Knit to This
Knit to This: PBS (All of It)
Do you ever run out of stuff to watch while you knit? Are you ever too darn lazy and shiftless to even browse MDK’s rich trove of Knit to This recommendations?
Same here! Maybe it’s not so much being lazy and shiftless, but having grown up in an age when you just sat in front of the TV, flipped through the 3 or 4 channels that existed, and watched the best—or least worst—of what was on offer. It was a comforting habit, and one I still turn to. I still miss The Honeymooners being on right after the late news. A person could count on that.
When I want to float along, happily knitting/stitching/snacking along to whatever, I crank up my local PBS station, Channel 13. I’ll watch pretty much anything that’s on in real time, although for some reason the wonderful nature shows make me nod right off—so I tend to avoid those when I want to knit. (When I want to sleep, they’re an express ticket to dreamland!) In addition to the real-time offerings, PBS Passport is the best streaming content service deal anywhere. There is so much there. Hours, days, and years—and that’s just British people doing stuff, from being royal to solving crimes to baking cakes. There’s history, there’s animals, there’s music—so much music! All of this for 5 bucks a month (your local station’s deal may vary)!
Lately I’ve been up to les yeux in French crime procedurals—subtitles be damned. The one that has me in its (fake) bloody grip at the moment is complete junk food for the soul—literally nothing in it is realistic, from the crime scenes to the motivations of the killers to the Scooby Doo-esque getups our quirky criminologist wears—but I love it REAL BAD and I’m going to watch all 6 series! (The show is The Paris Murders. I look forward to your letters, as it surely must have its defenders. But gosh it’s silly! Pure fun.)
Here are a few more PBS offerings that I have road-tested for knittability and recommend to you heartily. Enjoy!
But really—just head on over to your local station and look around!
A Giveaway—and it’s a doozy!
The prize? Our lucky winner will be enrolled in a fantastic Virtual Workshop on August 18, 2023, led by Olga Buraya-Kefelian, one of the most compelling teachers we know. In a 3-hour session on Zoom, we’ll dive into one of the graphic slipped-stitch patterns that make Olga’s designs so recognizable—and so adored. The project: Olga’s sumptuous Sei Cowl, in MDK’s lush 100% Rambouillet wool yarn, Atlas. The winner will receive admission to the workshop, which includes the beautiful workshop kit filled with materials and tools, shipped to you in time for the event.
How to enter?
Two steps:
Step 1: Sign up for MDK emails, right here. External Link. Opens in new window.. External Link. Opens in new window.. If you’re already signed up, you’re all set. We have an option for texting, so when you sign up for those, you’ll get a coupon code good for 10% off your next MDK order.
Step 2: Speaking of unrealistic but addictive entertainments, what’s your favorite in this genre, be it a book, TV, or movie? Let us know in the comments.
Deadline for entries: Sunday, August 14, 11:59 PM Central time. We’ll draw a random winner from the entries. Winner will be notified by email.
meanwhile…
Have you seen our big anniversary SALE? It Ends Tomorrow, Just saying!
I love Star Trek for knitting to— Next Generation is probably my all time favorite but any of them really— Strange New Worlds, Discovery, even Lower Decks are quite enjoyable for their (these days) unrealistic yet compelling characters and moral compass. Enjoy!
I love knitting to Midsomer Murders and Father Brown. We follow the shows on 3 different channels (one is PBS), and are constantly running across episodes we’ve not seen before. These shows seem to calm my brain while grabbing my interest at the same time.
Heck yes!!! Star Trek got me through the pandemic and beyond! Perfect knitting viewing. Currently fan girl-ing Strange New Worlds, but DS9 is a favorite of mine.
I’m a fan of mysteries in video, books or audio. It is a challenge to find the bits & pieces to solve the mystery.
Well Bridgerton of course… but anything period
I’m with you. Got knitting, I’ll watch anything pbs or I have Britbox which gives me the option of all kinds of British shows
Chicago Med and Chicago Fire for me
I love watching Outlander, Suits or just have Our Planet on.
I’ll rewatch New Girl, The Good
Place, and Schitts Creek at leas once a year
Comedy Horror is my absolute favorite, & so hard to find done well
Emailed you for your mailing address–you’re the winner. Laura! Please reply to my email so we can get the kit to you in time for the virtual workshop.
I’m a fan of Lewis. Rewatching it on Britbox.
Doc Martin. It’s a British show about a rural village with the doctor as the central character.
Booked on Shetland
I’ll knit to anything, but lately I’m enjoying Sweet Magnolias.
We can’t watch this in the States. It’s unavailable.
I knit to Star Trek (all shows) or LeBar Burton Reads. It’s Reading Rainbow for adults and just makes me happy.
I love to knit to old sitcoms. Sometimes I go way back to the Honeymooners, I Love Lucy. Sometimes it’s more “recent”shows, like Newhart or Taxi!
Oh my me too.
Me too!
Suits. Perfect for knitting and partially paying attention
Outlander has a huge grip on me!
Any sitcom that really makes me laugh. I can watch The Office over and over again.
I am liking Ridley these days.
Shetland, or any other British mystery series!
For knitting, I like HGTV. My current favorites are “Help! I Wrecked My House!” and the oldest “House Hunters” circa 1980s.
Yesssssss! I am all about Star Trek, and especially Strange New Worlds!
I love Star Trek, Dune, and pretty much any kind of science fiction.
All Creatures Great and Small.
Unrealistic addiction… The Andy Griffith Show. It’s funny and you don’t have to concentrate too much!!
Endeavour, Annika, Van Der Walk, Shetland, The Indian Doctor, The Durrells of Corfu, and Poldark ( my TV boyfriend – Ross Poldark) – subtitles be damned, indeed!
Always a good message too.
Outlander
Oops. I forgot to note my favorite – books, TV, movies. I cannot chose – I am an equal opportunity ‘enjoyer’….yes, enjoyer. Can I add circuses??
Boardwalk Empire! Love a good historical series and I missed this one when it was new.
Movies, movies, movies
Mannix. Every footchase in a sport coat and tie!
I like to read trashy mysteries at night to help me sleep. Honestly, I like to listen to them on Audible too when I’m knitting or walking the dog. But current trash TV for knitting? Suits reruns.
My husband just found Suits on Netflix and I watch a bit while knitting when my feet and back require that I take a break from dealing with the garden produce (and I listen from the kitchen while making goodies to enjoy all winter long).
Not a book, movie, or tv show – I like listening to podcasts while knitting. My favorites are those in the PMG network and also the BigBoo podcast.
Audiobook listening of Louise Penny Inspector Gamache Series
I love listening to audiobooks while knitting!
Love listening to Louise Penny books and I have to admit I have watched the Three Pines series (hope they make more) more than once. Love a good mystery movie and always a great comedy!
Don’t have a way to reply to Nancy (below) but The Three Pines Series is on Amazon Prime (I enjoyed, but it’s not as good as the books – but what could be?)
There’s a Three Pines series? Be still, my heart! Where would I find it?
Oh yes, Louise Penny is an amazing writer!
I just discovered Louise Penney and Inspector Gamache of the Surete du Quebec! Been making my way thru the books. And now to learn of a TV series!?! Woohoo!
All Creatures Great and Small….PBS!!!!!
Currently – 10 seasons of Hawaii 50. Book em Danno…
Too many to list with plenty of spin offs. Currently knitting to CIS to be followed by CIS Miami, CIS NY…
Watched all the seasons of absurd Good Girls. Junky and funny with a bit of spice. I knitted a baby blanket for my daughter’s second baby while I indulged.
Yes! And the SVUs and Criminal Minds!
Foley’s War on PBS. Truly excellent!
Death in Paradise and The Durrells in Corfu top the list, but I really enjoyed Magpie Murders and Miss Scarlet and the Duke.
I have to confess to Outlander, or , otherwise known as”a roll in the heather”.
I have to say there is way too much repetitive sex and I find myself fast forwarding through those scenes. Otherwise I’m enjoying the stories. Love Shetland. Highly recommend Hijack. But that is too griping to get much knitting done.
Gripping! Duh!
Vintage knitting book reading, re-reading, dog-earing pages and adding to my will make it someday list! The first 2 MDK books included!!!
Terry Pratchett audiobooks.
I love any crime drama to knit by. I find something on Passport, Britbox or Acorn, balance my phone in my lap and knit as episodes sail by. My recent fav was the latest season (last?) of Happy Valley. Sarah Lancashire is terrific!
I love watching documentaries and listening to audio books while knitting and crocheting.
Oh Kay you’ve brought back such wonderful memories. Channel 13 was my PBS station too until we retired to VA two years ago. (I’m in mourning for NY pizza and bagels – who knew a stomach could be homesick? ) When my husband asked how I wanted to celebrate our anniversary in October, I said “NY”!
I intend to find a slice as soon as I leave the train in Penn Station. This was on 9 not 13, but do you remember the Million Dollar Movie? The theme song still runs through my head.
As for my favorite addictive entertainment I highly recommend the books in the bestselling Chronicles of St Mary’s series which “follows a group of tea-soaked disaster magnets as they hurtle their way around History”. Bet you can’t read just one! My favorite of the series is ‘An Argumentation of Historians’. Just couldn’t resist the title.
David Attenborough is the voice behind most nature shows for a reason. He makes knitting relaxing, peaceful, and enjoyable. I love all the series he’s done. I can knit to Planet Earth all weekend (when it seems to be on here in the Pacific NW). For a complete opposite option, I recently found Outlander and I’m totally hooked!
Outlander is otherwise great but can’t stand the sexual violence. Ugh!
Agree!
Oh yes! Such a fun series!
Grantchester and The Durrells in Corfu are among my recent favorites!
Million Dollar Movie! Same movie many times all week! I heard an interview with Martin Scorsese where he mentioned his devotion to MDMovie!
How many hours did I spend watching, repeatedly, The Crimson Pirate on MDM. A misspent youth.
Right now, I’m knitting through every episode of Columbo. And I love all the weird detective shows of the 70s and 80s.
I read cozy mysteries and knit. I love them. They are ridiculous and delightful and a perfect pairing for this working mom with a knitting addiction. How many murders can happen in one small town before people get weirded out and decide to move far – far away? Apparently – it takes many! No one ever seems to think it is time to relocate and so I just keep reading!
All Creatures Great & Small, also in PBS. PBS!
I love to watch HGTV Love It, or List It. I like to see if I guess correctly if the home owners will list or stay and live their renovations. The final reveal of the work has me on the edge of my knitting couch.
Endeavor!!!! PBS passport is the best!!!
I’ve been watching Gilmore Girls for the second time and Grey’s Anatomy for the first time… Hundreds of hours to knit to!
YES to Grey’s Anatomy! I just hit the last episode last nighr—-an emotional cliff-hanger! I fear it will be months before we see a new season. Sniff.
Poldark. I’m a sucker for a historical romance.
I just finished listening to Unraveled and it was most excellent knitting entertainment. Peg Orenstein shears a sheep. It doesn’t get more fantastical than that. Sadly, only six hours but still, it was great.
Whodunits. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai is next.
“St. Maik” on PBS Passport. A fun light German mystery.
So ironic that you mention PBS. I’ve just started to watch all the seasons of Grantchester.
I knit my 4 day sweater KAL to Game of Thrones. Every season is a day of knitting
I too love PBS and Passport, always something to watch to get lost, learn or fall asleep to! I love the world of Grantchester, why would a vicar be helping to solve a murder?! Wonderful characters in a beautiful setting. And please PBS get the final season of Happy Valley!
Most recently watching Ironside, starring Raymond Burr. Traditional motives of love and greed along with references to the impact of TV, war, the legal system and race. We can watch with confidence, knowing that he always knows more than anyone and always gets the right culprit.
Law and Order all kinds *chung-chung*
Yes to L & O. A great series to knit to. Also all the PBS mysteries like Midsomer Mysteries.
