You're probably kicking back after Dean's Date, trying not to think about your finals looming overhead. Or maybe you're one of the lucky ones who doesn't have any, and you're done for the semester. Maybe you're PTL and absolutely bored. In any case, Netflix (or your streaming site of choice) is calling your name. Here are some prime procrastination picks.

Scrotal Recall

Don't let the crass title fool you—this is a sharp, clever, witty show, and British to boot. The supremely adorkable Dylan (Johnny Flynn), after being diagnosed with chlamydia, must inform all of his previous sexual partners. But aside from being a good advertisement for safe sex, this is a show about friendship and the perils of modern love. Each episode is another of Dylan's exes, in alphabetical order, so it jumps around in time. Instead of seeing Dylan and his two best friends, Barney Stinson-wannabe womanizer Luke (Daniels Ings) and snarky Evie (Antonia Thomas), as their relationships evolve, we see snippets here and there. The jokes are very British and very sly, their trio is sweetly supportive, and did I mention it has an unrequited love triangle? There are only six episodes, so if your free time is limited, this is the show to watch.

 

Jane the Virgin

Another ridiculous title, another amazing show. Jane the Virginis an adaptation of a famous telenovela, and the plot summary is fittingly complicated. Suffice it to say that the titular Jane (Gina Rodriguez) was artificially inseminated, and has a detective fiancé (Brett Dier) and a smoking-hot ex-playboy baby daddy (Justin Baldonia) in the picture. And then there are affairs, murders, drug lords, estranged-and-then-found fathers, secret identities, and a sassy Spanish narrator, to explain just a little. Also, it's a stunning representation of Hispanic culture on TV that isn't at all stereotyped or one-note. It's an eccentric charmer.

 

Black Mirror

If you somehow haven't heard of Black Mirror by now, you must have been under a rock for a while, because this show has blown up. Another British import, this is a creepy, Twilight Zone-esque critique of technology. (Fun fact: The title comes from the "black mirror"-like appearance of tech screens after they're turned off.) Each hour-long episode, of which there are only six, is a single, self-contained mini-story, so there's no need to make a huge commitment. And the stories are, individually, incredible and unsettling. One looks at grief and loss from the perspective of the social media era, while another tackles the question of "what if we could record and review our own, or someone else's memories? How would that change relationships?" In the first episode, one of the most notorious, a celebrity young royal is kidnapped, with the price of her freedom being the Prime Minister's participation in a heinous act with a pig (to put it lightly). What it says about our culture of viewership, however, is even more horrifying.

 

House

If you're in the mood for a throwback, this is the way to go. Each episode is a new medical mystery, so it's perfect for single-episode viewing, but the character arcs are long and thought-out, to please extended binge viewers. If, somehow, you've never heard of "House" (though I have no idea how you managed to pull that off), here's a brief summary: Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) manages a rotating team of doctors whose job is to solve the medical maladies no one else can. Also, he's addicted to painkillers. It's Sherlock Holmes (literally, it's based on Holmes) for pre-meds. Bonus: The back of Frist is featured prominently in the opening sequence!

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