With the weather getting unpredictable, or just the fact that it gets so dark so early nowadays, going outside on a weekend — or weekday, if you work from home — is a feat. There are so many more enjoyable things you can do inside your home, like spending two hours painting your toenails, reading Not The Kind Of Girl, and cleaning your apartment — OK, who am I kidding about that one — instead of bundling up and going outside into "the real world," because the world you have inside is just too perfect, and smells too much like Anthropologie candles to be permeated by the stench of street meat from the corner. Obviously, another reason your inside cocoon of a world is so perfect is because of TV shows streaming on Netflix.
Netflix is like the life partner of 2014, because Match.com is more expensive per month and Netflix doesn't leave crumbs all over your couch. So when you have a day where you want to do nothing but stay in with your one true love, but you also want a sense of accomplishment — or as I consider it, finishing an entire TV series in one day — turn to these streaming shows on Netflix and lose track of time, because you deserve it.
Note: The only stipulation of being on this list is that the series needed to be off the air, completely streaming on Netflix (because who is going to order The Lying Game on DVD?), and semi-attainable to finish in a day (sorry Breaking Bad, but you're just too successful).
Now, without further ado: 13 TV series you can — and should — finish in a day.
1. NYC Prep
It's the real life Gossip Girl, but with really awkward high schoolers. This show will remind you why exactly twenty-somethings play high school students in the entertainment industry, and probably make you thankful you didn't grow up in New York City. In the case that you did, this could seem all too familiar. And yes, there is a Blair Waldorf.
Number of episodes: Nine
2. Mixology
This short lived ABC show seemed pretty doomed from the beginning since it was a season long "takes place in one night" kind of a plot. But, the characters and stories are all pretty enjoyable and you get pretty invested with who is going to go home with who over the course of the season.
Number of episodes: 13
3. Don't Trust The B In Apartment 23
This show, I can attest, is possible to complete in a day, but it is going to take some dedication (I'm talking controlled and timed out bathroom breaks, and microwaveable meals). It had two wonderful seasons, but was unfortunately canceled. Once you're in, you're in. There's no turning back. Plus: James Van Der Beek plays a version of himself — so plenty of Dawson jokes.
Number of episodes: 26
4. Freaks & Geeks
Prepare to become obsessed with this show, if you haven't seen it yet. It features so many stars — James Franco, Jason Segel, Seth Rogan, Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley — and is ubiquitously known as the show that left us too soon. One of Judd Apatow's best.
Number of episodes: 18
5. Undeclared
Another short-lived Judd Apatow creation, Undeclared is a sort of follow-up to Freaks & Geeks, following a college freshman through his first year. Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogen, and Charlie Hunnam appear, need I say more?
Number of episodes: 17
6. Lipstick Jungle
If you like Sex And The City, but realize it is mathematically possible to watch all 6-ish seasons — some of them are shortened — in one day, than Lipstick Jungle is probably your best bet. Inspired by the novel of the same name — written by SATC writer Candace Bushnell — the show follows three best friends in their personal and professional lives in New York City. Sound familiar?
Number of episodes: 20
7. The Lying Game
If you love Pretty Little Liars (duh), but can't go through the emotional stress that the show puts on you, try this. It is just as dramatic — two identical twins meet up and switch lives, one goes missing, drama insues — but only two seasons long. Again, you're going to need to continuously play the episodes to make the whole show fit into one day, but thanks to Netflix's autoplay, that is very possible.
Number of episodes: 30
8. Hostages
Before he was a Stalker or on AHS, Dylan McDermott was on CBS' very short-lived Hostages. He plays a rogue FBI agent who takes a doctor's family hostage in hopes of convincing the doctor to assassinate the President during a surgery she is to perform on him.
Number of episodes: 15
9. Boss
It was only on for two seasons, but overall the show received two Golden Globe nominations — so unlike a lot of the shows on this list, it is actually good. Kelsey Grammer, who won a Golden Globe, plays the mayor of Chicago who is fighting — but also trying to hide — a debilitating disease. I'm also an extra in one episode, so no shame in self-promoting it.
Number of episodes: 18
10. The Tomorrow People
Despite the attractive cast, this CW show didn't live past one season. The "Tomorrow People" are a different breed of humans, those who are genetically more evolved, making them homo superior. It's a typical CW show, hot cast, dramatic storyline, only lived one season, but definitely attainable to watch in a day. Bonus: Robbie Amell.
Number of episodes: 22
11. The Riches
This FX show follows a family of con artists and thieves as they try to take over the lives of a very wealthy family in Baton Rouge. It was only on for two seasons, but had generally favorable reviews throughout its time.
Number of episodes: 20
12. Melrose Place
It's not the original show, it's the 2.0 version, featuring Ashlee Simpson. Melrose Place 2.0 follows the extremely dramatic lives of the residents of the Melrose Place apartment complex. Yes, a dead body is found in a pool, and no, that's not the most dramatic thing that happens in this one-season show.
Number of episodes: 18
13. American Horror Story: Murder House & Asylum
I know that the show is still on, and that the seasons are connected, but you can technically watch Season 1 and 2 in completion, and see their resolved ending.
Number of episodes: 12 & 13, respectively
Images: Bravo; ABC (2); NBC (2); FOX; ABC Family; CBS; Starz; The CW (2); FX (2)