I couldn’t agree more about PBS. I’ve devoured Endeavor, Grantchester, The Darrells of Corfu, and I’ve just begun Indian Summers. The programming is so rich and varied, truly something for everyone!
Grey’s Anatomy. Not for the medicine, for the characters and friendships.
On PBS most anything on Masterpiece, currently Granchester. Otherwise, NCIS almost always on somewhere!
I really enjoy historical fiction. Binging Outlander or listening to audiobooks while I knit … its all good.
There are simply too many to choose from but Midsomer Murders is my current go-to. That said, Vera and Shetland are probably my all time favorites. I knit so many socks!
Vera and Shetland are two of my favorites also. Just recently completed Luther which was also excellent. Oh, and Silent Witness. Midsomer Murders got me hooked on British crime shows. Can you tell I love my Britbox subscription!?!
Annika on PBS. Also, the Annika podcast, because of a recommendation here at MDK.
Yes, me, too! I wound a lot of yarn listening to the Anika podcast. Loved it!
Do you remember the old SNL skits mocking Masterpiece Theater? Only OLD people watched that! Recently my adult children walked and I shushed them because I was deep into a new episode of Masterpiece Mystery. Passport is amazing! I highly recommend Hinterland. It was originally recorded in Welsh and that does not often happen. It is brooding, dark, and has long silences perfect for knitting! Queue it up!!!!
What a wonderful giveaway.
My favorites to watch while knitting are British Mystery.
The Wire is my all time favorite, also enjoyed Unbelievable, Succession, and The Split.
Currently the Magnolia Network program Restoration Road has captured my attention. I love seeing to dismantling of an old barn or house and the rebuilding into something functional as well as beautiful! Kind of like frogging that sweater you knit but never wear, for whatever reason. And making something new and beautiful!
Love those police procedurals. Vera (Brenda Blethyn) gets my vote. Vera in her rumpled raincoat makes Colombo look high fashion. But like Colombo, Vera is always the smartest one in the room. 12 seasons worth!
British mysteries – right now I still have many seasons of Silent Witness to catch up on.
Oh PBS — an oasis in a desert of TV offerings. I’m all in for Poldark. And Endeavor. I’m also a big fan of books on tape, like Pride and Prejudice, Tale of Two Cities, and the Lord of the Rings series.
I love Brit Box. Will just about stream anything offered but I do love those mysteries.
Almost any cooking show is great. You can learn a little something but don’t miss much if you have to focus on something else for a few minutes.
I also love the cooking shows & learn a new cooking tip when I’m watching.
Broadchurch. Too tense to knit to, however.
I’ve been listening to romance audio books while I knit for the past couple of months. It seems silly and somewhat embarrassing to admit but as someone who spent the previous 10 years reading thrillers/mystery mutters there’s something to be said for happily ever after 😉
They’re all I read/listen to since the pandemic. Totally addicted. I love them so much, I can’t even say. I never even did audio books before I discovered them. Keep at it!
I agree! I tend to alternate mysteries with romances to keep them both fresh and fun. If you haven’t listened to “Thank You for Listening” by Julia Whelan, I recommend it!
I watch PBS(during broadcasts and on Passport)more than any other station. Loved Magpie Murders and am currently working my way through Astrid. I’ll be following up on your suggestions for more series.
For me – Outlander or Call the Midwife. . .
PBS – Finding your roots – interesting to watch and as my husband is an ancestry buff – we watch this one together!
Books are my pleasure, be it physical or mindle. But my guiltiest pleasure is Columbo!
I went through a stage of reading Amish romances. Sweet and predictable.
When I have the time to do a big block of knitting I choose Game Of Thrones.
I generally don’t knit while watching tv. Lately I have found podcasts to distract me from miles of garter and stockinette. I’m loving What the British Stole history podcast. So many history selections on Spotify!
Tv: unexpected attraction to the recent series Silo. Book: enjoying listening to Jane Eyre.
TV – Endeavour.
PBS is pretty much the only TV I watch. I like Antiques Roadshow, Finding Your Roots, Nova and Nature. Reading these comments, I decided I need to fire up Passport and catch up on the mysteries. I did watch Foley’s War a few years ago, and loved it.
A lot of the British series, like Shetland and Grantchester, although I like anything from Lucy Worsley and all of “Finding Your Roots”.
The Valdemer series by Mercedes Lackey, pure mindless reading but for knitting I watch a couple of camping vlog series by two young ladies from Korea. I don’t understand Korean and the subtitling can be a bit different but the scenery is always interesting and they both will show and laugh about any mishaps they might have when setting up their camps.
Mysteries with humor- Only murders in the building and The Lincoln Lawyer.
Oh, so hard to choose just one! I’m a big fan of cozy mysteries, but my husband and I just finished watching all three seasons of Ted Lasso and I’m in mourning that it’s over. I loved it so much. My husband liked it, but growing up as a football fan in England, he had some issues. As for me, we were watching the highlights of our team’s first game of the season (Southampton FC, just relegated to the Championship), and I kept looking for Sam and Jamie and the rest of the Greyhounds.
My husband grew up in Southampton. We were delighted one of their games were broadcast. Hopefully Russell Martin will help them return to the EPL. Despite its flaws, Ted Lasso was utterly charming.
Call the Midwife watched binge-style is my favorite!
Granchester. Who doesn’t love a smart hunky red headed minister while you knit?
Sigh..I miss Sidney.
I have watched the Netflix series After Life 3 times and each time see a new detail that makes me smile and reflect deeply about life. It is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and he is the main character. It deals with life, loss, grief, relationships, suicide and much more. Delivered with humour and classic Gervais foul language, it is tender and filled with poignant lessons for living your life to the fullest. 10/10 in my rating.
It’s one of the most impressive TV series I’ve seen in years, but I haven’t succeeded in convincing any of my friends or family to watch more than 1 or 2 episodes.Then they give up, unfortunately, because the later episodes are so worth the grim beginning. And, to me, such a surprise from the guy who brought us David Brent of the original Office!
Last project watched all the Harry Potter movies.
We rotate between Passport, BritBox and Acorn (the ONLY silver lining of lockdown). In addition to the great shows others have listed, “Vera”, “Frost”, “Line of Duty”, and “New Tricks” come to mind along with “Candice Renoir” (French) and “Thou Shall Not Kill” (Italian).
I love to knit to tv. Not that I really watch but more listen. Hallmark channel is my favorite. I also knit listening to audiobooks
I’ve gone down the rabbit hole in YA fantasy. I’m currently on a Maggie Stiefvater kick. Her Dreamer series. (After finishing her Raven Boys series, it only made sense.) I read a few that my library didn’t have in audio format, but my preferred format is audiobook.
I love to watch movies while knitting! Really anything on TV. I feel productive while sitting on the couch when I’m knitting!
Britbox detective series. There are a bunch of them!
The audio version of Outlander! Actually, any good audio book. Television has to be something I don’t need to watch carefully in order to knit-otherwise there is much frogging.
Rewatching entire series like The Wire, Homeland, Outlander, Mad Men… Take your pick!
Only unrealistic if you think about them too hard, but ANY Korean series.
Rita
I’m a new Rita fan as well, has to be stockinette knitting with the subtitles. Love that show!
Books—audio of course! Although I do love a good British crime drama to knit to also!
Kay, yes to PBS! I grew up in a really rural area with three stations (two, if you weren’t willing to squint though the snowy static.) PBS is lifeblood. Let’s see…if we are meant to name only doozies that are unrealistic, but addictive, I’d say Outlander series or Game of Thrones. I am also watching Silo, based on the books I enjoyed. But my everyday joy leans towards lots of British shows, garden gobstoppers, and nature nerdiness. How’s that for a knitty stereotype?
Britbox has many long running series, with handsome men and the shows move slowly enough that I can get lost in my knitting pattern for a moment without losing the storyline. I am currently watching Lewis, after being a die-hard Inspector Morse fan.
Audiobooks! Biographies! Currently Life with Picasso.
Currently binging on Poiroit and the British version of Professor T.
Forgot to say my favorite—right now, Agatha Christie novels!
Have been a dedicated PBS for years. Our current show to watch is Ridley.
I love PBS too….Call the Midwife, cooking shows and Rick Steeves.
I’m not sure if this is what you were going for, but I really like to knit to sporting events on tv. Especially football (American and soccer) and auto racing. I only need to look up when the announcers start raising their voices.
Motorsport, yes! F1 all the time always. It’s the sport’s summer break right now so I’m surviving on the plethora of F1 podcasts in addition to my diet of PBS. (Favorites are The Parc Ferme, The Fast and the Curious, F1r the Girls, and P1 with Matt and Tommy).
I love a good story i can binge. Heartland, Virgin River, Downtown Abbey
Addicted to listening to historical romance novels. When I read them years ago, they were referred to as “bodice ripper” books!
“Time Team”…a British archeology series on YouTube.
Just finished binging season 1 of Good Omens. So much fun. On to Season 2!
Can spend hours knitting to National Geographic Wild!
My latest binge was The Lincoln Lawyer. So disappointed when I settled in to watch the next episode and realize I had watched it the night before and it was the last one!
I’m also a fan of The Lincoln Lawyer. Such good acting all around. Similarities to Bosch which I also enjoyed knitting to.
PBS, Acorn, Britbox…so much to choose from…but, when it comes to addictive, Happy Valley wins the prize. I can’t knit to them though. I’m not a multi-talker.
I loved Maggie Murders and I think you should check out Ms Scarlett and the Duke!
I love catching up on Sit & Knit for a Bit with Arne and Carlos. So funny and informative, and their pajama gardeners summer segments are a hoot.
I’ve been a PBS fan since middle school and my family watched the first All Creatures Great and Small series. Currently, I’m knitting to Granchester, Ridley, and Endeavor. It’s summer, so I also do a lot of knitting to bike races, available with a GCN subscription.
Ted Lasso. Just rewatched Season 3 and it’s as fresh and heartwarming as it was the first time.
Agreed. A great series and season 3 was the best.
This comment collection is another treasure trove of options! As for me, I love to dive into Nigella Lawson’s old cooking videos.
Star Trek, especially Strange New Worlds, and lately addicted to The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch
I watch whatever Hallmark is streaming. The sappy romances and campy mystery shows sooth my soul. There’s always a happy ending guaranteed
Speaking of PBS, I can watch All Creatures Great and Small and Downton Abbey over and over – both PBS Masterpiece Theater. Also, Endeavour and Doc Martin.
Dr. Who of course.
Me too!
Have you knitted the Dr Who scarf?
Addicted to that campy Inspector Morse on Acorn at the moment.
I loved Spiral, a French TV detective series that was streaming on Amazon Prime. So French and so good!
Audio books. Absolutely the best knitting companion ever. I get so into the book that I sometimes listen for several hours…which also means several hours of knitting
Endeavor and Call the Midwife are my favorites
I’ve been watching the midsomer murders for the second time
Outlander is my most unrealistic addiction, then all the British and Nordic mysteries. They do an excellent job keeping me awake. Like Kay, I start to nod off during nature shows. The only exception is Chimp Empire on Netflix. An amazing production!
Chef! On PBS
Just finished Mrs Plansky’s revenge. Marvelous. Richard Osman’s books are great, too. A great listen while knitting—or a read
Maisy Dobbs by Jennifer Woodson on audiobooks. I listen through Hoopla from my library.
Yes!,, love the audiobooks!
Just finished binge watching two seasons of the Lincoln Lawyer.
My daughter and I are totally into Murdoch Mysteries. So much fun! We’re on season 6- and there are 23 seasons, so it should last us the summer! And of course, there’s the classic Midsomer Murders! And if you don’t crack up at the bodies’ positions, you have no sense of fun. I think guest stars must ask to be murdered so they can be a weirdly contorted body! Good knitting, everyone!
Totally agree! Love the “ask to be murdered for fun contortion “ thought!
I really loved The Heart Guy on PBS. Also Midsomer Murders, Doc Martin and Death in Paradise.
