If you are anything like me, you have been overdosing on streaming services since well into march. Times are tough, and there is nothing better than a good couch session to numb the mind and push-back the void. Fortunately, Netflix has given us some great material to work with. If you are looking for a dose of laughs or a blast of nostalgia to the gut, I sure have some shows for you. 

Space Force – Comedy

Star actor Steve Carell has done it all. From Michael Scott, Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, to a four-star General Naird, the head of the space Force. This brand-new show is set out to be a space-age workplace comedy and satire. It has a bit of something for everyone, whether that be hard-core Carell fans, comedy connoisseurs, or a space fanatic.

With the announcement that The Office will be leaving Netflix at the end of the year, millions of fans who loved to sit and watch the shenanigans of Dwight, Michael, Jim, and Pam, on repeat, were not too happy to hear about this. 

However, Space Force still gives mourning fans that same warm feeling, like the heart flutter you feel when listening to The Office’s iconic opening theme song as you see your favorite Dunder Mifflin employees make their appearance onto the screen.

The show displays a mockery of the current state of the U.S. government, imagining what it would be like if a new armed space force was created in a bombastic move by no other than President Donald Trump himself (Trump’s name is not explicitly mentioned, but there are pretty clear references to the U.S President like his very distinct twitter habits).

This show does a great job of poking fun at high-profile figures without naming any of them and entangling the show into controversy, making the show even better. However, unlike the Office, the show is not exactly “laugh-out-loud funny,” which will have you laughing on the floor rolling around in your tears. The show has a unique voice and cadence that is an enjoyable ride once you get over the gruff “manly military voice” that Carell uses for his role as Gen. Naird. 

Regardless if you are a diehard Office fan, space fanatic, or just want to see some of your favorite actors in action, this is the show for you. Space Force is a fantastic show which includes humor, which will give you a little chuckle. It is a show that is like no other and that you must watch to see for yourself!

Avatar, the Last Airbender – Animated series, Adventure 

In a world where nations are defined by their connection to one of the four elements—water, earth, fire, and air—once living in harmony… until the fire nation attacked! Now only one person could save them, the Avatar.

Whether you are discovering the show for the first time or rewatching for old time’s sake, the Avatar holds onto its viewer. The Avatar, the Last Airbender, was put onto Netflix on May 15, causing a major resurgence since it was released in 2005. The fifteen-year-old cartoon quickly became Netflix’s No. 1 offering and remains a fixture in the United States’ Top Ten. 

   Like many other people, when I first watched the show as a kid, I was instantly hooked. Every day I had the same routine: go to school, get back home, eat, and then watch multiple Avatar episodes until I fell asleep. Looking back at it now, I probably could have been more use of my time and got a lot of my work done. Still, none of that really mattered, because there was only one thing on my mind and one thing only, and that was to watch Avatar (talk about priorities).

One of the greatest things that makes this such a great show is that it’s very binge-able and leaves you wanting to watch more; one moment, you say you’re going to watch just one episode, then the next moment, you find yourself watching 20 episodes. It is not simply a series of short episodic adventures. The “Avatar” is a way to get away from the real world and submerge yourself in an epic quest with conflicts, characters, and long-running jokes that are based on what came before.

When “Avatar” was put onto Netflix, I eagerly leaped back into the show that I once loved as a kid to watch it all over again. When rewatching the show, I discovered new things along the way that I did not see my first go around. I realized the show’s deeper meaning and how deep the creators were trying to go with the show. It poses major questions about free will, destiny, and fate and touches on war and imperialism’s horrors. “Avatar: The Last Airbender” then meant a great deal to us then, but it means even more 15 years later.

The authors of the Avatar did a fantastic job with the writing of the show. They create strong deep emotions within the characters which reflect onto the viewers. Giving them a sense of what the characters are feeling. There are some scenes that make even grown men cry every time they watch it. Notably, the scene where Iroh, former prince of the imperial Fire nation, but now a diminished, greying old man, sitting by his son’s graveside, wishing him a happy birthday. Drowning in regret upon a sunset, his gruff voice as he sings mournfully. 

The Avatar, the Last Airbender, a series of 61 episodes, is definitely a must-watch for both children and adults. It is a show where you sit down to watch one episode, but end up watching a whole season, because it’s that good. As many people can attest to, it is a cartoon that is like no other and still brings joy to people’s hearts all around the world. Still to this day, no animated series has been capable of producing the lasting impact of the popular Nickelodeon show.