What do you want to watch tonight?
Each title says who it's good for, and who it isn't. Tap what you want tonight, or say no to one and why.
Closest to Little Miss Sunshine first
Shameless 2011
Series
Chicagoan Frank Gallagher is the proud single dad of six smart, industrious, independent kids, who without him would be... perhaps better off. When Frank's not at the bar spending what little money they have, he's passed out on the floor. But the kids have found ways to grow up in spite of him. They may not be like any family you know, but they make no apologies for being exactly who they are.
The sides of Shameless
- An alcoholic father of six on Chicago's South Side
- An older sister raising her siblings
- Scams to pay the bills
Good for you if
- you like six Gallagher kids looking after each other because their father won't.
- you laugh at Frank Gallagher's schemes even when they hurt his children.
- you like watching Fiona, Lip and Ian grow up and make their own mistakes.
Bad for you if
- you'd rather skip frequent sex scenes, or you watch with others.
- you can't watch addiction, neglect and mental illness up close.
- you can't commit to eleven seasons.
About: poverty · family · addiction · survival
Modern Family 2009
Series
The Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is a wonderfully large and blended family. They give us an honest and often hilarious look into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted, embrace of the modern family.
The sides of Modern Family
- Three related households in Los Angeles
- Interviews straight to the camera
- A father who tries too hard to be cool
Good for you if
- you like Phil Dunphy's terrible jokes and Cam's dramatic entrances.
- you like Jay, his children and their families meddling in each other's lives.
- you want short, warm episodes where everyone makes up by the end.
Bad for you if
- you can't commit to eleven seasons.
- you roll your eyes at the lesson-of-the-day voice-over at the end.
About: family · acceptance · parenthood
Encanto 2021
Film
The tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family—every child except one, Mirabel. But when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family's last hope.
The sides of Encanto
- A family where everyone has a gift but her
- A magic house that's cracking
- We don't talk about Bruno
Good for you if
- you like songs the whole family will sing.
- you like a story about family pressure and love.
- you want something colourful and warm.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you lose track in big families. The Madrigals are a dozen, each with a gift.
About: family · expectations · belonging
Succession 2018
Series
Follow the lives of the Roy family as they contemplate their future once their aging father begins to step back from the media and entertainment conglomerate they control.
The sides of Succession
- Four siblings fighting over their father's empire
- Logan Roy refusing to step down
- Tom and Greg at the edges of the family
Good for you if
- you like insults sharp enough to cut, from Roman most of all.
- you like boardroom coups, takeover bids and family votes.
- you like laughing at very rich people being awful to each other.
Bad for you if
- you need at least one Roy to root for.
- you need action, and here the battles are fought in boardrooms and over the phone.
About: inheritance · fathers and sons · money · loyalty
Click 2006
Film
A married workaholic, Michael Newman doesn't have time for his wife and children, not if he's to impress his ungrateful boss and earn a well-deserved promotion. So when he meets Morty, a loopy sales clerk, he gets the answer to his prayers: a magical remote that allows him to bypass life's little distractions with increasingly hysterical results.
The sides of Click
- A remote that controls life
- Skipping the boring parts
- A father who missed everything
Good for you if
- you like Adam Sandler's silly side.
- you like a workaholic dad with a remote that skips past his own family.
Bad for you if
- you can't take grief on screen. The goofy comedy takes a hard turn into loss and regret.
- you roll your eyes at life lessons. Morty's remote comes with a sincere message about what matters.
About: regret · family · time
The Sopranos 1999
Series
The story of New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. Those difficulties are often highlighted through his ongoing professional relationship with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The show features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and his cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti.
The sides of The Sopranos
- A New Jersey mob boss in therapy
- A wife who knows more than she says
- A crew of wiseguys and a nephew who wants more
Good for you if
- you like rooting for Tony Soprano while knowing exactly what he is.
- you like the hours Tony spends on Dr. Melfi's couch as much as the hits.
- you laugh at mobsters arguing about ducks, food and respect.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand sudden, brutal killings between family dinners.
- you need clear answers. The show leaves much of Tony for you to figure out.
About: family · guilt · the American dream · therapy
The Umbrella Academy 2019
Series
Reunited by their father's death, estranged siblings with extraordinary powers uncover shocking family secrets — and a looming threat to humanity.
