You’re staying home and you need a distraction. We’re updating this recommendation list every weekday. It is a bad time. Many people across the globe are sick with coronavirus.
Those who aren’t are being encouraged to stay away from public spaces. Schools, museums, movie theaters, bars, restaurants: all closed. You’re home, and you need a distraction. Let us help.
Below are some suggestions for what to watch, what to listen to, what to cook, what to read, how to entertain your kids. We’ll update it every weekday with a few suggestions. Be safe. Another week in quarantine.
Everyone seems to talking about the Netflix series “Tiger King. ” We’re certainly going to be watching it. As our TV critic Margaret Lyons writes: “Narratively, this seven-part documentary is kind of a mess, but everything it depicts is so outrageous that it barely matters. Joe Exotic called himself the “Tiger King” and had a private zoo of dozens of exotic animals kept in questionable facilities.
He was eventually arrested on charges of attempted murder for hire, but somehow that is the least interesting development here — it has to compete with maulings, polygamist compounds, another possible murder, D. I. Y. music videos meant to mock said possible murder, unusual sexual arrangements, sundry drugs and violence, arson and, perhaps obviously, the desire for a reality TV show.
” Movies and TV We have several lists of the best things to stream that are updated every month with the newest titles. Make these your first stop. And subscribe to our Watching newsletter, to get TV and movie recommendations straight to your inbox several times a week. The 50 best TV shows on Netflix.
The 50 best movies and TV shows on Disney Plus. Or, if you’re looking to do some deep bingeing on some classic shows you’ve always meant to watch, here’s our 20 best TV dramas since “The Sopranos. ” (But also, maybe watch “The Sopranos. ”) We’ve seen a bunch of people talking about the new Netflix series “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.
Head across the pond from the comfort of your couch with our favorite British television shows, all available on streaming services. Across cooking shows and ta...
” As noted in our Watching newsletter, the seven-part series is about a private zoo owner named Joe Exotic and his crazy life, full of attempted murder, “maulings, polygamist compounds, another possible murder, D. I. Y. music videos meant to mock said possible murder, unusual sexual arrangements, sundry drugs and violence, arson and, perhaps obviously, the desire for a reality TV show.
” Every night this week, the Metropolitan Opera will be streaming a free opera from its archives. They each start at 7:30 p. m. and are available to watch until 3:30 p.
m. the following day. The full schedule can be found here. The one that’s like “Groundhog Day” but set in the East Village and starring the incredibly-voiced Natasha Lyonne?
That would be “Russian Doll,” on Netflix. It’s a short, one-season binge. The one that’s full of mostly hateable rich people insulting one another in settings that are both envy-worthy and also somehow bland? You’re thinking of HBO’s “Succession.
” There are two seasons, each with 10 hourlong episodes. The one that’s punchy and witty and emotional and sexy, but with British accents and an attractive priest? “Fleabag. ” It’s on Amazon Prime, and there are two seasons of six half-hour episodes.
(The one with the priest is Season 2. ) Sorry, sorry. Let’s go broader. Here are some ideas organized by category or mood.
Comforting TV shows for stressful times. The 30 best international TV shows of the 2010s. Need a laugh? (Of course you do.
) Here are 15 binge-worthy sitcoms. 12 recent Netflix series worth streaming, including an addictive docuseries about cheerleading, a horror-fantasy show based on a comic book and a documentary about what animals do at night. Something feel-good? Spend some time in the fictional world of “Schitt’s Creek.
” Yes, the Rose family lost all their money, but now they’re learning how to function like regular people, and there’s something comforting about their struggles. A laugh in dark times? The stakes are high in “The Good Place” — the fate of humanity hangs in the balance — and yet the ragtag team fighting to save us all are gloriously, painfully human (even though some of them aren’t, technically). This show strikes a great lowbrow/highbrow balance.
Oh, something mindless? The latest reality dating show sweeping the internet is Netflix’s “Love Is Blind,” in which strangers form relationships from one-person pods, and see each other only after they’re engaged. Beware, though: Despite the silly set up, you may find yourself emotionally invested. That’s a big question!
Well, first, you should start with our lists of the 50 best movies to stream on Netflix and the 50 best movies to stream on Amazon Prime. And here are some recent movies, including “The Invisible Man" and “Emma,” that have hit digital platforms very early, as a result of, well, all movie theaters being closed for the foreseeable future. Some of last year’s Oscar-nominated movies are now available to stream, rent or purchase, including: “The Irishman” (what better time to watch this three-hour-plus film) and “Marriage Story,” on Netflix.
““Parasite,” “Knives Out,” “Uncut Gems,” “Ford v Ferrari,” “1917,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” are available for rent on iTunes, Amazon and other digital video platforms If you’ve always wanted to learn about world cinema but haven’t had the time before, subscribe to the Criterion Channel and watch the works of Fellini, Kiarostami, Truffaut, Bergman, Tati, Kurosawa, Denis, Varda, Renoir … Podcasts It’s understandable if you don’t want to look at a screen right now — maybe you’re working from home and your eyes are burned out from staring at your laptop; perhaps you’ve been watching cable news for too many hours and just can’t with your TV anymore.”
