Happy end-of-the-year Edison High! And if you’re graduating, then congratulations on completing this step of your academic journey! As the year comes to an end, students start to question themselves: What is there to do during summer break? The inevitable answer is always lingering at the bottom of our to-do list—summer homework. However, as school closes, TVs come on, and across the block, Netflix’s tudum, the Disney+ jingle, and football fans’ cheering will be heard all around this summer.
Still, what is there to watch that we haven’t yet? Below are my top picks for TV shows/movies that will surely keep us entertained during this summer break.
Starting with the obvious, the 23rd FIFA World Cup will take place across three North American countries—Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Starting June 11th and ending July 19th, the Cup is a football fan’s dream summer plan. Between watching the matches, following the scoreboard, and filling out the Panini FIFA World Cup sticker album, the competition will surely keep you entertained for the month that it lasts.
If you’re not much of a sports fan, but still want to watch something as a family that will keep all ages entertained, I recommend these three Netflix picks: One Day At A Time (2021), Enola Holmes, or My Girl (1991). One Day At A Time follows the daily life of a Cuban-American family as single-veteran-mother Penelope (Justina Machado) raises her two kids with the help of her mother, Lydia (Rita Moreno).
Enola Holmes, as the last name suggests, is the story of the famous detective’s little sister. When her mother disappears, Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) runs away and sets out to find her and prove her worth outside her brother’s shadow. If you enjoy the Sherlock Holmes story, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this differing point of view from his sister.
Lastly, My Girl is a classic coming-of-age movie about 11-year-old Vada (Anna Chlumsky) who grows up in a funeral home run by her widowed father. Heads up, though, this movie gets pretty sad.
If you’re looking for something with a little thrill to it, I suggest these two thrill/horror series: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and IT: Welcome to Derry. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a Netflix series based on the Holly Jackson book series, where Pip Fitz-Amobi (played by Emma Myers) investigates cold cases, the first being a murder in her own town. The books, as well as the series, though it has yet to conclude, don’t reveal the true murderer until the end, allowing the viewer/reader to investigate the murder along with Pip and form their own conclusions about who is really guilty.
IT: Welcome to Derry is a horror HBO MAX series that serves as a prequel to the IT movies. As the first season has come to an end, the time period is 1960, and the storyline follows the events leading up to the first IT film. Interestingly, each season will go back 27 years, honoring Pennywise’s 27-year grace period. If you’re a Stephen King fan, an IT fan, or a horror fan in general, this series is great because it explores the origins of Pennywise and the relatives of the IT kids.
If you don’t want horror, and instead prefer a dystopian show, The 100 would be the one I would consider watching. The series is set almost 100 years after a nuclear apocalypse on Earth, forcing humanity to relocate and live in a space station called “The Ark.” 100 juvenile delinquents are sent to Earth to determine if it is habitable, though they discover that human life is already present. The 100 face a series of challenges that test their morality as they encounter new tribes that inhabited Earth before them. The acting, visual effects, and storyline are great, but it is also one of those shows that has a good ending that makes the rest of the seven seasons understandable.
If you want something more lighthearted and more sitcom-like, Modern Family, Abbott Elementary, and The Good Place are picks that are actually funny and entertaining. Modern Family is a classic, but if you haven’t watched it, it centers around the daily lives of three suburban families: the Pritchetts, the Dunphys, and the Tucker-Pritchetts. It’s a documentary-like show where the characters break the fourth wall by talking to and looking at the camera.
Abbott Elementary is also a documentary-like show that shows the daily lives of teachers at an underfunded school in Philadelphia. The show mixes humor to engage audiences while highlighting the struggles of teachers, especially those at underfunded schools.
Finally, The Good Place follows Eleanor (Kristen Bell) after she mistakenly arrives at the afterlife’s “Good Place” and has to hide her morally questionable past. Apart from its wit and humor, the show includes major plot twists that keep audiences engaged and guessing.
As the weather gets warmer and schools come to an end for the 2025-2026 season, I hope my top picks for a range of genres help keep you entertained. So sit back, relax, and enjoy watching EHS!