What a YEAR it was – from saying that 2020 was gonna be OUR year. Knock Knock? Joke’s on us, it was the year of the 2020 Pandemic.
We were at home couch-searching for toilet paper, anti-bacterial spray, and food supplies for approximately 10 months and counting…
Among some of the most random ways we found seeking new connections with others; The Reface App, Tik Tok Dances, Protesting, and at home challenges, ZOOM, Television was our real savior.
Here is the list of shows that kept us distracted from the year we will never forget:
TIGER KING
This was it – women took charge in 2020 and I’m not talking just about politics. Carole Baskin became the new “Karen.” Who would have thought a show about a hillbillies raising tigers would intrigue so many of us?!
In all honesty, it was The Omen of all documentaries. This was the first show that we all watched, whether we liked it or not. We can all agree had this not come out during a Pandemic, it prob would have never seen the light of day, and Nic Cage wouldn’t be having his attempted comeback as an actor either.
NEVER HAVE I EVER
Okay, okay, I can admit. I LOVE Mindy Kaling. After The Mindy Project, I had no one else to relate to about my bad adult dating life. Then this teen show released,and it was like reliving my even more awful dating life as a 15-year-old.
There’s something really revealing what goes in a teen’s mind when she has a crush. It’s all sorts of embarrassing comical chaos and even as a Latina, all brown women can relate to liking the hot white boy who isn’t interested. But here we are obsessing, crushing, and binging this mesmerizing teen comedy series.
AT HOME ZOOM TV EPISODES
Oh the perks, of watching “… at home Zoom episodes.” SNL, Parks And Rec, Golden Girls, I wish I could forget them ALL! Hey Ma! Get the camcorder out!– We’ve taken a time machine back to videotapes of ’90s kids playing dress up, you know the living room plays we thought we’d forgot about!
At least we can all admit, having Tom Hanks host in his living all put a smile on our faces, and in some weird way Parks and Rec made sense over Zoom! We will always appreciate the zoom shows who attempted to entertain us in our misery, but also… let’s never do that again.
LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE
This was probably the closest I’ll ever get into being interested in watching Lifetime Dramas on Hulu. This one was too good to not watch or talk about, Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington… in a Catfight. Although there were some obvious plot holes, it was entertaining watching a minority artist and a rich privileged housewife walk into a bar situation.
And you can guess how it ended, in flames. Don’t get me wrong if there’s a season 2, sign me up!
MRS. AMERICA
Not only was this show ’70s nostalgia, It also felt like it made women more stylish, smarter, more feminist and made me purchase Gloria Steinem’s Aviator Glasses. This show was written so well, and was so easy to binge.
It cast some of the most talented prominent women in Hollywood, and really made watchers want to get involved politically. While Men have the Golf Channel, we have Mrs America.
ALSO READ: 2020 in Review: The Biggest Stories of the Year
PEN15
Every millennial’s favorite show on Hulu. Yes, it’s Pen15. If you grew up in 2001 you will absolutely obsess over this series, and share the friendship of Anna and Maya. Spice Girls, first time masturbation, wearing g-strings at 14, and yearning to relive painful braces again.
This show really slaps you with remembering when you wore brown lip liner with no lipstick vibes. And we will relive that moment anyday over 2020. Wuwu?
QUEEN’S GAMBIT
This show is on almost everyone’s “Watch Queens Gambit or Die” list. As it was basically a 10-hour movie, its main purpose was to make women look really crazy and sexy at the same time.
Chess is probably the most boring game to ever play, but if ya put a women in a revealing leotard playing a board game and Chess sales skyrocket!
HIGH FIDELITY
This was essentially the binge watch mainly for the soundtrack, and because we all couldn’t wait to see what Zoe Kravitz look cool in next. The characters were written so unique and although it was technically a remake of the original High Fidelity with John Cusack, we all needed to see this in the light of the female perspective.
Self-sabotaging record store owner makes depression look so utterly cool. #RIP
I MAY DESTROY YOU
The apex, Michaela Coel. Literally one of the most talented, funny, life altering affects of a writer. I May Destroy You was hands down the best comedy/drama series to air on HBO. A series of episodes that share what happens internally to a woman who’s been raped. And the animosity it creates into her world. I love a good comedy relief moment and Micheala didn’t hesitate on when she ahd be extremely goofy in moments of despair.
This show takes the cake.
LOVECRAFT COUNTRY
Just like 2020, what started so good, but by episode 4 didn’t really know what type of theme it wanted to be. However, it did make for some random entertainment. A Black Woman who takes a potion to be a White Woman, who’s sleeping with a Johnny Depp Look-alike but it’s really his sister?
There were some risky scenes written if you watched than you remember that Shoe Heel episode. Vampire meets Witches meets Monsters, sure? Okay. We’ll take what we can get in 2020. I’ll even binge Friends again.
Hey 2021, please be kind.
Jessica Velle reports on entertainment, politics, social media and stories relevant to the Latinx community. She can be reached at Jessica@reel360.com.
