12 binge-worthy shows for your Presidents Day weekend
(WISH) — Presidents Day falls on the third Monday in February each year, and schools are generally closed to observe the federal holiday.
Maybe you are off work to stay home with the kids or just want to make it a three-day weekend. Are you in need of a good binge session? Here are 12 shows you can stream to occupy your time:
NETFLIX
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
9 episodes – 8 hours, 19 minutes total
Originally airing on FX in early 2018, this second installment in the true crime anthology series comes to the streaming platform following a win for Outstanding Limited Series at last year’s Emmy Awards, along with Darren Criss snagging the Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie prize.
Although Gianni Versace’s (Emmy-nominated Édgar Ramírez) name is in the title, the nine episodes predominantly take us in the mind and world of his eventual killer, Andrew Cunanan (Criss), but telling the story in reverse-chronological order, beginning with Cunanan murdering the fashion icon on the steps outside of his Miami Beach mansion.
Criss’ transformative performance alone makes this worth the watch and is supported by an exceptional ensemble cast, including Ramírez, Penelope Cruz, Ricky Martin, Cody Fern, Finn Wittrock and Judith Light.
The Kominsky Method
8 episodes – 3 hours, 27 minutes total
Like Netflix’s Grace and Frankie, which recently released its fifth season starring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, this comedy explores the budding friendship between two senior citizens.
Sandy (Michael Douglas), once a bigtime Hollywood actor, is now an acting coach to aspiring performers. Norman (Alan Arkin), Sandy’s agent and friend, loses his wife to cancer, and the two must adapt to life’s constantly-changing culture and environments.
With a short runtime but effective in its message, The Kominsky Method comically shines a light on growing older and strengthening relationships with those you love most.
YOU
10 episodes – 7 hours, 27 minutes total
Lifetime aired this psychological thriller in September 2018, but less than a month after airing the final episode, Lifetime passed the rights over to Netflix to air the second season the following year.
Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) is a New York bookstore manager when Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), a grad student and aspiring writer, searches his store for a Paula Fox novel. After the first meeting, Joe obsessively learns all there is to know about Beck through her various social media accounts.
At what lengths will Joe go in winning Beck’s love? Twists and turns abound, you’ll breeze through this addictive series, maybe even becoming obsessed, yourself.
AMAZON PRIME VIDEO
Homecoming
10 episodes – 5 hours, 9 minutes total
It’s hard to believe Julia Roberts’ first starring role in a television series was in Amazon Prime Videos’s latest psychological thriller/drama, based on the podcast of the same name.
Not much can be said without revealing spoilers except knowing the background: Homecoming is a treatment facility for soldiers suffering from PTSD and wanting to return to the regular world; however, something seems off about the methods and practices while keeping the soldiers at the facility.
The series starts slowly because it has to set the tone and mood of what is actually going on at the facility, but take my advice: finish it through to the end, and you won’t regret it (PS: watch the end credits on the finale to see which direction the second season will be headed!).
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
2 seasons, 18 episodes total – 15 hours, 42 minutes total
How do you follow a nearly perfect debut season of television, which garnered two Golden Globes and seven Emmys? With an even better, funnier, well-rounded second season.
Miriam “Midge” Maisel (Emmy-winning Rachel Brosnahan), an upper-class, Jewish housewife, is her husband’s biggest supporter as he attempts to make a name for himself as a comedian.
After a lousy performance, Joe (Michael Zegen) reveals he’s having an affair with his secretary and decides to leave his wife.
Midge drunkenly returns to the comedy club and stumbles on stage to share her recent breakup story and is sensational.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel will certainly take more time than any of the others mentioned, but with knockout performances from Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Tony Shaloub, and Marin Hinkle, this series is a true crowd-pleaser.
A Very English Scandal
3 episodes – 2 hours, 49 minutes total
This fact-based limited series is easily a one-sitting occasion between British politician Jeremy Thorpe (Hugh Grant) and Norman Josiffe (Ben Whishaw), who were romantically involved in the early 1960s.
