8 feel-good Netflix shows to binge watch this fall

There’s no better way to spend a cold, blustery fall afternoon than sitting by a crackling fire in your pink woolly socks. You’re covered in a blanket with a bubbling mug of hot chocolate in hand, which features a mountain of marshmallows, threatening to cascade over the rim into your lap at any moment.

Add a few binge-worthy Netflix shows to this most delectable scene, and you’re basically now living in a modern romance. What’s more, if you’re learning English, these shows are a great opportunity to mix up your language studies. You’ll hear a variety of English conversations, slang terms, and punchy lines so you can binge-watch guilt-free.

Here are eight binge-worthy Netflix shows to watch this fall to remedy the melancholic scene of rusty leaves falling on your windowsill and leave you feeling refreshed.

1. The Great British Baking Show (aka The Great British Bake Off)

You don’t need to be a baking expert to love this show. It’s perfect for an afternoon with no plans, accompanied by some sweet treats (or risk hunger). Amateur bakers go head-to-head in an elimination-style contest until one is crowned the winner — and yes, it’s every bit as intense as it sounds.

Caution: after a few episodes, even the most inexperienced baker might attempt a soufflé — and discover just how easily it turns into burnt, runny soup.

2. Emily in Paris

From the creator of Sex and the City, Emily in Paris is a mildly cringy, yet heartwarming, show about an enthusiastic American who relocates to Paris (and later Rome) as a marketing whiz, navigating the exciting world of French media and culture. Throughout the series, Emily’s adventures in Europe challenge her to embrace new languages, cultures, cuisines —  and importantly — style!

We can almost guarantee that you’ll fall in love with Paris (if you haven’t already) and want to embark on your own adventure abroad.

3. The Four Seasons

The Four Seasons follows a lifelong group of friends through love, loss, and everything in between. Each chapter brings new challenges, inside jokes, and moments that make you reflect on your own relationships.

It’s heartfelt, funny, and quietly profound — a reminder that friendship, like the seasons, is always changing.

4. The Good Place

This one is quirky, hilarious, and also makes you think a bit. The main character, Eleanor, accidentally ends up in some sort of heavenly afterlife, which she finds a bit confusing, considering she’d lived a life of pure selfishness.

Character development is off the charts, plus it will leave you feeling mentally invigorated (or reinvigorated, depending on where you’re at to begin with).

5. Our Great National Parks

Few can rival the legendary Sir David Attenborough in the world of nature documentaries, but former U.S. President Barack Obama comes close. As narrator of this breathtaking series, he guides you through the planet’s most spectacular natural parks — from tropical rainforests to frozen tundras and everything in between.

By the end, you’ll want to grab your coat and boots, save an endangered animal, and dedicate your life to the planet. For now, though, a small nod of appreciation from under your blanket will do just fine.

6. Brooklyn 99

This one’s on the list because it’s almost impossible not to love it. Brooklyn 99 is a tour de force. It’s so so good, and so so funny. Captain Holt delivers jokes with such deadpan dryness that you can’t help but giggle, irrespective of whether you find the joke funny or not.

The other characters are so relatable, silly, and wholesome — and the writers have placed them at the very heart of each script, meaning that you end up genuinely loving them.

7. Schitt’s Creek

A very wealthy family loses everything and has to move to a motel in the middle of nowhere. Silliness ensues, and thanks to the ridiculous nature of the characters, there are several laugh-out-loud episodes. Sassy, grumpy David is a fan-favorite character, but they’re all pretty lovable.

You can binge this one in a single week if you are well-equipped with a hefty bowl of nachos on tap, sweet and salty popcorn, and zero desire to experience the wind-whipped, rain-lashed autumnal streets outside.

8. A Man on the Inside

If you’re craving something that is both thrilling and has a feel-good factor, A Man on the Inside is the show for you. It follows a mild-mannered retiree-turned-amateur private investigator who’s thrown into an undercover operation at a retirement home — obviously, it all goes sideways.

The show is one of those “just one more episode” series that, before you know it, it’s 3 a.m. and you’ve stayed up way past your bedtime.

Whether you’re after a laugh, a swoon, or simply an escape from the cold, Netflix’s treasure trove has you covered. Grab your blanket, queue up the treats, and get ready for that iconic “Tudum.”