TV Series That Changed (And Took Over) My Life

I’m Bethan Shuff, I’m 20 years old, and I’m addicted to binge watching TV series. I can’t help it. If I’m hooked from the first episode, I can not and will not stop until I’ve finished. It will literally take over my life.

I actually had to ban myself from starting a series in the run up to my exams so that I wouldn’t sabotage my revision time with Netflix procrastination.

Here are some series that I’ve binge watched and LOVED (~I’ll try and keep it spoiler free~), along with where you can watch it.

Game of Thrones

This took me forever to watch, because Jake and I were watching it together. Whilst I watched the odd episode without him, I’m not allowed to just crack on and binge like I normally would.

It’s probably a good thing though, as Game of Thrones can be a lot of information to take in in one sitting. When I’ve watched episodes without Jake, I’ll re-watch them again with him which is helpful because I can process the information better.

I was a bit late to the party on this series, but I’ve loved it so far! I love how it flits from place to place and character to character, each with a different story, problem or claim to the throne. It just doesn’t get boring!

Tip: don’t become emotionally invested in any characters because George RR Martin kills everyone you love.

I can’t wait until Jon Snow is back on our screens!

Stranger Things

Anya told me to watch this on a Saturday night, I told her I’d have finished it by the Wednesday. I started it Monday and was in fact, finished by Wednesday. Or, so I thought?

I didn’t realise Season 2 had an Episode 9? I had been satisfied with the end of Episode 8 and believed that it was a relatively decent end to the series, leaving it open for Season 3. The final episode got watched a few days later, as well as Beyond Stranger Things which is a series of interviews with the characters.

Eleven is an absolute badass. I have no idea why I didn’t watch Stranger Things sooner! I am living for the soundtrack and the 80’s fashion – bring on Season Three!

Peaky Blinders

I binged the first 3 seasons on Netflix and fell in love with Tommy Shelby. It was so painful to wait for Season 4 and then watch them weekly! However, Season 4 really stepped it up with the story line! I love the feel of the series, set in 1919/1920 Birmingham, fabulous dress sense, smoking indoors; the full shebang. They’ve hit the nail on the head with the set, with every detail accounted for. Season Four had some major shockers, so I’m really looking forward to the next series being announced.

How To Get Away With Murder

One of my most recent watches. Four seasons of absolute chaos, juicy goss and major plot twists. The crime drama follows Defence Attorney Annalise Keating and her law students who get themselves entangled in a web of murder upon murder. Who did it and why? The series will show you snippets of the future which make you stick around to see how and why it all happened. A Season 5 hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it’s likely! Next on the watch list is Scandal, as it has a few crossover episodes with HTGAWM.

Dexter

Probably one of the first series I watched. It’s about a blood-splatter analyst working for the police, who’s also a serial killer – but he only kills people who deserve to be killed, like murders and rapists – and the police are looking for the serial killer not realising it’s Dexter because he’s just so clever about it. Must watch for anyone who loves a crime drama.

Prison Break

Wentworth Miller’s character, Michael Scofield, will constantly shock you with his charm and intelligence. The first season follows Michael getting himself into prison in order to break him and his brother out. He does so in getting the prison blueprint tattooed on his body, disguised as an ordinary tattoo… but each detail means something… a corridor, the size of a bolt. This is one I don’t want to say too much about because you just have to watch it.

Derek

This show will make you laugh and cry your heart out. Ricky Gervais plays an autistic care home worker and he’s the most loveable, naïve character ever and fits right in with all the little old people. It with melt your heart. I also highly recommend watching the blooper reels on YouTube, because they are bloody hilarious.

Supernatural

I feel like I’ve invested half of my life in Supernatural. Season 13 is about to air in the UK and I am buzzing. Sam and Dean are brothers who hunt evil Supernatural entities, which developed into a storyline featuring angels, demons, God and Lucifer and it gets messy. Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan in The Walking Dead) plays Sam and Dean’s dad, which is just one of the reasons you need to watch this.

Travelers

No, I haven’t spelled it wrong! It’s (stupidly) spelled with only one L. This Netflix series focuses on a group of time travellers, who travel from the future to the present to save the future, but what happens when the computer that sends them into the present breaks? Crime, romance and drama, Travelers has it all.

The Walking Dead

Well the last season left us on a bit of a cliff hanger ay? I’m not one for Zombies, but The Walking Dead makes it less about the zombies and more about the people and the survival, which is something I love. I’ve loved following the characters and the other groups Rick and the gang have had to face, but Negan is definitely my fave villain. I’ll be really disappointed if it’s not Rick or Daryl that kill him.

End of the F***ing World

Jake and I watched the entire series in one go. With only 8 episodes at 20 minutes each, you’re essentially watching a film shorter than Titanic. Two awkward teenagers, one of which actually wants to murder the other (in a very literal sense), end up falling in love and on the run. Why were they on the run? Watch to find out! I was a little disappointed in the ending though – I’d like to see a Season 2 to make up for the ending of Season 1.

Girl Boss

I watched this overnight one night. There are only 13 episodes. It follows Sophia Amoruso, the founder of Nasty Gal, and how she built up her empire. It’s motivating and empowering and I feel any woman who wants to be her own boss should watch it and learn from it.

This Is England

No words will do this series justice. The characters are played so well it’s unreal. The series tackles some serious, hard-hitting issues that can be difficult to watch, such as rape and racism. However, there is some light-heartedness. It takes you back to the 80’s and 90’s with skinhead culture, fashion and music, if that’s your bag, you’ll love it.

MisFits

MisFits is a comedy-drama about young offenders who acquire bizarre superpowers in a storm. They get themselves into tonnes of trouble, meeting other people with powers along the way. Joe Gilgun (also in This Is England) makes an appearance as not one, not two, but three separate characters, and Iwan Rheon (also plays Ramsay Bolton in Game of Thrones) plays a very intriguing character. It’s very strange watching Misfits then watching Game of Thrones!

So there we have it, my fave series that took over, and changed my life.

What series have you watched and loved?

Images are not my own.