Some Great Things to Watch While Dissociating

If you're looking for streaming options after long day of protesting, donating to abortion funds, and screaming into a pillow, we've got you covered.

By Gabrielle Bruney | June 27, 2022 | 8:00pm

Entertainment TV

Over the weekend—and in the face of horrifying police violence—protesters took to the streets across the nation in opposition of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade. Supporters of abortion rights also donated millions of dollars to abortion funds.

It’s necessary, exhausting work. So if you’re looking for a way to rest your mind and restore, here are a couple of TV shows and movies you might want to check out, as recommended by the Jezebel staff. It’s a list that includes the good, the bad, and the mind-numbing—and, most importantly, they’re all very much not about the awful state of American human rights.

The Old Man

Bad news for all the battle-worn intelligence operatives out there: Judging by TV and movies, it’s going to be tough to retire. (Just take a look James Bond’s countless thwarted attempts to hang up his pistol for good.) In this new take on the classic story, Jeff Bridges plays an elderly former CIA assassin living a quiet life with a couple of dogs. Of course, it doesn’t stay that way for long.

More importantly, Bridges, 72, is incredibly hot in this show—arguably moreso than the heartthrob (Bill Heck) who plays the much younger version of him. It’s worth watching for that, alone.

Irma Vep

Talk about meta: This HBO series finds filmmakers Olivier Assayas adapting his own 1996 film of the same name, which is itself about an actress (Maggie Cheung in the original, Alicia Vikander in the reboot) as she works on a troubled film production.

Only Murders in the Building

The second season drops tomorrow, which means that tonight is the absolute perfect night to binge this series, which stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez as a trio of sleuths/podcasters working to solve mysteries in their Upper West Side apartment building.

Loot

Maya Rudolph plays a newly divorced billionaire who decides to devote herself to charitable giving. Could’ve sworn I’d heard that story somewhere before...

Tehran

A twisty-turny thriller will always do the trick to when it comes to distraction, so consider giving Apple TV+’s Israeli spy drama Tehran a shot.

Numb3rs

Brain-numbing television reaches its highest form in the police procedural, and few are more entertainingly silly than the 2000s CBS show Numb3rs, where David Krumholtz solves crimes using math.

Would It Kill You To Laugh?

This brand-new surrealist new sketch comedy special from Kate Berlant and John Early is now streaming on Peacock.

Karen Dalton: In My Own Time

Bob Dylan once called Karen Dalton his “favorite singer,” and after watching this meditative documentary about her life (featuring her diary entries as read aloud by Angel Olsen), she’ll be one of your favorite singers too.

Cha Cha Real Smooth

Is it a charming coming-of-age story from writer, director, and star Cooper Raiff, or a Garden State-style indulgence that, as the New York Times’ Manohla Dargis put it in a truly withering review, “an exemplar of American indie entertainment at its most canned and solipsistic”? You’ll have to watch this buzzy new movie yourself to decide.

Brideshead Revisited

This truly perfect 1981 miniseries is my personal permanent comfort viewing. Get lost in the sexual tension ricocheting between a bunch of beautiful, miserable interwar British aristocrats.

The glory of nature herself

TV and movies are all well and good, but the healthiest way to rest and recharge is probably to bask in the sun, stare at the stars, and of course, get out and touch some grass.