Every now and then I get the urge to watch something that doesn’t require a ton of brainpower. Sometimes I just don’t wanna stare at my screen and look for clues, or try to figure out who killed who, and some days I just wanna eat my damn food or do my work while the tv runs in the background. And I know I’m not the only one.
So if you’re anything like me, here are 30 shows that are easy to follow to watch while working, or eating, or scrolling through social media … whatever you do during the day.
Netflix Shows To Watch While Working
Mr. Iglesias
Stand-up comic Gabriel Iglesias stars in this series as a good-natured high school history teacher who tries to help gifted misfits.
White Gold
The story of a double-glazing showroom in Essex in the mid-80s, led by charismatic salesman Vincent Swan, and his sales team.
Smart, handsome, and cocksure, Vincent will happily break the rules if it guarantees a sale.
Insatiable
For years Patty was overweight, which caused her to be bullied, ignored, and underestimated by the people around her.
But she is now thin and seeking revenge against those who ever made her feel bad about herself through fat-shaming.
Enter Bob Armstrong, a disgraced attorney with a passion for coaching beauty pageant contestants. As one of the only people who sees Patty’s potential, he takes her under his wing — first as a legal client, then as a pageant contestant.
Bob hopes to coach Patty to the top of the pageant game, but he and wife Coralee have no idea how deep her rage goes or how far she will go to exact revenge on the people she feels have wronged her.
Disenchantment
After tackling modern times with “The Simpsons” and the future with “Futurama,” producer Matt Groening steps into the past with “Disenchantment.”
The animated fantasy series geared toward adults takes place in the crumbling medieval kingdom of Dreamland.
It follows the misadventures of hard-drinking young princess Bean, her feisty elf companion Elfo and personal demon Luci.
The oddball trio encounters the likes of ogres, sprites, imps, trolls, and human fools along the way. The voice cast features Abbi Jacobson as Bean and includes veteran voiceover artists such as John DiMaggio, Billy West, and Maurice LaMarche.
All Mobeen wants to do is follow his faith, lead a good life, and make sure his sister fulfills her potential, but he must juggle all this while his criminal past is still chasing him.
In Los Angeles, three Mexican-American cousins chase the American Dream, even while that dream threatens the things they hold most dear, including their neighborhood, their immigrant grandfather, and the family-owned taco shop.
Young & Hungry
Feisty young food blogger Gabi is desperate for a job. When she finds out wealthy tech entrepreneur Josh needs a personal chef, she wants the position.
But Gabi must prove herself to Josh’s aide, Elliot, who would rather have his boss hire a famous chef. Gabi gets help from best friend Sofia and Josh’s housekeeper, Yolanda, in order to turn the opportunity into employment … and maybe love.
The Circle
“Big Brother” meets “Catfish” on this reality series on which not everything is as it seems. Comic Michelle Buteau hosts the show that features its contestants moving into the same apartment building.
The twist is that the players never meet face-to-face during the competition, as each one lives in his or her own apartment.
The contestants communicate exclusively through profiles created on a specially-designed social media app.
This anonymity allows them to hide their true identities and portray themselves however they choose. Throughout the competition, the players rate one another, with the lowest-rated players put at risk of being eliminated, or blocked, from the game. The contestant who survives the contest and emerges the winner takes home the $100,000 grand prize.
Inspired by his real-life, comic Marlon Wayans finds comedy in the stories about friends and fatherhood.
He balances his successful career as an internet superstar with his life co-parenting two kids alongside his smart and sassy ex-wife, Ashley.
Whether it’s hanging with his friends, navigating the adventures of adulthood with his ex, or being with his kids as they face the highs and lows of growing up, things never go quite as expected with Marlon around.
His unconventional advice and over-the-top personality may not always make things easy, but it’s hard not to love him just the way he is.
Family Reunion
When the McKellan family moves from Seattle to small-town Georgia, life down South — and traditional grandparents — challenge their big-city ways.
Singles try to find a match and fall in love — without ever seeing each other face-to-face, as emotional connection attempts to conquer physical attraction.
The comic presents six up-and-coming comics performing half-hour stand-up sets.
Rhythm + Flow
Judges Cardi B, Chance the Rapper and T.I. search for the next breakout hip-hop star in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and Chicago.
