A personal collection of films & series
Good stories.
Very personal opinions.
The ones I return to. The ones Bas loves too. And the ones I wish had stopped a season sooner.
Find something to watch ↗Tonight’s invitation
For a head that’s
already full.
From my sofa, with love. Esther
Right now · October 2026
What I am watching at the moment, and what is waiting its turn.
Up nextLupin — Ready for our next evening together, once we finish The Diplomat.
01 / The permanent shelf
The series I call my all-time favourites.
Always a place for another rewatch.
02 / What kind of evening?
My recommendations, with room
for a few honest reservations.
A little autumn, a little growing up.
Anne with an E is one I usually watch in autumn. Like Gilmore Girls, it feels perfect for that time of year. I already love the book, and I think the series is so beautifully brought to life — especially by the actress playing Anne. There’s something wonderfully cosy about it, and I love watching that coming-of-age story unfold.
Somehow, I’m already back in season three.
For me, so much of Gilmore Girls is about the atmosphere. The whole series feels shaped by the seasons, and it fits autumn beautifully. I love the fast conversations between mother and daughter, the jokes and the music references. I watch it again every year, usually starting right from the beginning. Sometimes I wonder whether I really should start it all over again. Then it feels so cosy, and I’m pulled back into the story so quickly, that before I know it I’m already in season three.
Dinner, a little laughter — and “Pivot!” again.
After a busy working day, dinner is our moment to unwind. Bas and I put on a familiar series with roughly twenty-minute episodes, laugh and chat while we eat. I think we’ve watched Friends even more often than The Big Bang Theory, but it hardly matters which episode we choose. “Pivot!” is the one I could watch ten thousand times. And if I happen to come across Friends somewhere, I’ll often stay and watch anyway. It simply keeps being funny.
Boyfriend approvedOur end-of-the-working-day switch-off.
I think Bas and I have watched The Big Bang Theory all the way through about three times. It’s one of the series we put on during dinner after a busy working day: a short episode, a chance to laugh and time to chat to each other. Friends has the same place in that little routine. To me, they’re evergreen series — familiar, funny and still lovely to watch again.
Boyfriend approvedAn all-time favourite. For both of us.
New Girl is absolutely one of my all-time favourites. Bas and I watched it together, and he thought it was fantastic too.
Boyfriend approvedPhil. Iconic.
Modern Family is one of those series you simply cannot go wrong with. Bas and I both love it. And Phil is iconic.
Boyfriend approvedStill lovely. Even if we didn’t need another season.
Ted Lasso remains such a lovely feel-good series. Bas and I have finished the latest season, and while we enjoyed it, it didn’t feel quite as strong as the earlier ones. For us, the story had already reached a satisfying ending. With the jump forward in time, I did find myself wondering whether another season was really necessary. Sometimes it is fine to let a story end. And yet, five minutes in, we were right back in it. Still a pleasure to watch — just not a continuation we felt we needed.
Season 4 · October 2026: Finished together. Enjoyed it, though it did not feel quite as strong as the earlier seasons.
Boyfriend approvedUpdated October 2026
A firm favourite.
Bas and I absolutely love Only Murders in the Building. It is one of our favourites, and exactly the kind of mystery we enjoy watching together.
Boyfriend approvedFor a head that is already full.
The Proposal is such a lovely, light film. When I feel overstimulated and do not want to think too much, this is exactly the sort of thing I want to put on.
I could have stayed for another three hours.
The Knives Out films are exactly the kind of mysteries Bas and I love. I could happily have watched for another three hours. Absolutely, one hundred per cent, a place in our collection.
Boyfriend approvedAbsolutely in our collection.
Glass Onion belongs here with the other Knives Out films. Bas and I love this kind of mystery; these are films I am very happy to recommend.
Boyfriend approvedCompletely our kind of thing.
Bas and I watched the latest Enola Holmes film available to us and thought it was fantastic. These mysteries are completely our kind of thing.
Boyfriend approvedA very good laugh.
Murder Mystery is completely our kind of thing too. I laughed so much watching it. Such a fun film.
A little chaos. A lot of laughter.
Bas and I watched The Family Plan together and had such a good laugh. Chaotic and messy in a way that makes it very easy to watch. A really fun film.
Boyfriend approvedWe both thought it was brilliant.
I thought Daisy Jones & the Six was wonderful. It was so well put together. Bas and I watched it together and both thought it was an absolutely brilliant series.
Boyfriend approvedI completely devoured it.
I watched The Summer I Turned Pretty on my own and completely devoured it. This is definitely not one for Bas, but absolutely one for me.
Very much an Esther watch.
Bridgerton is absolutely not for Bas and absolutely for me. I devour the seasons whenever they come out.
An easy watch.