The sides of The Umbrella Academy
- Adopted siblings with powers
- An apocalypse in eight days
- A brother stuck as a teenager
Good for you if
- you like odd, colourful superhero stories.
- you like a dysfunctional family where everyone shines.
- you like dark comedy and dance scenes.
Bad for you if
- bloody fights ruin a show for you.
- you can't watch addiction on screen. Klaus spends much of the first season high.
About: family · trauma · time
Sex Education 2019
Series
Inexperienced Otis channels his sex therapist mom when he teams up with rebellious Maeve to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school.
The sides of Sex Education
- A shy teen who gives sex advice at school
- A sex therapist mother
- Friends figuring everything out
Good for you if
- you like frank, funny teen comedy.
- you like a big cast of teens drawn with care.
- you want a warm, kind series.
Bad for you if
- explicit sex scenes and talk aren't for you.
- you roll your eyes at heartfelt talks. Otis helps his classmates with sincere, careful advice.
About: identity · friendship · sex
Silver Linings Playbook 2012
Film
After losing his job and wife, and spending time in an institution, a former teacher winds up living with his parents. He wants to rebuild his life and reconcile with his wife, but his father would be happy if he shared his obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles. Things get complicated when he meets Tiffany Maxwell who offers to help him reconnect with his wife if he will do something very important for her in exchange.
The sides of Silver Linings Playbook
- A man out of a psychiatric hospital
- A widow with her own wounds
- A dance competition
Good for you if
- you like a love story between two people who are a bit of a mess.
- you like awkward, fast-talking family scenes.
- you like actors playing raw, unpredictable people.
Bad for you if
- mental illness shown up close is too much for you tonight.
- you can't stand football talk. Pat's father lives for the Eagles.
About: healing · family · second chances

Arrested Development 2003
Series
The story of a wealthy family that lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together.
The sides of Arrested Development
- A rich family that lost everything
- Michael Bluth holding it together
- A father in prison and a banana stand
Good for you if
- you like a family this selfish played for laughs.
- you like running jokes that pay off seasons later.
- you like deadpan lines and a narrator who corrects the characters.
Bad for you if
- you lose track of a dozen Bluths and their schemes.
- you want a family sitcom where people end up being kind to each other.
About: family · money · denial
The Intouchables 2011
Film
A true story of two men who should never have met – a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.
The sides of The Intouchables
- A rich man who can't move
- A carer from the suburbs
- A friendship nobody expected
Good for you if
- you like a comedy where two opposite men tease each other.
- you like a feel-good film that also moves you.
- you like a true story, with the real Philippe and Abdel shown at the end.
Bad for you if
- you won't read subtitles. It's in French, though a dubbed version exists.
- you can't laugh at jokes about a man who can't move.
About: friendship · disability · class
About Time 2013
Film
The night after another unsatisfactory New Year's party, Tim's father reveals to him that the men in their family have the ability to travel through time. They can't change history, but they can change what happens and has happened in their own lives. Thus begins the start of a lesson in learning to appreciate life itself as it is, as it comes, and most importantly, the people living alongside us.
The sides of About Time
- A shy man who can relive moments
- Falling in love again and again
- A father and a son on a beach
Good for you if
- you like a gentle film that makes you cry about ordinary life.
- you like a sweet, clumsy love story.
- you want something warm and kind.
Bad for you if
- time travel rules that bend bother you.
- a gentle lesson about savouring every ordinary day feels too sweet to you.
About: time · family · everyday life
Malcolm in the Middle 2000
Series
A gifted young teen tries to survive life with his dimwitted, dysfunctional family.
The sides of Malcolm in the Middle
- A gifted kid talking to the camera
- A mother who yells and wins
- Brothers wrecking the house
Good for you if
- you like Malcolm talking straight to the camera while his brothers wreck everything.
- you like a loud, broke family that still sticks together, with Lois in charge.
Bad for you if
- seven seasons of the same chaos is too much for you.
- you don't laugh at brothers tormenting each other and Lois punishing them even harder.
About: family · school · growing up
Young Sheldon 2017
Series
The early life of child genius Sheldon Cooper, later seen in The Big Bang Theory.
The sides of Young Sheldon
- A nine-year-old genius in a Texas high school
- The Cooper family in the 1980s
- Adult Sheldon narrating his childhood
Good for you if
- you want a gentle family sitcom with half-hour episodes.