I am now on the third time around of “When Calls the Heart “ and “Downton Abbey”.
If I need lighter …the Golden Girls always .
My family knows that if LOTRs is on, do not talk to me. It’s knitting crunch time. Listening to the Vampire Knitting Club. Mystery and humor- perfect.
For awhile I would get lost in the game Myst. Talk about escape.
I love Antique Road Show!
Hallmark Channel is my late afternoon/weekend knit along. Also, while not unrealistic, PGA Tour golf. Either are perfect when a knitting project has me vexed!
One I just happened to remember the other day that totally meets your brief: The TV show Person of Interest: “ An ex-CIA agent and a wealthy programmer save lives via a surveillance AI” The good guys were good (but, of course, flawed) and the bad guys were bad (but of course had worthy back stories) The good guys always won in the end…I wonder if I can find it again.
I enjoy JudyJustice on Prime. She delivers in a common sense way.
You got me hooked on Alone in the depths of the pandemic. It literally changed my habits (retiring may have been a contributing factor) to staying up late, knitting and catching one more episode, oops- I’m in the middle of a row and must keep watching, oops – cliffhanger; must keep watching; oops, it’s 1 AM!
I’ve watched every season and a few add one and I’m in recovery but I thought you should know
Dr. Who
I love knitting through cooking competition shows – love how they can get it all together (for the most part) in no time flat!
I love knitting to just about any cooking show. Right now it’s Five Star Chef.
I’ve been knitting to the Outlander series and am really enjoying it.
YouTube Premium! I watch so many knitting and travel vlogs, but I discover so much weirdness and old movies, too. Can’t get enough.
Star Trek! I’m really enjoying Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks, and I love most of the older shows.
PBS— Downton Abbey, Poldark, Mr. Selfridge, Great British Baking Show.
I love Britbox and Acorn (just watched Majorca Files again) and lately have been into Australian shows like Dead loch (hilarious mystery) and Fisk on Amazon and I think Netflix….also, I loved 3 Pines on Amazon (finally a new US show with British quality)
The 3 Pines adaptation was very well done, though like most TV/movie adaptations it almost rewrote the book. However, the producers seem to be Canadian, or possibly Canadian with US $ from Amazon.
Of course! Canadian! And Louise Penny!!!! So slow to put it together; thank you Nancy and to those who suggested Louise Penny. I am going to listen to her audiobooks c/o my local public library. I loved this thread!
Escape to the Country! Wonderful series, years of Brits searching for their bit of country living. There are lots of optional channels to view it, but we use a free internet connection, HDclump. Many nifty British shows there. Try some Monty Don world garden tours on that connection as well; glorious armchair travel with the best guide in the garden world!
I second Escape to the Country. It’s my current guilty pleasure. I get to see beautiful parts of the British countryside I will never see in real life. And inside people’s homes!
I agree with many of the favourites mentioned here: Vera, Shetland, Death in Paradise, Call the Midwife, etc. For some reason, though, I didn’t like The Durrells in Corfu. I found the children’s characters annoying! Yes, also, to Ted Lasso, Only Murders in the Building, Hallmark (guess where this one is filmed, great handbag, and why do people wear boots inside the home?), and HGTV.
Pure escape- C.J. Archer books on audio or any fantasy series. Currently I am listening to Terry Brooks Landover series, beginning with Magic Kingdom for Sale- Sold!This was a favorite in book form from many years past, full of unforgettable characters!
My favourite are the audiobooks of Louise Penny mysteries starring Armand Gamache (investigator extraordinaire) set in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.
Midsomer Murders, 23 seasons! The most ingenious ways of bumping people off, all in good fun, of course!
Most of the mysteries, crime dramas, Comedies on BritBox, Acorn, and PBS. And anything Star Wars and Star Trek, and, Stranger Things.
When I am really tired and just need a pick me up, I watch Frazier reruns. Such good writing and comedic acting!
My husband and I have become Detective Harry Bosch fans. We listen to the audiobooks every week on the way to and home from our cabin and we just can’t stop!
Darrell’s in Corfu, both the series and the books, and Doc Martin.
I loved “Broadchurch!” So weird seeing David Tennant playing someone other than Dr. Who. I also like “Death in Paradise” and “Father Brown.”
Any kind of documentary…or football. Football season for my family =knitting season for me.
Outlander and other period dramas as well as reality shows keep me company while knitting. I hear Big Brother just started this past week.
I love knitting to cooking shows. A current favorite is “The Great American Recipe”. The stories behind the recipes and the recipes themselves.
I love PBS Passport too and TV series are my go to for knitting like Ted Lasso (AppleTV) and Grantchester (PBS).
Cosy Murder Mysteries!
Louise Penny mysteries. I can sit and read one right after another and isapoear into the lovely village of Twin Pines.
Murdoch Mysteries is superb escapism. Those brown eyes and that brilliant mind!!! Canadian series on Acorn. My daughter gifts me a yearly subscription- a bargain over monthly subscription.
I loved Project Hail Mary audio book! Wonderful!
And…to whoever wins this prize, clear your calendar and settle in for wonderful knitting. Olga is amazing!
Absolutely with you on the marvelous bargain that is PBS Passport!! We have already ripped our way through Broadchurch, Magpie Murders, Astrid (THE BEST!!), and we are just beginning Munch. I’m thrilled to have a new one to look forward to! If you have access to the Acorn streaming channel, check out Balthazar, another French procedural, or Brokenwood, Whitstable pearl … the list goes on. Oh, and let’s propose a series that puts together all the goofy forensic pathologists from these show in one series!
We are currently in season 20 something of Silent Witness on britbox. But Ted Lasso (RIP ) was also great knitting TV. I’m sure I’ll go back.
Oh my gosh, Only Murders in the Building with Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, and a plethora of top-notch guest stars is my favorite (Hulu). Season 3 starts August 8. And, of course, Masterpiece on PBS!
Political dramas with just the right amount of drama. Madame Secretary and The Diplomat. I do wonder how much is true to life?
Passport and Britbox are such treasure troves. I am currently loving Seaside Hotel, recorded in Danish with subtitles. Fingers crossed that Passport will get season 3 of Van der Valk. Shetland, Vera, Hinterland and Wallander are some of my all time favorites.
I love Masterpiece -all series and Britbox. Currently re-watching all of Poirot!
Bosh on Prime ( now on Freevee). Beautifully written and acted.
Brit box for sure. I am venturing into the world of podcasts and am having fun exploring the many many offerings including the recommendations from MDK. Julia Louis Dreyfus’ podcast Wiser than Me was a favorite!
I love watching reruns of Big Bang Theory while knitting anything that requires focus (like the fingerless mitts within cables I am currently working on). I have seen each episode multiple times, so it’s good background noise, but I don’t have to pay attention to the plot.
I’m definitely a PBS-only TV watcher–I have four local channels and toggle between them, with a regular step-in to the 24-hour French programming. All Creatures Great and Small is my all-time favorite (serious enough to be planning a trek in the Yorkshire Dales) and Kelly Corrigan’s Tell Me More is also wonderful and enlightening. Thanks for your regular recommendations and your wonderful writing!
So many good suggestions. I am currently watching Good Omens, which is quite fun, and I recently got caught up with the Lincoln Lawyer. I loved Ted Lasso; I’m not a soccer fan, so I was not troubled by flaws. I have loved so many of the PBS suggestions: Broadchurch, Death in Paradise, Grantchester, Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Doc Marten, Louise Penney’s season (not quite as fun as her early books), Downton Abbey, The Durrells in Corfu, the Magpie Murders.
The Saint with Roger Moore-no matter how many fist fights he has, his clothes are immaculate and his hair never moves! Still charming, tongue in cheek and easy to knit to.
I watch a few shows on the Ovation channel. Murder mysteries, why not?
Monk reruns are fun
I just finished rewatching all 23 seasons of Midsomer Murders! And we kept a body count per episode this time (works out to 2.9 murders per episode!).
Love watching the Outlander series!!
the best show ever for knitting and laughing is/was (reruns only now) the vicar of dibley… so fun!
Black Mirror is unrealistic and entertaining, but I love Ted Lasso, And Just Like That, and Gilmore Girls for happier looks at life….
America’s Test Kitchen – all seasons. I never fail to learn something after cooking for over 50 years and the recipes are always perfection and delicious.
Been watching Perry Mason reruns on Prime to knit by. Forensic Files is my sleep ticket.
J.D. Robb’s Eve Dallas series! Love, love, love!!!
A big PBS fan. Love watching All creatures great and small. Currently watching a Danish series called Seaside Hotel. The same characters return each year to vacation at the hotel and many dramas unravel each year.
Midsummer murder still is one of my favs
HGTV or Hallmark, no blood involved
Vera—always. What’s not to like about a smart, dumpy, middle-aged woman who solves murders and finds children annoying?
I’m an OG Outlander fan! Waiting anxiously for years for each new book in the series has been a part of my life since the book came out! I’ve enjoyed the tv series but revisiting the books (I reread the series bore each new book comes out – hoping it won’t be 5 years until the next one…) is a true pleasure.
I love to knit to all of the iterations of Star Trek, especially the newer ones.
Unrealistic, hmmm…. A wonderful book “The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared”. Movie series, “ABBA”. TV show, absolutely on PBS, “Endeavor”! I would read and watch again and again.
I’m with you – just about anything on PBS. And all of Louise Penny’s books.
Last Tango In Halifx is sweet. And so easy to knit to!
Britbox, especially the mysteries modern and older
The Bear, The Tower, Ridley, Miss Fisher’s Modern Mysteries, Vera, Shetland
Currently watching new version of Justified, Reservation Dogs, Fisk, Not Going Out. Already binged second season of The Bear and could rewatch Ted Lasso forever.
As a teenager I wondered who actually watched PBS? Now, it is my most watched station. Grantchester is my go to show while knitting. Will and Geordi’s relationship as wannabe father and son is fascinating. Kathy getting a job and becoming an independent woman. What more could I ask for while knitting?
I love PBS too – which is a good thing since where I live it is the only reliable station we can get on our television. No streaming here. I love audio books from my library and have knit several sweaters while listening to the entire Patrick O’Brian oeuvre. Great stories and a fantastic reader.
Vera, Broadchurch, Shetland (sweaters-check!) and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (love the costumes!) oh- and Jane Tennyson (Helen Mirren) in Prime Suspect from the 1990s! (A longtime PBS Passport fan!). There might be a new season of the Lincoln Lawyer coming to Netflix.
♥️ That kit is Gorgeous! Atlas! Yum!
Vintage Doctor Who was a steady companion for years; recently I’ve been into Shetland and other Brit procedurals, food shows like Million Pound Menu or Taste the Nation, and whatever kids show/movie can keep the peace for a bit (Kiff/Bluey yay, ugh early Disney)
Audiobooks are my fav but just finished watching Shetland, really good!
I know it’s silly but I’m enjoying “And Just Like That” on Max.
call the midwife
Our local AZ PBS has a great selection of mysteries with Walters choice adding to the global experience. With Britbox there’s always Midsomer Murders, Morse, Lewis and Endeavor and other repeats. The newer McDonald and Dodds is growing on me and a series 4 is starting this month.
lately I have been watching M.A.S.H as it keeps reminding me how awful war is.
I do a lot (knitting, spinning, weaving, sewing) to Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series of audio books.
I love Doc Martin on PBS for knitting. I’ve seen most of them so it’s easy to listen and knit at the same time.
my addiction has to be jane austen in all it’s forms but especially the 1995 pride and prejudice series. it soothes my soul.
Me too on the SCI FI. I watched the new Lost in Space series and thoroughly enjoyed all the escapades! Mostly ridiculous but a great break from reality!
HIstorical Drama…definitely. Except it’s hard to knit especially when I’m gawking over the costuming, maybe wishing I had knit some of the knitwear.
