Finals week is coming up, and after a busy semester, students are pushing through to the end. We’re all stressed and burnt out, and breaks from studying and working on final projects are essential to making it through the last few weeks. Here are some of my favorite feel-good movies and TV shows that help me get through stressful times like these. 

Legally Blonde – This movie is a classic early-2000s rom-com. Everyone knows the story of sorority girl-turned-lawyer Elle Woods, and everything about this movie is comforting to me. 

New Girl – The main sitcom discourse I see online seems to only ever include The Office, Parks and Recreation and Friends, which is fair—they are all, debatably, good shows. However, New Girl seems to always be left out, and I think that’s unfair. New Girl is one of the best sitcoms I’ve seen. Zooey Deschanel plays ditzy, happy Jessica Day, a girl who moves in with three random guys after a breakup. Chaos ensues in the home daily, and it’s such a fun show with actual character development. The whole show is on Netflix to stream. 

The Good Place – Another criminally underrated show, in my opinion, is The Good Place. The show stars Kristen Bell as Eleanor Shellstrop, a woman who recently died and finds out that she is in “The Good Place.” Although it’s a sitcom with 20-ish minute long episodes, there are many twists and turns, and it’s an all-around good time. It’s very easy to watch and is a perfect show to catch up on when you need a quick break from studying for finals. 

Set It Up – Set It Up is a Netflix original rom-com about two overworked assistants who set their demanding bosses up together to make all of their lives easier. In true rom-com fashion, their plans go awry, but there is a happy ending. The movie stars Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Lucy Lie and Taye Diggs and is one of my favorite Netflix originals that definitely deserves more hype. 

This Is Us – This Is Us is, without a doubt, my favorite show. It’s best described as a show about a family intertwined with different generations. While that may sound boring, it is actually one of the most interesting, well-written shows on TV within the past few years. It is both heart-wrenching and feel-good at the same time, which is why it made this list. The first five seasons are on Hulu and Peacock. 

Soul – People seem to have mixed feelings about Pixar’s latest film, Soul. Similarly to This Is Us, it is both sad and feel-good. The movie stars Jamie Foxx voicing Joe Gardner, a band teacher who dreams of being a jazz musician. The film deals with the idea of death and your soul’s true purpose in a very Pixar way. The ending leaves a lot up for interpretation, but I am choosing to see it as a happy one. 

Break is near, and although pushing through all of the work is important, so is taking breaks. Watch some of these fun shows and movies and take a breath; we’ve got this!