‘TV let me remember what it is to be human’: the shows that got the UK through Covid shielding

It is March 2020 and a new illness called “coronavirus” means 3.7 million people with pre-existing health conditions in England are being told by the government to shield at home. As someone with weak breathing muscles in a respiratory pandemic, my mind goes to the important question: is there anything good on TV? With all entertainment venues – and basic human contact – off limits, reacquainting myself with an old friend called television seems like a plan.

I start with BBC iPlayer’s : an alternative romantic comedy about people who never leave their flat seems fitting. As the world goes to hell, I continue with the genre known as “incredibly wholesome”: ; ; . When TV soap production stops, II use the hours to finally finish shows I let fall by the wayside in more sociable times. . . Pandemics apparently curb productivity, but not from where I’m sitting.