I enjoyed My Life with the Walter Boys. Not quite as much as The Summer I Turned Pretty, but still a lovely, easy watch.
Brilliant. Sometimes painful to watch.
I watched Tell Me Lies on my own and thought it was incredibly good. What felt so recognisable was how you can lose yourself in a relationship with a manipulative man. Sometimes it was simply painful to watch.
A definite recommendation.
I am a big Reese Witherspoon fan, and Little Fires Everywhere is absolutely one I would recommend.
Absolutely brilliant.
I thought Nine Perfect Strangers was brilliant. For me, it sits close to The White Lotus, another series I really enjoyed.
Especially that first season.
I thought The White Lotus was brilliant, especially the first season. One of those series that really stayed with me.
Another dinner-time favourite.
How I Met Your Mother is fantastic. Bas and I watched it together, and it is another of our series to put on while we eat dinner.
One we both really like.
High Potential is another series Bas and I both really like. A shared recommendation from my watching notes.
Boyfriend approvedAn episode now and then.
Bas and I are really enjoying Evil. We put on an episode now and then, taking it at our own pace.
Boyfriend approvedAbsolutely our kind of series.
Bas and I both think Jack Ryan is fantastic. It is absolutely the kind of series that appeals to both of us.
Boyfriend approvedWe both really enjoy it.
Bas and I both really enjoy watching Reacher together. Action definitely has a place in my Watching Room too.
Boyfriend approvedOne of our favourites. And not just for the politics.
Bas and I both think The Diplomat is fantastic. The writing pulls you straight into the story, and you really care about the characters — including the supporting cast, who make the whole thing feel so well put together. Keri Russell is wonderful as Kate. I have a particular soft spot for intelligent women in strong roles, and the challenges of being a woman in a senior position feel recognisable to me. There is a personal connection there, as well as a very good series.
Season 4 · October 2026: We are watching the latest season together. This remains one of our favourite series.
Boyfriend approvedUpdated October 2026
Fantastic.
Lioness is another series I think is fantastic. A clear recommendation from my viewing collection.
One we both loved.
Bas and I watched the Netflix series I Will Find You and both thought it was really good.
Boyfriend approvedWe both really enjoyed it.
Bas and I both really enjoyed Toy Story 5. A film that earns its place alongside the series in my collection.
Boyfriend approvedA good, solid watch.
I watched Presumed Innocent with Bas. An enjoyable, solid series, with no particular complaints from me.
Absolutely worth recommending.
A Simple Favor is a really good film. I enjoyed the second film too. Definitely a recommendation.
The second film gets my vote too.
I really enjoyed A Simple Favor, and the second film gets my recommendation too.
A fun watch.
I enjoyed Game Night. A fun film to include among my lighter picks.
A little while ago, but a fun watch.
It has been a while since I watched The Lost City, but I remember enjoying it.
Melissa McCarthy is a joy to watch.
For me, Melissa McCarthy is simply a joy to watch. That is what I come back to when I think of Spy.
An unexpectedly good time.
I really enjoyed The Fall Guy, more than I expected to. A lovely surprise.
Exactly the kind of story I enjoy.
Murder on the Orient Express is exactly the kind of story I really enjoy. I preferred it to Death on the Nile.
I preferred the train journey.
I enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express more than Death on the Nile. Of the two, the former would be my first recommendation.
A spectacular start. More mixed feelings later.
Bas and I watched it through, but the last two seasons we saw did not live up to that spectacular beginning for either of us.
Bas carried on. I did not.
I enjoyed The Night Agent initially, but I lost interest when more seasons followed. Bas kept watching.
For me, season one was enough.
I watched Hijack with Bas and thought the first season was very strong. For me, the second season was unnecessary; I would have been happy if they had stopped after the first.
We loved the first season.
Bas and I thought the first season was very good. After that, the love was gone for me; I felt I had seen enough.
A brilliant pairing. A little less pull now.
Bas and I watch The Morning Show together. Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston are a fantastic pairing, and I really got into it. Lately, though, I have begun to lose interest. For me, it could have ended a season earlier.
It eventually lost its hold on me.
I think I watched through season three of Virgin River. After that, I was ready to leave it there; it no longer held my attention.
Still on my watchlist.
Silo is still on my watchlist. I haven’t started it yet.
Updated October 2026
Often recommended to me.
Hacks is on my watchlist. People recommend it to me often, but I have not had the chance to watch it yet.
The chemistry. The inappropriate jokes. And yes, there’s an Esther.
I absolutely love this series. The chemistry, the humour, the characters — it all works for me. And having a character called Esther certainly doesn’t hurt. What I especially enjoy is how religion and relationships become part of the conversation, with gloriously inappropriate jokes and seemingly nothing off limits. The relatively short episodes make it such an easy one to settle into, too. This is one I watch on my own, and very happily so.