Right now, I’m reading Louise Penny with the Three Pines series. I also loved the Paris Murders (Profilage) until the complete disconnect between the end of Series 1 and the beginning of Series 2. I also discovered that the PBS Series 1 is really Series 4.
I enjoy mindless music competition shows like The Voice and Idol
Shetland! Definitely my favorite TV series. And it got me hooked on Ann Cleeves’s other series!!
I love Astrid on PBS. It’s an incredible story about a brilliant detective mind who also happens to be autistic. The actress is extremely believable. The only problem is I can’t knit to this (unless it is something really simple) because it is in French and I have to use my eyes to read the sub-titles!
New Amsterdam!
I re-viewed Good Omens Season 1 to be set up for Season 2 which I am relishing! I put what I was watching when I was knitting on the hang tag (with yarn content and care directions). One time a woman would not buy a hat when she saw I had knit it while watching Grimm, so we had to go through a pile of similar things to find one she liked which was knitted during something she “approved” of!
I just subscribed to the PBS channel on my amazon acct. Worth every penny. Watching Ridley a Arian Dunbar right now!
When I doubt about what to watch I turn to Midsomer Murders. There are many seasons and I’ve seen them all at least three times but somehow it never gets old!
Monk!
I’m liking Ted Lasso right now!
I love watching Carnival Row.
Endeavor. The West Wing. British dramas.
I found the Netflix series Stranger Things unrealistic, but fun and engaging.
Baseball, 162 games…whether at the stadium or in my comfy chair, an easy and fun way to pass the time while knitting! Go Yankees!!
We are currently watching Suits on Netflix. Way too many episodes in a row!
I’m waiting for Only Murders to start up again, so I’m going through the previous seasons.
I can’t get enough of the Bridgestone series! I binge watch each season then regret the last episode coming so quickly! Highly addictive!
I probably watch more shows—far too many to list—on PBS than regular broadcast TV. There’s always something good, especially given the choice of three stations.
I am currently knitting to Law and Order. Lots of episodes!
I loved watching and knitting to Hope Street on Prime. A northern Ireland police drama that will have you hooked on the characters and the plot line. I hated to see it end.
Schitt’s Creek
I love Sabrina on Netflix .
I love all of the Star Trek series from the original with Patrick Stewart right on up to Strange New Worlds.
Thank you for the reminder about the great shows on PBS. I’ve been watching Leave it to Beaver on Peacock. I grew up with Beaver and I was happy to find many of my favorite childhood shows are now available to stream.
I’m screaming (inside my head) “Pick me! Pick me!” I know I would enjoy this workshop but it’s just out of reach budget-wise. I learned so much from Lorilee Beltman at Summer Camp. I’m sure Olga Buraya-Kefelian’s workshop will be awesome, too. I’ll console myself by knitting up the BIG box of Rowan Cotton that arrived recently (causing the budget issue ).
I love PBS’s music series. I have watched most all of them more than once. Other than that, I haven’t been watching TV much. I listen to music or Audiobooks. Lots of different genres.
Balthazar. A French procedural starring a forensic pathologist who sees dead people —and has fantastic comic timing. Or maybe the early (Mel and Sue) seasons of the Great British Baking Show
When there seems to be nothing else worth watching, an episode or two of Midsommer Murders will always float my boat.
I love murder mystery series that also let me glance into a beautiful locale. I’m enjoying a virtual visit to Amsterdam with “Van Der Walk” on PBS Passport.
I lik to watch “Restore”.
A house Reno restoration show staying true to the homes original architectural design. Perfect for knitting and quite entertaining.
Love all the British shows, Annika (so happy a new season starts next week). Happy Valley. Shetland, Vera. Recently started watching Silent Witness, so many episodes, so much knitting! D.I. Ray is also a new one to me that I started last night.
Rewatching all the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies, extended versions. I won’t admit to anyone how many times I’ve done this….
I do not have a current obsession but Louise Penny and Three pines were fabulous and engrossing and I waited with baited breath for the next book to drop! One TV show I really liked recently was the Diplomat with Keri Russell. Loved how she hated all the people fussing over her!
Crime shows set in glorious landscapes, and fortunately, there are many of them! And on a different note altogether, I want to see some episodes of Pee-Wee’s playhouse again, in memory of the wildly inventive Paul Ruebens.
I love The British baking show. Perfect for knitting and I love the contestants
I’m working my way through the many Father Brown espisodes. Total flurf, but that’s what this summer called for & Fr B has delivered. I’m only up to Season 4 and TV rumor has it they are filming season 11, so there’s plenty more nonsense to go.
“Breaking Bad” was my biggest favorite…I binged all of it in just a few months!
So many great ideas here – ones I’ve never thought of and ones I’m now ready to re-watch (Paris Murders is on the rewatch list – LOVE the female lead and roll my eyes so often it has to be a simple knit). I also can’t resist a cheesy romance – and typically from the 80’s and 90’s. If I hear “toe pick” I’m hooked!
Castle
Endeavor for sure.
Love Broadchurch! I even watched it a second time. Can’t go wrong with anything on PBS.
Broadchurch! Poldark! All Creatures!
Though my comfort zone (to sew it knit to) tends to be whatever has been on Masterpiece. Been watching since ‘First Churchills’ and ‘Pallisers’ – though I’ve a few gaps. Old ‘Forsythe Saga’ has held up well.
Grew up w 13. Summers watching a certain chess match …
I’m still counting stitches! But I do enjoy the silence and thoughtful down time while knitting. Just finished watching Catherine the Great and can highly recommend.
Law and Order never disappoints! Have it on a lit when I’m knitting or crocheting.
I love all the PBS offerings. Current fave is Downtown Abbey. Yes, somehow I missed it over the years. Digging in now and knitting!!
The Seaside Hotel on PBS
Listening to books or podcasts. Sometime I lose track of time, or knit longer, because I want to find out what happens next!
These days, PBS = comfort knitting. Any Britsh series will do: Death in Paradise, Grantchester, Father Brown, Sister Boniface, Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Endeavor, Van Der Valk, Vienna Blood, Anika, the list goes on. And I will watch any rerun of Downtown Abbey, at any time on anything.
I also love BBC’s You’re Dead to Me podcast. The funniest history you’ll ever learn. Magic!
My 14 yo and I are in the middle of Rory Gilmore’s year at Yale. Next up in the queue is Felicity
Anything, nature, PBS, football. Once I am in the moment, the program is like meditative music in the background.
I agree with everyone that PBS Passport is the hands-down best streaming service. But for unrealistic but addictive entertainment, pretty much nothing beats Grey’s Anatomy.
Poldark.
I agree with “all of it.”
Endeavor, Vienna Blood… Cannes Confidential, Murder in Provence and Madame Blanc–for the settings. Loved Astrid. Vera is great. Excellent show and a lot of seasons. Just finished Season 2 of Lincoln Lawyer. Where is the next season of Unforgotten??? I am reading the replies to see what I need to add to the list.
As for NYC pizza and bagels. The best. My nephew spent a year studying abroad in Milan. He said Italy would be perfect if they just had good bagels. I missed both pizza and bagels when I moved to Nashville. A friend and I would drive to a mall to eat at Sbarro. That was as close as we could get to anything resembling pizza. As for bagels. Someone saw a gap in the market and opened a bagel shop. (Which was also a good business lesson. Don’t complain if something is missing, find a way to make it happen.) I am sure Anne will tell us that there are now lots of places to find both in Nashville. (And Kay will say it is not New York.)
Unforgotten is back. It’s on an hour later, after DI Ray.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Stream L’art du crime….delicious Louvre scenes.
Two and a Half Men
I’ve become addicted to “Find Your Roots”. Though I have difficulty knitting to it, because SUBTITLES, I love Au Service de la France. I usually knit to audiobooks. Several that I listen to over and over are Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series; almost anything by Barbara Tuchman; Georgette Heyer’s books (guilty pleasure); the original BBC radio broadcast recordings of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe from the early 1970s; and Robert Caro’s Years of Lyndon Johnson series. If Robert Caro dies before finishing the fifth book, I an going to fling myself into the Slough of Despond.
Disney animation. Or any other animation as far as that goes. Marvel stuff too. Mostly kind hearted fun with great music!
Gilmore Girls
Love a good series like Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache or anything by Michael Connelly like Lincoln Lawyer
PBS Passport is a big winner. So much to watch for only $5 per month. I love Professor Tee, the foreign one not the US version, unless I don’t have time to read subtitles. Frankie Drake mysteries are always fun and the 1920s wardrobe is to die for. The Craft in America series is so inspiring for your creativity.
Steampunk romance mystery . . .
I am a passport subscriber and love the PBS Masterpiece shows.
26 seasons of “Silent Witness”. All the murder, mayhem, and mysteries solved by forensic scientists. Love it.
Avatar hands down!
I listen to audiobooks pretty much all the time.
Finally watching Shetland – so many murders on a tiny island, haha!
I’m a mystery addict – I’m so sad to finished all the Morse-inspired shows (Endeavor, Morse, Lewis). Loved Magpie Murders too. And I can watch Death in Paradise over and over and over – with of course, Murder She Wrote.
During our ‘best to stay at home’ Covid lockdown I watched (almost) all of Dr Who, beginning in the 60’s ( yep, black & white versions) thru today! My quick go-to for just another row… is Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee! (Netflix)
I also listen to podcasts-
History Extra, The Rest is History, BBC Sounds-The Forum, Sisters in Law, 5-4, and various NYT programs
I’m hooked on Big Bang Theory that comes on about bed time, Talk about clever entertainment that won’t keep you awake!
Rom com and I won’t apologize for it….
Any murder mystery has me everytime.
The Pitch Perfect movies. Stupid, funny, lots of singing in a world where Acapella is a world-class super-competitive event with commentators.
Yes! My husband was in an Acapella group years ago, and he has got me hooked on the Pitch Perfect movies. Love the music and crazy characters.
My favorite shows are detective shows, preferable in English, because it seems if I don’t watch my knitting a lot, I mess up.
Pluto TVs MST3K channel. You don’t have to pay attention to the movie, just the commentary.
TV: Unforgotten (really, anything with Nicola Walker), Good Omens, Midsomer Murders, Death in Paradise, Vera. Authors: Louise Penny, Gretchen Rubin, Jenny Colgan, Maeve Binchy. Movies: Love Actually, The Holiday, Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Steel Magnolias.
I am anxiously waiting for more of my favourites to knit with : Outlander, Shetland, Call the Midwife, All Creatures Great and Small, Grey’s Anatomy- hoping for new seasons soon!
Fantasy!
There are so many, but it’s got to be Outlander.
Anything that has lots and lots of episodes internet on for years. So yes Star Trek is definitely a favorite any addition anytime. But also Midsummer murders. Not for the murders but for all the other characters.. and yep Peroit remember him he’s great too yeah
I’ve recently stumbled upon snippets of old episodes of Murphy Brown on YouTube. Who knew I’d ever feel nostalgic for Dan Quayle?
I have been wondering where to find Murphy Brown, having just binged on Boston Legal. It re-awoke my girl crush on Candice Bergen – she is so good. Thank you!
Any sports. Baseball, football, soccer. I get to spend time with my husband and can focus 100% on the knitting! Ha ha.
I am definitely a huge fan of knitting while listening to audiobooks! Loved hello beautiful, such remarkable creatures, and daisy jones and the six!
For me it’s cozy mysteries on Audible. Not much thought to the mystery so I can focus on the knitting
I don’t watch much TV, but always Outlander. And for PBS? Series like Victoria, just so I know how the other half (1 percent?) lives.
It’s Outlander for me. So addictive!
Death in Paradise, a British show if many seasons seasons set in the Caribbean. A series of English detective inspectors, bumbling but brilliant, solve improbable locked-room mysteries with local officers, all amid beautiful scenery.
And I wanted to say I’ve loved Olga’s slipped stitch designs since I first saw them. Wow!
