Catastrophe: Available on 4OD. After a brief week of passion together, American Rob and Irish Sharon discover they are going to have a baby. The first series deals with Rob moving to the UK to see if they can make this brief relationship work.
The first series aired when I was pregnant and when the second series started I had a four-week-old baby. It made me laugh out loud. As a new parent I could identify with way too many scenes that are far too shocking to reveal here. Series three and four have been commissioned. Cannot wait! (4OD, Amazon Prime)
Mr Selfridge: I watched all four series in the space of two months. Mr Selfridge is a drama about American businessman Harry Gordon Selfridge and his London department store. Expect lovely clothes, love affairs and murder. It’s the perfect programme to watch when you are stuck in the house during the day. (ITV, Netlfix)
Peaky Blinders: A gangster drama set in the streets of post-war Birmingham on the verge of the 1920s.
Watch this towards the end of your leave when there are fewer night feeds because you’ll need to stay awake to have a clue what’s going on. (BBC2, Netflix)
Narcos: Netflix series about the infamous Medellín drug cartel, its leader, Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar, and the Drug Enforcement Agency agents who are hunting him.
This was the first series we watched after we brought home the baby. We were tucked up in our bubble of feeds and being fed by family. Lovely time. If you are beyond sleep deprived hold off till you have a little more concentration. (Netflix)
Girls: A group of young girls in their 20s, living in New York, dealing with life’s ups and down. This series will either make you wish you could turn back time and relive your freedom years or thank god that most of that is behind you. Lena Dunham is marmite for people but I love her and her work. (Sky Atlantic)
Game of Thrones: Fantasy series. This will keep you going throughout your leave. I would tell you the plot but if I’m honest I forget who’s who. It’s entertaining and at least you’ll have something to talk about with the office sci-fi nerd when you get back to work. (Sky Atlantic)
Homeland: When Marine Sgt Nicholas Brody returns home following eight years in captivity, CIA agent Carrie Mathison thinks he has turned and is connected to a terror plot to be carried out on American soil. She then engages him in a dangerous game of cat and mouse that puts America’s national security at risk.
You might have given up on this series but after one dud season (No3, I think) it gets good again. Stick with it. (RTE)
Gossip Girl: Follows Upper East Side privileged high school students as they navigate their way through school, men, gossip and careers. Easy watching and if you like fashion that you can’t afford this is the series for you. (Netflix)
Mad Men: Centred around a New York advertising agency. The series finally came to a close and we got to see what happened to Don Draper. (Sky Atlantic)
Better Call Saul: Before he turns up in Breaking Bad, Jimmy McGill, a small-time attorney is a champion for the oppressed. You don’t need to have watched Breaking Bad to like this series. Some feel season two didn’t hold their attention but I disagree. (Netflix)
Fargo 2: Season one of this black comedy was grand but the second was far more engaging. A prequel to the events in its first season, season two is set in 1979 in the US Mid West. It follows Peggy (Kirsten Dunst) after she is involved in a hit and run. Peggy and her butcher husband’s life becomes entangled with the local crime family.
House of Cards: The show follows Frank and Claire Underwood who have their sights set on The White House. Nothing will get in the way of their ambition. House of Cards is dark and even its lighter moments are edgy. Season five is due in 2017. I stuck with this show and I am still enjoying it.
Happy Valley: A police sergeant dealing with the personal tragedy of her daughter’s suicide investigates cases in a small West Yorkshire town. Sarah Lancashire shows how she is an amazing talent – as far as you can get from Raquel in Coronation Street – and Siobhan from Love Hate (Charlie Murphy) makes an appearance. My husband found it depressing but I stuck with the series and found it kept me occupied on a winter’s night.
The Good Wife: To be honest I probably skipped about two series and got back in to it when it when series 4 was on TV. It’s finally come to an end and you get to see what happens to The Good Wife, lawyer Alicia Florrick, as she navigates her career on her terms.
The Jinx: This series would not have been made without the participation of real estate heir Robert Durst. Having seen a movie based on his life (All Good Things – on Netflix) he contacted the producer and agreed to take part in this series. The six-part documentary delves into the history of Robert Durst who was a suspect in the disappearance of his wife in 1982.
This documentary gave me shivers so maybe don’t watch this when you are home alone.
On the Box
This Morning on ITV: Not a box set but a daily lifestyle show. This was a lovely backdrop to my mornings of toast, nappy changes and burping sessions. I miss Holly and Phil.
Gogglebox: Switch off the brain and see what other people watched during the week. Tune in for Scarlett Moffatt’s quotes.
And of course The Late Late Show.
the edit 