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As unfortunate as it may be, every day can’t be sunshine and rainbows. To be human is to feel a whole spectrum of emotions (often all in one day), which means that it’s only natural that there are times when we’re down in the dumps and in need of a pick-me-up. It’s okay to feel sad, and we’re here to help you embrace those feelings with the assistance of some of the greatest movies and TV shows currently available on all your favorite streaming services.
We at Decider understand that sadness is, for better or for worse, a very normal part of the human experience, but we’re here to make sure that even when you’re feeling low, you’re not alone. Whether you want a good laugh to turn your mood around or would rather see something that will release the floodgates for a nice therapeutic cry, we’ve got all the best recommendations for what to watch now.
Here are the 13 top titles to stream when you’re feeling sad.
'Clue'
DIRECTOR: Jonathan Lynn
STARS: Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry
PLOT: Six strangers must solve a mystery in a spooky mansion.
[Stream Clue on Netflix] Photo: Everett Collection
CAST: Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Eileen Brennan, Michael McKean, Lesley Ann Warren, Martin Mull, Colleen Camp, Lee Ving, Bill Henderson, Jeffrey Kramer, Jane Wiedlin
RATING: PG
DESCRIPTION: Sometimes when you’re sad, the best thing to turn that frown upside down is just some pure silliness and absurdity. You can find plenty of both in 1985 black comedy mystery film Clue, which is based on the classic board game of the same name. It’s admittedly difficult to pull of a feature film based off a roleplaying mystery game, but this movie does it well by embracing the campiness of it all, exhibiting delightful melodrama and slapstick throughout the story of six blackmail victims who have been invited to an isolated mansion by a man who has dirt on each of them. Things swiftly go awry and it’s a joy to behold.
'New Girl'
CAST: Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, Lamorne Morris, Hannah Simone, Damon Wayans Jr.
RATING: TV-14
DESCRIPTION: New Girl is definitely a comfort watch for many, and as a result, is a great option for sad time viewing. After airing on Fox from 2011 to 2018, the sitcom continues to be popular, likely due to the lovable characters and their strong bonds with one another, forged and strengthened after adorkable school teacher Jess Day (Deschanel) has to move into a loft in Los Angeles with three men following catching her boyfriend cheating on her in their shared home. It’s romance, comedy, and friendship all wrapped up into one very bingeable package, making for an easy and entertaining streaming session.
'Inside Out'
CAST: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Lewis Black, Richard Kind, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Paula Poundstone, Bobby Moynihan, Paula Pell, Frank Oz
RATING: PG
DESCRIPTION: If you want to laugh, cry, and psychoanalyze yourself, then Inside Out should check all of your boxes. The Academy Award-winning Pixar animated fantasy-comedy follows hockey-loving 11 year-old Midwestern girl Riley (Dias), whose world and happy-go-lucky existence is completely shaken up when her family moves to San Fransisco. The film takes us… inside out, giving viewers a look at the inner workings of Riley’s emotions, namely Joy (Poehler) and Sadness (Smith) as they’re swept away to an epic adventure deep in Riley’s mind, leaving Anger (Black), Fear (Hader), and Disgust (Kaling) to guide the tween in their absence.
'Grey's Anatomy'
CAST: Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Justin Chambers, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Patrick Dempsey, Katherine Heigl, T. R. Knight, Kate Walsh, Kevin McKidd, Jesse Williams, Sarah Drew, Camilla Luddington, Jason George, Jessica Capshaw
RATING: TV-14
DESCRIPTION: If your sadness manifests in a desire to lay down and watch hours and hours of comfortingly repetitive, dramatic, and emotional TV, then be sure to queue up Grey’s Anatomy. The long-running ABC medical drama series created by the spectacular Shonda Rhimes has amassed a staggering 400 episodes since its premiere in 2005 and is still churning out new ones even now after 18 seasons.
As you likely already know, the show revolves around the professional and personal lives of doctors and other medical personnel at the fictional Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in Seattle, Washington. Whether you’ve seen it all before or are totally new to the title, Grey’s Anatomy makes for an engrossing watch with hours of sweet, sweet content.
