The new year has undoubtedly been marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it has also seen the re­lease of several new and noteworthy TV shows.

So get your Netflix or Amazon Prime video on be­cause whether you’re quarantined or just lazy, these shows will keep you entertained during your social distancing.

The Witcher

On Netflix

Though it was released in 2019, The Witcher is one of the best shows on Netflix to date. Adapted from both an acclaimed book series and video game enterprise, the story follows three primary protago­nists at different points in time whose stories amal­gamate into a single timeline. The protagonists’ lives are each affected differently by the empire of Nilfgaard, which seeks to expand its territory no matter the cost.

Professional monster hunter Geralt of Rivia is in­extricably linked to a young princess named Ciri, whose destiny lies in his hands. Throughout the series, he struggles to accept his destiny and main­tain his humanity in a world overrun by dark forc­es. This series has the potential to become the new Game of Thrones, and you don’t want to miss out on it.

Good Girls

On Netflix

This series follows three Michigan sub­urban mothers, each of whom are facing massive financial troubles. Sisters Beth and Annie, along with their friend Ruth, band together to get their lives under con­trol.

After exhausting every possible option, the women take matters into their own hands and decide to rob a grocery store. Their success attracts the attention of a local gang, who have no intention of let­ting them get away with it. With no other alternative, the moms start a money laun­dering business and soon learn that a life of crime pays off.

Though self-isolation prevents us from living our typical day-to-day lives, we can always find comfort in different ways of escaping reality. These shows each act as a way to pass the time while quarantined and provide an escape from the current state of the world.

Hunters

On Amazon Prime

Taking place in New York City during the post- Cold War era, Hunters follows protagonist Jonah Heidelbaum in his fight to avenge his grandmother’s death. Heidelbaum finds himself taken in by a covert group of Jewish Nazi hunters, some of who are Holo­caust survivors, as they wage a secret war against es­caped Nazi war criminals living in the United States.

In each episode, this furtive group takes down their targets before time runs out. Many of the char­acters struggle with the morality of vigilante justice and the consequences of their mission. The Nazi of­ficials work to create a “Fourth Reich,” but the hunt­ers don’t make it easy for them.

Sex Education season two

On Netflix

This coming-of-age comedy follows socially awk­ward teenager Otis Milburn and his high school peers as they struggle to come to terms with their sexuality.

Otis’ mother is a sex therapist whose open and honest approach to all things concerning sex makes Otis uncomfortable. In an effort to better educate himself and fellow students, Otis and his classmate Maeve open a sex advice business to try to help oth­ers with their sex related problems.

Season two of the series finds Otis in a new re­lationship with a spunky character named Ola Ny­man. This season focuses on the pressures that come with dating while in high school. The protagonist’s relationship is tested by sexual taboos and stereo­types that are discussed throughout the series.

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Thea Pearce

Photos: Public Domain