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I wanted to give you all some great show recommendations of what you can watch over your thanksgiving break either while you’re traveling or when you just need to get a little break away from family asking you too many personal questions. I chose the following shows for two reasons: one, they’re all primetime tv shows meaning that they’re appropriate to watch around family with no awkward moments or scenes, and secondly because they just had their fall finales last week so this gives you some time before January to catch up before they return.
Going along with the theme of family for this post, there’s two categories of shows I’m going to share with you. The first category is family dramas like This is Us and A Million Little Things. The second category has to do with first responders and medical shows which I also label under family. Why? The characters on these shows develop relationships with each other where they act like a family and always have each others backs, it’s truly endearing. These shows include Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, New Amsterdam, and 911.
Lets dive right in! I’m going to start with This is Us. This got a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and is on its 4th season now.
The series follows the lives of siblings Kevin, Kate, and Randall (known as the "Big Three"), and their parents Jack and Rebecca Pearson. It takes place mainly in the present and uses flashbacks to show the family's past, and flash forwards to show their future and leaving us asking questions and what it all means. Expect lots of tears and make sure you have tissues nearby. My husband refuses to watch this show with me because he doesn’t understand why I’d want to watch a show that makes me cry so much, and I try to tell him that the tears are usually happy tears and just means that something super emotional is happening, but still, he won’t watch with me! Anyway, expect maybe some tears, but know that in watching this show you will grow to love this family so much. Getting to witness how amazing the acting is and how brilliantly the creators have woven in the past and the future to this show is just incredible and so well done. Expect outstanding performances from Milo Ventimiglia (AKA Peter Petrelli on that old show Heroes), and Mandy Moore, Justin Hartley, Sterling K Brown (now a voice in Frozen 2), and Chrissy Metz. This show will not disappoint
On to the next show: A Million Little things on ABC. This has a 79% rating and is on its 2nd season so far. Also another great cast including David Giuntoli (the Grimm in the show Grimm), Ron Livingston, Jason Ritter (Parenthood) and (Raising Dion), Drea de Matteo (Sons of Anarchy).
This show starts off with one of the main characters ending his life, and leaving the viewer wondering why this person did such a thing and how this affects the legacy he created and left for his close friends and family. This group of friends and his family face some really uncomfortable situations in the show and have to navigate how to deal with it—ill just leave it at that so I don’t give anything away. This has a different vibe than This is US but still has the family feel to it that you get from the friends acting like family in this show.
Now onto another category of shows I’d recommend that are also family friendly to watch and easy to watch—meaning, if your Aunt is yelling at you to come help with the green bean casserole, it’s ok to leave this show playing in the background. Great comfort shows for sure. For this category I recommend watching Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, 911 and New Amsterdam.
Chicago Med (in its 5th season) and Chicago fire (in its 8th season) is a part of Wednesday nights that also has Chicago PD air, but that’s my least favorite of the related shows, so I recommend starting with med and fire. These are also super easy to watch shows, and the doctors on Chicago Med and the firefighters and paramedics on Chicago Fire treat each other like family. Don’t expect just a different medical episode or different fire to combat each time you watch--some pretty crazy stuff happens with the lives of these characters that will have you on the edge of your seat.
New Amsterdam is a newer show, with an 81% and on its second season. This follows the life of Max, the new medical director for a hospital that loves to break the rules and tear up the bureaucracy to provide exceptional care.
Finally, you have 911 on Fox with a 90% and on its 3rd season. This show was developed by creator Ryan Murphy (Nip Tuck, AHS, The Politician on Netflix), and it follows the main character Bobby Nash, played by Peter Krause (one of my favorite actors, he’s in Parenthood and 6 ft Under, two of my favorite shows ever that are no longer on air). This follows a group of first responders as they handle the craziest 911 response calls. There’s even a tsunami in the most recent season…!
So, here’s your homework for the break! Try out some or all of these shows: This is Us, A Million Little Things, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, New Amsterdam, and 911. Feel free to comment below and let me know what you think!