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
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 approvedThe magic is still there.
Ted Lasso is probably our favourite series of recent years. It is so well put together. When we returned for more, we worried the story had already reached its ending and some of that magic might be lost. So far, though, we are still thoroughly enjoying it.
Boyfriend approvedA 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 approvedOn our shared screen.
The Diplomat is one of the series Bas and I watch together, alongside the action and intrigue we enjoy.
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.
On my watchlist.
Silo is on my watchlist, and I am very curious about it. I have not watched it yet.
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.
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.
Carry the autumn feeling into your evening ↗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.