Summer Guide 2017: Netflix (and Hulu, and Amazon and… you get the idea) and chill

Limitless options for summer entertainment right at your fingertips — that’s what streaming services provide. However, if you’re anything like me, you can spend 20 minutes scrolling through the Netflix menu only to settle for an old episode of Parks and Recreation (again). To fight that, here's a list of streaming shows to explore while you hunker down on the couch.

NETFLIX 

Master of None (Season 2 premieres May 12)

Aziz Ansari’s a seasoned actor (Parks and Rec) and stand-up comedian. The first season of Master of None (also available on Netflix) was hilarious and heartwarming, and perfectly captured what it’s like to be a millennial looking for love and purpose. With a funny cast of diverse comedic characters, Season 2 picks up with Aziz living in Italy. Master of None can be laugh-out-loud funny — and eerily familiar.

Bloodline (Season 3, the final season, premieres May 26)

I’m a massive Friday Night Lights fan, so I started watching Bloodline for the amazing Kyle Chandler, then kept watching for the story, in which a family of means from the Florida Keys struggles with a complicated sibling relationship. (Very complicated: i.e., murder.) In addition to Chandler's Emmy-nominated work and the buzzed-about performance of Ben Mendelsohn as his brother, which won the Best Supporting Emmy last year, the Bloodline cast is rich in awards-worthy actors, including Sissy Spacek, Norbert Leo Butz and Linda Cardellini. I promise it will suck you in, just like the sticky Florida heat.

 

HULU

The Handmaid’s Tale (Season 1 available now)

If you’re not watching The Handmaid’s Tale you’re missing out on Hulu’s best property. Elisabeth Moss is bound to secure an Emmy nomination (Hulu’s first) for her role as Offred, a woman living in a dystopian America where she's forced to have sex with a high-ranking government man to conceive a child in a world where fertility is fragile. Everything about this show is addicting: the directing, the lighting, costumes — even the music doesn’t disappoint. Already renewed for a second season, The Handmaid’s Tale is worth the investment.

Difficult People (Season 3 premieres August 8)

Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner are painfully hilarious in this Hulu comedy. Billy Eichner is one of those comedians you will recognize when you see him. Difficult People captures two frenemies who narrate each other’s lives with sharp wit and relentless banter. It’s one of those shows that will have you saying, “I can’t believe they just said that,” as you’re laughing along with them.

 

AMAZON

Sneaky Pete (Season 1 streaming now)

Sneaky Pete is the best-kept secret in streaming shows,brought to you by the combined creative powers behind House, Breaking Bad and Justified. Giovanni Ribisi plays a con man released from prison with a target on his back; in order to lay low, he assumes the identity of his former cellmate, Pete, and hides out with Pete’s family — only to get embroiled in a whole new set of problems. With Cranston as the villain, the description of this quick-paced show didn't sell me. (I’m the only person on the planet who didn’t like Breaking Bad.) However, turns out it’s incredibly addicting and will hook you for Season 2, set to premiere early next year.

Catastrophe (Three seasons, available now)

A hilarious blend of British and American comedy, Catastrophe tells the love (but not always) story of British schoolteacher Sharon (Sharon Horgan) and her American husband Rob (Rob Delaney). It's the sometimes dark but always funny story of what real love can look like with people who end up together (in this case, because of an accidental pregnancy), but don't always belong together. Catastrophe is equal parts hilarious and honest; it looks at relationships minus the rose-colored glasses.

 

STARZ

American Gods (Season 1 streaming now)

This show — an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American classic into a visually dizzying epic — had been generating buzz for months prior to its recent debut. I didn’t read the book, so everything I’m watching is new to me. The show follows gods — both old and new — who understand that the more people believe in them, the more power they have. Outlandish characters — literal gods — vie for the adoration (and necessity) of mortals. I was hooked by the premise that old gods (like Odin from Thor) are dying off because new gods (like Media and Technology) are taking over. It’s cool without being too preachy, with an addictive narrative.  

 

HBO

Game of Thrones  (Season 7 premieres July 16)

This goes without saying, but all of the internet will be talking about Game of Thrones when it returns in July. Only two mini-seasons left (seven episodes each) until the doors close on Westeros forever. If you have some downtime this summer, go back through the first six seasons to get ready for the final season. 

This article appears in May 11-18, 2017.