(Warning: spoiler alerts included)

My foundation for watching movies and tv shows has always been funny or romantic. That being said, I’ve definitely mixed things up by throwing in random genres like mystery or drama, but I’ve always come to appreciate rom-coms the most.

The way that I watch my TV shows is a little concerning. I’ll refuse to watch episodes until I’ve watched every previous season, because I love laughing along to previously explained inside jokes. I’ll watch them non-stop over Winter Break, especially if the show is good.

No matter! Here are 8 of my favorite TV shows, and why you should watch them, in no particular order. Stay tuned for Part 2, which features more of my fave shows (Psych, Revolution, Skins, and the Carrie Diaries included)

Just your average coffee run, for now :)

CASTLE

Season 1 of Castle starts with an intriguing mystery that caught my attention immediately. Kate Beckett, a detective from the NYPD, meets Richard Castle, an award winning mystery-thriller writer. You can tell immediately that if the rest of the season turns out to be as exciting as the first episode, and if contracts for further seasons have been signed, then this show is going to be much more than your typical detective show. There’s romance, humor and eventually things get personal for Castle and Beckett because Beckett’s mom was brutally murdered (which is why Kate decided to join the police force in the first place) and the case eventually went cold. Moreover, whenever Castle confronts suspects and smooth talks his way into getting them to confess, you can imagine that there are probably many people with bitter sentiments towards him. Last week, I watched part 1 of an especially compelling episode; Castle’s daughter finally gets involved in a case! I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat; this is the kind of show where I might have to turn down the volume and occupy myself with something else at majorly suspenseful parts.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

Not only is this show perfect for teenagers, but it’s especially relatable for old(er) people who have more to worry about than just love. It’s hilarious but unrealistic; who has time to sit at a bar everyday? Sadly, the show is almost at its end. It’s great to look back and laugh at how we initially thought that Robin and Ted were destined for each other. I love this show because a whole episode can consist of a flashback, or an explanation of one of Barney’s many legendary plays from the playbook. Can we all just take a moment and appreciate NPH’s (Neil Patrick Harris’) acting? For a gay man, he’s a wonderful actor. Plus, his character on the show has a blog. Yay for blogs!

In a recent episode, Barney suspected that Robin had been obsessed with Dave Coulier (who played Joey on Full House). This inside joke tickled my funny bone; Bob Saget voices older Ted as he tells the story of “How I Met Your Mother” to his kids. It’s Full House, kids. And Bob Saget is Bob Saget.

I anticipate the day when I finally get to see Ted’s wife’s face. All I’ve seen of her is a yellow umbrella and a pair of feet!

SNL

This show has live music, famous people, and it’s one of the longest running TV shows ever! It first premiered in 1975. If we’re being totally honest, I think this show is an adult version of the Amanda Show. Bring in the dancing lobsters! It’s full of political jokes and humorous skits that have been happening consistently through the years. This is a classic that I originally mistook for Saturday Night Lights, but the two are radically different, as I now know. I’m devastated that Andy Samberg and Kristen Wiig left, because they were probably the best actors on the show, but I’m optimistic for the future of SNL.

GOSSIP GIRL

Wow, I’ve heard of “Gossip Girl” for years now but I only started watching recently. The show is a friendly reminder that most of us don’t live life like this. We don’t all have money to squander and time to take off and fly to Paris whenever we feel like life is getting a little tough. We can’t hire people to kill our enemies and we certainly can’t accept our parents getting arrested as easily as Nate Archibald can. This TV show is filled with beautiful people who live lives so unlike ours; the worst of their problems do not consist of getting into good schools or finding jobs, but rather about finding their true loves or something like that. It’s the life you always wanted to live but then you realized that while it looked glamorous from the outside, it’s hell on the inside. <SPOILER ALERT> The way that they tied up the series (with Dan Humphrey as Gossip Girl) struck me as totally random. I was caught off guard, but then I thought about the concept. I decided that I liked it, as Dan is one of the few characters that we can somewhat relate to more easily than the others. If we’re so intent on fighting our way into the social circle of “Manhattan’s elite,” then one bizarre, unrealistic way to approach the situation would be to start a gossip site and destroy lives with it, I suppose.

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS

Because the books themselves are a good read? Because these girls are all absolutely beautiful? Because in reality, they aren’t that great of actors and the plot is more than cliché and cheesy? Regardless, I still think the whole series is exciting and since I never finished all of the books, I want to know what happens. Maybe it’s the fact that their problems are just hyped up, exaggerated versions of ours? And if not any of that, we can all just have a nice laugh about how stupid they are for consistently leaving their windows open, their phones unsecured, and their cars unlocked.

MODERN FAMILY

Because my first impression was “this show doesn’t look that good” but Gloria is just so pretty and Haley is just so sassy and spunky that I had to keep watching. Alex has transformed so much since the first season, and the show is just a modern spin on the typical American sitcom. Luke still seems like the same little boy he was in Season 1, and because I never fail to laugh whenever Phil speaks. This show is a spin on your average familial sitcom; it’s not just a wife, a husband, and their two kids, but there’s also gays, and the suspected golddigger.

GLEE

Because some of these actors and actresses have truly wonderful voices. Many of my teachers and my guy friends watch it, so I guess it could be characterized as having a wide audience. I still can’t figure out exactly WHY this show is so addicting but it just is. I thought Season 3 was especially lacking, but I love Season 4 so far. One thing that gets me though, is that when people finally graduate and go off to college, why do they come back? They should be off, meeting new cuties, and Kate Hudson and Britney Spears, like Rachel. She’s off in her own New York world, wearing heavier makeup and just looking overall more confident and happy. What do you think of Jarley? I don’t like it.

NEW GIRL

Schmitt’s personality has me bursting out in laughter at least once every episode. I’m constantly changing my opinion about Jess and Nick, but at the moment I’m thinking that they are soulmates. This show has featured really random and weird guest stars, including Lizzy Caplan (Janice from Mean Girls) and Brenda Song (London Tipton from the Suite Life of Zack and Cody), some of whom it took me multiple viewings to recognize. I think everyone can agree on the adorability of Zooey Deschanel’s bangs, but there’s definitely some controversy about whether or not she successfully masters and upholds the vivacious quirkiness of her character. And while the show initially comes off as an everyday sitcom of 4 roommates just having fun and living out their 30’s, underlying themes can be observed. Has anyone ever noticed that you never learn anything from this show? All other TV shows try to teach a lesson about life at the end of each episode, when some sort of mini-conflict gets semi-resolved. New Girl doesn’t even try; it exists solely as a TV show meant to amuse its viewers and make them laugh, what it was originally meant to do.