ML Interest Tag: murder

7 Shows We’ll Be Binge-Watching on Netflix This Month

by Shahrzad Warkentin

The winter weather might keep you stuck indoors but luckily there’s plenty of stuff for the entire family to binge watch on Netflix. From must-see new kids shows to a few for mom and dad to chill with after the tots are tucked in bed, here are the shows you won’t be able to stop watching this month. Keep reading to see them all.

1. Llama Llama

Genius Brands International

Everyone’s favorite little Llama has his own show, and book fans of all ages are going to love it. This new series features the voice of Jennifer Garner as Mama Llama and rounding out the cast are Llama’s storybook pals, Nelly Gnu and Gilroy Goat. The show is perfect for the preschool set, as it follows Llama and his friends as they learn about friendship, family, and important life lessons, like the fun of a shopping trip with Mama.

Age Range: 2-4

Premieres Jan. 26.

2. Trolls: The Beat Goes On!

DreamworksTV

If your toe-tapping tots just can’t get enough of those adorable Trolls and their infectious songs, then you’re in luck. There’s a new series on Netflix that will give you a break from watching the movie on repeat. The animation style is a little different, as are the voices (the film’s stars have been replaced for the show), but the laughter, songs, and glitter are all still there, so the kids will hardly even notice. The show picks up where the movie left off, with Poppy, Branch and their friends enjoying a life that no longer includes getting eaten by Bergens.

Age Range: 4-10

All episodes available now.

3. Adventures of Puss In Boots: Season 6

DreamworksTV

The latest season of this swashbuckling series follows Puss In Boots and his cohort of animal compadres as they fight to save the town of San Lorenzo from a band of wicked treasure hunters. With silly, slapstick comedy and plenty of hairball jokes, this show is perfect for fans of the Shrek films and Captain Underpants.

Age Range: 6-10

Season 6 premieres Jan. 26.

4. Trollhunters: Season 2

DreamworksTV

The second season of this epic adventure series created by Guillermo del Toro has been out since Dec., but if it got lost in the Netflix queue of holiday specials now is the time to start binge-watching. Jim Lake Jr. and his pals pick up where they left off at the end of season 1, as they continue to protect the worlds of humans and trolls. Just as clever and funny as the first season, parents will love watching along with kids and might just recognize the voice of Lena Heady who joins the cast as a sorceress. You’ll be hooked instantly and no need to worry about a long wait for more, Trollhunters season 3 has already gotten the green light with a premiere date in late 2018.

Age Range: 9 & up.

All episodes available now.

5. Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee

Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee via Facebook

After a very long day what you really need is a good laugh. That’s exactly what you’ll get when you jump in the car with Jerry Seinfeld and all of the guest comedians he has on this series. While this isn’t a new show (it was previously a web series), it just made its new home on Netflix and debuted a 10th season. The previous nine seasons are also available, making this one of the best shows to binge watch on Netflix right now.

Age Range: Adult

All episodes available now.

6. Rotten

Netflix/ YouTube

The quality of the food you feed your family is of great importance to parents, which is why you’ll want to tune into this original docu-series that offers an eye-opening look at the food industry. You’ll come away from this six-part series feeling well-educated on the journey from farms to your fridge, and it might even help curb that post-bedtime snack fest because you’ll definitely feel a little less hungry after watching.

Age Range: Adults

All episodes available now.

7. Altered Carbon

Altered Carbon via Facebook

If you loved Westworld and enjoy a good murder mystery, then you’ll definitely want to tune into this new sci-fi thriller. The series follows the story of an interstellar soldier who is woken up after 200 years in a deep sleep in order to help solve a murder. The show takes some twisty turns and is definitely not for the faint of heart (think Game of Thrones-level violence), so be prepared for the characters and plot to keep you up at night until you finish this highly binge-worthy first season.

Age Range: Adults

Premieres Feb. 2

 

What are you currently binge-watching on Netflix? Tell us your top picks in the comments.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

RELATED STORIES

Here’s What’s Coming to Netflix in 2018

A “Trolls” Series Is Coming to Netflix and OMG We Can’t Wait!

10 Movies That Will Change the Way Your Kid Sees the World

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

10 Classic Games Every Kid Should Master

by Emily Myers

The newest and coolest games for kids promise to teach creativity and cooperation, but it’s a rare grandparent who’ll happily sit down to a session of Robot Turtles without asking a dozen questions. That’s where classic games come in. They’re engaging for the whole family but come without long explanations and pages of rules. We found our favorites and shared them below. Talk about winning game night!

photo: Chess4Life

1. Chess
This ancient game of strategy is popular with millions of people around the world. While the individual moves of the chess pieces might be hard for little ones to remember, the goal is simple—to win by trapping your opponent’s king. It’s a two-player game that gets kids thinking deeply and lasts 10 minutes to an hour, depending on experience.

