And, did we mention that you’ll also be completely exhausted while doing this? Yep, that’s the reality of the fourth trimester. Of course, a bunch of that “downtime” will be spent burping your baby, trying to get them to latch on and eat, inhaling their baby scent, and admiring their itty-bitty fingers and toes. But let’s face it: those hours of holding and feeding can get a little monotonous, and you might be looking for some entertainment to pass the time. Well, thank goodness for streaming services. These days, new parents basically have almost any conceivable form of entertainment literally streaming at their fingertips. And really, there’s no better time to binge a show than when you are planted on the couch cluster feeding your sweetie. We’ve put together 10 of the best shows to stream during the newborn period. Some of these shows feature new parents just like you. Others focus on the ins and outs of raising families as kids get older—because before you know it, diapers and nap schedules will be the furthest thing from your mind.
Ginny & Georgia
Show Stats
The show stars Brianne Howey, Antonia Gentry, Diesel La Torraca, Jennifer Robertson, Felix Mallard, Sara Waisglass, Scott Porter, and Raymond Ablack.Its first season premiered in February 2021, and Netflix has renewed it for a second season.Episodes are 50-58 minutes long.
Why It’s a Winning Pick
This brand-new Netflix original is about Georgia Miller, a 30-year-old single mom who moves to the fictitious town of Wellsbury, Massachusetts with her teenage daughter Ginny and 9-year-old son Austin. While Ginny navigates friendship and dating at her new high school, Georgia is finding mom friends to get high with and making havoc at local school board meetings. It quickly becomes clear that both mother and daughter have some growing up to do. The present-time action is interspersed with flashbacks to Georgia’s own turbulent teen years. By unapologetically showing the messiness of life, this show achieves the perfect balance of laughter and drama.
Where to Stream It
The first season is currently available on Netflix.
Firefly Lane
Show Stats
The show stars Katherine Heigl, Sarah Chalke, Ben Lawson, Beau Garrett, Ali Skovbye, Roan Curtis, and Yael Yurman.Its first season premiered in February 2021, and Netflix has renewed it for a second season.Episodes are 47-53 minutes long.
Why It’s a Winning Pick
“Firefly Lane” follows the 30-year friendship of Tully and Kate, who meet as young teens and continue to rely on each other as they navigate the big, scary world of adulthood. The show goes back and forth between the 1970s, when the two first met, and the early 2000s (the show’s present time), where Tully is the host of a daytime talk show produced by Kate’s husband. In the past, we see how Tully got through adolescence with an unreliable mom and absentee dad. In the present, Kate deals with her own teenage daughter, Marah. The show explores both the darker and lighter sides of parenting.
Where to Stream It
The first season is available on Netflix.
Gilmore Girls
Show Stats
The show stars Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Melissa McCarthy, Keiko Agena, Scott Patterson, Yanic Truesdale, Kelly Bishop, Edward Herrmann, Liza Weil, Jared Padalecki, Milo Ventimiglia, Sean Gunn, Chris Eigeman, and Matt Czuchry.It premiered in 2000 and ran for seven seasons. Nine years later, a follow-up miniseries titled “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” aired on Netflix.Episodes are 44 minutes long.
Why It’s a Winning Pick
It’s easy to see how this classic series influenced “Ginny & Georgia.” Both shows feature a single mom and teenage daughter making waves in a sleepy New England town. But “Ginny & Georgia” emphasizes the messiness of life, and “Gilmore Girls” presents a more idealized picture of the friendship between mom and daughter. Though of course there is conflict in each episode, the heart of this show is the enduring relationship of trust and camaraderie between the two “girls.” You’ll really believe Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) are family. The 2016 revival, “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” gives you a chance to catch up on what Lorelai and Rory are up to after the original show’s 2007 finale.
Where to Stream It
The original seven seasons, and the revival, are all available on Netflix.
Yummy Mummies
Show Stats
The show is a reality program featuring Lorinska Merrington, Maria DiGeronimo, Jane Scandizzo, Rachel Watts, and Iva Marra.It premiered in 2017 and ran for two seasons.Episodes are 40 minutes long.
Why It’s a Winning Pick
A guilty pleasure for sure, this Australian reality show follows a group of posh, privileged “mums” as they go through the various stages of pregnancy and motherhood. Like so much reality TV, this series gets a lot of its laughs from sheer ridiculousness. These ladies’ absurdly lavish baby showers and their clueless takes on babyproofing and breastfeeding will have you laughing in spite of yourself.
Where to Stream It
Both seasons are currently on Netflix.
Better Things
Show Stats
The show stars Pamela Adlon, Mikey Madison, Hannah Alligood, Olivia Edward, and Celia Imrie.It premiered in 2016 and has run for four seasons. FX plans to release a fifth season in 2021.Episodes are 20-30 minutes long.
Why It’s a Winning Pick
This brutally funny FX series features its writer and co-creator, Pamela Adlon, as a single mother of three girls. The show consistently delivers powerful and honest takes on parenthood, aging, love, and sexuality. Adlon drew deeply from her real life to create this series, and there’s no mistaking it. Every moment of the show exudes her searing, cynical, and raw humor. This show is also notable for the strength of its child performers. For instance, the girls who play her three daughters are unusually believable, which adds to the show’s overall authentic feel.
