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In defense of perfectly good TV

We're officially in post-daylight-saving-time November. It's pitch black by the time you shut your computer after the workday; temperatures have dropped to the point where you have to factor in windshield-defrosting time (at least here in the PNW), and the annual pre-winter hibernation phase begins.

This looks different for everyone, but for me, the tea is steeping, the comfiest blankets are out, and absolutely no overhead lights are allowed—we're talking pre-Edison illumination by fall-scented candlelight—and a cozy show on each weeknight.

When it comes to cozy fall binge-watches, I love the all-timers like Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, and Twin Peaks as much as the next person, and you know I love championing an underrated hidden gem. But between the undisputed masterpieces and the criminally overlooked, there's a whole category of television that doesn't get nearly enough credit: the perfectly good TV show.

These shows aren't groundbreaking, but they're consistently entertaining, endlessly watchable, and full of characters you care about. Not every episode needs to be a masterpiece, and not every storyline needs to move the larger plot forward. Sometimes the joy is simply spending time in a fictional world you've grown to love, knowing you've got hundreds of hours ahead of you (remember the 20-plus-episode TV season?!) without having to hunt for something new to watch every week.

So, in the spirit of staying cozy and finding a perfectly good TV show you can spend the rest of the fall season with, I'm sharing five picks with at least 100 episodes that are worth settling into for the long haul. They won't be the best shows you've ever seen, but they'll be shows you're excited to come home to.

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Starring Sally Field (!), Calista Flockhart (!!), Widow’s Bay’s Matthew Rhys (!!!), and many more, this is exactly the kind of deliciously messy family drama that network television used to do so well.

Beneath the endless scandals and questionable decisions is a family that genuinely loves each other, even when they can barely stand to be in the same room. Pour yourself a generous glass of wine and enjoy the chaos that is a Walker family dinner.

I couldn’t pick just one long-running family drama. If Brothers & Sisters is the glamorous, wine-fueled version of family dysfunction, Parenthood is its flannel-wearing, backyard-barbecue-hosting sibling. With an equally stacked cast that includes Lauren Graham, Peter Krause, and Dax Shepard, the series has no shortage of recognizable faces (Michael B. Jordan joins in Season 2!).

The show tackles hard topics with the earnestness of an old-school after-school special, but with enough nuance to keep you from rolling your eyes too hard, all through a distinctly early-2010s lens. From raising a child with autism to navigating interracial relationships, addiction, and marital struggles, there's plenty of material to get you emotionally invested. Prepare to shed a few tears: happy ones, sad ones, and why-am-I-crying tears. It's all part of the experience.

I realize a show that regularly opens with the discovery of a decomposing corpse might seem like an odd choice for a cozy watchlist. But hear me out! The real draw (at least for me) is the relationship between Booth and Brennan, whose opposites-attract chemistry fuels one of network television's great slow-burn romances.

This is also where I make my case for the beauty of a good procedural: each episode is its own self-contained mystery, with a body at the beginning and usually someone behind bars by the end of the hour. You can watch an episode or two, come back a week later, and pick up right where you left off without having to remember every little detail of the plot.

If you're looking for something a little more sophisticated to accompany your cozy evening, might I suggest seven seasons of courtroom drama, political scandals, office intrigue, and some truly fabulous winter coats?

Margulies is a standout, of course, and the supporting cast is phenomenal! Christine Baranski as the formidable Diane Lockhart, Archie Panjabi as the mysterious Kalinda Sharma, and Alan Cumming as political strategist Eli Gold are worth the watch alone.

You get the satisfaction of a new legal case each week, while the personal and professional relationships become increasingly complicated over time. Plus, there's something about a legal drama set in Chicago that just feels right when it's dark outside by 5 p.m.

And finally, a little something for my fellow rom-com obsessives! Mindy is smart, funny, hopelessly romantic, deeply self-involved, and frequently her own worst enemy.

Plus, the guest appearances are truly star-studded! Laura Dern, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, Reese Witherspoon, Chloe Sevigny, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mark Duplass, obviously B.J. Novak, and the list goes on.

Is it always realistic? Nope. Do all the jokes land? Of course not. But that's part of the charm of a long-running sitcom. And with endless rom-com pop-culture references, it shows a deep love and appreciation for a genre that doesn’t always get the respect it deserves!

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Halloween Night is tied with Dedication Night for my favorite theme of every season. I just love me a spooky contemporary dance, and Connor and Harry DELIVERED.

Obsessed with Shirley Ballas, I was dying at Amber and Maura's faces when she whipped out her first 4. I want more of that energy on the show! But it also highlighted one of my biggest gripes: How do you fairly compare a technical ballroom number with a much more subjective contemporary or jazz piece? Especially when scores aren't cumulative throughout the competition. These couples really do live and die by their performances each week, and the playing field isn't always level.

On another note, I LOVED getting post-show interviews with the teams and finally getting some rehearsal-package realness from Julia and Ezra. More of this, please! By the time you’re reading this, Disney night already came and went last night; I’ll be sharing my thoughts next Tues.

Meredith is the Managing Editor at Pix Media and has been covering TV, movies, podcasts, and books for 8 years. Raised on VH1's I Love the... series, E! True Hollywood Stories, and The Real Housewives, Meredith has been fluent in pop culture since infancy. She religiously watches every Bravo show, lives for HBO Sunday nights, goes deep on reality-scandal discourse, and has a TBR that is physically taking over her apartment.