Shamontiel L. Vaughn
January 2021 makes one full year that people worldwide have been trying to figure out how to live their lives without being at risk of getting the coronavirus. Staying six feet away from others, wearing a face mask and staying at home are consistently advised from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And with non-essential businesses opening and closing repeatedly, this is indeed making it easier to stay home. However, that leaves the entertainment industry trying to figure out ways to still be profitable when their consumers will not come to them. Quibi, Roku and Netflix are at the top of that pile of entertainment industry brainstormers.
Quibi shut its own platform down in October 2020. But on Jan. 8 of this year, the Roku Channel announced in its official blog that Quibi would be coming to them.
According to the blog, Emmy-nominated and popular shows such as “#FreeRayshawn,” “Chrissy’s Court,” Die Hart,” “Dummy,” “Flipped,” “Most Dangerous Game,” “Punk’d,” “Reno 911!” and “Survive” will be available to stream. The who’s who in entertainment, such as Idris Elba, Kevin Hart, Liam Hemsworth, Anna Kendrick, Nicole Richie, Chrissy Teigen and Lena Waithe will be a few entertainers to check out. A “Die Hart” sequel starring Kevin Hart is also in the works.
Free to watch for Roku users, Quibi will be the place for more than 75 shows and hundreds of hours of entertainment this year.
Additionally, Netflix users who have no idea what they want to watch, or who want suggestions based on their past viewing, will get extra help with the new Shuffle Play feature (now called “Play Something”). Click the two-arrowed image on the left-hand panel to see previews for suggested shows and movies to watch. If you don’t like it, click “Play Something Else.”
Healthy habits while binge-watching
At the risk of being a killjoy, health experts from Very Well Health warn TV and streaming viewers that replacing time once spent exercising, socializing and sleeping with binge-watching can increase the risk of serious health conditions, including cardiovascular disease (heart disease), depression, sleep apnea and behavioral addictions.
So while you’re at home and watching your favorite shows, here are some health tips to keep you active and entertained:
- Stream your favorite show and watch with a friend via online meeting software or phone. Having someone else “there” with you may make you watch less of it all at once.
- Skip the chips and candy. Fill your refrigerator with fruits and vegetables and healthy spreads (ex. peanut butter) instead, so if you have to binge snack, then you don’t have a choice but to eat healthier.
- Do five to 10 squats during commercial breaks or paid streaming ads. And anytime Netflix asks if you want to continue watching, do a 10-second plank or a preset number of sit-ups or push-ups. If you do this consistently enough, it will feel weird if you stop.
Stream on!
