I’ve somehow had a few recent conversations about good tv to watch at the gym. Since I’m a very irregular gym goer my main draw for doing some cardio is having a good distracting show. I prefer streaming series to avoid commercials, half hour ‘comedies’ to keep the arc short, and since I watch on my phone nothing too dark (visually not tonally) or subtitled. Update: I should note something I realized while tuning into season 4 of Transparent that some of these shows have ‘adult’ content which I think is fine on my small phone but one may be wary in gym or other viewing.
Here’s some of the good ones in some semblance of recommendation order:
- Bored to Death (Prime) – This series originally aired on HBO is the perfect gym show, Jason Schwartzman as a novelist with a craigslist ad as a PI gets into a new ridiculous caper each week along with delightfully flawed Ted Danson and Zach Galifinakis.
- One Mississippi (Prime) – This show which should have been renewed beyond the two seasons available was a lovely trip with Tig Notaro’s semi-autobiographical character returning home to after her mother dies gives the offbeat local color as well as Tig’s voice through the show and the radio show she hosts within the show, I just always looked forward to the next episode.
- Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix) – Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant are the perfect couple to follow on this suburban zombie story which is more over the top amusing than scary though there’s plenty of blood to mess up those pretty homes they’re trying to sell as realtors while trying to keep their business and family together.
- Catastrophe (Prime) – This offbeat couple of Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney meeting in London for a traveling tryst gets complicated when she gets pregnant but their complications continue as does their humor while things continue to go awry but it’s really the way the two relate in a less than romantic comedy way that makes the moments.
- Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Netflix) – Since these usually run closer to 15 minutes, Seinfeld’s conversations with various comedians don’t amount to much but they do make nice filler if I’ve got a little time left on the elliptical but don’t want to start a while fresh episode.
- One Day At A Time (Netflix) – This show is a very successful retake (remake, reboot?) on the original and while the characters are all great they’re a little too focused on the very special episode topics which add nicely done dramatic turns to the comedy but tends to not work as well for me at the gym.
- Transparent (Prime) – I have yet to dive into the latest season but this was one of the first streamers I really enjoyed as this family of adult children deal with their father’s decision to come out as Moira a trans woman, and of course they’re all just generally a mess.
- Fleabag (Prime) – Phoebe Waller-Bridge does the trick of keeping her protagonist close to the line of likable and relatable and while not always on the right side of that line she blunders her way through each episode as a woman dealing with family and tragedy.
- Love (Netflix) – Also in the less than likable protagonist way this brings together two people that you might only wish on each other but Gillian Jacobs and Paul Rust somehow keep the relationship and the series something that you want to keep tuning in for.
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix) – I enjoyed the earlier seasons a bit more than the latter, I have yet to tune into this most recent release, but Ellie Kemper returning to the real world after spending 15 years in a bunker being brings such enthusiasm to each interaction you can’t help but be amused by the ridiculousness that ensues.
- Grace & Frankie (Netflix) – While this isn’t the best show I generally am entertained by each episode if not by the relationship of the polar opposite characters of Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin then by the escapades of their exes and their adult children.
- The Tick* (Prime) – I watched this in the comfort of my own home and though it might be a bit on the dark side (visually) it is a very fun and pretty unique tone on the superhero scene and could work well for gym viewing.
- Master of None* (Netflix) – I watched this at home as well but Aziz Ansari’s semi-autobiographical take on trying to figure it all out as each episode has its own take and adds up to something much better, this is another one of those that starts good but just gets better.
- Glow* (Netflix) – I liked the first season quite a bit and am going to try swapping this into the gym rotation for season two as the gorgeous ladies of wrestling gathers Alison Brie and some additional misfits to try to throw down, some nice turns by Brie and Marc Maron among others.
And for the record there are a few streaming shows that I still recommend heartily but not for the gym
- In Treatment (HBO/Prime) – This series is great and I tried it at the gym and it really didn’t work, it’s just too serious and play-like to keep a quick pace on the treadmill but you should check out the therapist in his sessions with various patients.
- Dear White People (Netflix) – While a good series, the second season I thought better than the first, there is too much computer typing shown on screen to work well on the smaller screen but give it a look for complexities of race and other college foibles at an Ivy League College through a radio show and other interactions.
- Bojack Horseman (Netflix) – I’ve just been doing this series since before my gym habit and while the broad comedy here might work the nuance of those visuals I think warrants a bigger screen, if you haven’t checked out the odd animated take on this alt world following BoJack who takes depression and self-sabotage to a new level but the nuances of characters is as amusing as it is dark.
While I’m still pretty inconsistent about the gym these shows are prolific enough to keep me going for now but let me know any other good picks in the comments, who knows I could start working out more!
* These three shows would likely be higher on the list if gym tested.
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