You are in lockdown, but the Quarantine Club is here to the rescue. Here’s some TV shows to get you through this.
COVID-19 has us confined to our homes, and things are looking bleaker by the second. In this time of limited optimism, we can use every bit we can find.
So here are some TV shows you can watch to help you feel a little less alone right now. Bonus: they all have women protagonists!
Quarantine Club is Kool Kanya’s movement to create a sense of community online during these difficult times. By sharing the things we love with you, and vice versa, we hope to keep the light at the end of the tunnel aglow. Join us—share your quarantine recommendations!
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is one of the most underrated shows on Netflix.
Set in Australia in the 1920s, it follows Phryne Fisher – wealthy heiress and real renaissance woman – as she sleuths around, solving whodunnit murders and generally living a rebellious life.
What I love about Miss Fisher is that she is unapologetic, ambitious, and irrepressible. She is a staunch feminist: pro-choice, anti-racist, and pro-LGBT. Plus, she’s unapologetically feminine!
She is also supported by an amazing cast of characters: her religious maid who learns to open up to new technology and daring adventures; her fabulous ex-military butler; a pair of communist taxi drivers; her best friend who is a practicing surgeon and openly lesbian; and her frenemies, the two policemen who try to get her of the trail without success, eventually asking her to join in.
Watch it because: There is nothing more empowering than watching a woman being portrayed as delightfully clever, openly vulnerable, full of wit and charm. Miss FIsher is dashing and capable of keeping her nose to the ground, able to piece together puzzles through intelligence.
Bonus: A Miss Fisher spinoff movie has released recently, and the reviews are not half bad!
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
This has to be one of the best TV shows ever created!
A police procedural set in eponymous Brooklyn, it has an epic and diverse cast of characters, each of whom has an incredible individual arc. If i were to go into each character, I would be here forever, but suffice to say that it’s hard to pick a favourite!
What I love about the show is how willing it is to discuss relevant social issues in a sensitive, compassionate manner. All the while remaining as hilarious as ever, while making the effort to not fall back on prejudice and tropes.
Watch it because: It has one of the most endearing and empowering depictions of sisterhood. It underlines the power of female friendships, while also showing healthy male friendships by creating models of positive masculinity.
The Good Place
Confession: I studied Philosophy as my minor in my undergrad, and I am a huge nerd about it. I love reading fiction and theatre written by philosophers, because it stimulates my imagination.
So when The Good Place rolled in (created by the makers of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, no less!), I was ecstatic! The show is everything: an amazing blend of philosophical movements across history, while waving detailed characters in a vast storyline.
It takes the otherwise drudge-inducing topic of ethics and morality, and makes them interesting by putting real humans into the mix. It also boasts a diverse, non-stereotypical cast of eccentrics who share excellent chemistry with one another.
This might be a bold statement, but this show is the reason I wrote this list for the Quarantine Club!
Watch it because: It is the perfect choice for you if you’re looking for an existential show to compliment these existential times. Also, it stars Jameela Jamil, who is a powerful advocate for equality IRL!
Fleabag
Fleabag is unique in the sense that women have rarely been written this way before.
A lot of us know what it feels to be drowning in anger and grief, while trying to navigate adult life. It is so powerful to watch a nuanced, HUMAN woman on screen, and feel less shameful about our most personal thoughts and feelings.
With the rapid spread of Coronavirus, it is no secret that many are struggling to cope. Now, if there’s something we are always seeking, it is empathy. And Fleabag is the best way to distract and empathise at the same time.
Watch it because: It is an incredible frame of reference that lays bare the absurdities of existing as a woman in a world designed for men. All nuanced reconfigurations of feminism are welcome, I believe!
Rizzoli & Isles
This one’s a little old, so it has a couple of things which are backward, but nonetheless: I love Rizzoli & Isles.
It follows the titular pair of detective and medical examiner, as they solve crimes and build an incredible female friendship through intense ups and downs. Jane Rizzoli is a straight-talking, utterly practical detective who has always dreamed of becoming a cop, while Maura Isles is a Chief Medical Examiner with extremely high IQ and an inheritance.
They are well-written characters, who are driven equally by their careers and personal lives. They show vulnerability, they make mistakes, and they are ultimately human. I truly enjoy seeing positive portrayals of career-driven women, which do not fall back on terrible catfight and jealousy tropes.
Watch it because: Nothing quite like watching two women work their way up their professional ladders by empowering one another, quite literally through their intersecting jobs.
So there you have it: a playlist of TV shows to surround you with the warm glow of women and friendship.