Apple TV has a slew of addictive, binge worthy shows: Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Bad Sisters, Little America and Trying
Foyles War for the knitwear not to mention great acting and stories. Happy Valley for a powerful contemporary story with great acting and for which a knitting project in your lap helps keep you grounded during the many tense moments. Vera and Shetland for the scenery and more.
Murder mysteries on Britbox, & Acorn. When I need a break from the gruesome crime scenes (Silent Witness was a bit much to binge all 20 seasons back to back) I turn to all things Scifi. Start Wars, Star Trek, movies, and shows. So many great new series on Paramount & Disney.
I confess to loving the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’ve seen everything in it except the serious gross-out stuff (“Morbius,” “Venom,” I’m looking at you—or not looking at you, whatever).
I love Law & Order. My husband does not understand why. I guess you either love it or you don’t.
Hands down my favorites are Vera, Shetland, and Midsomer Murders. The scenery is gorgeous, the characters are smart, witty, and real, and the shows assume we are intelligent viewers!
Got to be Monty Python!
My current favorite is the old Quantum Leap. I have seen one or two episodes of the new and may get to it later. I also love Murder She Wrote. However I could not be close friends with someone who found dead bodies each week and I am not one hundred percent her home town of Cabot Cove would be a safe place to hang out.
Right now listening to The Covenant of Water but I love all things Law and Order.
Only Murders in the Building; Ted Lasso
I love Grantchester. I’m hooked. I find many PBS offerings to be addictive.
Currently watching Emergency! over and over again, ah the memories!
I love watching tennis on TV, and a good tennis tournament can last 2 weeks and be on for hours everyday. I also love mysteries and police procedurals, American, British, Australian, anywhere really. And if it is based on a book(s), even better. The only show I have watched with subtitles was Seaside Hotel on PBS. The attention to detail was exquisite, the fabrics, wallpapers, music, food, just everything…
Just discovered WEST WING on MAX.Some things haven’t changed….
Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and on a lighter note, Fisk.
Also fans (husband and I) of police procedurals from all over.
Murdoch Mysteries, and the Tonya Kappes “cozy mystery” camper series, audiobook versions
I just love Brit box. Am currently going back and watching Miss Marple with Joan Hickson. Love any of their cozy mysteries to knit to.
Ted Lasso!
I’m in love with the Thursday Murder Club books, which feature a former female MI6 operative who lives in a retirement community. That’s Elizabeth; Joyce, Ibrahim, and Ron are all great too. Not believeable, but wonderful, and the fourth book (not out yet) is supposed to be the last. If you don’t know these, enjoy!
There are several good political podcasts that I follow while knitting
Any and all of the Muppet Movies…
My absolute fav is Muppet Treasure Island. The attention to detail is incredible – all the way down to Cpt Smollet’s (Kermit) attire and chest tattoo!
I love knitting to The Moth, on PBS; people telling real life true stories from their own lives.
Because of the Alice Starmore pattern I’m working on, I’m watching “The Tudors” again after many years. And then will be the Wolf Hall trilogy on audio.
I used to binge watch a lot of Grey’s Anatomy. Once when I was sick I’m knit a whole pair of socks in a couple of days while watching it.
I’m deep in a K-drama obsession. Put two people in a quirky workplace, then have one of them forget an umbrella, and whoosh! 16 episode romance.
For knitting: All Creatures Great and Small, Star Trek: Next Generation.
For intrigue and brain work – not knitting – Astrid. I absolutely require those subtitles as I miss too many clues by visual or words. My HS French was from the 60’s and minimal at that.
I read all the Outlander books and have enjoyed the TV series. Much going on there!
I am totally into K-Dramas and many are silly yet addictive! Two favorites in that category are Mystic Pop Up Bar and The Korean Odyssey
I love British crime so good, Endeavor, Lewis, Dagleish, Poirot etc. some on the lighter side like Death in Paradise and Shakespeare and Hathaway are fun too. I listen to Louise Penny, so good. Completely different but addicting is Marvelous Mrs. Mazel
Almost forgot Storage Wars on A&E. What’s not to love about people fighting for other people’s stuff?
I rarely “watch” (I knit in the kitchen and listen to whatever is on the TV in the living room, occasionally putting on my glasses and leaning around the half wall to peek if something catches my interest) but I like the NCISs and CSI, Bones, the Sherlocks, 5-0 (used to live in HI), and craft, cooking, or nature shows. I generally have a book or my kindle propped up to read (never audiobooks!) while knitting. I like rom-coms, crime (waiting for new “Bones” on library hold list), memoirs (just finished Sara Seager’s ), novels, paranormal… just about anything really, but especially a good series of characters that follow on to the next book or a book situated in a place I’ve lived so I can have that “oh, I’ve been there” moment.
Queen Charlotte
I watch knitting podcasts or listen to an audio book.Thanks for the recommendations. I do love my PBS esp cooking and travel shows
Right now I am reading an Andy Carpenter novel by David Rosenfeld. It’s a series and I am definitely addicted.
My favorite to knit to is All Creatures Great and Small (both seasons)on PBS. My close second is the Magpie Murders also on PBS.
Mapp and Lucia!
“Stargate”! I started that series when working on the Color Explosion Throw from MDK field guide, Marls, #19. I also worked to “The Witcher”, “The Last Kingdom”, and “The Diplomat”. But you kind of have to pay close attention to the scathing looks and furtive glances in The Diplomat, so it’s not perfect for knitting.
I love to knit to TV, but when I put my knitting down to read, I really love anything written by Nevada Barr. Great mysteries/murders in the National Parks – how can you not?
Nevada Barr’s descriptions of places are so good, they bring back memories of my own trips to the parks I have visited. Once when on a bus traveling through Mississippi, I thought to myself “I know this place…” and it turned out we were driving through the Natchez Trace, the location of another Nevada Barr story, where I had never been.
Madame Blanc, Agatha Raisin and Brokenwood. And, not a mystery, but really enjoyable: 800 Words.
I knit to much of our TV time, but my favorite time of year is football season. That’s my most productive knitting “season”. I like to follow both college and professional games, so weekends and some midweek evenings are completely knit times. Then college basketball season follows, but not as exciting until March Madness. All this probably came from my husband (and raising two sons) being avid sport fans!
I’m doing a tubular bind-off right now, so watching baseball (specifically SF Giants) is about all I can handle. I do appreciate all the great recommendations!
Blessings upon you for this column today and the question of the day. So many good shows to watch and books to read or listen to. I’ve seen many of the shows mentioned, but there were also many new ones. On our watchlist now are Vera, Midsommer Murders, Lincoln Lawyer, and a bunch more. The newest addition is reruns of Blue Bloods. No kidding–the prize offered this week is fantastic, but the real prize is in the wealth of information in the comments. Many thanks and blessings to all of you too. By the way, I haven’t finished reading all of the comments yet, but did anyone mention Morris. It’s Endeavor as an older detective. Great to see the similarities between the two series.
I have always loved the British mysteries shown on PBS and own several on DVD. From Miss Marple to Midsummer Murders to Sherlock to Morse to Rosemary and Thyme, I’ll watch them all.
I always knit to Hallmark movies. Very formulaic so if you miss a bit looking at your knitting you don’t really miss much!!
At the moment, reading Gnar Country: Growing Old, Staying Rad by Steven Kotler about flow science,
The cowl shown here in turquoise and another in orange, remind me of one I made several years ago by Yumiko Alexander. Hers is called Cavate.
Been knitting to Barry recently about a hitman turned actor
I also knit to PBS! Getting ready to “knitwatch” Granchester tonight. Thanks for great suggestions!
Quirky English murder mysteries – books, tv, streaming whatever!!
Old travel books: I just finished Hendrik Willem van Loon’s An Indiscreet Itinerary 1933 Holland – probably everything is different now, but fun traveling back to that era. Gives my hands a break from knitting.
Survivor or Big Brother…you truly have to pay NO attention
Ms Fisher’s Modern Mysteries
From the UK, Midsomer Murders. 23 seasons of episodes with characters we love and a bit of humor, in spite of the surfeit of corpses. I know lots of dialog by heart, makes it easy to knit while watching.
Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear for books, The Durrels of Corfu, All Creatures Great and Small and Call the Midwife….
Seaside Hotel A Danish series also on PBS Passport
Any police procedural, be it British, Irish, Scottish, Finnish, Danish, you name it! I can’t get enough of them. Broadchurch is amazing; I actually watched it twice even though I totally remembered the unforgettable ending. Shetland, Criminal (in 4 different countries), Deadwind, Valhalla Murders, Bordertown are just a few titles.
TW: Most of these are NOT for the squeamish.
Deadlock. It’s set in Australia. It was such a farce. I could not quit watching it.
I’ve been watching an Italian crime series: ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill”. I feel like I’ve graduated to a new level of knitting when I can knit and watch a show with subtitles and not make too many mistakes.
I watch Tennis Channel a lot. There are players who I root for, and even when they’re not playing, the skill and athleticism of anyone on the pro tour (men and women) is awe-inspiring. And the TV gods generally replay all the great shots, so if you miss it the first time, you have a second chance.
I love to binge watch TV series like Outlander, Call the Midwife, Bridgerton, Bosch, and Lincoln Lawyer.
Currently knitting to Justified…and there’s like 78 episodes so I’ve got a sweater’s quantity of watching and then some!
Any Frazier fans out there? I could watch Frazier, Daphne, Niles, Roz and company all day!!
Ditto Shetland. Crushed to be in the final season, and seriously considering starting at the very beginning again.
The Outlander Netflix series, as well as the books that the series is based on. I laugh, cry, sit enthralled, and then do it all over again in the next episode. So good and historically accurate. The books are wonderful to listen to as you knit.
HGTV is my favorite channel to knit to. I don’t have to pay close attention to whatever is going on and can just look up once in a while
A few of my favorites are Mannix, Perry Mason & Columbo.
Lewis is agrat British crime drama.
I love streaming with the PBS Passport… so much there! Also, have discovered reading library books electronically! Several of my friends listen to them while they knit or weave. It is fun to reserve (put on hold) a very new book and then receive it weeks or months later when I have forgotten about it!
The Office is my happy place. The silly antics are pretty exaggerated but rooted in realistic experiences. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched the series through!
You know, I think I could get behind a silly crime procedural 🙂 my favourite somewhat brainless content is on YouTube, a show called Drawfee. It’s just four artists shooting the breeze while drawing some fun and lovely things, and it’s so comforting. I can count on them to never talk about anything too serious, and it’s a great escape from the real world, to a place where it’s all just jokes and fun art 🙂
Enjoying Columbo TV series. Got the set at our Friends of Library sale. — One more thing…
I like YouTube for knitting or The Great British Baking Show.
While I do love all things British (including both Broadchurch, GBBO, Call the Midwife and Magpie Murders), and a good “Netflix and Knit” is always something I’ll join, my personal “go to” are audiobooks. I have the Libby app from my local library, I make extensive use of the “Wish List” and “Hold” features, and just as I was never without a physical book when I was growing up, I now have an audiobook at the ready for every single gap in my day. Best of all – it’s free! The content is bottomless! Knitting and listening is fantastic. AND – there’s an easy “rewind” button if I get too focused on something other than the story.
I love a good murder mystery. The Killing – all time favorite. I need to watch again. I confess to having watched all of the Midsomer Murders on winter while knitting away.
Detective novels and TV series
with you on the british mysteries. Endeavour! Grantchester!
You might like Agatha Raisin if you can get it. Total tosh but easy viewing and set on fabulous bucolic English countryside.
Movies, all movies, except the ones with subtitles. Ugh, can’t knit to those.
While I love me some PBS, the bulk of my best knitting time is spent during my kids’ therapies and horse lessons. So I’ve become an avid podcast listener and e-book reader. My go-to podcasts are Huberman Lab and My Favorite Murder (where my murderinos at?), and current favorite series to e-borrow from the library is CS Harris’s Sebastian Cyr mysteries – which is definitely unrealistic and totally binge-able.
