‘Stranger Things’ and 6 More Shows to Catch Up On Before Fall TV Season

Use your vacation to good use and binge watch these TV shows before their second season premieres and Fall TV eats your soul.

Stranger Things
Netflix

Image via Netflix

Stranger Things

This summer we’ve encountered dragons, inexplicably charred men and a new battle of the sexes in the form of #TeamLawrence vs. #TeamIssa (we’re strictly #TeamTasha over here). But this is merely television’s off-season and after Labor Day hits we’re in FULL TELEVISION SEASON. There’ll be a whole new slate of network shows for you to peruse (maybe avoid CBS’s all white, all male lineup) and per always Netflix is guaranteed to have a new bingeable show almost weekly to check out. 

But what about those shows that were either all over your timeline last fall or maybe went under your radar? Don’t worry there’s still time to catch up! Use this holiday weekend to finally watch some of last season’s most critically beloved shows just in time for their upcoming premieres. And no you don’t need to be at home to do this—even on vacation (Use Complex10 for Maven car service—hello in-car wifi and free insurance—if you need to get out of town for a bit) —there’s plenty of time to be able to binge some new shows, so you can be ready for the watercooler convo at work this fall. 

Here’s 7 of our favorites returning for their sophomore season that should be on your binge watching vacation schedule. 

Better Things

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Network: FX

Stars: Pamela Adlon, Mikey Madison, Celia Imrie

Second Season Premieres: September 14

I really hate starting this off like, “If you love Louie, you’ll love Better Things,” but that might just be a fact about Pamela Adlon’s vaguely autobiopgraphic half hour comedy. Adlon plays Sam, a working actress and single mom to three daughters, as she navigates her long lasting career, aging in Hollywood and just being a woman existing in the world. Much like Louie, Adlon tackles bigger topics like feminism, menstruation and parenting with both a biting sense of humor and a huge wealth of emotion. 

The Good Place

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Network: NBC

Stars: Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil

Second Season Premiere: September 28

Imagine if Lost was a comedy? Yeah, I get that seems like a bit of a stretch but after watching the first season of NBC’s brilliant comedy The Good Place you might change your mind. Starring Kristen Bell as Eleanor Shellstrop, a woman who is recently killed and sent to “The Good Place” which is the utopian heaven place for those who were good people on earth while living. However the snag here is that Eleanor quickly discovers that she’s been sent there by mistake—but really doesn’t want to go to “The Bad Place” where she’ll experience torture for eternity. So Eleanor works hard (and misguidedly) to try to earn her place in “The Good Place” to be forgiven for the bad behavior of her past life. Filled with hilarious performances and wild twists, The Good Place is one of the sole reminders that network comedies can still be great and unexpected. 

This Is Us

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Network: NBC

Stars: Mandy Moore, Sterling K. Brown, Milo Ventimiglia, Chrissie Metz

Second Season Premiere: September 26

This Is Us is probably a show your mom watches, let's be real. But don't let that discourage you from indulging in this delightful family drama. A very basic premise is that it's about the lives of several people who all share the same birthday, but if you've seen any of the rabid fans of This is Us tweeting about it, you know that it's not that simple. It's filled with twists and turns that can promise to have you ugly crying by the end of one 40 minute episode. Talk about therapy but cheaper! Perhaps, the most important thing to note is that This Is Us stars an Official Complex Pop boyfriend—Sterling K. Brown—who was on the last season of American Crime Story. #hotdarden

 

 

Riverdale

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Network: The CW

Stars: Cole Sprouse, K.J. Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes

Second Season Premieres: October 11

Even though we’re fully established as #RiverdaleHive, Riverdale, The O.C. meets Twin Peaks teen drama about the Archie comics book series, works wayyyyyy better than anyone could have ever expected. And that’s a true testament to the work of creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and the amazing cast playing Archie and the gang that they’ve assembled. The first season followed the whodunit of Jason Blossom—a popular high school quarterback who was found floating in a river, dead. Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead join forces to find out what exactly happened to Jason simultaneously unearthing all the dark secrets of their idyllic suburban existence. In between all the sleuthing, Riverdale is filled to the brim with teen angst and lust, former 90s teen heartthrobs (doing some of their best work tbh) and peak CW hotties. What more do you want from a TV show? 

Stranger Things

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Network: Netflix

Stars: Millie Bobbie Brown, Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Joe Keery

Second Season Premieres: October 27

It seems silly to even put this on this list considering that Stranger Things fandom has swept the nation—but there has to be a few stragglers who didn’t catch the INSANELY popular first season right? The heavily 80s horror/sci-fi inspired show follows a group of young friends who link up with a girl who has mysterious powers to find their other friend who mysteriously disappeared. It’s hard to not instantly enjoy Stranger Things considering it’s perfect mix of nostalgia, humor and the most likeable group of kids to hit television in a very long time. The Duffer Brothers are promising to amp up the horror in season two, so catch up for the perfectly timed Halloween viewing of season two

The Girlfriend Experience

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Network: Starz

Stars: Anna Friel, Louisa Krause, Carmen Ejogo

Second Season Premiere: November 5

Based on Steven Soderbergh’s icy 2009 film about a New York call girl played by IRL porn star Sasha Gray, Starz’s The Girlfriend Experience still has a cold grip on the tone that Soderbergh established but manages to add more depth to its characters. The first season stars Riley Keough (homegirl NEEDS to be on your radar ASAP) as Christine, a Chicago based law student who starts working as an escort to help pay for her school—as she gets more and more sucked into into the the life of her side job it manages to cross lines with her real one. Season two of The Girlfriend Experience promises more thrilling drama with two parallel storylines—one set in Washington D.C. during the mid-term elections involving a Republican super PAC and blackmail and the other in Santa Fe following a former escort who goes into the Witness Protection Program to escape an abusive relationship. Under the guide of Amy Seimetz and Lodge Kerrigan, The Girlfriend Experience is a nuanced and gut wrenching look at sex work. 

Search Party

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Network: TBS

Stars: Alia Shawkat, John Reynolds, John Early, Meredith Hagner

Second Season Premiere: November 19

Oh man, do you need something stressful to watch? Check out Search Party! The TBS black comedy is unflinchingly real when it comes to its portrayal of aimless city dwelling twentysomethings—but don't worry this isn't another Girls. When Dory (Shawkat) learns that a former college classmate has mysteriously disappeared, she decides to take it into her own hands mainly because of her lack of anything else to do. What is supposed to give Dory purpose (and by proxy her friends as well) ends up becoming an out of control mystery that spirals her life out of control. Season two promises to be even more biting and dark when it returns this November and we can't wait to be completely stressed out about it. 

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