'13 Going on 30'
CAST: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis, Kathy Baker, Phil Reeves, Lynn Collins, Susan Egan, Ashley Benson, Brie Larson
RATING: PG-13
DESCRIPTION: When you’re sad, sometimes the best medicine is a healthy dose of nostalgia with a dash of good ol’ magic. 13 Going on 30 is a 2004 fantasy romance that’s got both as it delves into the life of Jenna Rink (Garner), who in 1987 is freshly 13 and wants nothing more than to shed her geeky true self in order to get in with the cool kids and smooch a cute boy. When her attempt to do both at her birthday party ends in her humiliation, she wishes to be “30, flirty, and thriving,” causing her to wake up at age 30 living a glamorous but unfamiliar life in Manhattan.
While it initially seems like everything she’d ever wanted, it doesn’t all add up to everlasting happiness, which she finds herself hoping to grasp in reconnecting with her childhood best friend and now all grown up (and very handsome) Matt Flamhaff (Ruffalo). It’s charming, it’s swoon-worthy, it’s sweet; It’s more than enough to turn a bad day into a good one.
'Ted Lasso'
CAST: Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Juno Temple, Nick Mohammed, Sarah Niles
RATING: TV-MA
DESCRIPTION: Apple TV+ Original sports comedy-drama series Ted Lasso is probably first and foremost known as an uplifting and funny show about American football coach Ted Lasso (Sudeikis) way out of his comfort zone trying to coach soccer in the English Premier League despite his lack of experience and knowledge with the game. But dig a little deeper and you see that Ted Lasso is also so much more.
The show delves into honest and heart-wrenching depictions of mental health, divorce, relationship drama, jealousy, cultural differences, male friendship, and more, culminating in an unforgettable watch that will make you feel ALL the feels, all whilst being charmed by British accents and bumbling-yet-well-intentioned Ted’s contagious optimism and heavenly biscuits. No matter what you’re feeling, Ted Lasso is truly quality streaming at any and all times.
'Other People'
CAST: Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford, Maude Apatow, John Early, Zach Woods, Madisen Beaty, June Squibb, Retta, Matt Walsh, Paula Pell, Nicole Byer
RATING: R
DESCRIPTION: If you’re looking for more of a tear-jerker to dig deep into your sadness, then Other People is a solid selection. While the 2016 comedy-drama does have some laugh-out-loud moments (as one can expect, looking at some of the immense comedy talent amongst the cast members), the film has ever more than may make you sob just as hard (if not harder) as it invites you into the life of David Mulcahey (Plemons), a struggling comedy writer who has just gone through a breakup and moves home to spend time with his family after his mother, Joanne’s (Shannon), cancer diagnosis. Other People is an LGBTQ+ story of life, death, love, and family, and is sure to move you one way or another.
'Haikyu!!'
CAST: Ayumu Murase, Kaito Ishikawa, Kōki Uchiyama, Yu Hayashi, Satoshi Hino, Miyu Irino, Sōma Saitō, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Hiroshi Kamiya, Daisuke Namikawa, Yuichi Nakamura, Mamoru Miyano
RATING: TV-14
DESCRIPTION: Anime can be an exemplary answer to sadness, what with the stunning action, animation, and world-building that tends to make viewers feel like anything is possible. Though steeped in reality through its intense focus on the world of volleyball, Haikyu!! is still a series that can transport viewers to another world.
The series feels like a security blanket that engulfs viewers in the warmth of its amazing and lovable characters, epic sports moments, and inspiring takes on human nature and will, as it follows Japanese high school first year Shoyo Hinata, who, despite his small stature, is determined to become a standout volleyball player at Karasuno High School after finding inspiration in a similarly short player nicknamed “The Tiny Giant.”
