Everything feels like too much right now.
For those who are in Israel or have loved ones there, the reality of running to shelters and saferooms is nerve-wracking and impossible. And in so many other ways, too, the world feels like it’s a pretty terrible place right now.
If you’re looking for the latest news about Israel and Iran, you can find it at our sister publication, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. My colleagues there are working tirelessly to cover all the angles that matter on the Israel-Iran War.
But if you’re looking to take a break from the news for a little bit, and find some Jewish comfort and Jewish joy, well, that’s what Kveller is here for.
It’s no surprise many Israeli cable and satellite companies are opening all their premium channels to their subscribers — everyone needs a way to manage their nerves and their stress right now, and comfort TV is just what the doctor ordered. So I’ve collected a list of shows for you to distract yourselves with.
If you’re looking for nostalgia
“Mad About You”
The romcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in the city was never explicitly labeled Jewish but is most certainly Jewish-coded, with Reiser’s Paul Buchman and his family reading as neurotic New York Jews. I do know that the opening tune from Andrew Gold instantly releases dopamine for me, and so hopefully paying a visit to the Buchman’s will help cheer you up.
“The Nanny”
Is there any more comforting a presence than the nanny from Queens who winds up caring for the children of a rich British Broadway producer? Rewatching this now-cult-classic, I’m often blown away by Fran Drescher’s feats of physical comedy and by how much this show (mostly) holds up. Fran Fine is my Jewish fashion queen and even that nasal raspy voice is just so wonderfully familiar and strangely calming.
“Northern Exposure”
More than three decades after the show about the Jewish doctor from New York who ends up working in a clinic in a fictional small town in Alaska stopped airing, the Emmy Award nominated series is now finally available to stream online. Get ready to escape into the world of Dr. Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow).
If you’re looking for something very funny and very Jewish
“Reformed”
For those who want a show full of Jewish contemplation and wisdom that’s also really funny, there’s nothing better than this one, loosely based on the story of star rabbi Delphine Horvilleur. It stars a wild-haired Elsa Guedj as Léa Schmoll, a newly minted, deeply human rabbi dealing with her first bris, Jewish wedding and bar mitzvah.
“The New Black”
This infectious comedy takes place in a Haredi Yeshiva boarding school in Jerusalem. It is called “Shababnikim” in Hebrew, a term used to describe troublemaking Yeshiva students, and it is about four very different such young men. There’s Avinoam (Daniel Gad), the son of an Israeli member of the Knesset, Laser (Omer Perelman Striks), the son of a wealthy New York Haredi family, Meir (Israel Atias), who comes from a less-than-affluent Mizrahi family and the hilariously nerdy rule follower Gedaliah (Ori Laizerouvich), who is very Sheldon-from-“Big Bang Theory”-coded and who ends up as part of this group of rascals.
If you want to run away to a different world and time
“Fire Dance”
This show isn’t a light watch by any means. It deals with suicidal ideation and parental abuse. And yet it’s also so fairytale-like, it turns the Israeli town of Tiberias into a whole new universe. The show follows a young Haredi woman who finds her voice and the handsome and charming son of the the sect’s religious leader (whose care for the women in his community makes him a controversial figure to some). It feels like a Haredi Jane Austen series.
“Kugel”
This charmingly funny prequel to the hit show “Shtisel,” about a Haredi family from Jerusalem, is aptly titled “Kugel.” It takes us into the world of Nuchem (Sasson Gabay) and Libbi Shtisel (Hadas Yaron) and Antwerp’s ultra-Orthodox community. I highly recommend watching it before doing another binge of the beloved original show, starring Michael Aloni and Shira Haas.
If food is your #1 source of comfort
“Girl Meets Farm”
If your mind can’t really do any kind of narrative TV right now, might I suggest finding comfort in a literal farm with the very sweet Molly Yeh? Yeh often incorporates her Jewish heritage into the always appetizing recipes she cooks in her home on a farm in Ohio.
“Be My Guest with Ina Garten”
Ina Garten is really my comforter in chief. Watch her talk to some of your favorite (Jewish) celebrities and cook delicious food in this really fun, distracting, easily bingeable show.
“Somebody Feed Phil”
Travel the world with ever-so-comforting Jewish dad Phil Rosenthal. I wish we could all live in Phil’s world, where there is so much joy in every bite and you’re always sharing a meal in community with friends.
