Shelter in Place 2020
Shows to watch while trying to forget about the world and relax a little. Roughly rated order, but for this kind of thing it's very subjective. I'll make comments about what makes it a good distraction in my mind. Lots of fluffy romance and fantasy, because that's what works best for me. Stay home if you can, and I wish you all health and safety.
-
1. 2gether: A Série
Thai Drama - 2020, 13 episodes
Technically started this prior, but it's ongoing. Top quality distraction: funny, fluffy, good characters, tight editing. Only drawback is episodes are super short (and it's still airing). Freely available on YouTube (GMMTV).
-
2. O Romance de Hua Rong
Chinese Drama - 2019, 24 episodes
I finished this before sheltering in place, but it is the perfect kind of show for a distraction. Silly, fun, it doesn't not take itself seriously. The story has several "arcs" so many of the storylines are completed or partially completed from early on, which makes it nice if you want to mini-binge with breaks, or go slow and steady. Freely available on YouTube, but there is an annoying thing where large sections of audio are silent for no apparent reason.
-
3. Inesperado
Chinese Drama - 2018, 23 episodes
Picked up after the first episode. Leads have cute interactions, lots of funny situations. Some second-hand embarrassment. Fun and distracting, not too much angst.
-
4. My Engineer
Thai Drama - 2020, 14 episodes
A bit slow in the first episode but the second looks promising for light-hearted fun. Fairly typical college boy love, but done well enough to be entertaining. Caught myself thinking "oh no, you're sitting too close!" in the 2nd episode bar scene, lol. Despite the common tropes and somewhat slow pacing, it quickly became a favorite and by the end I liked it better than 2Gether which aired at the same time and at first seemed fresher and more fun. Freely available on YouTube.
-
5. The Killing of Three Thousand Crows
Chinese Drama - 2020, 30 episodes
So far, it's entertaining and the fantasy setting makes for an easy distraction. The female lead is a lot of fun (she was the FL in Oh My Emperor). The ML was "Hao Mei" in Love O2O, and I'm enjoying him in a lead role. So far the story doesn't stand out particularly, but the settings are lush and the acting is decent to good, which makes it good for distraction. Freely available on YouTube. People familiar with the novel tend not to like it, but I enjoyed it.