Buy it here.

2. Rummy
Nothing could be simpler than a game of cards, and Rummy involves the fairly easy task of grouping ones that match— something even little ones can do once they’ve mastered actually holding them!  If you’re rusty on the rules it might be because there are dozens of variations, but once the kids have mastered Rummy it’s a quick leap to playing Rummikub which also has a junior version for younger players.

Buy it here.

photo: Emily Meyers

3. Monopoly
Financial ruin is never a good thing, but this game has a popularity that just keeps on growing. Hundreds of cities have their own versions, and it’s printed in at least thirty-seven languages. With a roll of the dice, players hustle to develop properties and charge rent while hoping to be the last to face jail and bankruptcy. Plan on counting up your assets after a certain amount of time or be prepared for the long haul because a game can last for hours!

Buy it here.

4. Pictionary
Thirty years ago, Pictionary brought Charades to the table—with artwork replacing mime. Players of all ages race against the timer to identify what their teammates are drawing. This game is great for big family gatherings as all-age teams can work together to move counters based on the success they have at drawing and guessing.

Buy it here.

photo: Liz West via Flickr

5. Scrabble
This classic word game has players earning points not just for the words created, but where they are placed on the board. For alternative versions, skip scoring and just enjoy watching the words take shape on the board, or team up in pairs to help younger spellers build their vocab. Scrabble’s junior edition involves matching tiles to a pre-written grid, and once the kids outgrow the board, they can flip it over to find the more advanced original grid on the other side.

 

6. Sorry!
Call it Sorry!, Ludo, Pachisi or Coppit, the idea’s the same; players move their pieces around the board trying to be the first to get them all “home.” The name Sorry! comes from the number of times an apology needs to be issued as players trip each other up in the race around the board. Fast and fun, this is a winning game for families.

Buy it here.

photo: Emily Meyers

7. Clue
This compelling murder mystery game is far from scary. Watch the kids turn detective as they try to work out the missing cards and deduce who has done something dastardly in the Clue mansion. Was it Colonel Mustard in the ballroom with the dagger? Younger sleuths might need tips on how to speed up their calculations as the family races to see who will be the first to uncover the details of the crime.

Buy it here.

8. Tiddlywinks
Use your squidger to flip winks and try squopping your opponent in the process (translation: flip plastic coins into a central pot and try to land on your opponents’ coins so they can’t score). Tiddlywinks is at least a hundred years old, and although it might sound confusing (and boasts several Tiddlywinks Associations), it’s easy entertainment for all ages, even if you don’t master the terminology!

Buy it here.

photo: Emily Meyers

9. Connect 4
This 3D Tic Tac Toe on an upright board has been a household favorite for forty years and is still as popular as ever. Two players take turns dropping discs into a grid and try to get four in a row. With instructions this simple it’s no wonder it’s addictive family entertainment.

Buy it here.

10. Checkers
Played on the same board as Chess but with counters instead of pieces, the strategy game of Checkers (or Draughts) is hundreds of years old. Move pieces forward diagonally and capture your opponent’s pieces by leaping over them. Get one of your own counters to the other side of the board and they earn superpowers!

Buy it here.

You’ll Also Love:

11 New Games to Get You Through the Winter

11 Classic Games to Banish the Sick Day Blues

’90s Board Games You Wish Your Kids Played

Which classic board game is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.

—Emily Myers

games
Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

Entertain Your Ears With LA’s Best Podcasts For Kids

by Shahrzad Warkentin

Toting your tots around town in LA traffic isn’t exactly fun. If you’re tired of wrestling over the radio knob during your drive, jump on the podcast bandwagon instead. Make long commutes a breeze by loading your playlist up with these awesome LA podcasts made for kids (that grown-ups will love, too). All of these podcasts are available on iTunes and absolutely free to download.  The 405 just got a lot more do-able!

photo: Shahrzad Warkentin

Book Club For Kids
Book Club originally started in 2000 as a radio show on NPR affiliate KPCC in Pasadena. The host, Kitty Felde, wanted to give kids something fun to listen to amid the adult chatter on public radio. The show, which features real kids across the country discussing books they’ve read, was a success and has now been brought into the digital age as a podcast. Each episode covers a different kid’s title, from classics, like Old Yeller, to modern favorites, like Beautiful Creatures. They also feature special guests, like the book’s author or a celebrity guest reader.

