I am a binge watcher. It can be an issue, and I am trying to control it, but Netflix shows do suck me into the deep end some nights.

I think it comes from my love of reading. I would get my nose stuck in a book and not be able to climb out until it was read cover to cover (sometimes twice)

I don’t like surprises, or suspense. I need to KNOW how it ends.

The biggest problem with binge watching is that it DOES end. Some of the seasons are short and you go through them like butter on bread and your fix was so quick that you feel lost.

So, you find a crutch. And there is always a crutch.

Here are a few of my favourite Netflix shows, and their “as good as the real thing” counterpart. . . just in case you too need a little bit of a wean off your favourite!

Orange is the New Black took us all by storm, but once you have made your way through the two quick seasons you NEED to go and hang out at Wentworth Prison in Australia. Now, Bea has her challenges just like Piper, and her reasons for being in prison for the first place, but the story is just as (or perhaps even more) riveting at OITNB.

If you are like us and didn’t have cable for years you probably never watched Heroes. Totally addictive show about a bundle of “super” people here to “save the world”  (I love stuff like that by the way)  Again, WAY too short of a season, but if you need to go off it lightly, check out The 4400. Again, about a group of “super” people here to “save the world” …. hmmm  perhaps they ran out of scripts?

And if you can’t say goodbye to Damon & Stephan from the Vampire Diaries, you can test out a pair of other brothers from Supernatural.  Obviously as filled with nasty creatures as the other, and an excellent stop gap as you wait for next fall and Season 6 of the Vampire Diaries.

Wait… who am I kidding? No one can replace the dark good looks of Damon. Sorry gals!