We are living in an age of media, and with media comes access. In our parents´s generation, there was no Netflix. You had to watch shows the night they were on; otherwise, you would have to wait until the reruns came on. And by then, everyone would have forgotten about it.

Now we have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and a variety of other places to watch our favorite shows and movies, and to discover new ones. Accessibility to TV shows are an important part of the watching experience, because you don’t have to stop after watching just one episode.  

All out of things to watch? Here are some recommendations for what to check out next on a Friday night.

1. The Office

The American Office is widely known for its comedic timing, awkward moments, and overall great writing. It stars Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and Rainn Wilson in a mockumentary about the workers in Dunder Mifflin, a small paper supply company in Scranton, PA.

The first season was a little dry, and sometimes the show struggled for a bit, but it is overall really funny and surprisingly sad at times. It is available on Netflix, and perfect for a night in.

According to a Daily Beast writer, Marlow Stern, ‘The Office‘ had a viewership of ¨about 8 million viewers while it was on the air, but with 130 million Netflix users worldwide (and 57 million stateside)…¨

Kenneth Guerrero, a senior at the iSchool, said that The Office has ¨the type of humor I like to watch. Once you see a show with known actors, reviews from other people, and multiple seasons, it reels you in to start to binge watch.¨

Recommended episode: Dinner Party, season 4 episode 9; In this episode, Michael and Jan invite Jim, Pam, Andy, and Angela to his house for a dinner party, and the four coworkers are exposed to Michael and Jan’s dysfunctional relationship. This is one of the show´s more awkward episodes, with The Office´s signature cringe-worthy moments.

2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

¨Brooklyn Nine-Nine¨ is an NBC show that is currently available on Hulu. if you don’t have Hulu, you can try to set your Netflix to a different country, and it might be there.

¨Brooklyn Nine-Nine¨ takes place in the ninety-ninth police precinct in Brooklyn. It features Andy Samberg, Melissa Fumero, Stephanie Beatriz, Terry Crews, Joe Lo Truglio, Andre Braugher, and tons of funny guest stars.

Andy Samberg plays Jake Peralta, a very good but very childish detective. Sergeant Terry Jeffords describes him to their new captain by saying, ¨Jacob Peralta is my best detective. He likes putting away bad guys and he loves solving puzzles. The only puzzle he hasn’t solved is how to grow up.¨

The show was originally on Fox, but after the season 5 finale, ¨Jake and Amy,¨ they decided to cancel it. Luckily, people were furious, and many public figures spoke out about it, so NBC picked it back up, and season 6 premieres January 10th.

Recommended episode: Halloveen, season 5 episode 4; This is the first really good episode since Jake and Rosa came back from prison, and it is the 5th Halloween heist. In the episode there are plot twists, betrayals, a relationship milestone, and more.

3. Community

“Community” is, in my opinion, one of the funniest sitcoms out there. It stars Joel McHale, Alison Brie, Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino), Chevy Chase, Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs, and more incredibly funny people.

It takes place in Greendale Community College, where disbarred lawyer Jeff Winger must attend to get a real degree. He forms a study group with people in his spanish class, and becomes close with them over time. The characters are all really well developed, the show has great writing, and the acting is hilarious.

In an online review site, Metacritic, reviewer Markus wrote, ¨After all the forced premise “comedies” that have infested the TV landscape lately this quirky and somewhat unusual take on a college sitcom provides some of the most clever writing and witty exploitation of “seen a billion times before” moments.¨

The only reason Community isn’t at the top of my list is because not many people have heard of it, but I think more people should watch it. It is available on Hulu and the NBC app. It starts off a little dry, but is a fantastic watch.

Recommended episode: Remedial Chaos Theory, season 3 episode 4; This episode marked Community going from a light comedy to weird and bizarre, but more funny. In this episode, the six different timelines that Abed thinks about are displayed, and it leads to a plot point later in the series. It is a little confusing at first, but one of the best episodes.

4. How I Met Your Mother

“How I Met Your Mother” is great show. It is similar to “Friends,” but I think it is better because it lacks the casual racism, sexism, and homophobia that “Friends” displayed on the daily. The show starts with Ted Mosby telling his kids that he is going to tell them the story of how he met their mother. The show lasted for nine seasons, and the mother was introduced in the final season.

The show had great characters and strong writing. The seasons had a mix of sad, happy, and funny moments. Most seasons were fairly episodic, but there were a few that followed a specific arc.

The show is currently available on Hulu, and the alternate ending is available on Youtube. In my opinion, the alternate ending was much better then the original one, but watch them both.

Recommended episode: The Pineapple Incident, season 1 episode 10; This one was purely entertaining. Ted wakes up after a crazy night and doesn’t remember anything, so he, Marshall, Lily and Barney try to uncover the previous night’s events.

5. Grey‘s Anatomy

¨Grey’s Anatomy¨ is a popular ABC soap, and the only serious show on this list. The first 5 seasons were pretty good, but with some bad points in between. Don‘t watch it alone though, because it can get kind of gruesome. Ellen Pompeo’s character, Meredith Grey, is an intern, about to start at Seattle Grace Hospital. The show was really sad, and is still running, currently on its 14th season.

The show was pretty good up till season 7. Then, the writers were trying to make everything bad happen, and it just became depressing to watch. Also, Meredith is not a good main character. She was selfish and self-absorbed.

Besides what I said, it is a good ¨night-in¨ show, because it can hold your attention for a really long time. Make sure you have tissues on hand, though!

¨It seemed like a good show, but I don’t know if it was very realistic. Are all doctors that attractive?¨ Mr. Fitts, the geometry teacher at the NYC iSchool said. 

Recommended episode: What a Difference a Day Makes, season 5 episode 22; This episode represents that Izzy’s time on the show is coming to an end. She starts to have new symptoms and believes that she has another tumor, but she is focusing on going to Meredith and Derek’s big wedding. The two decide to let her get married, because she is getting sicker, and deserves that special day, so she marries Alex, her boyfriend at the time.