I am all about the PBS programming and have lately been going back to watch the vintage classics, like the original Upstairs Downstairs. They were so amazing! And it’s easy to see how they influenced a lot of the popular PBS programming today.
Dan Carlin history podcasts. Love his voice
I am late to the Ted Lasso parade, but I really loved it.
Unforgotten starring Nicola Walker. It’s extremely bingeable.
Any thing that is a rerun (which seems to be all programs now) I can concentrate on knitting but also see something I have mostly forgotten about.
NCIS
The odds are long, but enter me.
My favourite UNrealistic knit-to-this is The Great British Baking Show (Come onnnn… who can control baking ingredients and proofing rise in the variable British out of doors???). My favourite realistic knit-to-this is Great Designs, a UK show about dream homes coming to life, mostly self-built, but not always. I greatly prefer the UK version to the Aussie version (primarily due to the host), although I do watch the Aussie version too. Sadly, CBC in Canada hs decided to stop carrying it on air, so now I have to stream it and they only have 3 seasons on line… UGH.
I love watching Survivor. Reality tv isn’t too realistic!
I listen to and watch You Tube videos about things I am interested in. I like Fruity Knitting, Grocery Girls, and BBC news. I can knit while I listen.
I enjoy a steady stream of documentaries unless I’m knitting socks… Socks require silance. lol
The Daniel Hawthorne series by Anthony Horowitx has great plots, perhaps not so day-to-day realistic.
PBS all the way! I recently ran through all the seasons of Endeaver (well maybe not every episode). Next up would probably be BritBox
Back in the day I would watch every season of Gilmore Girls on repeat…totally knittable
Almost any audiobook by Stephen King. Loving his newest Fairy Tale right now.
Casablanca. Over. And over. And over
Love my mysteries, especially Midsomer Murders. I watch the bodies pile up as well as Cully’s jobs and Joulyce’s hobbies.
Good Omens is perfect for binge knitting!
I like to watch Sewing Bee while knitting 🙂
I love mysteries. Murdoch Mysteries on Ovation are just plain fun.
Thanks for the recommendation of Paris Murders. I’m hooked!
Been rewatching Chuck and am thoroughly enjoying it. It’s my equivalent of the honeymooners after everyone has headed up to bed before me.
I loooove the Paris Murders, though I’ve got a bit bogged down in it. At this point they’re not jumping the shark, they’re playing hopscotch with it.
But…Paris. And human eye candy as well. Also very soapy, which is entertaining. After I find the new Good Omens maybe I’ll go back to Paris.
Escape to th Country so I can dream about moving to Wales
I enjoy knitting while watching Antiques Roadshow. If we’re lucky, there are two shows back to back, and then we must return to the real world.
I love knitting with my PBS Passport, too! Victoria and All Creatures, dramatic series..all!
I don’t think I have a truly silly “knit to this” these days, but Grantchester, which we enjoy, is really improbable — a gorgeously handsome vicar spends his days with his middle-aged police detective buddy. Lots of angstyness, but he also has a quite sexy love life until he settles down (?) with an adorable agnostic widow with a young son. The supporting cast is also a delight, but again, adorably difficult in most improbable ways. Obviously I love it.
John Wick movies
My go-to is Murdoch Mysteries. Used to be The Artful Detective.
I’m a Trekkie- I’ll watch any ST related thing, but my first love was Next Generation. I was so young when the original was on that I was scared of the aliens and the weird places they went.
I love outlander and JD Robb audiobooks. I am interested to hear what everyone likes on PBS. I am thinking of subscribing wo I can watch the latest season of Call the Midwife.
I love a good scifi movie! I’m drawn to the dystopian, futuristic and everything in between.
A quirky scifi recommendation for you, The Fifth Element.
Happy knitting.
Unrealistic but addictive TV- Outlander!!! I am waiting for the season finale- and BTW have you seen Claire’s shawls? AND Hallmark Channel- I watch it and knit to it all winter.
Just finished Endeavor on PBS (young Inspector Morse, I absolutely loved him), now watching Inspector Lewis (Morse’s former ‘bag man’). Next will be to borrow the original Inspector Morse series from the library (I can’t find it streaming.)
If I’m just doing something simple I watch almost anything on Brit Box. If I need to concentrate, I listen to books on Audible. I’m currently working my way through Field Guide No. 24. It’s pretty quiet here so I can concentrate. She is so creative, it makes me jealous. But I sure enjoy the challenge of knitting her designs.
My favorite to knit to is The Great British Baking Show, of course! But if it’s a pattern I need to actually look at and pay attention to a lot, it’s Downton Abbey . (I have watched Downton so many times, I simply find comfort in their voices. xo)
TV knitting definitely works with crime procedurals, particularly British productions that tend to run as films. You’ve mentioned Broadchurch. Hinterland, Shetland, Sherlock, and Vera also
Star Wars!
All the Miss Marples forever for me:)
Any competition show on BBC. I love the bake off, sewing bee, pottery throwdown…I can watch these ALL.DAMN.DAY!
Addictive entertainments? So many! But I do love knitting to Passport or Britbox….Father Brown, Magpie Murders….so sad I finished Midsummer Murders!! Loved that series 🙂
I listen to the remix podcast, which is the newest version of the original Car Talk. Yup third iteration & I still can’t get enough. I know more about carburetors than I do about stranded knitting!
Gilmore girls! Always funny and so many epic
Emily gilmore is a great woman of fiction
I grew up watching Channel 13 in New York City, my mom believed it was TV worth watching! I am still devoted to PBS and Passport never disappoints.
Love reading the recommendations in the comments – taking notes!
I like to “watch” the Food Network while knitting.
Omg, I am loving Unforgotten from PBS on Amazon Prime. Just started season 4. Season 5 will be out September on PBS.
Still working through 5 seasons of Candice Renoir, another odd French detective show with a busy working mother as the lead detective and her various peers and outside entanglements. Guess you could call it dramedy. But I can’t knit with subtitles! Either I miss the plot or I miss the stitches (working on size 1 needles ATM).
I love old musicals… Harvey Girls, Meet Me in St. Louis, the Sound of Music, Chicago, Chorus Line, Singing in the Rain, That’s Entertainment… just to name a few. Turner Classic Movies is a great source for these and so much more. And I’ve watched most of them so many times, I can just listen and knit and know just what is going on without looking at the screen.
I’ve been loving crime dramas, specifically Scandinavian or German (my favorites) — in the native language with subtitles!! Yes, it’s odd but I really enjoy knitting to this. Boardertown was so good I watched it twice.
All of The Great British Bake-off and just about everything on Britbox especially mysteries. . I love the “panel shows such as QI.
I love any Gordon Ramsey show for knitting. Periodic look at the screen. Works.
Mysteries have always been my favorites, but I do like many of the music offerings on PBS.
I have found myself completely taken in by the British Baking Show!!
Oh gosh, it’s always and forever Downton Abbey. I could (and actually have) watched this over and over and over — it’s always entertaining, and between the music and dialogue, is just lovely to have in the background while you’re knitting.
I love, love, love Good Omens
Documentaries
British police procedural! Any though my favourite right now is Annika!
My favorite would be an audiobook with an unchallenging mystery or spy novel, well narrated, bad narrators are worse than no book.
Mystery audio books
I enjoy the Call the Midwife series.
Big Bang Theory – makes me laugh
Antiques roadshow, you can watch multiple episodes on the pbs app
Old scifi dvds-Star Trek, Star Gate, the series, the old movie off shoots. Even Eureka! No commercials, no internet connectivity issue. Current women’s world cup is also in line.
Knit away to jigs and reels music on a Sunday morning on a local radio station. It is upbeat and fills my heart.
The Wizard’s Butler by Nathan Lowell is my current favorite to read or listen to.
I just went down the Ted Lasso rabbit hole. It was clever, funny, entertaining, thought provoking and occasionally ridiculous. Perfect for knitting!
I totally live on patrol live. It’s action and comedy and great chase scenes all rolled into one.
Audiobooks. Multitasking and relaxing all at the same time.
My teenagers and I watch Sopramos together and I knit along. Family time and knitting all at once!
I love the magical realism of Reservation Dogs…teens coming of age in the Tribal Lands of Oklahoma…funny, tender, heart wrenching, I will miss it when this season ends.
I love any series Sarah Lancaster is in, with a particular preference for Happy Valley she was also excellent in Playing Julia Child, an accurate telling of her time at the Boston PBS station. Knitting flies when watching these. This Canadian loves PBS but Passport does always work in Canada. Thank goodness for recorded tv.
Historical or science audio books
I haven’t gotten into books on tape, nor have I figured out how to read and knit (but I DO think about it!) I do love a good murder mystery, though, and love Louise Penny. Why they didn’t continue her series on tv another year baffles many!
I love fantasy/adventure shows on TV
Why does Outlander have such a grip on me? It can be a bit cheesy. The sweaters?
The Great British Baking Show is great for knitting to. You can’t knit to something with a plot that’s too complicated or you might miss a yarn over!
I have watched way too many project runway reruns!
Knit-reading! A simple pattern and a bodice ripper novel on my iPad and I’m good to go!
PBS is the best for knitting inspiration- I especially love the fair isle designs on All Creatures Great and Small.
Lately I’ve been listening to the Louise Penney audiobooks- the Tree Pines Inspector Gamache books while I weave, knit, mow my lawn….I’m up to book 7 and will be gutted when I’m all done.
My daughter and I have been working through Silent Witness for a couple of years. We only watch it together and she just graduated from college, so we may never finish!
I find most cooking-contest shows unrealistic yet so compelling. Anyone remember the original Iron Chef in Japanese?
Anything Jurassic Park; also the X Files.
Any British mystery and I look everywhere for them. Although right now either I’ve so many or there’s a shortage of newer ones it seems, so I’ve started exploring podcasts too, and enjoying finding interesting things there.
Unrealistic and addictive… Books The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series, The Time Police series, or the Mercy Thompson series and Alpha and Omega series
TV- Ted Lasso, Resident Alien, Firefly
I love to knit to reruns of Rizzoli and Isles or, my rising favorite: audiobooks!
My husband loves America’s Got Talent, The Voice, and other talent competition shows. I find I get a bit bored if I don’t have something else to hold my attention. Therefore, I knit! I’m attentive enough to hear, watch, and comment on performances, and I’m not itching to pull out a book or start scrolling my phone. Win-win!
Love me some British mysteries. Cops, amateurs, anything. BritBox and Acorn have an unlimited supply. I have enjoyed too many to recall here, but Agatha Raisin is a favorite. Luther is intense, but who cares, it’s Idris Elba. Happy Valley, Shakespeare & Hathaway, Doc Martin, not a mystery but charming. So many. So much knitting
I am hooked on British mysteries. Inspector Morse, Silent Witness and anything Agatha Christie.
Everyone, run, don’t walk and buy The Henna Artist by Joshi. A great read. Found out about it at a knitting retreat run by Laura and Allyson Party, which was also excellent.
Grantchester on PBS; and then Outlander wherever I can watch it—loved the books and the TV show is great!
I don’t watch much TV but when I do I like instructive cooking shows. Mostly I like books on tape in the historical romance category! Thanks!
I’m also deep into French murder mysteries. Loved Paris Murders and the quirky criminologists. Two others: Candice Renoir and Art of Crime….with an art historian who solves puzzles by communing with the long deceased artists who created the work involved in the crime. Both shows feature quirky women, and I love the formula. Its own genre: Quirky women leaning in to their unusual superpowers to right the wrongs of the world! Of course, the scenery, and having the language wash over me, are special pleasures, too!
I love the movie A Simple Favor. It’s fun and has a great soundtrack.
books!!!
Give me a crime drama with a strong female lead and I’m in!
Addictive entertainment…all the baking shows and books about baking because I rarely bake but love the entertainment value it provides. Love seeing what people create in the kitchen.
