Stop me if you've heard this before: "I don't have enough time in the day." I don't have the stats, but I'll go out on a limb to say that 99% of us, including myself, have muttered that common phrase before. In my case, I talk about not having enough time when it comes to streaming. I watch a lot of shows for work, but I struggle to find things to stream when pressed for time. That could mean having some time during a lunch break or needing to wind down before bed, for example.
Netflix has a perfect selection of shows designed for those who need to kill an hour. The shorter the show, the better, which means comedies typically work better in this instance, because you can sneak two to three episodes in under 60 minutes. However, I don't mind throwing on an episode of this long-running legal drama to pass the time.
Seinfeld is a show about nothing, or at least that's how the marketing described it. The sitcom revolves around a fictionalized version of Jerry Seinfeld and his three friends: George Costanza (Jason Alexander), Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards).
To this day, I can't describe the overarching plot of Seinfeld. However, it's a show that takes common and trivial problems and transforms them into comedic gold. Celebrating an alternate holiday, getting a good cup of soup, securing a table at a crowded restaurant—these mundane moments make Seinfeld great. Plus, you don't need to watch the episodes in order, and they run for roughly 22–23 minutes, so you can easily knock out two within an hour.
Cooking shows are my go-to programming when I don't know what to watch and need to kill some time. Who doesn't enjoy food? A few nights per week, I watch cooking competitions while I eat dinner. I don't know what that says about me. Perhaps I try to trick my mind into thinking I'm eating the food onscreen and not my average meal. Regardless, it's the type of stress-free content I need when I don't have a lot of time.
Barbecue Showdown is exactly the type of cooking competition I'm looking for when I've only got 50 minutes. As I've learned by watching the show, the science of barbecue—like choosing the right wood to use for smoking meats and figuring out the ideal temperature for fall-off-the-bone ribs—is just as important as the meat itself. Don't blame me if your mouth starts to water.
Is there a better feeling than screaming out the correct answer to a Jeopardy! question before a contestant hits the buzzer? Admittedly, it's a feeling I rarely experience because of my below-average trivia skills in world history and science. However, Pop Culture Jeopardy! is more my speed.
Hosted by Saturday Night Live's Colin Jost, Pop Culture Jeopardy! is made for the folks who read People Magazine and live for entertainment news about movies, TV, and music. Unlike the flagship show, Pop Culture Jeopardy! is played in pairs, adding a new dynamic to the game. If you want to feel smarter about your decision to work in the media, then I urge you to watch Pop Culture Jeopardy! You'll be able to watch two episodes in under an hour.
Tim Robinson is certainly not for everyone. His style of cringe comedy can make your skin crawl and force you to turn away in embarrassment. I know people who can't handle Robinson's humor. I'm the complete opposite. I think what Robinson does in I Think You Should Leave is comedic brilliance.
It's a show with three or four sketches per episode. Episodes don't exceed 20 minutes, so you could potentially watch multiple episodes per hour. The best part is that if you don't like a sketch, you can fast-forward and move to something that piques your interest. My favorites are the hot dog car crash, the pay-it-forward at the drive-through, the driving crooner, a rookie driver in the parking lot, and the ghost tour. We must protect Robinson at all costs and let him continue to be weird for years to come.
At this point, Law & Order is a television institution. It's the show that can be identified with a sound bite. Creator Dick Wolf created an award-winning formula that still works decades later. It's a show that focuses on two elements: the "law" represents the police, who investigate the crime, and the "order" represents the district attorneys who prosecute the cases. As the final words in the introduction state, "These are their stories."
You could spend multiple hours on Netflix every day and watch something different every time. This week, I suggest checking out 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, an excellent thriller and sequel to a post-apocalyptic horror movie. If you're looking for insane shows to talk about, start with Outer Banks and I Will Find You.