Where to Stream It
The first four seasons are currently available on Hulu.
The Mindy Project
Show Stats
The show stars Mindy Kaling, Chris Messina, Ed Weeks, Anna Camp, Zoe Jarman, Amanda Setton, Stephen Tobolowsky, Ike Barinholtz, Beth Grant, Xosha Roquemore, Adam Pally, and Fortune Feimster.It premiered in 2012 and ran for six seasons.Episodes are 22-31 minutes long.
Why It’s a Winning Pick
In this Fox series, Mindy Kaling stars as an incurable romantic who is frustrated that life fails to live up to the promise of a classic rom-com like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail.” At the start of the show, Mindy is a single woman working as an OB-GYN at a small practice in New York City. The lovable gang of characters at her medical practice makes the show both goofy and heartwarming. As the show goes on (spoiler alert), Mindy becomes a mom and grapples with how to achieve work-life balance. This show is notable for featuring an Indian American woman as its lead actress (as well as the creator and executive producer).
Where to Stream It
All six seasons are all currently on Hulu.
Mom
Show Stats
The show stars Anna Faris, Allison Janney, Sadie Calvano, Nate Corddry, Matt Jones, French Stewart, Spencer Daniels, Blake Garrett Rosenthal, Mimi Kennedy, Jaime Pressly, Beth Hall, William Fichtner, and Kristen Johnston.It premiered in 2013 and ran for eight seasons.Episodes are 18-21 minutes long.
Why It’s a Winning Pick
This CBS sitcom features Allison Janney and Anna Faris as an estranged mother and daughter who move back in together as they are both recovering from addiction. The daughter, Christy (Anna Faris), is trying to recover from alcoholism. Meanwhile, her mom, Bonnie (Allison Janney), is weaning herself off pain medication. Christy has a daughter, Violet, who is herself a teen mom, so the show gets to portray motherhood at all different stages of life. Although the subject matter gets pretty dark, this show manages to find humor in all of it, and it benefits from having a remarkably strong ensemble cast.
Where to Stream It
The first seven seasons are currently on Hulu. The eighth season is on Paramount+.
Breeders
Show Stats
The show stars Martin Freeman, Daisy Haggard, Michael McKean, Stella Gonet, Joanna Bacon, Alun Armstrong, Patrick Baladi, and Tim Steed.It premiered in 2020, and the second season is currently in progress. The series has been renewed for a third season.Episodes are 30 minutes long.
Why It’s a Winning Pick
This new FX series was created by its star, Martin Freeman, known for starring in the original UK version of “The Office.” Notable for its wicked, witty humor, “Breeders” reveals the bleary-eyed, honest realities of parenting. Though the show occasionally goes to darker places, exploring issues of grief and loss, it is a consistently funny take on life with children.
Where to Stream It
The first two seasons are currently on Hulu.
Modern Family
Show Stats
The show stars Ed O’Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, Jeremy Maguire, and Reid Ewing.It premiered in 2009 and ran for eleven seasons.Episodes are 20-24 minutes long.
Why It’s a Winning Pick
This big, raucous ensemble show ran on ABC, but it’s not your typical family sitcom. “Modern Family” is shot in mockumentary style, with the characters giving testimonials to the camera as often as they interact with each other. The show revolves around three families, including a blended family and a same-sex couple with an adopted daughter. When it premiered in 2009, the show made history as the first network show to feature a same-sex couple as the main characters. A decade later, it still holds up as a smart, funny series.
Where to Stream It
All 11 seasons are available on Hulu.
Big Little Lies
Show Stats
The show stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgård, Adam Scott, Zoë Kravitz, James Tupper, Jeffrey Nordling, Laura Dern, Kathryn Newton, Iain Armitage, and Meryl Streep.It premiered in 2017 and ran for two seasons.Episodes are 45-58 minutes long.
Why It’s a Winning Pick
This HBO drama takes place in affluent Monterey, California, where privileged moms battle over birthday party invitations and other frivolous matters. Reese Witherspoon seems at first to be playing a grown-up version of her signature roles in “Legally Blonde” or “Election.” But things turn serious when a violent death leads to a police investigation, and all of these PTA powerhouses are suspects. This show features unforgettable performances from Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern, and Meryl Streep joins the cast in Season 2. Thrilling and suspenseful, this show is not for the faint of heart.
Where to Stream It
Both seasons are available on HBO Max.
A Word from Verywell
Almost all parents have memories of being curled up on the couch with their newborns, feeding or cuddling, while simultaneously scrolling their phones or bingeing a favorite series. There’s really no better time to do this, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about spending some of these endless newborn hours glued to a screen. The newborn days are long and exhausting, and if you can find little ways to keep yourself entertained, then do it. Not only should you not feel guilty about indulging in entertainment during postpartum, but you should soak it all up. Before you know it, your little one will be doing a lot less sleeping and feeding, and you’ll be spending all your time making sure they don’t destroy the house. So enjoy this time while it lasts. It really does go by so fast.
