Saying goodbye to your favorite series — whether it is the series or season finale — can be tough. Now that most series can be binge-watched in a weekend, it’s also a bummer to wait an entire year for your favorite show to come back. With endless options for great TV, you don’t have to waste your evening on a boring or lackluster show either. Here are 10 recommendations for what to watch on TV right now, based on your favorite shows.
If you like: “Stranger Things”
Watch: “The Haunting of Hill House,” streaming on Netflix
Usually around now “Stranger Things” is back with its retro throwbacks and spooky thrills, but the third season is debuting in the summer. In the meantime, check out “The Haunting of Hill House” on Netflix, a show that led me to sleep with a night light and convince myself my sleepless child was possessed (he’s fine). This buzz-worthy series, based on the novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson, was recently praised by Stephen King. It may take the chill factor up a few notches from “Stranger Things,” but its 90s flashbacks and storyline around the Hill children don’t make us miss “Stranger Things” so much this fall.
If you like: “Breaking Bad”
Watch: “Ozark,” streaming on Netflix
If dark and unsettling series are your thing, you need to be watching “Ozark.” Like “Breaking Bad,” “Ozark” explores how far a man will go to protect his family. The second season is already streaming, so after you fly through the thrilling first season, you don’t have to wait. The series also stars Jason Bateman, in a surprisingly dark and humorless role that I love to watch.
If you like: “Orange is the New Black”
Watch: “Glow,” streaming on Netflix
If you are missing the girl power from “Orange is the New Black,” check out “Glow” on Netflix. It is campy, retro, and centers around an all-female wresting show. Think WWE with more hairspray, glitter, and metallic spandex. The show is more than just girl drama and wrestling too — it shows how these women are making it work and it’s tons of fun along the way.
If you like: “The OA”
Watch: “Altered Carbon,” streaming on Netflix
Both of these series were love-it-or-hate-it, but if you liked “The OA,” you might love the sci-fi world of “Altered Carbon.” Yes, “The OA” had one of the most unique and mind-bending storylines on Netflix and comparing “Altered Carbon”’s futuristic-detective-revenge plot may be a far stretch. But as a fan of both they were equally enjoyable to watch. So, while you are eagerly awaiting “The OA” season 2 premiere (hurry!), give “Altered Carbon” on Netflix a try.
If you like: “Mad Men”
Watch: “The Romanoffs,” streaming on Amazon
Raise your hand if you are still mourning the end of “Mad Men.” Seven seasons were not enough, and I have deeply missed the cast. Thankfully the creator, Matthew Weiner, is back with a new series on Amazon, “The Romanoffs,” and he brought back some of our favorite actors from “Mad Men” too. Each episode of the hour-long, eight-episode series has a different cast and story, but they all center around people that believe they are descendants of the Romanoffs, the tragic Russian royal family that met a deadly end. Episode 3 is a particular favorite, starring Christina Hendricks, who played Joan in “Mad Men.” Missing January Jones? Watch “Last Man on Earth.” And, of course, if you are one of the few people not watching Elisabeth Moss in “A Handmaid’s Tale,” watch it STAT.
If you like: “Californication”
Watch: “Flaked,” streaming on Netflix
When “Californication” premiered, it was daring and unlike anything I saw on TV before. David Duchovny was so charismatic and made all the wrong choices. “Flaked” on Netflix also features a main character that seems doomed to fail, but you still love him anyhow. Starring Will Arnett as a recovering alcoholic with a lot of baggage, “Flaked” takes place in Venice, California, and definitely takes some cues from “Californication.”
If you like: “Homeland”
Watch: “Bodyguard,” streaming on Netflix
Politics, conspiracy, plot twists, and romance — both series have it all. The British show “Bodyguard,” just released on Netflix, is similar to “Homeland”’s first few seasons and was easily finished in one weekend. Not to be confused with the Whitney Houston movie, the series boasts a 100 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If you are not watching, queue it up this weekend!
If you like: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Watch: “American Woman,” Paramount Network
While I am eagerly awaiting the return of my favorite new series on Amazon, “American Woman” has filled the “Mrs. Maisel”-sized void in my soul. While “American Woman” has a different feel and is a little darker than the peppy “Mrs. Maisel,” it features a similar story of a woman scorned by her husband (this time, it’s the ’70s) who is left to find her own path (spoiler alert, she finds a department store job too). Sadly, “American Woman” was canceled after one season, but the story inspired by the childhood of “Real Housewives” favorite Kyle Richards and starring ’90s icon Alicia Silverstone is still worth a watch.
If you like: “Casual”
Watch: “Love,” streaming on Netflix
I’ll admit, it took me a bit to get into “Love” on Netflix and I think that’s the point. You are not meant to really love these socially awkward characters, but by the end of the series you are rooting for them. I had a similar feeling with the complicated characters and relationships on “Casual,” which is a funny and heartbreaking series. If you liked “Casual,” “Love,” written by Judd Apatow, is definitely worth your time.
If you like: “Making A Murderer”
Watch: “The Staircase,” streaming on Netflix
Crime docs are popping up everywhere now, especially with the popularity of “Making a Murderer” on Netflix. If I dare say it, “The Staircase,” also on Netflix, was even more of a chilling tale that hooked me right in. Just promise you won’t spoil the sentencing by visiting Google.
More from Make It Better:
- 9 Best Books Recently Made Into Movies
- 30 of the Best Things to Do in Chicago This November
- 18 Plays in Chicago You Won’t Want to Miss This Holiday Season
Macaire Douglas lives in Chicago with her husband and two sons. She proudly supports Share Our Spare, a local nonprofit that collects goods for children in need.