Right now, Baseball. The best thing to knit to.
Books – anything paranormal romance (thank goodness hubby doesn’t see titles as I read on tablet – LOL).
I love watching documentaries or cooking shows while I knit. They are the perfect balance of interesting workout having to have my eyes glued to the screen for fear of missing a plot point.
I’m reading the Harry Bosch books after watching the tv series. So good….and SO MANY BOOKS!
Audio books! The best novels and essays, short stories and biographies.
I always love knitting to a period piece, miniseries preferred. love to see how production and costume designers reenact previous eras.
Last summer I was alone in the Maine woods for 2 weeks and vowed I wouldn’t read or listen to anything that would cause nightmares, so I binged a show I’d never watched, Picket Fences, on my iPad with a hot spot from my phone while knitting at night. Otherwise, I love watching mysteries on PBS or listening to my book club’s monthly pick on my library app! Recent books: State of Wonder, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Hello Beautiful, and currently Demon Copperhead.
Binge watching Rick Steve’s Europe Travel series seems to be my escape from reality these days
We like all the PBS and BBC travel shows, good for knitting
Old episodes of Will &Grace, love the humor!
Hallmark channel. Hallmark murder and mysteries.
I watch knitting podcasts while I am knitting and follow quite a few on YouTube.
I’m a cozy British murder fan. Miss Marple, Father Brown, etc.
This sounds weird but Ice Pilots NWT, originally on the weather channel but now on Roku. It’s about a very unusual airline in northern Canada that runs only vintage airplanes. So cozy to be knitting and not in northern Canada.
I’ve been reading a series of sci-fi novels written by James Corey called “ the expanse”. Just mesmerizing
I love to watch foreign TV while I’m knitting—I especially love Scandi-noir-esque shows. Sometimes there’s even alignment like now, knitting an Icelandic lopapeysa while watching Trapped. I like to listen to fiction audiobooks or history podcasts while weaving,
K-dramas! I just finished See you in my 19th Life.
Right now it’s Women’s World Cup soccer if the project is one I can do mostly eyes off. Also watch a lot of PBS, currently the series on trains and their routes from various parts of the world. Highly recommend!
I’m enjoying Lincoln Lawyer
Call the Midwife — love this show! — the characters, the setting, the spiritual aspect, and how it deals with relevant social issues of the decades.
“Spiral” -a French police procedural
All Masterpiece and BritCrime
I love mysteries, books movies or tv. Growing up we didn’t have cable but we did get PBS. A Sunday night tradition was all of us gathering to watching Mystery!
Durrells of Corfu on PBS passport
I had just for the first time read Pride and Prejudice in the eighties when Colin Firth became (for me) forever Mr.Darcy. And there you have it. 🙂
My favorite things to watch are police procedural (Law and Order series, especially the UK series!) and home reno. No idea what that says about me.
My favorite — and highly unrealistic — movie of all time is Jaws! My hubs and I will watch anytime we see it’s on. “Dead eyes,,, dolls eyes!”
My favorite media to knit or crochet to is audiobooks! I have a subscription to Audible, or can check them out free online from my public library via Libby. I love sci-fi and fantasy, but also the occasional mystery, romance, and thriller.
I listen to audiobooks when I knit and my favorites are the Death series by JD Robb. The newest one comes out in September and I can’t wait!
Bob’s Burgers is so easy to watch: funny and the characters care about each other.
The new seasons of Perry Mason with Mattthew Rhys on HBO. It’s really well acted and captures the glamour and grit of 40’s LA. Also, pretty much anything on Britbox and I totally. agree with all the comments on PBS!
I tried watching Britbox while knitting but I get too involved in the show and mess up my knitting so now I listen to audiobooks.
Historical romcoms are my jam! My favorite author is Eloísa James…
I love to knit watching Father Brown Mysteries.
I love watching anything Brit, whether it’s detective shows, or funny stuff. I can rewatch Count Arthur Strong or The I.T. Crowd or Fawlty Towers over and over while knitting. Funny never gets old!
Too many good things to knit to, but right now it is Outlander. I am reading the book and watching the show at the same time.
Any version of Pride and Prejudice!
I’m definitely a trekkie but my comfort watch while knitting is the Great British Bake-off. I’ve watched the whole thing from start to finish several times.
When in doubt…a mystery…any mystery series…Death in Paradise is always fun
I love PBS! Endeavor is a fav tv series and “The Irish Country Doctor” is my fav book series.
Old movies! Casablanca! Pimpernel Smith! Hitchcock’s Notorious! Great knitting time…
Guilty pleasure—The Mindy Project! Love a good belly laugh while I’m knitting along…
Midsommer Murders makes great knitting tv – interesting but not so much so that I want to put down the knitting!
Audiobooks for me. This way I can keep my eyes on the project. Fantasy is my favorite, particularly anything written by Brandon Sanderson.
I’ve been knitting to love island, which is cheesy reality TV
I’m reading all the Georgette Heyer regency romances in order.
My latest favorite is Shetland! The slow pace, the amazing scenery, and whodunnit are delightful for knitting to.
Hooked on PBS Passport and BritBox, especially Shetland and Inspector Morse
Knitting, while watching Britbox with a G&T is heavenly.
I love knitting to NCIS. I also watched NCIS New Orleans and Bull but they were cancelled — the danger of watching network TV. Other favorites are Father Brown and Death in Paradise. I love formula while I knit.
I’m into fantasy/superhero/martial arts/mystery but on the lighter side, so most of the young adult reading and movies
if i’m dog sitting, then i usually have access to one or more of the hallmark channels–the mystery one is my fave–talk about some scooby-doo villains! i sort of hate that i love it but it does make the perfect guilty pleasure as i can only access it sparingly.
Any movie with a fantastic score that supremely complements the storyline! I have also become fond of podcasts from the Smithsonian, This Is Love, Atlas Obsucra and more.
I’m a late-comer to Louise Penny on audio — *not* the horrid Three Pines TV series!
More Inspector Gamache for me, please!
We’re in the middle of watching Suits now too. With a little bit of Seinfeld too.
Totally lost in BBC/Acorn British mysteries this summer; especially loved “Slow Horses” even though it haunts my dreams days later.
Love Strange New Worlds. Escape to the Country ( a British real estate show). MLS and MLB.
Grantchester is my favorite knitting entertainment, followed by Antiques Roadshow.
PBS passport is the best! Miss Scarlet and the Duke or Endeavor are my current favs.
Favorite book: A Prayer for Owen Meany
Endeavor, hands down! We’ve watched the full series three times so far. Although Foyle’s War is a close second.
I’m currently catching up on the more recent Star Trek shows, just finished the second season of Discovery and am going to move on to Strange New Worlds. With the Picard and the rest of Discovery after that, I figure I’ve got a lot of future knitting time.
home remodeling shows
I’m a Star Trek girl, through and through…
A book I recently read and really enjoyed was Lessons In Chemistry. It was very creative. I’m a real audiobook fan, but actually can’t listen to a book while I knit. Instead, I listen to the Downtempo radio station on Apple Music. I love it.
I watch Law & Order, Blue Bloods and NCIS. I used to try to figure it out before they did, but now it’s just entertaining.
I love knitting to . . . anything in my Audible queue
That so easy, I knit often to some version of Law and Order. Los Angeles, SVU, etc. I’m watching Season 1 now, still holds up even though from the 90s. Even after watching every single episode over the years, I still jump when something grim happens. Just call me obsessed.
If I’m out of the house, I listen to books on Audible, mostly autobiographies, but from home, I DVR lots of stuff and watch those – a lot of PBS mysteries (but only can knit to the ones not subtitled or I spend half the time rewinding to read what they said).
Hercule Poiroit is my current obsession!!!
Lots of favorites from PBS and the British mysteries. I was very impressed with the story line in the latest Grantchester series. It kept me awake and anxious as to how it was going to be resolved. Shetland, Vera, Van der Valk, Wallender…thank goodness the list goes on.
I’m totally addicted to knitting to Dateline. It doesn’t quite fit the unrealistic category but it is mindless and predictable and I can’t look away (unless I’m working on a project that needs my eyes glued to it).
Outlander has to be a favorite. I have listened to all 9 books on Audible as I knit or clean or do laundry. Also have watched the first 6 seasons on Netflix and enjoying Season 7 right now on Starz. I also enjoy Jeffrey Archer’s books. The Clifton Chronicles and William Warwick are favorites. Love your website and daily emails but still think of you as Mason Dixon. Thanks for being there.
My choice has got to be Friends, after all, how did they afford that giant New York apartment?
Bike racing is ideal for knitting/watching. Hours of following the peleton through gorgeous countryside in Europe with the occasional crash or breakaway to keep it interesting.
PBS Newshour….daily knitting hour.
I like to relax and knit to old sitcoms like I Love Lucy, Beaver, Father Knows Best, etc.
I love watching I Love Lucy or Mr. Bean
There are so many interesting crafters, musicians, and informational videos on YouTube, I usually pick that over tv or a movie. Loved Forged in Fire when it was on tv.
For mindless tv knitting, old episodes of Law and Order!
Ted Lasso! OK, maybe it’s more realistic than some, so I’ll say Schitt’s Creek, too.
I like to knit to audiobooks.
I am getting back into Seinfeld….oh my, so funny!!!
Such good recommendations-Astrid or Munch are engrossing. We just listened to JT’s Breakshot. Watch and knit to Silent Witness or Doctor Who or NCIS. Those series have years of options. But oooh Broadchurch with David Tennant. The Adam Project and Spectral are good movie options.
I have a fond weakness for classics like sense and sensibility… little women…and Anne of Greene Gables …I savor the expressions made and phrases used back in those time periods
I love knitting to intriguing mysteries – especially shows from Scandinavia. You can admire the knits the actors wear while creating your own little treasure.
Call the Midwife.
My guilty pleasure for knitting entertainment is..shhh…the Bachelor or Bachelorette
Old School here. Books do it for me. Agatha Christie for example…………
Lately I am into Britbox or AcornTV which I find to be great to knit as I listen better when my hands are doing something. I also record regular network programs which I will watch as there may not be any scripted programs with the strike still going on.
Vera and Shetland
I love Project Runway for the participants and how they make and design their creationd
I love TED talks. For $5 a month you can join the TED community. You will get invited to special live events with famous experts. You can ask them ?s. I attended one small group with a world reknown neurologist. I asked her if you can reverse memory loss once you have it. I’m a 68 year old Buddhist nun and I’ve spent years meditating, but not doing routine exercise, etc. This was total ignorance given the fact I’m also a retired RN! She assured me you could reverse it if it hadn’t progressed too far! Anyway the TED membership is excellent.
I have two serious addictions: buying yarn and buying books! I have knit for years in solitary retreats often for several hours a day,!
I have so much yarn I could probably open up a yarn shop! I love MDK!
Blessings and love,
Ani Tsultrim Lhamo
Almost anything on PBS but especially Inspector Lewis (going away soon?), Endeavor, The Tunnel, and Seaside Hotel! Trapped, a mystery/detective show set in Iceland on Amazon…K-dramas on Netflix, too many to mention…
I’m a huge Doctor Who fan – totally implausible, of course, but so much fun with so much variety.
I’m a YouTube knitting podcast binge watcher- Arne & Carlos, Fruity Knitting, The Meaningful Stitch, Andrea Mowry, Finnish Knitting Stories.
The Great British Bake Off, I am a committed fan and the knitting goes better when a vicariously bake! Also Lucy Worsley doing anything about the history and historical culture of England–she is like that curious, interesting best friend from childhood who shares her knowledge with such charm and flare.
I like watching midsomer murders
Oh my gosh I watch so much television (aka knitting time). I loved Ted Lasso and Never Have I Ever is pretty funny. I will watch Gilmore Girls and Breaking Bad on repeat if I can’t find anything else appealing at that moment.
