While Down with COVID, I Discovered These 5 Great Shows to Stream

Just after Christmas, I spent 9 days with COVID isolated in bed in my basement with nothing to do but watch TV. While I wouldn't wish that on anyone, I will say I found 5 really good shows to stream while down there.

Today, streaming has become a lot like cable TV and I'm not just talking about the monthly fees. There are hundreds and hundreds of movies, series, and shows to watch - it's often overwhelming, like all the channels available on your cable, yet it seems like there's nothing to watch. Furthermore, the writers strike last year is now really starting to show itself after a  lengthy lull in new programming.

Here are five really good things to watch, just as long as your tastes are somewhat in-line with mine.

1. Fargo  -  Hulu

The FX hit anthology series Fargo is back on Hulu for its fifth season and there's a brand new cast, characters and storyline. This season falls just before COVID-19 hits and is all about Dorothy “Dot” Lyon (Juno Temple), and husband Wayne Lyon (David Rysdahl).

This new version of the series is well worth sinking into.

2. Julia -  MAX

This is a series about Julia Child - The French Chef and her public television series that changed television forever back in the 1960s. It's a story about her life while creating the series, writing her books, fighting the battle of working in a man's world during the 60s and 70s, and much more. The series is kind-of accurate and while they enjoy a creative license, it does a really good job of telling her story.

3. Watergate Blueprint for a Scandal  -  MAX

This is produced by CNN and it really digs into what happened with Watergate and President Nixon, and you hear from people who were actually there and part of the groundbreaking event in one way or another. Specifically, getting John Dean's version of what happened is incredibly interesting. The story Dean tells is shocking because of how far Nixon was willing to go to safe his presidency. Beware, Dean is no Trump fan and he makes a few comparisons to Trump and Nixon that won't make Trump lovers happy. Otherwise, I feel like it's a must-see to remind us all how far people can be willing to go to save their political power.

4. World War II: From The Frontlines - Netflix

This series is amazing if you love digging into World War II. In fact, it features video that I don't ever remember seeing before and the part that will catch your attention, is the way the footage has been restored in color - at times you feel like you're watching footage from today.

Here's the Netflix summary: “Featuring powerful first-person stories told by the men and women who fought on all sides of the global conflict. World War II: From the Frontlines is a moving and innovative six part documentary series which plunges the viewer directly onto the frontlines of WW2 in a new way.”

5. The Curious Case of Natalia Grace - Season 1 & 2 - MAX

A Ukrainian orphan with dwarfism is adopted by an American family, which after a short period discovers she's actually a teenager pretending to be 6 years old and she wants to kill her adopted family. This is basically the storyline during season 1, and then on New Year's Day 2024 - part 2 of the series drops and adopted child is telling her side of the story.

This series will blow your mind with twists and turns, and an outcome that you probably never saw coming. In fact, there's a bomb dropped at the very end that could create a situation where this story is far from finished.

By the way, the family who adopts Natalia includes the son, Jacob Barnett, who's a genius and was featured on plenty of talk shows 20 years ago as an intellectual phenomena.

Dig into this series, it's well worth it and it will leave you realizing your family is not that crazy, after all.