Everyone has different shows and movies that give them comfort when they're sick, sad or some other combination of unpleasantness. I know people who have watched all nine seasons of "The Office" multiple times that treat the show like a cozy blanket on a cold night, although for my money "Parks and Recreation" is a much better warm-blanket show because it has all the heart of "The Office" with 75% less cringe comedy. But it doesn't matter about the specifics of the show itself and how it connects to anyone else but you; all that matters is how gently it hits you at a time when you need a softer touch and an escape from whatever ails you.
I've been (deep) under the weather for the last week and unable to move around too much, so I've been spending most of my awake hours with movies, shows and podcasts that take my brain somewhere peaceful for a few hours. Since most everyone's warm-blanket cultural touchstones will be different, it's near impossible to recommend comforting content to others. Instead I'll just share with you a few of the things that have been making me feel better over the last week.
In Pod We Trust
Since I bring it up constantly, I won't go into it too much here, but one thing that has been really nice was starting my favorite podcast, "Welcome to Night Vale," over from the beginning and just listening to how creators Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor have unspooled such an amazing story over 225 episodes and a decade. It's easily the greatest fictional podcast of all time, but I will admit it takes a few episodes to get used to the strange beauty of the worldbuilding and the trance-inducing host Cecil Baldwin's sonorous narration. On its surface, "Night Vale" is a mixture of "Twin Peaks" and "The Wizard of Oz," but it's also about the strength of love and human connection. And also, things like inscrutable glow clouds and mildly dangerous throat spiders.
"Binge Mode" has also been a new warm-blanket discovery as they break down so many of the things that I love, one entry at a time. Going back to June of 2017, the show initially started as a deep dive into "Game of Thrones," which then eventually got into "Black Mirror," "Harry Potter," "Star Wars" and all things Marvel. I started listening for the Marvel breakdown but kept listening because of the easy-going banter between hosts Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion. There are so many cinematic universes now, it's nice to be eased into them in such a way that enhances the enjoyment and understanding.
Now Streaming
I mean, speaking of Marvel, I really do recommend heading on over to Disney+ and streaming the MCU from "Iron Man" to "Avengers: Endgame." I know it's not very popular to love Marvel right now, but when "Iron Man" came out in 2008 it was in many ways a plucky underdog that had to overcome most audiences thinking comic books were for nerds. Yes, they became a Disney-controlled mega-corp, but there's an effortless efficiency of storytelling that makes these movies so entertaining. It's really hard to feel terrible when you're watching "Guardians of the Galaxy" or "Thor: Ragnarok."
It's even harder to feel bad while watching "Schitt's Creek" on Hulu. I think shows that are focused on terrible people slowly becoming better humans are good for us, and this is one of the best. Watching 80 episodes of the Rose family turning from selfish, petty millionaires to genuinely decent people growing to care about their community is good for the soul. No matter how many times I've seen the show before, I can always start it from the beginning for some instant good feelings.
There are so many good-natured shows. From "Abbott Elementary" to "Love on the Spectrum," it feels like maybe streaming is leaning into less cynical programming. Don't get me wrong, I love me some "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Veep," but catch me under warm-blanket shows and movies for the foreseeable future.