Best For: 8 & up (depending on your child’s reading level)

Best Episodes: The Westing Game, Spy School, A Mango Shaped Space

Online: bookclubforkids.org

Ear Snacks
Award-winning LA kindie sensation Andrew & Polly are probably already on your regular playlist rotation, but even if you’re not familiar with their tunes you will want to check out their kid’s podcast, Ear Snacks. Between their quirky, eclectic, just plain awesome songs, and the interviews with kids and adult experts on all things kid-related, this podcast has it all. Each episode is focused around a topic, like how to tell when it’s going to rain or the magic of shadows and shifts back and forth between interviews and music, perfect for younger listeners with shorter attention spans. The best songs of the first season are also now available on a new album, Ear Snacks: Songs From The Podcast.

Best For: Ages 2–9

Best Episodes: Fruit!, Shadows!, Rain!, and don’t miss bonus episodes like Who Are The Beatles?

Online: andrewandpolly.com

The Imaginary Accomplishments Podcast
Part space opera, part NPR interview style, part Sports Center, with a sprinkle of fake commercials mixed in, this zany, imaginative storytelling podcast is the brainchild of Todd McHatton, a SoCal songwriter and artist, known for his psychedelic, indie rock kids albums and comics. The fairly new series only has six episodes so far, but your adventure-loving listeners are sure to be hooked. More, please!

Best For: Ages 5–12

Best Episodes: Pilot, What Does Stoked Mean?

Online: mchatton.com

Brains On!
STEM lovers and generally inquisitive kids with fall in love with this science podcast, produced by LA NPR affiliate 89.3 KPCC, that answers all of your tots curious questions. Topics on everything, from how we know the age of dinosaur bones, to explaining how the Internet works, will lay a little knowledge on young (and old) listeners. Kids co-host the show and interview experts, like snake handlers and food scientists.

Best For: 5 & up

Best Episodes: How Do Airplanes Fly?, Fire vs. Lasers, Fart Smarts, How Do You Catch A Cold?

Online: brainson.org

Hidden History of Los Angeles
If you have a budding history buff on your hands you might want to turn your ears on this simple, but very informative podcast all about the little known history of Los Angeles. The show, narrated by Robert Peterson, answers questions like, what’s the oldest building in Los Angeles and how did ‪Echo Park get its name? This podcast series is not made specifically kids, but it’s generally appropriate for your older curious kids. A few episodes touch briefly on some more mature subjects (ie. Spolier Alert: Griffith J. Griffith’s attempted murder of his wife) so we recommend giving a listen before you share.

Best For: Ages 9 & up

Best Episodes: What Is The Oldest Building In LA?, Why Are There Giant Holes In ‪Irwindale?, LA’s Original Name

Online: hiddenhistoryla.com

What are your family’s go-to podcasts (local or anywhere!) for a long car ride? Share any we missed in the comments!

—Shahrzad Warkentin

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

5 Inspiring Women Your Kids Should Know About

by Erin Feher

There is nothing like the story of a strong, smart and ground-breaking women to get your little one to set the bar high. From an iconic 15-year-old author to a daring pilot to a (maybe??) first woman president of the United States, these five females all changed the course of history as we know it, and our kids should know about it.

Anne Frank
She wrote one of the world’s best selling books at the age of 13, and that wasn’t even her greatest accomplishment. Frank was a young Jewish girl forced to flee from her home in Germany and go into hiding from the Nazis. While she and her family lived in secrecy in an attic in Amsterdam, Frank wrote regularly in her diary, telling the story of one of the most horrific times in history through the eyes of a teenaged girl. It was published after her death in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15. The diary served as a unique eye-witness account of life during Holocaust (mass murder of approximately six million Jews during World War II) and it became one of the world’s most read books.

Photo: ameliaearhart.com

Amelia Earhart 
This iconic woman reached for the skies, literally. She had a love affair with flying from an early age, and eventually worked and saved up enough money to take flying lessons. At the age of 25, she was the 16th woman ever to be issued a pilot’s license. She had several notable flights, becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928, as well as the first person to fly over both the Atlantic and Pacific. In 1937 she embarked upon her lifelong dream of flying across the world, however, her flight went missing on that trip and she was never seen again.

