So, if you’re like me, you’ve probably consumed a ridiculous amount of media since the start of this pandemic. We’re about six months in now…I think that’s how long it’s been. I’ve lost all sense of time, but that’s okay. I’m in a retirement state of mind and I’m completely okay with this. Somehow, I’m still finding ways to be productive without overdoing it. Being retired, who needs to be productive anyway. No, I’m not really retired, but I’d love to actually be retired, but I still need that income thing.

Let’s move beyond this and get on to my TOP 10 during the pandemic watch list. I apologize in advance that not all of these shows (we are going with shows first and maybe another post will contain movies and other such things). The list was hard to come up with (I’ve consumed a lot) and also, I’m still currently watching things and have probably forgotten about others. Though, if I’ve forgotten about them, would they even make the list?

Here’s the list:

1. It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (Netflix, Korean) – The drama tells the story of Moon Gang-tae (Kim Soo-hyun), a community health worker at a psychiatric ward who does not have time for love, and Ko Moon-young (Seo Ye-ji), a successful children’s book author who has never known what love feels like. After meeting each other, the two slowly begin to heal each other’s emotional wounds. As the story progresses, the truth behind their intertwining pasts that has been haunting them is also revealed.
2. The Kingdom (Netflix, Korean) – Set during Korea’s Joseon period, three years after the Japanese invasions of Korea, the first season depicts the story of Crown Prince Lee Chang (Ju Ji-hoon), who stumbles across a life-threatening political conspiracy while investigating the spread of a mysterious plague. Barred from seeing his ill father, the King of Joseon, by the powerful Chief State Councilor, Lord Cho Hak-ju (Ryu Seung-ryong) and Queen Consort (Kim Hye-jun), Lee Chang takes it upon himself to secretly investigate his father’s illness. Shocked by what he finds, he heads to the Southern province of Gyeongsang with his loyal bodyguard Mu-yeong (Kim Sang-ho) to search for more answers.^[13] There he encounters the physician Seo-Bi (Bae Doo-na) and the enigmatic Yeong-Shin (Kim Sung-kyu) who are already struggling to deal with a plague that appears to bring the dead back to life as blood-thirsty monsters. Together they all face a life or death struggle to not only stop the spread of the plague but to also save the royal dynasty from being overthrown.
3. My Husband-in-Law (YouTube, Thai) – Muey is a smart multi-talented young woman who receives an opportunity to live with her crush Thien, the wealthy son of her mother’s friend. Several years have past living with him but Muey’s crush has only deepened into love from being near Thien with her residing to love him from a distance. Thien has it all. He is a smart, wealthy, good looking and a bit of a player. Despite having everything handed to be, he is hard working. He is not only completely unaware of Muey’s feelings, he barely knows her even though she has been with him for over seven years. All he does know is that he enjoys thoroughly teasing and bullying her. Unfortunately, Thien’s player ways catch up with him, getting him into major trouble when he sleeps with the wife of a dangerous mobster. His mother fearing for her son’s life, forces him to get married to Muey in order to protect him. Muey only agrees for Thien’s safety to marry him and the chance to be closer to him. While Thien is forced to agree against his own wishes but hopes to keep the whole thing a secret. How will these two fair off together when Muey begins working at the same company as Thien? Will it be possible for Thien and Muey fall in love under such circumstances? (from MyDramaList)
4. My Secret Bride (YouTube, Thai) – A woman becomes a spy to investigate the cop she’s crushing on until he makes her a peculiar proposal, shifting her game plan and their dynamic. (from Thai Netflix)
5. The King: Eternal Monarch (Netflix, Korean) – Lee Gon (Lee Min-ho), a modern-day Emperor of the Kingdom of Corea, attempts to cross the barrier into an alternate reality where the Republic of Korea exists in the Kingdom’s stead. He comes across detective Jung Tae-eul (Kim Go-eun), whom he recognizes from an identity card he obtained during the turning-point of his childhood, his father’s assassination.^[18] Lee Gon’s half-uncle, Lee Lim (Lee Jung-jin), who assassinated the previous king, Lee Ho (Lee Gon’s father), is in hiding and assembling armies whilst traversing back and forth between the two parallel worlds.
6. Mystic Pop-Up Bar (Netflix, Korean) – Mystic Pop-up Bar tells the story of a mysterious pojangmacha (outdoor drinking establishment) run by an ill-tempered woman named Wol-joo (Hwang Jung-eum), an innocent part-time employee named Han Kang-bae (Yook Sung-jae), and a former afterlife detective known as Chief Gwi (Choi Won-young) who visit customers in their dreams to help resolve their problems.
7. Hi Bye Mama (Netflix, Korean) – Cha Yu-ri has been a ghost since she died in a tragic accident five years ago. Through a reincarnation project, she is given the possibility to become human again if she succeeds in going back to her place within 49 days. However, her husband is now remarried.
8. Lucifer (Netflix, English) – The series focuses on Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis), a beautiful and powerful angel who was cast out of Heaven for betrayal. As the Devil, he gets bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell for millennia. He resigns his throne in defiance to his father (God) and abandons his kingdom for Los Angeles, where he ends up running his own nightclub called “Lux”. He becomes involved in a murder case with Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German), and is subsequently invited to be a consultant to the LAPD. Throughout the series, several celestial and demonic threats come to Los Angeles; at the same time, Lucifer and Chloe end up appreciating and being happy with each other.
9. WestWorld (HBO Max, English) – Around 2058, Delos Inc. operates several themed parks, including the American Old West-themed Westworld. Each environment is populated by “hosts”: androids, indistinguishable from humans, programmed to fulfill the guests’ every desire, including violent and sexual ends, but unable to harm the guests. The operators create narratives for these hosts to repeat each day while interacting with guests, but wiping their memories each cycle.
10. Never Have I Ever (Netflix, English) – The story centers around Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), a 15-year-old girl from Sherman Oaks, California. After a socially horrible freshman year, Devi wants to change her social status, but friends, family, and feelings do not make it easy for her. After Devi’s father, Mohan (Sendhil Ramamurthy) passes away, Devi loses the use of her legs for three months. The following year, she tries to deal with her grief, Indian identity and school life, also struggling with her relationship with her mother, Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan), her beautiful cousin, Kamala (Richa Moorjani), her two best friends, Eleanor (Ramona Young) and Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez), her high school crush, Paxton (Darren Barnet), and her nemesis, Ben (Jaren Lewison). The series is mostly narrated by professional tennis player John McEnroe, with one of the episodes narrated by Andy Samberg.

Bonus: Queer Eye (Netflix, English) – An all-new “Fab Five” serve up hip tips, emotionally charged makeovers and heartfelt reveals that bring out all the feels. (from Netflix).Doctor Who (HBOMax, English) – a “doctor” solving the mysteries of the universe through time and space.

*Synopses were taken from Wikipedia.