Star Trek: Discovery, Friends, and other films and shows to watch with your BFFs

How YOU doin’? We were on a break! Could Friends BE any better for vegging out with your friends to? There’s a reason why this show stayed on prime-time TV for a decade, and it isn’t just because of the memorable catchphrases. Every one of the six main characters is fantastic and flawed in their own ways. They’re human and that’s why you can’t help but love them. It’s the perfect series to unwind to, but there are also emotional moments that will get your waterworks going. I’m still not over The Last One.
Heidi Yeung, Web editor

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This is a show that truly has no filter, with four narcissistic main characters that vocalise every selfish urge or thought we’ve ever had. At the same time, they speak and insult each other in a way that is so authentic, so brutally honest, that you can tell the characters (and actors) are, in reality, the very best of friends. The chemistry is so organic that you feel like you’re right there with them.
Ben Young, Sub-editor

In Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, and Rush Hour 3, Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) and Chief Inspector Yan Naing Lee (played by our very own Jackie Chan) work together (sometimes not very successfully) as police detectives in the US, Hong Kong and France. They fight against criminals – and sometimes each other – to save the day with wacky jokes and silly kung fu moves. They’re not complex stories, but the leading duo are dynamic and funny, and you’ll love laughing at their actions with your mates.
Sebastien Raybaud, Reporter

Sherlock. Each episode is like a slick feature-length movie, and there is more than enough to keep you going for a day-long marathon. Who wouldn’t want to spend hours swooning over Benedict Cumberbatch as the brilliant yet impossible detective-for-hire Sherlock Holmes – or Martin Freemans’ long-suffering John Watson? (Side note: these two quite possibly have the greatest bromance in TV history). The show is fast-paced and clever, yet also sweet and funny, switching from tense drama to total irreverence and back again seamlessly. Seriously, 221B Baker Street is the place to be.
Charlotte Ames-Ettridge, Sub-editor

Parks and Recreation is a US show I can watch with my friends for hours. This mockumentary style show follows the ups and downs of life in one department in a local government office. Each episode is quick and light-hearted, and you and your friends can sympathise with the many cringeworthy moments that the characters go through. It’s not a show that requires a huge amount of concentration, so you can binge watch this with your friends and still talk and laugh away.
Joshua Lee, Intern

Look, there’s no getting away from school, even when you’re actually away from school – and one of the best high school films out there is Mean Girls. A little bit of romance, a load of comedy, more drama than anyone can handle, a stunning scene where the entire student body end up brawling ... this film has it all, and you’ll fall apart giggling with your friends watching it. Dare you not to spend the rest of the night quoting the film to each other. You won’t be able to.
Ginny Wong, Sub-editor

Crisp, witty banter and moral purity fills political drama The West Wing, which follows the lives of President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and his dysfunctional, but ultimately good-hearted, team of advisors and staffers. This series, often lambasted as “The Left Wing” for its progressive political stance, gained 227 award nominations, including 95 Emmy nods. For best effect, watch only the first four seasons, which were written by perennial Oscar favourite Aaron Sorkin.
Edmund Ho, Reporter

Riverdale is back on Netflix with its second season this month, so yes, I will be watching that. Why not round up your own Archie gang and catch up on the first series with burgers and a giant milkshake to share?
Nicole Moraleda, Sub-editor

Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight are perfect for fans of quiet romance films that highlight the excitement, fantasy and poignancy of love, but who also see the downsides of falling in love. The trilogy was filmed across three decades, and follows the relationship between Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) as they (re-)meet through different stages of their life. Get together with your pals and experience the highs and lows of a relationship with the actors, and take the time between each film to discuss what each movie means to you.
Nicola Chan, Reporter

Old Stephen Chow movies are the best to watch with friends. Even though you’ve all seen them a million times before, it’s awesome to mouth the words together as it happens onscreen. It can be fun to lose yourself in the familiar, and a personal favourite of mine is his turn as a butcher/reserve spy in the James Bond parody, From Beijing with Love. Check out his “useful” gadgets such as a blow dryer disguised as … a shaver?
Jamie Lam, Sub-editor