Image by Variety
I don’t know if you’ve experienced this or not, but the sheer embarrassment of watching something inappropriate (like nudity or over the top gore) while traveling/on a flight next to strangers is something that can be totally avoided. Trust me, the shows I’ve listed below are guaranteed to keep you entertained while avoiding that potential embarrassment (AKA they are SFT “Safe for Travel”). If you’re looking for a show that is going to keep you absolutely glued to your screen, the ones I’ve listed below may not be for you. However, you’re traveling, remember? You want to be able to leave your screen to go enjoy your vacation too and keep watching later on!
Feel Good Shows: Jane the Virgin, Hart of Dixie
Jane the Virgin I can’t say enough good things about. This is a fantastic feel good show that gives you alllll the feels of relationships, the importance of family, and discovering who you are or meant to become. This follows the story of Jane Gloriana Villanueva, a 23 year old who has her whole life ahead of her. The title of course gives this away, but Jane is a virgin that gets artificially inseminated by mistake. As you can imagine, this mistake sets off so many different complexities and drama that you will be hooked for all 9 seasons and 100 episodes. The best way to think of it is that it’s a huge telenovela with lots of drama, great narration, and actual telenovelas within it. I can say with confidence that this is one of my all time favorite shows. When it ended recently, it felt like I was saying goodbye to a family I know, that I had been watching for years (dramatic I know). That just gives you an idea on how great of a show it is.
Hart of Dixie was originally a CW show (see below), and it’s a silly sort of feel good show starring Rachel Bilson (who any girl that is around the age of 30 now loves and adores her ever since seeing her in The OC). She plays a doctor from New York that decides to take a job offer in the South, finding out that an entire practice has been left to her. She decides to stick it out, and it’s entertaining (and adorable) to watch her adapt from New York life to the Southern life. It has a sort of Sweet Home Alabama vibe to it.
Supernatural Drama: Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Legacies
If you’re a fan of The CW shows, or anything supernatural at all, you really need to watch Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies. These aren’t going to give you over the top gore (just some family friendly gore). Although I was secretly a fan of Twilight when it came out, I can tell you that these vampire shows are NOTHING like Twilight. Vampire Diaries is where it all started, so make sure you start with that show. The Originals was created as Vampire Diaries was ending, and uses the vampires that were featured in Vampire Diaries to show them as leaders of New Orleans. This family, the Mikaelsons, are literally the original vampires, so expect lots of fight scenes and rivalry! Finally, the plot continues with the show Legacies, where the daughter of (I won’t say who), attends a school for the supernatural led by one of the original cast members of Vampire Diaries. Basically, they just should have made Vampire Diaries one REALLY long series, but I understand why they broke them up, and you will too. The ending of each one is almost like "the end of an era", but we’re comforted in seeing some of the original cast in the next seasons.
Comedy Drama: Lucifer, Schitts Creek
I know I already wrote about Lucifer in this post, but this show has a great cast, is easy to watch, and the revival that Netflix did for season 4 is fantastic and really does justice to the previous seasons.
To be totally honest, I haven’t watched a lot of Schitts Creek yet, I just kept hearing so many rave reviews about it, and I knew my husband might like it. My husband is simple when it comes to shows and his go to shows are The Office and Frasier, so any time I can get him to like a show, it has GOT to go on the recommendation list. Schitts creek has a very particular type of comedic feel to it, and it immediately made me think of Arrested Development. This show centers around a rich snobby family who have lost all of their money and are forced to relocate to Schitts creek (a town the father bought his son as a birthday gift one year as a joke). Although losing everything and moving into a motel would seem terrible, this actually forces them to realize who they are outside of having every material possession they used to have, and you get to see each of their characters develop and the family really come together.
Historical Period Drama: The Crown. If you’re a fan of any sort of historical period drama, this show is for you. I feel like this was one of the starter shows that really got people into watching this genre. Well, this and Downton Abbey. The difference between this and Downtown Abbey is that The Crown is actually based off a true story as it follows the life of Queen Elizabeth II from the 1940s to modern time. Expect lots of drama, incredible scenery, beautiful costumes, and more. Make sure you binge this soon, because season 3 comes out November 17th!
What are your favorite shows to binge while traveling? I’d love any recommendations!