So one of the things that’s helped me here and there is being able to get away from news, getting away from gritty dramas on TV that mostly center around high stress situations. After a while I really became numb watching all the cop dramas and medical shows which almost always involved death on a practically episodic basis.
While still having drama elements, I’ve found that Sci-Fi programming has often provided a better release for me. Maybe because of the fantasy aspect of it, or the possibilities of an unmade future. SyFy channel (I still hate their rebranding) has actually done very well lately with three great shows. Dark Matter (based on graphic novel) and Killjoys. Dark Matter’s tone is a bit more heavy but raises a lot of interesting social questions within its storytelling. Identity, choice, what it means to be human, each of those elements is raised throughout the shows current two seasons (season two airing now). Killjoys on the other hand is a bit like a Firefly universe. A small close knit crew, a broader big-bad story, megacorporations.
Though the new season won’t air until 2017, The Expanse, based on the novel series of the same name is a more hardcore space-opera but done extremely well. I would watch with a bit of caution as it can be a bit more emotionally invested.
All three series were engrossing enough for me to keep locked in and helped as an escape from some of the less pleasant things going on in my life right now.