Hilary Clinton
Kids today might see nothing strange about a woman being on the verge of being the Democratic nominee for president of the United States, but it would be a first, and a huge deal for a country that still struggles with professional and political arenas dominated by men. But ceiling-cracking work started decades ago: After becoming the first lady of Arkansas in 1983 and then the United States in 1993, Hillary Clinton has been a powerful force in US politics ever since. She was the first ‘first lady’ to be a candidate in elected office in 1999 (in the race for New York Senator, which she won and served for two terms). She has won numerous awards for her work concerning women, health and children. And check back a year from now—we very well may be calling her the first “Ms. President.”

Photo: Wikipedia

Rosa Parks 
Because sometimes saying “no” changes the world (teach this one carefully, parents). Also know as “the first lady of civil rights”,  Rosa Parks was a pioneer of civil rights in a racially segregated Alabama in 1950s. In 1955, Parks, a black woman, refused to give away her seat to a white passenger in a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, despite the bus driver’s orders to do so. Her brave and rebellious act sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which crippled the state capital’s public transport system and inspired others to demand civil right for African Americans.

Photo: onlygame.com

Billy Jean King
Billie Jean King is a US tennis legend and the winner of 20 Wimbledon titles. One of her most famous matches is a 1973 game played against Bobby Riggs, who had made a statement that men were superior athletes. She challenged him to “The Battle of the Sexes” in which the winner would take home a $100,000 prize. King won the match, the money and continued to fight for women’s equality on and off the court.

Who are some other inspiring women that our kids should know about? Tell us in the comments below. 

–Erin Feher

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement

Dinner & a Rock Show: Where to Eat Out & Boogie Down

by rttyadams

Gone are the days when kids’ music made adults want to murder purple dinosaurs — at least in Portland. Our fair city is home to a bevy of kiddie rockers and venues that let your tiny dancers get their groove on without sending you to the dark side of the moon. What’s more, you can often enjoy happy hour beverages and fine vittles while you’re at it.

photo: Mr. Ben at Village Ballroom by Kaitlin Schofield via Facebook

Mr. Ben: Ben There, Rock That
Mr. Ben gets the week started with a bang at Mississippi Pizza. He’s on from 5–6 p.m. Mondays every week, with pizza and beer but a hop away. You can also catch Mr. Ben’s great act on Wednesday evenings at Santa Fe Taqueria on NW 23rd from 5–6 p.m.  Extra bonus: a kiddo entree is free with the purchase of one adult meal. Go ahead and get some guac with your marg. You’ve earned it.

photo: Mo Phillips by Victoria Kukreti via Facebook

Mo Phillips: The Mo Down
Check out cool dad Mo Phillips every Wednesday from 5–6 p.m. at the Oregon Public House. This “philanthropub” is as rad as Mo, making it easy to donate to a local charity while enjoying a brew and a burger. Happy hour prices are on during his set so take the OPH’s mantra to heart and grab a pint to change the world.

You can also catch Mo with Johnny & Jason every second Thursday of the month at Mississippi Pizza. They rock and roll together from 5:30–8 p.m. It’s a tri-perfecta of talent in a sweet venue ideal for bigger boot stompers. Game on, y’all.

photo: Red Yarn and Pals by Red Yarn Productions

Red Yarn: Rock the Cash Bar
Everybody’s pal Red Yarn takes the stage with his Deep Woods puppet pals every Thursday at Mississippi Pizza at 5 p.m. It’s an hour of puppets, folk songs and down-home good times. Yee-haw to that. He’s also playing a special Halloween show on October 31 at 5 p.m.

photo: Muddy Rudder by Kathleen M. via Yelp

Mr. Hoo: Happy Hours Await
Mr. Hoo plays Poa Cafe every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. He and his letter-singing partner in crime Mr. E also sing together there as The Alphabeticians every fourth Saturday at 4 p.m.

If a Sunday happy hour is more your thing, consider a drop-in at the Muddy Rudder. This family-friendly public house hosts live Irish music every Sunday at 4 p.m., and while it isn’t specifically billed as kiddie music, we’re betting your little leprechauns won’t be able to resist a jig.

Location, Location, Location: Three is the Magic Number
Our friends at Woodlawn Swap n Play have joined forces with the Oregon Public House and the Village Ballroom to bring once a month Fall/Winter Family Concerts on Sundays starting at 4 p.m. (doors open at 3:30 p.m.). On November 16, you can jam out with Play Date; and on January 11 enjoy a gig by The Not Its!. Beer, food and wine are available and this venue is superb for getting a kiddo jig in motion. Check the Woodlawn Swap’s web site for details and tickets.

Besides your living room, where do you and your kids like to get your dance on, post-sunset?

— Ty Adams

Advertisement

Related reads

Advertisement