Mollie's Feel-Good Feed: My top binge-worthy TV series

This week our columnist shares some serious fodder for your next Netflix binge

Welcome to Mollie’s Feel-Good Feed, a place where each week Mollie King shares her round-up of the things bringing her joy in these strange and uncertain times. Check back each week for uplifting music, self care tips and, hopefully, a smile being put on your face.

OK, possibly the toughest category yet this week. After last week's uplifting films, I’m going to be filling you in on my top binge-worthy TV series!

Who doesn’t love scrolling from episode to episode every night, putting off the boring face cleansing routine before bed, with the 'surely one more episode won’t hurt’ attitude? A gripping series can completely take you away from what’s going on in the world, which I think right now is crucial. I for one definitely need to switch off sometimes, and a good series is the perfect way to do that… accompanied by a large Dairy Milk and popcorn, of course!

Top of the list has to be my favourite four gal pals (I do have real friends too), Sex and the City. Any time I need a laugh or a little pick-me-up, Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda are there for me. These girls leave nothing to the imagination, which is why I love them most! Between the four of them, I think it’s safe to say they’ve gone through almost every relationship dilemma there is. This series has me laughing out loud, time and time again!

Big Little Lies! I think we all wanted this to be good the minute we heard it was a Reese Witherspoon creation, and had Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley and Alexander Skarsgard starring. It has to be said, I think Reese is one of those actors who never lets us down. She’s had another huge hit with this one, and if series one wasn’t big enough, she only went and bagged Meryl Streep for the second. No biggie! I love that it’s lead by a strong female cast, and if like me you can’t get enough of it, the soundtrack is perfect for a lazy Sunday morning.

I can’t not mention Amazon Prime’s The Marvellous Mrs Maisel next. Set in New York in the 1950s, this series brings me so much joy and a feeling of calm while watching it. It’s an absolute gift for anyone who appreciates wonderful cinematography – by that I mean watching how one camera moves from location to location with no cuts, how the director gets those 360 degree shots, and how it navigates from actor to actor with no break points. You wouldn’t want to be the actor who messes up their lines three minutes into the take.

But enough of the geeky stuff; the way it makes you feel as if you’ve gone back in time, seeing New York completely different to what we know today, is only the starting point of what makes this series so brilliant. The script is warm and funny, and it’s impossible to not love the leading lady, or as they’ve quite rightly put it, The Marvellous Mrs Maisel.

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This next recommendation is a little far afield… that sentence doesn’t quite work, but you’ll see where I’m going. It’s NFL series All or Nothing. In all honesty, I first put this series on as something to nap to when I needed 40 winks after an early start. But much to my surprise, I was soon cruising from episode to episode, completely glued, wanting to finding out which players had made the team after pre-season training and how far the team had got that season.

Don’t get me wrong, this is definitely one for sports fans; there’s also an All or Nothing series that follows Manchester City. But above all that, it follows young players’ journeys and watches them strive for their dreams. Each season follows a different team, so as a total NFL novice, this was the perfect way to figure out which team I wanted to get behind. It doesn’t matter which season you start with, but personally I think the one that follows The LA Rams is the best… and that’s not just because of star player and quarterback Jared Goff, I promise!

Who can forget the excitement when Doctor Foster first hit our screens five years ago! This BBC show follows a doctor who suspects her husband is having an affair. Pour yourself a gin and tonic for this one, Suranne Jones is ready to get to the bottom of it – and boy, does she.

This next series comes with a warning; you’re going to cry… in a good way! This Is Us is so heart warming and emotional that it makes you want to hug whoever’s next to you. It really can take you a million miles away from whatever’s going on in your life. Following a family's ups and downs, it’s impossible to not fall in love with all the characters.

I think the beauty of this show is the relationship between all of the characters, and how developed each character is. They all have their strengths, but also a lot of weaknesses too, which to me, as a viewer, makes me love them more.

Even though this next series came out in 2005 it still delivers on every level. Prison Break will have you on the edge of your seat and watching through your fingers from the get-go. I often wonder with thrillers like this, how they can possibly keep the excitement going series after series as, let’s be honest, a lot of them tend to veer off and we lose interest by series three. But this series just keeps on giving – stick with it!

I am never on a break with this show, Friends. Quite literally, I fall asleep to it every single night without fail, which might explain why I know every line from the show. I first started watching it when I was 11 years old with my mum and older sisters, and still remember asking my mum what ‘playing hard to get’ meant. And they say we learn nothing from watching TV!

These six New Yorkers will have you glued to your screen – whether it’s the on-off relationship of Ross and Rachel, or the bromance between Joey and Chandler, these best friends will soon start to feel like your own after a single season.

I couldn’t end this column without mentioning The Jinx. This documentary series follows accused murderer Robert Durst, who was linked to the murders of his wife, a family friend and his neighbour, but always denied it. It’s impossible not become a detective yourself when watching this one, and I can promise you’ll want to rewind the final episode. I’m pretty certain you will want to binge this one within a couple of days – but you’ll probably fancy a light episode of Friends to cleanse the palette afterwards!

Thanks so much for reading Mollie’s Feel-Good Feed – check back on Marie Claire every Friday for more of my feel-good recommendations. Take care and stay safe!