Widescreen: Five things you should stream on the couch this cold week

Posted January 28, 2019 9:00 am

Sean Stangland

Sandra Oh won the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama series for her role in “Killing Eve,” a twisty tale now streaming on Hulu. Courtesy of BBC America

You don't want to go anywhere this week, do ya? Look at the weather app on your phone. Come on.

So hunker down on the couch, throw a frozen pizza in the oven and queue up one of these suggestions on your streaming services:

“Killing Eve” - BBC America's acclaimed, award-winning dramedy is now on Hulu, and I bet you'll knock out all eight 42-minute episodes in one sitting. You won't want to stop watching this sexy, twisty tale of a harried British intelligence agent (Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh) who finds herself in a rather unorthodox long-distance relationship with a glamorous, eccentric Russian assassin (Jodie Comer). The unique voice of writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”), who adapted the show from Luke Jennings' “Villanelle” novels, is present throughout.

“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” - The final six episodes of Tina Fey's colorful, laugh-a-minute sitcom about a woman adjusting to society after being rescued from a cult leader's bunker are now streaming on Netflix. I'm not ready to bid farewell to Ellie Kemper's awkward, sunny title character, but my body will be happy to not suffer the exhausting laughing fits anymore. (Seriously, I am in pain after most of this show's episodes. Wonderful, exhilarating pain.)

Ellie Kemper and Carol Kane star in "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." The final six episodes are now available on Netflix. Associated Press

“The Orville” - “Family Guy” mogul Seth MacFarlane steps in front of the camera for this spiritual sequel to “Star Trek: The Next Generation” that began its second season on Fox just before the new year; every episode is streaming on Hulu. MacFarlane's Ed Mercer is a self-effacing, levelheaded captain of a starship crew that deals with relatable human drama when not making contact with aliens. The show took a while to find its footing, but the second season perfectly balances offbeat humor and old-fashioned “Trek”-like fun; check out this season's third episode, “Home,” for a good sampler.

“Gaming Historian” - This well-researched, well-produced documentary series on YouTube was created and hosted by Norman Caruso, whose topics include the disastrous “Super Mario Bros.” movie and the labyrinthine journey “Tetris” took from a Soviet science academy to every computer screen in the world. (Start with that episode, it's fascinating.) A must-subscribe for any video gamer.

"Tetris" is the subject of a fascinating episode of "Gaming Historian," a documentary series on YouTube. Associated Press

“Unsolved Mysteries” - You may have heard that Netflix wants to revive this NBC dramatization series from the '80s and '90s, but nothing could top the atmosphere of the original. Twelve seasons of a trenchcoat-wearing Robert Stack (and that totally awesome theme song) are streaming for free (with ads) on Vudu.

Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor. Follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.

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