Okay, so the title is deceptive. Yes, I do have a life. No, I did not just spend it watching all of these shows. I don’t think a lifetime could even cover all of these shows because there are SO MANY to list. But before anyone gets concerned, most of these viewings have spanned across MONTHS. A lot of old, returned, and newly discovered. So now, with fall being the major TV season, I thought it was about time I posted an update on all the screen goodies that have kept me up watching.

ONCE UPON A TIME

This one came back a couple of weeks ago (and I still have a few episodes to catch up on, eek!), but I’m going to try and follow the season this time as best as I can (just so I’m not left binge-watching a mountain of episodes right at the end . . . like last time). As always in this show, evil is afoot in the form of a different nefarious fiend—except I really wish that her eyebrows (pictured above) did not annoy me as much as they do. What I do like is the direction they’ve started taking with this show (last season was just a can of pure YAS to me), and I seriously hope it continues.

BROOKLYN NINE-NINE

This show will never not be funny to me. End of story. This one probably gives me the least stressful yet very giggle-inducing half hour of all the shows I watch. Thank goodness you have returned.

GIRL MEETS WORLD

Weirdly enough, THIS show has recently taken over the most stressful thirty minutes slot in the week. As a huge fan of Boy Meets World, I was super let down by the first season of Girl Meets World. I wasn’t as invested in the characters as I was with Cory, Shawn, & Co., which is natural since there is absolutely not way to ever top that sort of squad chemistry. However, now things are starting to get interesting and dramatic (almost too dramatic for junior high, but whatever) with a couple I TOTALLY called first episode in. I’m in it for the slow Lucaya burn now . . . just as long as the show stops referring to “the world” in that cheesy way they do at least 249382 times per episode.

PROJECT RUNWAY

I’m not entirely sure how I started watching this show, but IT JUST HAPPENED. Even though I’m not much of a shopper or fashion expert, there is just something oddly fascinating about this show. The drama in the work room freak outs and on the runway are too good to look away from, and the nasty one-liners are probably the best things I’ve ever heard. Such strong insult game, with this show.

ARE YOU THE ONE?

Speaking of addictive reality TV, am I the only one who watches Are You the One? If you don’t know what it’s about, the wild range of emotions that are felt in a season can pretty be summed up in this single gif above. It’s all about finding your perfect match while falling in love with the wrong people. All in all, one huge social experiment that dissolves into complete chaos by the end. My fave.

SCREAM QUEENS

And speaking of chaos, Scream Queens. I was actually pleasantly surprised by this one. While there is just something very off about the characters (in true Ryan Murphy fashion), I love how much the whole package reminds me of The Heathers and Scream. I think I may be more into it than AHS: Hotel—and as someone who’s followed AHS since the beginning, I was pretty let down (aka I had no idea wtf I was watching) by Hotel‘s premiere. Yup, definitely sticking with Scream Queens.

QUANTICO

Another new one I’ve been getting into is Quantico. Like with many of the CW shows, I catch myself wondering why everyone on this show is so wildly attractive—but I’ve finally accepted when to suspend belief because beautiful people make for dramatic situations. Especially in FBI training. However, what really gets me excited about this show is just the awesome storytelling structure which displays past and present, how no one is entirely reliable, and how much changes between the characters that they’re not even aware of yet. I’m a sucker for dramatic irony.

JANE THE VIRGIN

Here is probably one of the funnest, freshest, and funniest shows on my list. For that reason, it’s been the main show I work out to since it is so addictive and hilarious (which often results in me wheezing-laughing as I try not to die on the treadmill). Everything about it is a little outrageous, but in the most charming and cleverly executed way. And with a stellar diverse cast filled with such fierce women. Huzzah.

THE ORIGINALS

Oh man, THIS SHOW. I used to watch the Vampire Diaries a while ago, but The Originals COMPLETELY blows it out of the park for me. Super compelling antiheroic characters, a lot of moral ambiguity, slow burn romance, and darkness galore. And now that Jason Dohring of Veronica Mars fame (!!!) has made it onto season 3, it is literally becoming everything I’ve ever wanted in a show. Also, can I just steal Klaus? He is actually the tragic, twisted antihero of my dreams.

DANCING WITH THE STARS

Absolutely no surprise. I get so into this show, it’s almost unreal. They just covered iconic dances throughout the years last night, and I’m not even ashamed to admit that I was super impressed with the Magic Mike routine. Like COME ON—making a rumba out of that is just straight up innovative.

STRANGE EMPIRE

I watched this show a while ago, but man did it stay with me. Seriously, it is SUCH a fantastic, dark Western with a cast of super strong and unique women trying to survive the lawless world they live in. I’m pretty sure I gobbled the entire season on Netflix in under a week because it was that good. And now I’m in mourning since it didn’t survive past the first season. Womp womp.

POLDARK

From the moment I saw the trailer for this show, I knew it was absolutely my cup of tea. It took so long to rent it from the library (the queue for it was RIDICULOUS), and now that I finally have it, watching alllllll the episodes was in order. Just to give you a sad little update, I started two days ago—I have ONE episode left. ‘TWAS THAT GOOD. Also, Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark is just pure TV magic. Just LOOK at that dreamy smile (which is rare, since he does go through a lot of tough shit in this miniseries). I also might be a little obsessed with his dashing flyaway hair.

THE GUILD

And FINALLY, saving the best for last: The Guild! I knew I had to watch this one after reading Felicia Day’s memoir, and it was such a surreal viewing experience knowing the origins of the show and her behind-the-scenes take on it. Also, the content was just hilarious. Super clever, truly nerdy, and unexpectedly poignant. It’s a show centered around gamers, but it goes so much more beyond that—and I was super sad when I had no more episodes left because the characters seriously grew on me. Nevertheless, this one DEFINITELY goes to the top of my list of standout shows this year, purely because it just encompassed so much of what I love, made me giggle-snort more times than I can count, and rocked all sorts of character arcs and development throughout the series.

Okay, enough TV. Hopefully my next couch-potato exploits I post on will be of the literary sort—especially with NaNoWriMo fast approaching! I’m already itching to write something new, and now it’s all about deciding where my imagination wants to go next . . .