- you like Mary, George, Missy and Georgie loving Sheldon in their own way.
- you like a child correcting his teachers and his pastor.
Bad for you if
- seven seasons is too much for you.
- you roll your eyes at heartfelt family moments.
About: family · growing up · faith · being different
The Incredibles 2004
Film
Bob Parr has given up his superhero days to log in time as an insurance adjuster and raise his three children with his formerly heroic wife in suburbia. But when he receives a mysterious assignment, it's time to get back into costume.
The sides of The Incredibles
- A superhero family forced to hide
- A dad bored in an office
- A villain who was once a fan
Good for you if
- you like Dash outrunning henchmen through an island jungle.
- you like family arguments, but with superpowers.
- you like a brassy 60s spy-movie score behind the chases.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you can't laugh at death. Edna lists the heroes killed by their capes.
About: family · identity · being special
Inside Out 2015
Film
When 11-year-old Riley moves to a new city, her Emotions team up to help her through the transition. Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness work together, but when Joy and Sadness get lost, they must journey through unfamiliar places to get back home.
The sides of Inside Out
- Emotions running a girl's head
- Sadness finding her place
- A lost imaginary friend
Good for you if
- you like a family film that makes the adults cry.
- you like clever jokes about how our minds work.
- you like a world built out of memories and dreams.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you can't watch a girl slowly overtaken by sadness after a move. It hits too close.
About: sadness · memory · growing up · family
Toy Story 4 2019
Film
Woody has always been confident about his place in the world, devoted to taking care of his kid—whether that's Andy or Bonnie. But after Bonnie creates a reluctant new toy called "Forky", a road trip adventure alongside old and new friends challenges everything Woody believes about loyalty, purpose, and what it truly means to be a toy.
The sides of Toy Story 4
- A spork who thinks he's trash
- An antique shop and a lost doll
- Woody's choice
Good for you if
- you like a toy who keeps throwing himself in the bin.
- you grew up with Woody and are ready to be moved by him once more.
- you want a warm family film.
Bad for you if
- you don't watch animated films.
- you or your kids scare easily. Creepy ventriloquist dummies roam an antique shop.
About: purpose · letting go · friendship
Crazy, Stupid, Love. 2011
Film
Cal Weaver is living the American dream. He has a good job, a beautiful house, great children and a beautiful wife, named Emily. Cal's seemingly perfect life unravels, however, when he learns that Emily has been unfaithful and wants a divorce. Over 40 and suddenly single, Cal is adrift in the fickle world of dating. Enter, Jacob Palmer, a self-styled player who takes Cal under his wing and teaches him how to be a hit with the ladies.
The sides of Crazy, Stupid, Love.
- A newly single dad coached by a ladies' man
- A babysitter's crush
- A backyard brawl
Good for you if
- you like a warm, witty romantic comedy.
- you like several love stories at once.
- you like a reveal that ties everything together.
Bad for you if
- you roll your eyes at a big speech about soulmates at a school graduation.
- you're watching with young kids. Cal learns to pick up women in bars, and sex comes up a lot.
About: love · marriage · second chances
Wonder 2017
Film
The story of August Pullman – a boy with facial differences – who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time.
The sides of Wonder
- A boy with a different face starts school
- A family who adores him
- Halloween, the only day he blends in
Good for you if
- you like a family film that makes everyone cry.
- you want a kind, uplifting story.
- you like a boy's first year at a real school, from eating lunch alone to his first true friend.
Bad for you if
- you'd rather stay with one hero. Chapters move from Auggie to his sister and his friends.
- you need things to happen. It's lunch tables, a science fair and a school trip.
About: kindness · difference · family
The Proposal 2009
Film
When she learns she's in danger of losing her visa status and being deported, overbearing book editor Margaret Tate forces her put-upon assistant, Andrew Paxton, to marry her.
The sides of The Proposal
- A boss who forces her assistant to marry her
- A weekend with his family in Alaska
- A chant in the woods
Good for you if
- you like a boss and assistant trading barbs.
- you like enemies falling in love.
- you want an easy, feel-good romcom.
Bad for you if
- you roll your eyes when the jokes stop for heart-to-hearts. Margaret and Andrew open up in his childhood bedroom.
- you need a premise you can believe. A boss blackmails her assistant into marrying her to keep her visa.
About: love · family · pretending