Exposure of Thorpe’s homosexual natures would likely end his political career during this time, and their relationship began to crumble.
Thorpe attempts paying for Josiffe’s discretion following their breakup as Thorpe rises up the Liberal party’s ranks.
How far will Thorpe go to ensure his former lover remains silent?
HULU
Into the Dark
5 episodes – 7 hours, 23 minutes total
12 episodes will comprise the first season of this horror anthology series, with each episode inspired by a holiday from the month in which it’s released.
Each episode runs roughly 90 minutes and are stand-alone entries: you can begin with any episode, perhaps your favorite holiday, because the episodes are unrelated.
My favorite happens to be the latest release, titled “Down,” which is an intense look at two strangers stuck on an elevator on Valentine’s weekend.
Killing Eve
8 episodes – 5 hours, 44 minutes total
This cat-and-mouse thriller shows the unmatchable chemistry between female co-leads, Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer.
Eve (Oh), a desk-bound military intelligent officer, earns for more in her career and takes it upon herself to track down Villanelle (Comer), a psychopathic assassin on the run, as the two become strangely obsessed with each other.
Catch up on the first season on Hulu before Season 2 debuts on BBC America and AMC on April 7.
PEN15
10 episodes – 5 hours total
Hulu’s laugh-out-loud comedy is a coming-of-age story about two girls (played by 31-year-old comics, Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle) beginning their journey through seventh grade, acting alongside actual 13-year-olds.
While Bo Burnham’s breakout indie hit, Eighth Grade, productively highlights a girl’s final week at middle school while dealing with anxiety, PEN15 similarly shares the journey of two awkward girls hilariously attempting to fit in.
I’m expecting this show to be one of the next unheralded shows that came out of nowhere, like Stranger Things, 13 Reasons Why, and Making a Murderer, so get ahead of the trend now!
CABLE/PREMIUM CHANNELS
Escape at Dannemora (SHOWTIME)
7 hours – 7 hours, 21 minutes total
Actor Ben Stiller’s first time in the director’s chair is a success in this true story about David Sweat (Paul Dano) and Richard Matt’s (Benicio Del Toro) escape from prison in New York with the assistance from prison worker, Tilly Mitchell (Patricia Arquette).
Oscar-winner Arquette gives a transformative performance, both physically and mentally, and already picked up awards for the role at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Mitchell did a terrible thing in assisting two murderers’ escape from prison, but you can’t help but sympathize with the troubled woman, and that credit goes directly to Arquette.
Pose (FX)
8 episodes – 7 hours, 57 minutes total
The largest cast ever of transgender actors is groundbreaking television that needs to be seen.
Latino and African American ball culture is rising in the late 1980s, along with the AIDS crisis, Trump’s business endeavors before politics, and much more.
Pray Tell (Billy Porter), emcee for the shows, is such an important character for the LGBTQIA+ community and was supposed to only have a handful of lines in the entire series, but Porter showcased his talents and earned himself a larger story arc.
Season 2 will debut later this year.
True Detective (HBO)
6 episodes so far – 6 hours, 2 minutes
HBO’s crime anthology series began with a bang in 2014 with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson starring as detectives investigating the murder of a prostitute and revisit the case 17 years later.
If you’re trying to watch all seasons, for what it’s worth, skip the abysmal second season, and go right to the current season.
Season 3 stars Academy Award winner, Mahershala Ali, as lead detective Wayne Hays, alongside his partner detective Roland West (Stephen Dorff), searching for clues on the disappearance of two children.
The season is told over three time periods: 1980 – the kids’ disappearance, 1990 – the case is reopened with new evidence, and 2015 – an elderly Hays is interviewed by a true-crime documentarian on the happenings.
The final two episodes will air the next two Sundays (February 17 & 24), so get caught up before the case concludes!