For one such as me, who doesn’t partake in any winter activities other than drinking hot toddies and making the occasional snow angel, I mostly spend the cold months binging podcasts, movies and shows I missed in the summer. I know, I’m boring as hell, but ending up headfirst in a tree well is a phobia of mine, so I’m cool with being boring. My anxiety usually comes out of hibernation in the winter, kicking my Seasonal Affective Disorder into a gear somewhere between mild annoyance at everything and everyone on Earth and a full-blown panic attack acting like an ever-present stomach tornado — which is why I normally take November off from my typical diet of horror movies and weirdo podcasts and try and fill my brain with things a bit more on the delightful end of the spectrum.
Here are a few things I’ve been enjoying so far this month.
Pod Save Us All
This one might be old news to most folks, but Sam Anderson’s six-part miniseries “Animal” is one of the strangest and most beautiful podcasts I’ve ever stumbled across, and something I think I’ll probably go back to multiple times. Each episode follows Anderson as he connects to a different animal and then writes these little essays that connect the animal to the human condition. It’s sometimes a little cheesy, sure, but as a piece of writing it’s also bittersweet and lovely in unexpected ways. There are only six parts, so just as you truly sink in to the ‘cast’s pleasures, it’s already gone.
As someone who specifically loves finding cozy podcasts that might sustain me through the cold winter nights, I was extremely excited to discover “The Curious History of Your Home” from British historian Ruth Goodman. If ever I feel those thin tendrils of anxiety flexing their way into my brain, hearing Goodman accessibly teach me the history of carpets or lawnmowers helps turn those dark and stormies into warm and fuzzies.
Now Streaming
Ever since “Ted Lasso” ended, I’ve been searching for a cozy hangout show that gave me the same feeling of faith in the human race that I find myself sometimes missing after watching the news or just listening to strangers talk to each other out in the wild. While it has a somewhat darker center than “Lasso,” I think the closest I’ve come to finding a replacement has been the AppleTV+ original “Shrinking,” starring Jason Segal, Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams and Crista Miller. With Bill (“Scrubs”) Lawrence, Brett (Roy F**king Kent from “Ted Lasso”) Goldstein and Segal as creators, the pedigree to create something truly remarkable is here. Following a therapist who is grieving the loss of his wife and decides to radically change how he invests himself in his patient’s lives, “Shrinking” is at turns touching, hilarious and humanist in ways that never feel saccharine or inauthentic.
I also love the coziness of “Only Murders in the Building” which takes our fascination with true crime shenanigans and weaponizes it into a sweet and heartfelt comedy/mystery. While the actual mysteries aren’t as satisfying as I think they could be, the real pleasure of the show comes from spending time with Steve Martin and Martin Short, two men who have been on my TV for as long as I’ve been alive. With Selena Gomez not only holding her own but, more often than not, stealing scene after scene, the show is never anything less than 30 minutes of watching two comedic legends try to keep up with her.
Really, this list could go on for so long. From the nostalgic and heartfelt hilarity of the Irish gem, “Derry Girls,” to the consistently heartwarming “Abbott Elementary,” back to the tenderly crafted “Gilmore Girls” or the life-affirming “The Good Place,” there are plenty of humanist stories to choose from to keep us warm and cozy in the colder months.
Heck, here’s 10 more just in case:
“Friday Night Lights”
“New Girl”
“The Great British Baking Show”
“Parks and Recreation”
“Kim’s Convenience”
“Midnight Diner”
“Dr. Who”
“Schitt’s Creek”
“All Creatures Great and Small”
“Bob’s Burgers”
This article appears in Source Weekly November 7, 2024.
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I heartily recommend “Resident Alien” as a cozy-watch series. The sci-fi comedy is clever and funny, and the characters are marvelous. This is NOT an animated series, but it is loosely based on one. On Netflix and Paramount, I believe. 3 seasons, and a fourth in production.