Winter break is two weeks long, starting tomorrow! While some people might be going on week-long vacations to visit family or have fun, what will they do with all the extra time? Here’s a suggestion: binge-watching shows! Not sure what to watch? Here are five of my personal favorites.

5. Death Note

High school senior Yagami Light finds a Death Note dropped by the Shinigami (Death God) Ryuk, and discovers that if he knows the face of anyone he writes the name of in the book, they die within forty seconds of a heart attack, regardless of their physical condition. This anime has 37 episodes, all 20 minutes, with an exciting storyline and compelling characters. If you like shows with morally ambiguous characters and relatively light psychological warfare, “Death Note” is for you! It was originally produced in 2006, making the ambiguous theme all the more exciting when coupled with, the older art style. It can be found on Netflix, Funimation, and Crunchyroll. 

4. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.

Want something more lighthearted? Watch this! Saiki Kusuo is a teenage boy with immense psychic powers- enough to take over the world. The only catch? He doesn’t want to! Instead, he wants to be a normal high school student, even if his classmates (and reluctant friends) want differently. This show is a high school comedy with hilarious characters and a protagonist who wants to be left alone. The show has 50 episodes, each spanning 20 minutes, and can be found on Netflix, Crunchyroll, and Funimation.

3. Squid Game

I’m pretty sure everyone has heard of “Squid Game” by now- a Korean drama that broke streaming records and broke just about every stereotype about death games like the “Hunger Games” as well. Still, if you haven’t seen it yet, or have been meaning to, winter break is a perfect time to do it. With nine episodes, 40 minutes each, and a second season inbound, this show will have you on the edge of your seat just waiting for the next game. It can be found on Netflix.

2. Arcane

“Arcane” is a backstory of sorts to the competitive team game “League of Legends” playable champions, like Vi and Jinx. The animation delves into rifts between a flourishing city and its seedy underbelly while keeping true to the characters and what they want. The animation is smooth, and it comes with an amazing soundtrack. The show has nine episodes, each forty minutes, and talk of a second season is underway. It can be found on Netflix.

1. Criminal Minds 

This series is all about criminal profiling- and it does it extraordinarily well. None of the golden sheen splashed over most series with similar themes. The show follows a group of FBI agents who track down criminals using psychological assessments and the occasional gunfight. I love this show because it doesn’t sugarcoat anything to make it seem detached from reality; instead, it embraces it and turns it into something captivating and enthralling. It currently has 15 seasons, 12 of which can be found on Netflix. The complete series can be found on Paramount Plus, Hulu, and other popular streaming services.