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33 Shows To Binge if You Love California

California Dreaming! Stretches of sandy beaches, sparkling blue oceans and extravagant infinity pools decorated with bikini-clad bombshells and gorgeous men in such good shape, it's crazy.  

Or is it? This is California after all! Known for its beautiful people who, despite living laid-back lifestyles, are some of the most dramatic, complicated, and entertaining people on television.

We're going deep inside the most notorious West Coast neighborhoods from the beaches of Santa Monica and Malibu to the hottest spots in Hollywood and Silver Lake to bring you, true TV Fanatics, the most binge-able television series homegrown in California.

Which series on this list are YOUR favorites, too? Which are you going to binge? Any best of the West Coast I missed?

 

1. Baywatch

How dangerous must our beaches have been before Baywatch came along to protect and serve with seriously suntanned sexiness?

David Hasselhoff stars as veteran lifeguard, Mitch Buchannon, who mentors his attractive young squad as they patrol a crowded Los Angeles beach. His staff of stacked hard bodies who are required to swim, save, and look sick in a red one piece includes Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Brooke Burns, Tracy Bingham, and Carmen Electra.

Only slightly less memorable is all the "Mandy," (man candy)... David Charvet, Jason Simmons, David Chockachi, Parker Stevenson, and Billy Warlock. Of course, looking good is only half the Baywatch battle. Lifeguards handle the California dangers that threaten their beach from drowning swimmers and shark attacks to earthquakes and even serial killers.

As David Hasselhoff amassed a monster fan following around the globe, Baywatch became one of the most watched television series in the world, viewed by a billion people across 142 countries. It ran for 11 seasons, spawned several TV movies, the spinoff series, Baywatch Nights, not to mention the popular German porn franchise, "Babewatch!"

2. Big Little Lies

Welcome to the quiet beachfront town of Monterey, California where the privileged families, with their adorable children and happily married parents seem to live picture-perfect lives. That is until a murder rocks the previously peaceful community to its core.

The series is certainly a dark dramedy, but the heart of BLL beats as the friendships between three mothers - Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman), and Jane (Shailene Wodley) intensify. As the town begins to unravel, becoming a rumor mill fueled by gossip, greed, and jealousy, the trio finds solace in one another and each woman begins to reveal herself.

The critically acclaimed Big Little Lies was a BIG 2018 award winner, racking up 2 SAG Awards and 4 Golden Globes. It's not only stacked with amazing performances, it is full of surprises every step of the way. Catch up on season 1 now before season 2, with the superstar cast addition of Meryl Streep, premieres in 2019.

3. Beverly Hills 90210

"90210" introduces teenage Walsh twins - Brandon (Jason Priestly) and Brenda (Shannen Doherty) - who’ve moved from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Beverly Hills, California. Created by Darren Starr and Executive Produced by Aaron Spelling, the series is a true 90's classic.

On the first day of school, the twins drive up to West Beverly Hills High in a beat-up brown jalopy, dressed in the wrong clothes, without any friends and zero experience living in a world as glitzy and glamorous as Beverly Hills.

Luckily, it’s not long before Brenda and Brandon secure an entire posse of pals made up of West Beverly's most spoiled (but sweet), silver spoon fed rich kids, including Kelly (Jennie Garth), Steve (Ian Ziering), and Donna (Tori Spelling). "Donna Martin graduates! Donna Martin graduates!"

As for the romances for which 90210 is known, Brenda falls in and out of love with Bev Hills bad boy, Dylan McKay (Luke Perry), while Brandon has an on-again, off-again love affair with his sister’s BFF, Kelly. Oh and Spoiler Alert, Kelly's such a good friend that she sleeps with Dylan too.

4. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Seinfeld co-creator Larry David stars as himself in the laugh out loud HBO comedy about his life in Los Angeles as a semi-retired television writer/producer. Much like Seinfeld, Curb storylines tend to deal with the daily minutiae, this time revolving around Larry's problems with social situations, society's expectations, and his general annoyance with other people.

Cheryl Hines stars as Larry's wife (and later ex-wife) who is the voice of reason when her husband is at his most unreasonable. Jeff Garlin plays Larry's best friend and manager, Jeff Green, who often uses LD as an excuse to cover up his indiscretions.

Susie Essman is Jeff's filthy-mouthed, ball buster wife, Suzy Green, who's often onto Larry and Jeff's elaborate schemes, and when crossed by Larry retaliates by calling him a "Four-Eyed-Fuck!"

