Jamie Lee Curtis’ favourite TV shows of all time: “I’d never seen anything like it”
Sometimes, you’re just not in the mood to sit and watch a two-hour film. Perhaps not even a 90-minute one. Those nights where you sit and binge-watch a TV show can often be just what you need after a long day of work, and even Hollywood stars like Jamie Lee Curtis aren’t immune to spending a night on the sofa doing nothing but hitting ‘play next episode’.
Curtis might be best known for her breakout role as Laurie Strode in Halloween, which allowed her to become a horror icon who has since gone on to roles as diverse as Freaky Friday to Everything Everywhere All At Once (which earned her an Oscar), but she has also lent herself to various series. She gave a brilliant turn in Ryan Murphy’s comedy-horror series Scream Queens, a show that, despite only debuting in 2015, certainly would stir considerable controversy today.
Aside from that, she has appeared on shows ranging from NCIS to New Girl, although one of her more recent appearances came in a show she actually considers one of her all-time favourites. Talking to the Television Academy, Curtis revealed the TV series she watches the most, starting with some old classics like The Brady Bunch and The Civil War.
“The Brady Bunch fucking hit me in my sweet spot. I watched every single episode — it represented my childhood, even though it didn’t represent my childhood, if that makes any sense,” she explained.
The Bear, which Curtis had the pleasure of starring in, is up there, too. “I watched an episode of the first season and had never seen anything like it. I was mesmerised by the writing, by these characters, by this world that I was being invited into. I felt the anxiety amidst the laughter and tears,” the actor revealed. The HBO drama poignantly explores grief, with a professional chef returning home to take charge of his brother’s sandwich shop following his passing.
Moving between humour and tenderness seamlessly, The Bear has unsurprisingly taken home a fair few awards since it was released in 2022, and Curtis was delighted to receive an offer to appear in season two. “To say the words ‘I make things beautiful for them, nobody makes anything beautiful for me’ is almost indescribable. I am so fucking excited and privileged to be a member of this beautiful family of creative people.”
Curtis also loves another contemporary HBO show, Girls – Lena Dunham’s exploration of messy friendships and relationships in 2010s’ New York. Each character is as awful as the next – plagued with narcissistic tendencies, jealousy, selfishness, and everything else you can think of to describe the worst people you know – but at the same time, it’s embarrassingly real and, often, relatable. “Girls is my fantasy imagination of what it would be like to be a young person in New York City. It’s provocative, challenging, sexually out there, selfish and fucking amazing,” Curtis explained.
The actor, like many of us, loves the Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul, a rare instance when a spin-off actually lives up to the same standard as its predecessor. While for some, nothing will top the genius of Breaking Bad, Curtis finds that the follow-up just takes the cake for her. “Breaking Bad is a perfect television show. Better Call Saul is a perfect show. But I have to pick one, so I’m going with Better Call Saul.” It’s a tough choice.
Curtis has a penchant for the comedy-drama Transparent, too, while the historical drama Shōgun is another one of her favourites. Clearly, Curtis’ taste in television is as diverse as her choice of acting roles, and nothing is off limits to the actor – if it looks good, she’s going to watch it.
Jamie Lee Curtis’ favourite TV shows of all time:
- The Brady Bunch
- The Civil War
- Girls
- Transparent
- Better Call Saul
- The Bear
- Shogun
- Pachinko