Everything Sucks
It’s the 1990s in Boring, Ore., and groups of outcasts in Boring High School’s AV and drama clubs are trying to brave the ups and downs of teenage life in a simpler world without smartphones and other 21st-century technology.
The two crews of nerdy students are frustrated that no one is taking them seriously so they decide the best way to make it through high school is to join forces and make a movie — that’ll help them get noticed. And there’s also the usual teenage romance issues to deal with.
Luke, the de facto ringleader of the AV club, falls for Kate, the principal’s daughter, but she doesn’t necessarily reciprocate the romantic feelings Luke has for her and is dealing with her own issues.
Black AF
Loosely inspired by Barris’ irreverent, highly flawed, unbelievably honest approach to parenting, relationships, race, and culture, #blackAF flips the script on what we’ve come to expect a family comedy series to be.
Pulling back the curtain, #blackAF uncovers the messy, unfiltered, and often hilarious world of what it means to be a “new money” black family trying to get it right in a modern world where “right” is no longer a fixed concept.
Garrett Modi, the youngest Queens councilman ever elected, was a rising star in New York politics until he was pushed out of office after a very public fall from grace.
Now, with his reputation in shambles, Modi is forced to move in with his sister Mallory until he can figure out a way to redeem himself and earn a paycheck.
An unexpected opportunity emerges when he’s hired by a quirky and diverse group of idealists — hardworking Griselda, cab driver Hakim, crazy-rich siblings Mei Lin and Jun Ho, American-raised Moldovan Brady, and dive bar DJ Drazen — to help them achieve their dream: citizenship.
Dave
“Dave” centers on a neurotic man in his late 20s who has convinced himself that he’s destined to be one of the best rappers of all time. Now he must convince his closest friends because, with their help, he actually might convince the world.
Simultaneously exasperating and inspiring to his friends, he vows to leave no stone unturned on his quest to become the next superstar. The half-hour comedy is based on the life of rapper and comedian Dave Burd, better known by his stage name Lil Dicky.
Superstore
An oddball family of employees at supersized megastore Cloud 9 tackles the day-to-day grind of rabid bargain hunters, riot-causing sales, and nap-worthy training sessions.
Stalwart employee Amy is just trying to hold it all together despite the best efforts of her daftly clueless manager Glen and his iron-fisted assistant Dina.
Rounding out the crew is new hire Jonah, a dreamy dreamer, sardonic Garrett, ambitious Mateo, and sweet young mother-to-be Cheyenne. From bright-eyed newbies to seen-it-all veterans, bumbling seasonal hires, and in-it-for-life managers, they’re all going to get through another day — together.
Perfect Harmony
When former Princeton music professor Arthur Cochran unexpectedly stumbles into choir practice at a small-town church, he finds an oddball group of singers that is out of tune in more ways than one.
Despite the ultimate clash of sensibilities, Arthur and his newfound cohorts, including temporary choirmaster Ginny, her ex, Wayne, vocal powerhouse Adams, gentle giant Dwayne, the impossibly upbeat Reverend Jax and more, may just be the perfect mix of individuals to help each other reinvent and rediscover a little happiness… just when they all need it most.
Bob’s Burgers
Bob Belcher is a third-generation restaurateur who runs Bob’s Burgers with his loving wife and their three children.
Bob believes his burgers speak for themselves and isn’t afraid to offer a variety of off-beat creations. Bob’s wife, Linda, supports his dream but is becoming sick of the slow times, as the restaurant is constantly in danger of going out of business.
The main competition to Bob’s Burgers is a busy pasta joint located across the street that is run by Bob’s nemesis, Jimmy Pesto. Despite the challenges, which include consistent harassment from Linda’s ex – a health inspector – Bob tries to keep the grill sizzling.
Fresh off the Boat
Based on chef Eddie Huang’s best-selling memoir of the same name, “Fresh Off the Boat” takes a humorous look at the lives of immigrants in America.
In the 1990s, Eddie, a hip-hop-loving 11-year-old, relocates with his parents and two brothers to suburban Orlando from the Chinatown section of Washington, D.C.
As Eddie’s dad, Louis, pursues the American dream by opening a Western-themed restaurant named Cattleman’s Ranch Steakhouse, Eddie and the rest of the family try to acclimate to their new, strange surroundings.