Other celebs making regular appearances include Larry's longtime friends, Richard Lewis, Ted Danson and Wanda Sykes. J.B. Smoove stars in later seasons as Leon Black, a promiscuous bachelor who Larry took in after Hurricane Edna and has yet to get rid of, currently occupying Larry's guesthouse.

Curb Your Enthusiasm premiered on HBO in the year 2000, went on hiatus after its 8th season in 2011, then returned in 2017 for a highly successful season 9. HBO has since picked up the Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning series for a 10th season. The chances of the series continuing on even longer are looking, "Prett-ay, prett-ay, prett-ay, pretty good!"

5. The O.C.

"Welcome to the OC, Bitch!" From those words, it was all adrenaline, laughter, loss, and love.

Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) goes from impoverished broken home to the opulent, high-class neighborhood of Newport Beach, California when he is adopted by the posh but compassionate Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher).

Thrust into the closed-minded community of Orange County, Ryan is an outsider but begins to fit in when he befriends his new stepbrother Seth (Adam Brody).

The blow of being the new kid is further softened when Ryan falls for privileged but troubled girl-next-door, Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) while helping Seth navigate his childhood crush on Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson).

Winning the Teen Choice Award in 2004 for Breakout TV Show, The O.C. penetrated its way into pop culture with a window into the lavish lifestyle of Orange County, a killer soundtrack, and epic young love.

6. Entourage

Coming out to Cali with your entourage from New York and making it big in Hollywood is the East Coast version of The American Dream. Actually doing it, however, is a whole different story. HBO's Entourage, inspired by the exploits of actor Mark Wahlberg, is that story.

Adrian Grenier stars as Vincent Chase, a once unknown actor from Queens, New York turned overnight A-lister, who's come out to Hollywood with his boys from back home.

Best friend turned manager, Eric "E" Murphy (Kevin Connolly) helps Vince decide what projects to pass on and which to take. His older brother, Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) has acting aspirations of his own, often finding his way into bit parts on Vince's movies. Longtime friend, Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), becomes Vince's L.A. driver and takes care of Arnold their watchdog.

Entourage is far from all business, as the boys use the Vincent Chase name to get anything and everything they can. Free stereo equipment, floor seats at Lakers Games, unlimited swag, weed from a Sherpa, and pussy - lots and lots of pussy.

Of course Vince doesn't rely solely on his new-to-the-biz friends to guide his career. His agent, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) is a typical Hollywood dirt bag, often bragging about banging women other than his wife (Perry Reeves). But he's got Vince's back, no matter what trouble he and his boys get into around Tinseltown.

Entourage shines especially brightly throughout its 8 seasons thanks to amazing guest star appearances by everyone from Jimmy Kimmel, Snoop Dog, Kayne West and Tom Brady to Jessica Alba, Sarah Silverman, Scarlett Johansson and Mandy Moore.

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UnREAL Official Season 3 Trailer: Let's Get This Sausage Party Started!

Is it just me or has it been forever since the UnREAL Season 2 Episode 10?

Lifetime got us hooked on UnREAL, the critically acclaimed drama that tells the story of what goes on behind the scenes of the dating show Everlasting, modeled after ABC's The Bachelor. Then they left us high and dry.

But GOOD NEWS for those of us who've been jonesing for UnREAL's return.

The wait for a new season of UnREAL is finally (pretty much) over! After more than a year and a half, the third installment of UnREAL will finally make its debut on February 26th, 2018.

If you watch UnREAL online, you know at the end of UnREAL Season 2, we saw Rachel (Shiri Appleby) and Quinn (Constance Zimmer) back on top, once again cleared of all responsibility for the havoc they wreaked on-set of Everlasting. But if you thought girls ruled UnREAL last season, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

Rachel and Quinn are still Everlasting’s queen bees behind the scenes, but there’s a new female force coming in hot, and she’s taking center stage in front of the cameras.

That's right, Everlasting has traded their egotistical male suitors for a serious femme fatale.

The new suitress, Serena, is a Silicon Valley mogul-minx. She's blond, ballsy and not about to lie down for anyone, especially not for Rachel or Quinn.

In the trailer, Serena makes an early power play in front of the Everlasting cast and crew, announcing,"From now on, the only rules are the ones I make." So far, she's making the 'Money-Dick-Power' duo look like a pair of pussycats.

And since Serena doesn't trust Rachel "as far as she can punt her," she and Quinn could be in serious trouble, particularly with the temptation of all those new seriously-sexy male suitors.

