What to Watch When You’re Hungover

Sometimes, the thing you want when you’re hungover is the thing you know won’t let you down. Rather than chance compounding the pain felt by your aching body with the pain of experiencing something new and possibly unpleasant, watch something you’ve seen a hundred times before and still enjoy. This one is a bit of a matter of personal taste, but for me, that movie is Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums. From Alec Baldwin’s quirkily comforting narration to the arch humor to the myriad sight gags and A+ performances (Gene Hackman! Anjelica Huston! Gwyneth Paltrow! Both Wilsons!), everything in this movie works.

Where to stream'The Royal Tenenbaums'

Hangovers were a lot easier to deal with in college. For one thing, our bodies cooperated with us a lot batter back then. But for another, MTV bailed us out with weekend marathons of The Real World and Road Rules. We didn’t have to move for two whole days. These days, classic Real World is (tragically) hard to come by, but some of the prime seasons of The Challenge are still streaming on Hulu. Pick a season, find a soft spot to lay your head, and watch Johnny Bananas weasel his way into another final.

Where to stream 'The Challenge'

One of the best surprises of the new year has been discovering what a great show Netflix’s One Day at a Time remake is. Sticking with the single-mom-in-a-small-apartment theme, this reimagining sees a Cuban-American mom (Justina Machado) raising her two kids with help from her human dynamo of a mom (Rita Moreno) and her shockingly sexy superintendent, Schneider (Todd Grinnell). It’s funny, heartwarming, and a throwback to sitcoms past. Let your time spent incapacitated on the couch allow you a moment to make this discovery too.

Where to stream 'One Day at a Time'

Like you need to expend energy digging into the couch cushions for a lost remote. In the state you’re in? Please. That’s where a show like Cheers is the best friend to a hungover viewer. 270 episodes, baby! That next episode is gonna keep auto-starting until April. Don’t be scared off by all the on-screen drinking, either. A little hair of the dog never hurt anybody. And as a bonus, you’ll be watching one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. Win-win!

Where to stream 'Cheers'

What a strange little show this turned out to be! Even if you found yourself underwhelmed by the 2004 theatrical version, Netflix’s adaptation of the Lemony Snicket novels finds the episodic delight in the terribly sad plight of the Baudelaire children, whose parents perished in a fire and who are thus subject to the predations of the vile Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris, at his appropriately hammiest), who’s out to steal their money. This is just a very good time, and the episodes kind of fly by, which isn’t always the case on streaming.

Where to stream 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'

When you’re hungover, any genre that could be described as a caper, a romp, or a jaunt is your friend. At first glance, director Shane Black’s The Nice Guys doesn’t seem like it’s going to fit the bill. Notorious gruffster Russell Crowe and gruffster-in-training Ryan Gosling in a ’70s throwback that’ll give them a handy excuse to shoot a lot of guns and chase a lot of cars? Snooze. But guess what? The Nice Guys was basically the romp of the year. Ryan Gosling remembered that he could be funny in 2016! What a gift to us all.

Where to stream 'The Nice Guys'

Once your mind is hydrated enough to begin functioning on the higher levels again, there’s going to be the temptation to feel guilty for drinking so much the night before that you were forced to spend an entire day getting exactly nothing done. Okay, for one thing: learn to forgive yourself. For another: you can kill two birds with one stone if you choose your streaming options wisely. Like, why not stream the entire season of a show you’ve been meaning to watch but haven’t found the time yet? Might I suggest The Good Place, which finished its first season recent, was given a second-season order by NBC, and is fully streamable on Hulu. You’ve heard so many good things about it! And they’re true. It’s a season that keeps getting better and better with every episode, and now you can be in on it.

Where to stream 'The Good Place'

It’s a cliche, but sometimes laughter is the best medicine. Well call HBO GO the medicine cabinet, then, because they are chock full of the stuff you need, and the only “prescription” you need is your parents’ login! They’ve got dozens of old and new comedy specials, so might I suggest: Pete Holmes, Margaret Cho, Wanda Sykes, or Flight of the Conchords.

Stream Comedy Specials on HBO GO

Has your hangover made you regress into a childlike state of helpless infancy? Hey, we’ve all been there. Why not just steer into that skid? Amazon Prime is your friend, if so. Their selection includes some great Pixar animated features — we’d recommend, say, Inside Out over Ratatouille, just in case the thought of a rat preparing your food might offend a sensitive stomach in your delicate condition — but also some classic cartoons of yesteryear. You’re already a couch-bound baby. Why not binge old Thundercats while you’re at it?

Where to stream 'Thundercats'

Where to stream 'Inside Out'

If the above nine options don’t do it, it’s time to haul out the big guns. Though honestly, even if the above nine options DO work for you, this is still a pretty great option. RuPaul’s Drag Race is everything you need: high camp, great music, big laughs, compelling characters, and short seasons that you could binge in a day. It’s the perfect TV show. Enhance your drag vocab and read yourself for not thinking of this one sooner.

Where to stream 'RuPaul's Drag Race'