The Best Feel-Good Shows for an Instant Pick-Me-Up

Long gone are the days when cartoons were made solely for kids' Saturday morning viewing pleasure. Thanks to the likes of The Simpsons, Beavis and Butt-Head, and South Park, adult-oriented animated programs have been proliferating for quite some time, with favorites like Family Guy, Rick and Morty, Bob's Burgers, and more broadening the scope of just how hilarious all of those drawn characters can be.

If you've been sleeping on Steven Universe or Bob's Burgers or Big Mouth because they're animated, then you've been missing out on some of the best TV shows of the decade. Cartoons aren't just for kids anymore, and the 201os marked a renaissance for adult animation, delivering some of TV's best shows, period.

Thank the streaming gods above that at least we're not lacking stuff to watch right now.

Fact: There's nothing better than free TV. But free TV doesn't mean it has to be bad TV. While we all sit inside socially distancing ourselves from the global coronavirus pandemic, there's an opportunity for some quality, free television thanks to Showtime, which is offering a 30-day free trial for new subscribers, no catch, if you sign up before May 3.

During these uncertain times, TV can be a great place to turn to for an instant pick-me-up, allowing you to escape into another world and forget about the problems plaguing you in this one. Sure, harrowing horror shows, dramatic reality competitions, and gritty crime dramas can make for thrilling binges, but sometimes you really are just in the mood for something happy. That's why we've rounded up the best feel-good shows streaming right now.

When it comes to finding a show about the macabre reality that is true crime, no place is better than Netflix. With hit series after hit series, it seems the streaming service is coming out with a must-see true crime show every couple of weeks. As long as people keep committing crimes, Netflix will keep pumping out true crime shows, and we'll continue to watch them.

Rip your TV off the wall and flush it down the toilet, because you won't be needing it anymore — Quibi is finally here. The much-anticipated (by some) mobile-only short-form streaming app has launched, with 50 shows all under 10 minutes an episode from big names like Jennifer Lopez, LeBron James, and Reese Witherspoon.

Long gone are the days when cartoons were made just for Saturday mornings.

Schools across the world are closing down right now in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which means for the next few weeks at least, families will have to help fill in the gaps for children to make sure those little ones don't get too unaccustomed to learning during this unexpected social distancing break (and, let's be honest, we don't want to go gray prematurely in the process, either).

There's nothing like the unscripted drama of real people fighting to see their dreams realized, which is why reality competition shows are so addictive. And with Netflix's already stacked library constantly expanding, it's becoming increasingly difficult to figure out which of these shows are worth that weekend binge since most tend to get lost in the mix.

With schools closed due to the COVID-19 crisis, millions of children are stranded at home — and most parents working from home say they find it tough to manage the daily juggle.

The fact that horror shows aren't nearly as commonplace as horror movies is pretty horrifying in itself. But that doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of chilling shows to binge; you just need to know where to look! Fortunately, Netflix is a treasure trove of spooky series, eerie episodes, and terrifying tales.

You're stuck home with not much to do, so it's the perfect time to be productive and check some things off from that to-do list you hastily scribbled up a few years ago.

We're just a few months into 2020 and we're already pining for the relatively halcyon days of 2019. But as bleak as things seem around you right now, things aren't entirely apocalyptic, as you can still settle into your fortress of toilet paper and watch some TV.

We're just a few months into 2020 and we're already pining for the relatively halcyon days of 2019. But as bleak as things seem around you right now, things aren't entirely apocalyptic, as you can still settle into your fortress of toilet paper and watch some TV.

Binge-watching a new TV show is a chance to put the real world on hold and escape into a new story for a while. For those who want to indulge in a little escapism, nothing beats the fantastical worlds of science-fiction.

In this difficult, uncertain time, you might need a pick-me-up in TV or movie form. You're looking for something to watch that will make you laugh or feel warm inside or give you some sense of hope about the world. To that end, HBO put together a list of feel-good movies and shows to watch on its HBO GO and HBO NOW apps that we're now sharing with you.

In this difficult, uncertain time, you might need a pick-me-up in TV or movie form. You're looking for something to watch that will make you laugh or feel warm inside or give you some sense of hope about the world. To that end, HBO put together a list of feel-good movies and shows to watch on its HBO GO and HBO NOW apps that we're now sharing with you.

In the last 10 years or so, the superhero genre has experienced an unprecedented boom (thank you, Marvel), and that boom isn't just reserved for big blockbusters in theaters. This surge of support for caped-crusaders has trickled down to TV too, and there are now more shows about superheroes than ever before.

Binge-watching a new TV show is a chance to put the real world on hold and escape into a new story for a while. For those who want to indulge in a little escapism, nothing beats the fantastical worlds of science-fiction.