Luckily, there’s a world of audio-only content we can recommend. For example, if you want to hear something that might make you feel better, you can listen to someone read our profile from last fall: “This Tom Hanks Story Will Make You Feel Less Bad. ” If you want deeper dives, here are some podcasts, broken down by category. I want to hear some food podcasts.
I’m looking for something about health or emotional well-being. I love movies and want to listen to other people who also love movies. I miss sports so much. I need to get in touch with my spiritual side.
Broadway is closed, as is my local theater, and I’ve worn out my cast album recordings. Are there theater podcasts? (You better believe it. ) Books What books offer you comfort?
We asked more than 20 authors about what they read to soothe their own anxieties. Fantasies probably sound appealing right about now. Celeste Ng, the author of “Little Fires Everywhere,” recommends “The Princess Bride. ” You might already know and love the movie, but Ng says the novel it’s based on is just as worth your time, calling it “a fairy tale that acknowledges that life isn’t fair” that “still manages to make you feel that the good guys might win.
” What about poetry? For that, Luis Alberto Urrea goes to “Winter Morning Walks,” a collection of poems Ted Kooser wrote while recovering from cancer that “will bring you grace abundant,” Urrea writes. And for those who find themselves drawn to nonfiction even in these times, J. Courtney Sullivan suggests trying Mira Ptacin’s “The In-Betweens” — it’s the true story of Camp Etna, a 150-year-old community of spiritualists and mediums, hidden deep in the woods of Maine.
You might have the time but not the mental bandwidth for “Anna Karenina” right now, and that’s OK. In fact, it’s completely normal (even editors at the Book Review are having trouble concentrating). Maybe you want to save the thick books for a less unsettling time. If that’s the case, here are a few short, quick options that can help take your mind off the real world.
Is your family getting a little too close for comfort? Seek validation in “Dept. of Speculation,” by Jenny Offill. Or if you’d like to be distracted by a different crisis altogether, consider Offill’s new book, “Weather.
” You can guess what that one’s about. You don’t have to be a writer to find peace in Annie Dillard’s “The Writing Life,” where she reflects on nature, creativity, friendship and inspiration. Sometimes you need to temper your anxiety with humor — or sex. In “Mrs.
Caliban,” by Rachel Ingalls, Dorothy is struggling. Her son has died (and so has her dog); her husband has become dour and uncommunicative. But things begin looking up when she acquires a lover — a strapping amphibian named Larry. Music OK, so you can’t go to any concerts right now.
But millions — yes, many millions — of songs are at your fingertips. Want to start with the best new music you should have on your radar? Listen to our latest Playlist, which features new releases from Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, PartyNextDoor featuring Rihanna and a brand new 17-minute song from Bob Dylan. Cooking Even in the most stressful moments, we need to eat good food.
The New York Times Cooking site has thousands of recipes to help you weather these next few weeks. (You do need a subscription to access a lot of them, though. ) For example, since we know many of you will be working from home for the foreseeable future, here are 30 recipes for lunch at home. It doesn’t have to be grilled cheese every day!
(True, there is a grilled cheese recipe here, but it has some zhush. ) And since some of you have bought beans and beans and beans for the long hibernation, here’s Melissa Clark’s guide for how best to cook them, as well as many delicious recipes like one for tomato, white bean and kale soup. And for a few more, here’s a collection of easy recipes to cook while you’re self-quarantined. Sign up for the Cooking newsletter, for recipes, food writing and culinary inspiration.
Like all our newsletters, it’s free. Games Wirecutter, a New York Times Company that focuses on product recommendations, has some great suggestions for the best board games to play with people who are interested in advanced board games — we’re talking more than just Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit. Interested in console, mobile, or PC games? The Guardian has just published a list with 25 suggestions, including “Pokemon Go,” which is making changes to allow for more monsters to be found closer to home.
Were you one of the many Nintendo Switch owners who bought “Animal Crossing” this weekend? Polygon has a great guide for mastering the basics of the game. Family fare Look, let’s be honest. It’s almost inevitable that many children are going to have more screen time over the coming weeks.
It’s fine, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad parent, as our Parenting editor, Jessica Grose, recently explained in her newsletter, which you can sign up for here. In terms of specific shows to watch, New York Times readers recommended their favorite kids TV shows, and Mike Hale, one of our TV critics, chose four recent kids shows you might want to check out. Here’s a long list of podcasts for kids ages 2-6, from story-focused ones to educational fare to a music one. Do you need some help figuring out what books to get and read to your children?
The New York Times’s children’s book editor, Maria Russo, has a recurring advice column called Story Times. She has already written up lists like eight great (and short) books for brand new-readers and seven great shorter stories for the elementary school years. Check out the rest at Story Times. Mo Willems, the children’s book author and illustrator (the Pigeon, Knuffle Bunny and Elephant and Piggie series) has launched a “Lunch Doodles” series that streams from the Kennedy Center YouTube page at 1 p.
m. daily. (They are also all archived there. ) “Let’s find a way to be isolated and together at the same time,” he says.
Here is Monday’s episode: Our Books team has compiled some other ways that authors are trying to help you entertain your children. Wirecutter has recommendations for educational apps and learning games, as well as thoughts on great board games to play with children.
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