Credit: Archer Facebook
Thanksgiving weekend is fast approaching, and for many of us who don't work in retail or restaurants, it's a four-day weekend. If you're like me, being around family and having to be "on" all the time on Thanksgiving Day can be exhausting. And the craziness of Black Friday is enough to make me avoid the stores like the plague. So of course, there's always . . . Netflix! Here are five shows you can stream over the weekend while you lounge around in your pajamas and drink hot cocoa and laugh at all of the people who are way too wrapped up in transitioning from one holiday to another.
Peaky Blinders
Both season one and season two are currently on Netflix. Peaky Blinders, which stars Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill and Annabelle Wallis, takes place in 1919 and tells the story of ambitious gang leader Thomas Shelby, who is ruthlessly determined to become one of the top crime bosses in Birmingham, England. If you're missing Boardwalk Empire, this may be right up your alley.
Archer
Did petty squabbles, pissing contests, and general drama within the family make the previous day's festivities hard to deal with? Sterling Archer has it worse than you do. And he causes as much drama as the next person while working as a spy for ISIS, a secret organization owned and operated by his mother, Mallory. Not only are Sterling and his mother pretty dysfunctional people, but so are his coworkers, except for maybe Lana Kane, who seems to be the only sane one around. While some of the show's jokes are cringeworthy, the absurdity of the plots and the wittiness behind the humor make the show worth it.
Hatfields & McCoys
Think your family is nuts? Here's a series about a pair of backwoods families that went at it like the Montagues and the Capulets, which doesn't bode well for the two young members of the family who fall in love each other and are doomed to a star-crossed romance. This miniseries is based in historical events and stars Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, and Jena Malone.
Destination Truth
This reality show is from awhile back, but it's still good fun, as host Josh Gates and his team of skeptics journey across the world to investigate legends, mysteries, and supernatural events. Gates and his team don't journey to these places trying to use circumstantial evidence to connect dots and try to prove the veracity of the things they investigate; rather, they go in with open minds and take everything into account before drawing their conclusions about the phenomena they investigate.
Annika Bengtzon, Crime Reporter
Looking for something to watch now that Law & Order isn't on Netflix anymore? Look no further; this television series, from the producers of The Millennium Trilogy and Wallander, chronicles the career of crime reporter Anna Bengtzon. There's a certain starkness and edginess about the series that is almost neo-noir, but was also present in Wallander and The Millennium Trilogy, as Anna investigates the darkest deeds of which human beings can be capable.
And so that's it—five recommendations for streaming Thanksgiving weekend! Do you have anything you would recommend?
This story first appeared at Persephone Magazine, a daily blog focused on topics of interest for modern, intelligent, clever women.