No, SERIOUSLY. Are you ready for the new season of UnREAL to FINALLY premiere February 26th, 2018 on Lifetime?

I know I can't wait to review every minute of the salacious panty-dropping drama.

In the words of Quinn King, "Let's get this sausage party started!"

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25 Shows to Binge If You Love New York

NEW YORK. Yas. Yas. Yas! The city that never sleeps is worth staying up for, especially to binge the most stellar comedies and dramas ever televised.

We can’t get enough of shows set in New York because of the City’s culture, fashion, restaurants, and hustle; not to mention the comedic timing and badass attitude of its talented stars.

And when it comes to television’s most epic series, nobody plays the leading lady quite like New York City herself.

1. Broad City

BFFs and diehard New Yorkers, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glaser make each of their days together wild adventures, under the influence of whatever drugs they’re carrying and sexual boundaries they’re crossing.

Created by the hilarious Jewish millennials themselves and Executive Produced by Amy Poehler, Broad City is one of the freshest comedies on TV and will take you around the City like no other show on this list.

Typically short on cash, the girls rarely hail cabs or grab an uber. When Ilana and Abbi need to get somewhere, they hop on CitiBikes, board the bus, strap on rollerblades, and most frequently, ride the subway.

But it's their destinations that are real Manhattan magic. The besties venture to spots so random and wild, even the most devout New Yorker may have yet to discover where the hell they end up.

Like when when Abbi leads Ilana down a dark Lower East Side alleyway to a Prohibition-era Back Room speakeasy. Or when Ilana and her mom go to Chinatown for purse knock-offs and end up crawling through an underground tunnel to score "the good bags."

And don't even get me started on the amazing celeb cameos by everyone from Seth Rogan and RuPaul to Susie Essman, Kelly Ripa, and the girls' holiest of heroes, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

2. The Deuce

New York City in the 70s was a dirtier, seedier time, particularly in the area known as The Deuce. The streets are littered with hookers and their pimps, porno theaters and prostitutes. Cops who both enforce the law break it. While mobsters make killer moves, climbing into bed with club owners for their cut of the nightlife.

Maggie Gillenthal nails her role as working girl Candy, trying to get off the streets by learning to direct adult movies. Heartthrob James Franco plays not one, but twin brothers each angling for their piece of the pie. HBO already ordered a second season of this titillating drama, so now’s your chance to binge Season 1!

3. Nurse Jackie

Edie Falco is drug-addicted nurse, Jackie Peyton, who struggles to balance the demands of her stressful job at a New York City hospital with an endless array of personal dramas.

Whether she’s on duty at All Saints Hospital handling whatever lunatics come off the City streets, at home with her family, or scoring pills from her lover, you’ll wonder how Jackie tackles each day to get to the next...until you get to know her.

Be warned, once you start binging Nurse Jackie, you may need medical assistance to peel you away from your TV.

4. Master of None

Comic Aziz Ansari stars in his own series as Dev Shah, a 30-year-old actor, struggling to make it in New York while juggling romantic pursuits and cultural, sometimes racist experiences. This series is worth binging not only for the laughs but for the crazy cuisine Dev is constantly sampling all over the City.

Don’t want to take my word for it? The first season of Master of None holds an approval rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes! Season 2 is streaming on Netflix, and Ansari nabbed a 2018 Golden Globe for best actor in a television series. I mean really, what more do you need?

5. Mad About You

Documentary filmmaker, Paul Buchman and public relations specialist, Jamie Buchman are newlyweds living in Greenwich Village, near NYU.

The couple’s relationship is organic, adorable and charming, as they navigate newly married life through comedic situations that constantly challenge their relationship, but cannot derail their chemistry.

Good news for those of you missing Paul and Jamie...We hear whispers of a revival in the works at Sony Pictures Television Studios, wherein The Buchmans are suffering from empty nest syndrome as their daughter Mabel, born 20 years ago(!), is off to college.

6. Billions

U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades goes after hedge fund king, Bobby "Axe" Axelrod in a battle between two powerful New Yorkers, both egomaniac a**holes with both their wives caught in the middle. Yet my money's on you to find someone to root for on either side of the rivalry.

Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis are brilliant adversaries who have just been gifted a 3rd season by Showtime. Binge the first two seasons and you’ll wonder what took you so long to find this incredibly intense drama, loosely based on a true story.

Billions exposes a world of astronomical New York opulence, greed, risk, reward, and it’s all about the Benjamins baby.

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