6 TV Shows To Watch When You Just Want To Shut Off Your Brain
These comfort shows are here just when you need them. Shut off your brain and drown your overactive mind with these TV favorites.
There are more than a few of us who could use a break from worrying about the world right now. It’s important to stay connected, to know current events, to work toward change, but you can’t do that all the time. So when you just want to chill and shut off your brain, try one of these comfort shows. None of them have politics are hardcore drama or high stakes. Instead, you can binge for hours while your stress levels go down a couple notches. Score!
Watch Castle for a lighthearted police-procedural
Police-procedural shows are great because you can literally put on any episode and enjoy what you see. There’s rarely an overarching story across episodes and instead you get to solve the murder of the week along with the detectives. Castle is a good choice because it’s the silliest and least serious of the genre. Plus, Nathan Fillion’s smile can set anyone at ease. Watch Castle on Prime Video, Hulu, or The Roku Channel.
Watch Over the Garden Wall for a cute show that’ll turn you into a superfan
If you haven’t already watched this animated kids show, now’s the time. Giving serious autumn energy, it’s all about two brothers finding their way home through woods while meeting increasingly more interesting people. The animation is great, the characters are adorable, and the soundtrack rocks. Although it’s for kids, you’ll likely end up as one of the many adults who will now make Over the Garden Wall a part of their personality. Watch Over the Garden Wall on Hulu.
Watch The Circle for a low-stakes reality TV competition
There are so many new reality shows out there, but here’s the problem with most of them: They’re designed at least partially to make your blood boil. Watching a guy cheat on the girl he met on Love is Blind isn’t exactly a good way to turn off your brain. If you want to watch something newer that’s low-stakes, try The Circle. It’s just a bunch of people talking to each other through screens, no biggie. And with seven seasons, you’re set for a while. Watch The Circle on Netflix.
Watch The Great British Baking Show for sweet baked goods and sweeter contestants
When you’re starting believe that humanity is doomed, just watch The Great British Baking Show. It’s so heartwarming how the contestants are a part of a baking competition, yet they become friends, root for each other, even help one another succeed. Watch this when you need help believing that there’s good in the world. Watch The Great British Baking Show on Netflix.
Watch Downton Abbey for drama that has nothing to do with you
Okay, you really want drama but you don’t want to be reminded of anything going on in your life right now? No problem. Just watch the trials and tribulations of wealthy British people and their staff in 1912 through the mid-to-late-1920s. There’s all the love and intrigue you need with nothing that’ll raise your blood pressure. Watch Downton Abbey on Prime Video and Peacock.
Watch your favorite sitcom when you need the familiar–you know the one
We all have that sitcom that we turn on when we can barely function. We have it on in the background while we knit or paint or make dinner or just sit there and vibe. Yours might be The Office or 30 Rock or Parks and Rec or Friends or How I Met Your Mother or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Cue it up and let your brain rot, because sometimes that’s what you need to cope. And that’s okay.