Single Parents
This ensemble comedy follows some single parents as they lean on each other to help raise their 7-year-old kids and maintain some kind of personal lives outside of parenthood.
When the parents in the group meet Will, a 30-something guy who’s been so focused on raising his daughter that he’s lost sight of who he is as a man, they see just how far down the rabbit hole of PTA, parenting, and princesses he has gone.
The friends decide to band together to get him out in the dating world and make him realize that being a great parent doesn’t mean sacrificing everything about his own identity.
Schooled
Set in the 1990s at the same William Penn Academy formerly attended by `The Goldbergs’, `Schooled’ follows Head of School John Glascott as he leads a faculty of teachers with wildly different views on how to mentor students – and his tough-as-nails sister, Lucy, who joined his staff to enroll her teenage daughters Felicia and Gigi as new students.
Glascott’s nurturing and communicative approach to caring for children is particularly at odds with coach Mellor’s tough-guy belief that physical competition brings out the best in students.
Modern Family
Told from the perspective of an unseen documentary filmmaker, the series offers an honest, often-hilarious perspective of family life. Parents Phil and Claire yearn for an honest, open relationship with their three kids.
But a daughter who is trying to grow up too fast, another who is too smart for her own good, and a rambunctious young son makes it challenging.
Claire’s dad, Jay, and his Latina wife, Gloria, are raising two sons together, but people sometimes believe Jay to be Gloria’s father. Jay’s gay son, Mitchell, and his partner, Cameron, have adopted a little Asian girl, completing one big — straight, gay, multicultural, traditional — happy family.
Key and Peele
Fresh faces Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele star in this 30-minute sketch comedy series, leaving no stone unturned — whether satirizing the president or spoofing Nazis — in their search for laughs.
The actor/writers examine life through a combination of filmed sketches and live stage segments, demonstrating their unique chemistry, camaraderie, and point of view.
The Good Place
When Eleanor Shellstrop finds herself in the afterlife, she’s both relieved and surprised that she’s made it into the Good Place.
But it doesn’t take long for Eleanor to realize she’s there by mistake. She hides in plain sight from the Good Place’s architect, Michael, and his all-knowing assistant, Janet. Her seemingly perfect neighbors, Tahani and Jason, and open-hearted soul mate, Chidi, help her realize that it’s never too late to change.
With the help of her new friends — and a few enemies — Eleanor becomes determined to shed her old way of life in hopes of discovering a new one in the afterlife.
The Goldbergs
In the 1980s, geeky 11-year-old Adam uses a video camera to document his family’s crazy life. His mother, Beverly, is overprotective and lacks boundaries, while his dad has a hot temper and finds it difficult to parent without screaming.
Rounding out the clan are Adam’s terrifying sister, Erica, 17; his older brother, Barry, who has middle-child syndrome; and the family’s beloved grandfather, Al `Pops’ Solomon.
Pops is responsible for wild antics, including offering drinks to Barry and teaching Adam about the ways of love – which create more chaos in an already high-strung family.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Four American friends reunite for a fabulous London wedding, but after a bombshell at the altar throws their lives into turmoil, they must weather a tumultuous year of romance and heartbreak.
Entering its eighth season, MasterChef Junior gives talented kids between the ages of 8 and 13 the chance to showcase their culinary abilities and passion for food through a series of delicious challenges.
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay
Nicholas is a neurotic twenty-something visiting his dad and teenage half-sisters, one of whom is on the autism spectrum.
When Nicholas’ trip is extended due to his father’s untimely death, the siblings are left to cope with not only a devastating loss but also the realization that Nicholas is the one who will have to rise to the occasion and hold it all together.
Navigating autism, budding sexuality, consent, parenthood, adolescence, family, and grief, the heartfelt comedy follows this imperfect family as they discover the importance of finding happiness in the middle of really difficult moments, one awkward conversation at a time.
Shaye is an Entertainment Writer from Brooklyn, NY and a big fan of anything and everything superpowers related (especially if kids/teens are involved), cooking + baking shows (like MasterChef Junior and Cupcake Wars), teen dramas, sitcoms, comedies, and legal dramas. When she's not binging the latest series on Netflix or writing, you can find her spilling her thoughts on the Brown Side of Disney Chat or creating YouTube videos with her daughter for their new family site, Popcorn and Tater Tots.
