Staying Positive During Pandemic: Funny Shows and Social Media to Get You Through

It’s day who-knows-what of this quarantine, and we’ve all seen the posts imploring us to find a new hobby, bake bread from scratch, and solve a 5,000 piece puzzle to pass the time. Friend, this is not that post. To survive the countless hours at home unstructured, I’ve chosen to find some sand and bury my head way down deep in it. I’m vowing not to see what fresh horror awaits me each day. To stay entertained, I need funny and I need dumb and I need it on demand. Here are my top social media follows, podcasts, and shows that are getting me through.

Social Media

I’ve taken a hard stance during this pandemic and that is Instagram only. Twitter has me convinced the world is ending within the hour, Facebook is giving me too much insight into my friend’s political views, and I’ve heard Tik Tok is fun but I’m too old for that. Here are my top 3 insta follows.

1. Influencers in the Wild

Run by insta sensation Tank Sinatra, Influencers in the Wild is a hilarious behind-the-scenes view of wanna-be social media influencers staging and failing at staging their posts. Every single post makes me laugh until I cry.

2. Jen Hatmaker

Jen is a mom to 5 teenagers in Buda, Texas, and she is all of us during this never-ending time at home. Scroll back until you find the post of her sitting in an empty bathtub drinking wine off her trashcan regaling the downward spiral of her day. She is a gem.

3. Leslie Jordan

Leslie Jordan, an actor best known for his role on Will and Grace, enlightens us fellow hunker-downers with the hilarious minutiae of his day. Whether he’s sharing his thoughts on Tiger King or his new exercise regime, he is the gay BFF we all need right now.

Podcasts

I am a huge podcast fan, and usually always have one on during my drive to work. Now I sneak these in when I’m running and when I’m in the shower and that’s the only alone time I get.

1. Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Comedian Conan O’Brien interviews celebrities with the pretense of getting them to be his friend and the resulting podcast is a compilation of random impressions, behind-the-scenes facts from his show, and lots of jokes.

Best episode: The deep dive with Dana Carvey series.

2. Andrea Savage is a Grownup Woman #Buttholes

First of all, yes that is the actual name of the podcast. You’d probably recognize Andrea Savage from I’m Sorry on Netflix and other movies like Stepbrothers. She hilariously interviews her celebrity friends on her podcast, which drops biweekly.

Best episode: Episode 4 with Jon Hamm. Side-splitting funny.

3. True Crime Obsessed

I love TCO so much that I pay $5 a month for the Patreon episodes. Gillian and Patrick have a different spin on True Crime, and comically recap true crime TV shows and podcasts for their listeners.

Best episode: Too many to choose from, but I personally loved Episode 27: The Price of Gold.

TV Shows

Y’all, TV is coming in hot during this quarantine and I couldn’t limit myself to just 3! All of these shows are funny in their own way and none of them make you think too hard (win/win).

1. Saved by the Bell, Hulu

That’s right! Saved by the Bell is on Hulu and you can make your kids watch it with you too. Skip season 1 because it’s trash.

Best episode: If you don’t think the one where Jessie takes too many caffeine pills is the best we can’t be friends.

2. I’m Sorry, Netflix

You might have guessed that I really love Andrea Savage, and her show is hilarious. It’s about a writer and mom living and working in LA. Do not watch with kids.

Best episode: Season 1 episode 7: Divorce Fantasy

3. Love is Blind, Netflix

There’s a solid chance you’ve seen this already, but if not, jump on that bandwagon because it’s quarantine perfection: hilarious, dumb, and allows you to channel your rage to who you think the worst character is (spoiler: Jessica).

Best episode: Hands down it’s the bachelorette party (episode 9) which is Jan’s dinner party from the Office in real life.

4. Working Moms, Netflix

This is a hilarious Canadian show about 4 moms returning to work from maternity leave. It’s a fast watch (only 3 seasons) and so painfully relatable.

Best episode: Season 1 Episode 8: A Popsicle and a Hoop Earring.

5. Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, Netflix

Loosely based on the author of the Girlfriend’s series (a Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy, etc.), you don’t have to be divorced or going through a divorce to appreciate this series (although it helps). The show follows 5 girlfriends through various life events (marriage, divorce, dating, pregnancies) and is a perfect mix of juicy, funny and heart-warming. It’s one of my favorite shows ever.

Best episode: That’s like asking me to pick a favorite child! They’re all really good and build on each other.

Honorable Mentions: Dead to Me (Netflix), Schitt’s Creek (Netflix), Tiger King (Netflix), Scrubs (Hulu), Good Girls (Hulu)

 

If you put your mind to it and commit to throwing some food at your kids a few times a day, you can get through this quarantine while rarely leaving your couch. I believe in you.

 

What did I miss? What are your faves?