What I loved in December 2020! My Netflix picks.

 December already seems such a long time ago, I am a little late in writing this blog post but hey-ho. We had a lovely Christmas, new year and I really enjoyed spending lots of time with my family.

Usually in my monthly post about what I loved I write about a bit of everything but throughout December I seemed to have watched a lot on the TV, mostly Netflix. As well as watching a ton of Christmas films I binged quite a few TV shows. These were my favourites.

Derry Girls.

Set in the city of Derry, Northern Ireland, Derry Girls follows Catholic secondary school student Erin Quinn and her small group of oddball, kooky and, frankly, sweary friends as they navigate teenage life during the Troubles of the 1990s.

I was late getting into this, Becky has already seen it and recommended it and it is brilliant. So ridiculous but funny. I laughed all of the way through.

The Good Place.

The Good Place is a town where those who have been good throughout their lives go once they have passed away. Michael is the architect who oversees the town and this is the first one he has been in charge of creating. Eleanor arrives at the Good Place and realizes they have her name right, but everything else is wrong. She isn't meant to be there at all. With the help of Chidi, her soul mate Eleanor tries to right her wrongs, seeking to finally earn her spot in the Good Place.

It is so much more than this and the twists and turns are brilliant. I didn't see plenty of the things that happened coming! There were plenty of laughs but the last episode had me in tears. It is well worth a watch.

Emily in Paris.

Emily, an ambitious twenty-something marketing executive from Chicago, unexpectedly lands her dream job in Paris when her company acquires a French luxury marketing company and she is tasked with revamping their social media strategy.

I had seen it being talked about and advertised as Sex and the City but in Paris. It is sort of but I liked it more. It's very cliche and goes with the stereotypes that French people are mean and smoke too much. It is a bit cringy but it is easy to watch and enjoyable. Watching this made did make me want to visit Paris though. 

The Duchess.

From creator, executive producer, writer and star Katherine Ryan comes The Duchess, the comedian's debut scripted comedy series which follows the powerful and problematic choices of a fashionably disruptive single mom living in London. Her daughter, Olive, is her greatest love so she begins to debate having a second child with her greatest enemy Olive's dad. But can two wrongs make another right?

Never Have I Ever.

After her dad's sudden death and a brief period of paralysis, Devi enters her sophomore year of high school struggling to navigate her family, friendships, and boys. Never Have I Ever touches on the complexities of grief, budding sexuality, and the Indian-American experience all in easily digestible half hour episodes. Be prepared to get immediately invested in this very fun and often moving journey through the madness that is adolescence.

Another recommendation from Becky. I hadn't even heard of it before she mentioned it. I was hooked from the first episode and watched it all in a couple of days.

Ackley Bridge.

Due to budget cuts in a Yorkshire mill town, this series follows the lives of people affected by a merger of two schools in a largely segregated British and Asian community. Filled with thought-provoking topics of racism, poverty, bullying, sexuality and violence, this drama is based on real life cases of schools that have merged. The headmistress of Ackley Bridge College deals with never ending problems and explosive fall-outs as the prejudicial and cultural issues clash between pupils, staff and parents.

I had never watched this when it was on TV. It always clashed with something else. It's always been on my list of things to watch and it is brilliant. I thought it was just about the school but there is so much more to it. I laughed, was shocked and cried at different episodes. 

What TV shows have you been watching?