I love watching garden-related youtube videos while knitting. I sometimes get so wxcited about a new planting or gaden design idea that I put down the knitting to go outside to strategize or get some new seeds.
The Good Wife
For completely mindless knitting and to be a proper wifely companion, I will knit to whatever sport my husband is watching. For alone time/addictive entertainment: I can never say “NO” to “Hellboy”. I cannot explain it, but I love those movies. I need to watch the new one, sans Ron Perlman, but he’s the best. I also love to watch watercolor painting videos on IG or YouTube. I also follow a few knit blogs–fun to knit along!
Anything on Acorn
For me, I love the old British comedy The Good Life. An totally agree with Star Trek The Next Generation.
Poldark
Watching the Netflix series Good Girls
Lately I’ve been rewatching old(er) shows via streaming – like ER. I like ones where I can watch and listen but that don’t require too much attention to follow what is going on, lest it distract from my knitting (or crocheting)!
I love watching Midsomer Murders on PBS.
All creatures great and small, and all of the NCIS shows – anytime!
Downton Abbey is still a BIG favorite. Daisy and Mrs. Patmore make the meals. Tom Benson drives me around. The maids clean and dress us. The footman cleans the boots. Et cetera.
I’m old school: love the Poirot mysteries.
All creatures great and small
For knitting, I like Midsommer Murders–predictable and, if in reruns, probably one I have already watched so a glance at my knitting won’t mean I have missed a key clue. But I also love Vera; Brenda Blythyn (sp?) is always terrific. I also like the Stacey Abrams “Justice” mysteries–no knitting but lots of twists and turns to keep the plot moving along.
All the Miss Marple’s on PBS, any of the versions of Jane Marple works for me. It’s wonderful to have Miss Marple as a knitting companion. I envy her ability to never drop a stitch despite all the looking around for suspicious people and activities she does while knitting.
I was addicted to Outlander and find myself equally addicted to Jack Ryan. How can people fight swo much and never look the worse for it???
I love watching Hallmark movies, in the winter, in front of my fireplace, with my knitting! Shamelessly, I would really love to win this kit and virtual class;)
Mellissa, I must comment here: Those Hallmark movies, I agree, are great for knitting or crochet. You can go through the whole movie and never have to look up to learn what is going on…you just know, nor do you ever have to know what the characters look like. I think that I crocheted about 20 hats that way years ago before I knitted. That’s when I would have Hallmark movies on.
I watch podcasts while knitting endless podcasts some craft related, nature related, even music related
Really enjoyed The Bear. Knit through both seasons of it!
Anne Cleeves books, particularly Shetland, and PBS British mysteries – wonderful!
I just finished binging The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix, and loved it. The. I went straight i to Business Proposal—I do not love it, but I got stuck. For reading, it’s all about the Emma Griffin FBI Mystery book series by AJ Rivers.
And I’d LOVE to attend the class!!
I am watching House (Hugh Laurie) again and I find it easy to knit to while Dr. House and his team work to solve medical mysteries.
YouTube sewing videos. No dialog, no pattern. Just a soundtrack and 15 minutes of your time watching someone turn a button-down shirt into a dress, hat, and purse for a child. I can watch these for hours LOL
I watch series like “Big bang theory”, “miranda” or “Gilmorton girls”.
Happy crafting, folks!
I’ll knit to pretty much anything, but if I’m going to really sit-in and knit for a day, I’ll go with an epic movie series, like ALL OF THE STAR WARS, the Harry Potters, the Lord of the Ringses, etc.
I’ve been busy going to grad school, raising the kids, remodeling, and two international moves over the last 2-3 years – So I am behind on the tv watching. I would love to finish/catch up with Schitt’s Creek and Grace and Frankie. I also love the detective movies like Sherlock and Elementary. I use to watch CSI and NCIS when the kids were young.
My unexpected favorite of the past few years has been Word of Honor, on Nextflix and Amazon Prime.
‘Love Boat’ I am sappy for this show. I can pay attention to my stitches as I listen or watch. It helps keep the calm going. 😉
Justified. We’ve enjoyed this series. Timothy Olyphant plays a great Raylan Givens
Britbox, Acorn, Masterpiece!
I don’t have TV but I do knit to podcasts and YouTube videos on knitting, sheep farming, history, etc. Don’t do Netflix and rarely go to movies so I am rather ignorant about pop culture and popular entertainment. I am sure I am missing some wonderful stuff but I rather find my entertainment in trying new techniques or challenging myself. The results can be humorous, satisfying, and sometimes tragically awful but I keep on trying.
My addictive entertainment comes in the afternoon: The old series Tale of Wells Fargo. Part of the fun is to see how Dale Robertson’s hair is NEVER mussed, even when he takes off his hat, or rides his horse like the wind.
Anything from Acorn tv, especially loved Brokenwood.
“Pillars of the Earth” on audio books= hours of knitting time.
I like to knit to any movie I have watched many times and know by heart.
I love endeavor and all the dark British mysteries sometimes they could be too hard to knit too, though! I do love watching YouTube, concentrating on true crime, and anti-MLM content.
Most recently, I binged The Medici’s on Netflix
I’m on the Doc Martin team. I’ll watch it over and over and love it every time. Schitt’s Creek or Episodes for a little comic filler when I don’t have an hour to spare.
Eastenders -a long-running (1985-) British soap! Such fun to catch up – usually a binge once every two weeks. No need to “watch” because the voices are so familiar!
Heartland. I can truly watch an entire season in a day or two.
Mapgie Murders was great!
I love the Paris Murders, but it’s hard to knit and read subtitles. Father Brown is easier to knit or!
For PBS crime series, I like Miss Scarlett and the Duke, more of a detective show but very easy to knit to!
Got to be Outlander. I’m on my 4th or 5th rewatch and second read of the books.
Audio book!
I like Death in Paradise on PBS. It’s an awful lot of misters on such a small island! But the characters are engaging and the scenery is so beautiful!
Mysteries!!! Loved the Magpie Murders and Vienna Blood are my current favorites:)
I’m enjoying The Lincoln Lawyer and Dark Winds right now. And when I can’t find something on a streaming service, there’s always The Closer and Major Crimes on nearly continuous repeat on one of my cable stations.
All of the British mysteries mentioned, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Happy Valley, Scott and Bailey. So much to watch, so much to knit, so little time!
Coronation Street, the UK’s longest running soap opera! Addictive for 63 years! It’s my ½ hour weekday escape with my knitting. Fabulous characters and villains, half drama, half comedy. Will Stephen finally get his comeuppance? When will Brian and Mary declare their love for each other? Who will be the Rovers Return new landlady? Stay tuned!
Oh, so many (I don’t have much time for realism in my entertainment. The real world is all around me. I’ll amuse myself with something more fun)! TV(just ones that spring to mind right now): Fort Salem, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vienna Blood, the new Van Der Valk, The Last Wave (it has subtitles but not lots of dialogue so still knittable). Books: Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St Mary’s, Rick Riordan’s Trials of Apollo, Lindsey Davis’ Falco (which might be realistic for ancient Rome), Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s Barcelona series, Practical Magic, more or less anything by Charline Harris… I’ll stop now as I’m showing myself up!
I love Britbox and Acorn mysteries for knitting, particularly Father Brown.
True Crime Podcasts is my go-to.
I love shows with a mishmash of romance, history and fantasy – especially when they are multi episode. Nothing like 56 episodes of a romance between a Chinese general and a sassy time traveler – Love Like The Galaxy – to make a project sweater seem short. I watched on the Viki streaming service but it’s available on YouTube as well.
Currently Rome…as in Domina, Brittania and the original HBO Rome. When I glance up I get great costumes emphasizing fabrics. But can avoid watching the beheadings.
Doctor Who and Sherlock. Also Chuck, a series about a regular guy who inadvertently becomes a spy.
I love knitting to books on tape. Mystery series such as those by Daniel Silva, Elizabeth George, Love love Louise Penny!
Absolutely BBC crime drama all the way! Eternal favourites are Endeavour, Shetland, Scott & Bailey, Happy Valley, Unforgotten, etc.
Mysteries! Vera, Shetland, which also provides knitting inspiration, Endevour, Morse, Lewis and Hathaway-did a binge watch through the entire lot. If I’m not in the mood for a mystery (?), then it’s Star Trek and the numerous “off spring” of the original episodes.
Say yes to the dress is my jam.
Shameless, Six Feet Under
I loved watching Annika, hoping for another season!
I’m addicted to Father Brown even though the idea of a priest meddling in crime solving is pretty far fetched.
Vera is one of many women crime solvers that I like to watch while knitting.
I love the Star Trek series and just found out there is a Star Trek channel. Wow!
I will flip through the channels to find any Law and Order on TV. And any version. Just hearing the theme lets me know I can now settle in with all the characters. And since I have seen most of the shows before, there is no problem if I miss some of the dialogue to chase a mistake.
I love listening to books so I can knit at the same time.
What They Do in the Shadows, both movie and series, are absolute nonsense but absolutely delightful. I watched the movie ages ago and adored it, so I was hesitant to try the series, but it’s a delight, too, and there are amazing cameos.
Connected and delightful is Flight of Conchords. I adore a silly Kiwi!
Oh, and speaking of Kiwis, there are a load of great series from New Zealand, but I love a good murder mystery/police procedural, and I often find myself knitting to The Brokenwood Mysteries.
Anything by Jane Austen. Seriously, beautiful.
Well, I like science fiction, and I like the Great Courses series, so when I sit to knit, I just either flip on Audible and listen to books in my library, or turn on Kanopy and pick one of the Great Courses they have in the section. I have to be careful I don’t outrun my credits on Kanopy, but Great Courses take up to 24 hours to finish.
Thanks for sharing! So enjoy the info. Just one concern, I do not own a cell phone so do not text. Will that prevent me from entering contest and other offers?
My TV knitting projects usually win the race. Once a project reaches TV-knitting simplicity, it’s the one I pull out nightly. I also love listening to audio books while knitting. Sure, if I need to count or concentrate on a complicated bit, I’ll pause the book, but most of the time, having someone read me a story is blissful.
I love to knit to knitting podcasts. I love Downton Abbey but there are so many great ideas here in this thread. Thanks for this thread
Silly British mysteries, yes! Magpie Murders is fun to look at, along with featuring fabulous Aunties to emulate.
I can always watch an episode of “Columbo.”
I watch a lot of PBS and BritBox. There are some great food shows on Netflix (Somebody Feed Phil, The Chef Show, Ugly Delicious, etc) and I’m always happy to rewatch Searching for Italy and Searching for Mexico.
any cosy mystery series
Wycliffe or Midsomer Murders. It needs to be slow enough for me to glance down at my knitting
Father Brown is my favorite. I watched them awhile ago and am watching them again since I forgot how they all ended!
Audiobooks are great for knitting with
Anything by Bear Grylls is fascinating to me and quite addictive. He’s an amazing guy and fun to watch. I’m also a sucker for Dibers, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri, but not his Grocery Games.
Diners that is!
Law and Order, the. first series. Star Trek – The Next Generation and Turner Classic Movies are my favorites to knit to.
Action movies showing fantasy plots and stunts.
If I have finished the audiobook of the local book club selection, I often play HGTV or old movies from the seventies and eighties as they are easier to follow along without attentive watching.
I am a sucker for B grade scifi movies. The campier the better.
Lately I’ve been watching Justified in the evenings!
The new season of Grantchester!
When knitting, I really do love listening to podcasts that teach me something. I have also been enjoying a lot of older sitcoms that my 13-year old has recently discovered and has me binging with her. They are fun and I can use my brainpower for yarn.
I love streaming … Have you ever? The Crown and more … long live Netflix!
I like to knit to music or a comedy movie/sit com.
Doc Martin but prefer my Nature shows.
Father Brown all the way!
So exciting! I love my local PBS station which I access via antenna. Am technologically challenged and am wondering whether ROkU or Apple TV would be best device to be able to stream Passport. Thanks!