TELEVISION

The Queens Who Got Me Through the Pandemic

Keep calm and watch on

Early on during the pandemic, I decided to limit my TV binging. I was solo in an apartment in New York City for what was supposed to be two weeks. It turned out to be nearly 52. Since I am already prone to curling up in the fetal position on the couch when the world sucks the life out of me, I thought it best not to spend my time at home too glued to the tube. Home from the office, I read books. I tidied the house Marie Kondo-style. I banged my pots and pans at 7pm, as ambulance sirens blared through a quiet New York and countless businesses all around the city shuttered.

But, at some point, I needed my screen stories — as my grandmother would say, “my programs.” I needed to see the world as it used to be, maskless and joyful, gathered and socially…proximate. And that’s when a cadre of queens came to my rescue. Some were tight-lipped and broad-hipped, while others were silly and frilly. Here are the five who helped me most keep calm and watch on:

Elizabeth II on The Crown. I was late to the prince-and-princess party, but Netflix’s history of the Brit royals was well worth the watch. While I wasn’t personally a fan of the mid-series switch that replaced the incredible Claire Foy with Olivia Colman (though Colman remains my favorite screen…