This is your college survival kit- one playlist at a time

You know that feeling when you open Netflix to watch one episode and it is suddenly 2am and you have class at 8 and you have absolutely no regrets?Yeah. These shows do that.

This is my personal english webseries or sitcom playlist for college — the ones I have watched during lunch, dinner, study breaks, random 11pm moods, and those dangerous Sunday afternoons where you tell yourself you will only watch one. All English. All worth losing sleep over.

1. Friends — six people, infinite rewatches

If you have not watched Friends yet, first of all — where have you been. Six completely different people in New York who somehow become each other’s entire universe. Monica and Chandler sneak up on you like the best kind of plot twist. Ross is infuriating in a way that is somehow endearing. Phoebe exists on a different plane of reality and it is a gift every single episode. The magic of Friends is that you can start from any episode of any season, in any mood, and immediately feel at home. It is comfort food in a TV show.

2. The Big Bang Theory — nerdy and warm

Twelve seasons of highly intelligent people being absolutely clueless about life outside their apartment — and somehow it is the most relatable thing on television. As someone who deeply understands the appeal of staying in with your gang over going out, I felt seen. Howard’s character arc from season one to the end is one of the most satisfying journeys in sitcom history. You start mildly annoyed by him and end up genuinely moved. All twelve seasons.

3. How I Met Your Mother — brilliant show, Ted’s narration

Let me be upfront. The ending is bad. Historically, legendarily, almost impressively bad. The mother — this wonderful, perfect character — gets two episodes after nine seasons of buildup. Two. It is a wound that has not healed. BUT. Everything in between is so genuinely good that it earns its place at number three with no apology. Barney Stinson’s theories alone are worth the entire watch. Lily and Marshall are couple goals wrapped in New York chaos. Ted is simultaneously the most annoying and most loveable protagonist in sitcom history.

4. Modern Family — chaotic family energy and Phil Dunphy’s pure soul

If your family has any drama, any competition, any frankness that catches visitors off guard — you will see yourself somewhere in this show. Three generations of one chaotic, loving, completely messy family all up in each other’s lives. And then there is Phil Dunphy. Pure-hearted, well-meaning, embarrassing in the best way, and genuinely one of the most loveable characters ever written. Watch it at dinner.

5. Suits — Harvey Specter is not a character, he is a lifestyle

Absolutely on this list. Harvey Specter will make you want to fix your posture, upgrade your wardrobe, and walk into every room like you already own it. Mike Ross figuring out how to survive in a world he technically does not belong to, the razor-sharp dialogue, the loyalty between characters that sneaks up on you — this show is addictive from the first scene of the first episode. It does something most shows on this list don’t — it makes you feel genuinely inspired after every episode.

6. The Middle — the most underrated show on this entire list

A clumsy, imperfect, not-very-rich family in small-town Indiana just trying to get through each day without too many disasters. They are not polished. Things do not go smoothly. But they love each other loudly and consistently and that is the whole point. Brick is one of the strangest and funniest child characters ever written. Axl slowly reveals that underneath all the chaos there is actually a decent human being in there.

7. Young Sheldon — the origin story nobody knew they needed

If you spent all of The Big Bang Theory wondering how on earth Sheldon Cooper became Sheldon Cooper — here is your answer and it is somehow both funnier and more emotional than expected. Georgie’s character development throughout the series is genuinely outstanding. The family dynamic is strange and warm and oddly moving. A great companion watch to Big Bang and completely worth it on its own.

8. Vampire Diaries — warning: you will not recover

Not a sitcom. Many extremely attractive characters. You will fall for Damon in episode three, Stefan in episode five, and then Klaus will show up with that British accent and everything you thought you knew about your preferences will be reconsidered. Elijah in his suits giving quiet menace is unmatched television. The Originals storyline is some of the best world-building a show has ever done. Long episodes, yes. Approximately nine thousand plot twists, yes. Worth every single minute of it.

9. Two and a Half Men — seasons one to six and then we stop

Charlie being Charlie is genuinely, effortlessly funny. Jake as a kid is adorable. The brother dynamic is classic comedy. Seasons one through six are a great time. After season six — and I say this with love — we stop. The show you knew ends there. Let it.

10. 2 Broke Girls — Max is savage and we love her for it

Max is quick, sharp, savage, and quietly kind in a way that only reveals itself slowly. Two completely different women trying to build something from nothing together — the chemistry between them makes the whole show work. Short episodes, fast jokes, perfect for a lunch break when you have exactly twenty-two minutes and need to laugh before going back to whatever assignment is waiting.

11. Fresh Off the Boat — sweet, funny, quietly touching

Eddie and Emery are genuinely the sweetest. A Taiwanese-American family navigating Florida in the nineties and figuring out how to exist in a world that does not quite understand them yet. If you come from an Asian household or just a family with a very specific culture that the outside world finds confusing — you will feel very seen.

12. Gossip Girl — finish the list, then come here

More drama, more fashion, more chaos than anything else on this list. Upper East Side excess and a narrator whose identity you spend six whole seasons guessing. Addictive in a very specific way. Watch it last — it is the dessert, not the main course.