Updated October 2026
Sunday afternoon, crisps and a blanket.
Bake Off is part of our Sunday. We usually catch up with the latest episode in the afternoon, curled up on the sofa under a blanket, with crisps and a Coke Zero. There is so much comedy in it, which is a big part of why Bas enjoys it too. It is simply a lovely thing to watch together.
Season note · October 2026: Having Nigella in the tent makes this season especially lovely for me. I have watched her cooking programmes since I was a little girl and think she is fantastic. And Alison is such a joy to watch. A very good combination for our Sunday sofa ritual.
Boyfriend approvedUpdated October 2026
Next up on our shared screen.
Bas and I have watched all the previous parts of Lupin, and the latest is lined up for when we finish The Diplomat. The mystery, the clever humour and the pace are exactly our kind of thing. It is so well put together that watching in French never feels like a barrier. I am really looking forward to getting back to it.
Boyfriend approvedUpdated October 2026
Florence Pugh has my attention.
This is a new discovery for me, and I haven’t watched it yet. But I think Florence Pugh is fantastic, so I am curious.
Updated October 2026
A little quaint. Entirely comforting.
I watched the series years ago, and lately I have been working my way through the films on my own. They are wonderfully quaint, and that is part of the appeal. When I am not feeling my best and don’t want to think too hard, this is exactly the sort of thing I want to put on. Gentle, familiar-feeling comfort, with very little demanded of me.
Updated October 2026
One I come back to at this time of year.
Practical Magic is one I return to regularly, and it feels perfect for this time of year. A familiar autumn watch that keeps earning its place in my evenings.
Updated October 2026
An autumn watch, rather than a forever favourite.
October Kiss fitted the season perfectly. I wouldn’t watch it again, but it had its moment as an autumn film.
Updated October 2026
A surprisingly lovely evening on my own.
I found The Love Hypothesis surprisingly lovely. The casting worked really well for me. There have been quite a few book adaptations like this lately, and this is the sort that pulls you straight into the story. A very enjoyable choice for an evening on my own.
Updated October 2026
A surprise, in the best way.
Bas and I watched Mayday together, and I thought it was fantastic. The setup felt fresh to me — I didn’t have that feeling of having seen it all before. The story was well put together, it moved along at a good pace, and there was more than enough humour. I always enjoy Ryan Reynolds’ sense of humour. And, let’s be honest, he isn’t exactly difficult to look at either. One of the standouts from my recent watching.
Updated October 2026
A familiar name. A story I knew far less about.
I grew up knowing the name Unabomber, but I didn’t really know the details behind it. What interested me about this film was its portrayal of his early life and the background to a story I had only known in broad outlines. I thought it was incredibly good — one of the standouts from my recent watching. A dramatised film inspired by real events.
Updated October 2026
I wanted to love this more than I did.
I have a real weakness for dinosaur films, so I went into this with high hopes. Unfortunately, it was much less enjoyable than I expected. A disappointment for me.
Updated October 2026
My weakness for shark films continues.
After dinosaur films, shark films are another weakness of mine. This one was middling, and I wouldn’t watch it again. But then, plenty of shark films aren’t especially good, and that isn’t always the point of watching them. Sometimes I simply want a shark film.
Updated October 2026
One I didn’t finish.
I fell asleep during this one and haven’t finished it. Honestly, I don’t feel much urge to go back. That is where my watching note ends — not a verdict on a film I watched all the way through.
Updated October 2026
A very easy recommendation from this Verstappen household.
We are a household of Max Verstappen fans, and Bas and I had such a good time watching this together. Max against a hundred other karters: it is a lovely chance to see him in a different setting. I would happily recommend it. No spoilers about how it turns out.
Boyfriend approvedUpdated October 2026
Streaming information uses the Netherlands as its starting point. Checks are dated on each title; availability elsewhere and over time may vary. Titles without a confirmed service still belong in my collection. Viewing links open in a new tab.
03 / The autumn edit
“Sometimes I wonder whether I really should start it all over again. Then, before I know it, I’m already in season three.”
Esther, on Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls and Anne with an E are the two series I associate so strongly with autumn. Practical Magic and the Good Witch films keep me company too.
And October Kiss? An autumn watch, rather than a forever favourite.
Carry the autumn feeling into your evening ↗The seasons, the quick conversations, the music references.
Read my personal note ↗Autumn return / 02The book I love, brought so beautifully to life.
Read my personal note ↗Autumn return / 03The one I come back to every year.
Read my personal note ↗Autumn return / 04A little quaint. Entirely comforting.
Read my personal note ↗04 / Beyond the screen
A film is the start.
These stories take care of the rest.
For another autumn mood, explore what to watch if you love Practical Magic.