it the perfect fall bingewatch, and you’ll be able to confuse people with Lorelai’s (Lauren Graham) obscure pop culture references for weeks to come.
8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
For Fans of: The Vampire Diaries, True Blood
This Josh Whedon-created cult classic ruled television screens throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. The series’ six-season run follows Buffy Summers’ (Sarah Michelle Gellar) adventures in fighting vampires, demons, and other supernatural threats alongside her close-knit group of cohorts. By illustrating Buffy’s struggle to accept her destiny a “Slayer,” the writers cleverly flesh out relevant feminist issues through the lens of fantasy and horror.
9. Cheers
For Fans of: Friends, How I Met Your Mother
Before there was Ross and Rachel, there was Sam and Diane. If you’ve already powered through all ten seasons of Friends, then consider watching Sam Malone (Ted Danson), aka: the OG Barney Stinson, bum around at the Boston bar where everybody knows your name. Although its style might seem cheesy, this groundbreaking 1980s sitcom ran for eleven seasons for a reason, as it aptly covers a wide array of social issues ranging from adultery to alcoholism.