'Dear John'
CAST: Channing Tatum, Amanda Seyfried, Henry Thomas, Richard Jenkins, Luke Benward, Scott Porter, D.J. Cotrona, Cullen Moss
RATING: PG-13
DESCRIPTION: Here’s another pick for the homies who want to sob out their sadness! 2010 romantic war drama Dear John is based on Nicholas Sparks’s 2006 novel of the same name, and similarly centers on young soldier John Tyree (Tatum) as he meets and then quickly falls hard for college student Savannah Curtis (Seyfried), initiating a passionate romance that is tested when John is deployed to Afghanistan. Their separation sparks seven years of exchanging heartfelt letters and tests what is poised to be a once-in-a-lifetime love affair.
'Abbott Elementary'
CAST: Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, Sheryl Lee Ralph
RATING: TV-PG
DESCRIPTION: Abbott Elementary radiates pure joy. This quick cure for the blues comes in the form of a mockumentary-style sitcom about the teachers at underfunded Willard R. Abbott Elementary School, a predominantly Black Philadelphia public school whose teachers are overworked, underpaid, and constantly hassled by the chaotic and tone-deaf principal (James).
Led by series creator Quinta Brunson (who stars as hopeful and energetic young teacher Janine Teagues), Abbott Elementary will make you crack up, but will also move you and remind you to appreciate the hard-working teachers in our towns and lives who dedicate themselves to molding young minds and helping kids grow into adults capable of achieving their dreams.
'The Farewell'
CAST: Awkwafina, Zhao Shu-zhen, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Lu Hong, Jiang Yongbo, Chen Han, Aoi Mizuhara, Zhang Jing, Li Xiang, Yang Xuejian, Jim Liu
RATING: PG
DESCRIPTION: Get your tissues ready, people. This tear-jerker of a comedy-drama film focuses on a Chinese-American family who find out that their grandmother (Shu-zhen) only has a short time left to live and decide not to tell her, instead meeting up with her and the rest of their extended family in China for a last big gathering before she dies.
Billi (Awkwafina) is especially close with her grandma, whom she calls Nai Nai, and is devastated to face the impending loss of a treasured loved one all while having to bear the brunt of keeping it a secret from Nai Nai. Partly bases on the film’s writer and director, Lulu Wang’s real life, The Farewell is steeped in relatable and realistic family drama, emotions, and cultural experiences, making for an unforgettable and moving watch from start to finish.
'Broad City'
CAST: Abbi Jacobson, Ilana Glazer, Hannibal Buress, Paul W. Downs, John Gemberling, Arturo Castro, Stephen Schneider, Chris Gethard, Susie Essman, Bob Balaban, D’Arcy Carden
RATING: TV-14
DESCRIPTION: It’s hard to be sad when you’re laughing your buns off to the antics of two great comedic minds trying to make it in the Big Apple. Broad City is as much a love letter to New York City as it is a realistic and hysterical commentary on the highs and lows of navigating life as a 20-something in one of the world’s most famous, exciting, and gritty cities. Ilana and Abbi are best friends hustling to make ends meet and chase their dreams in the city that never sleeps.
And while they may be short on cash, high on weed, and often surrounded by bizarre people, through it all they’ve got each other. If there’s anything that can stop sadness in its tracks, it’s the potent power of female friendship.
'Frozen'
CAST: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk, Ciarán Hinds
RATING: PG
DESCRIPTION: You know what’s a healthy way to deal with heavy feelings of sadness? LET IT GO (preferably while belting the song)! Honestly, what more could you want from a pick-me-up movie: Animated whimsical fantasy? Check. Timeless comedy? Check. An amazing cast of character led by two kickass women? Check. The catchiest songs you’ve ever heard in your life? Check, check, and CHECK.
Frozen is a story about the incredible love between two sisters and the strength it holds to save the day after the newly-crowned Queen Elsa (Menzel) accidentally uses her unique ice-making powers curse her kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. It turns out that only Elsa’s younger sister, Ana (Bell), has the capacity and will to save both her sister and the kingdom, kicking off a quest that will dazzle your eyes, please your ears, and fill your heart to leave you feeling nice and warm.
