7 great TV shows you can watch this weekend

Netflix description: "This four-part series joins our spirited guide Samin as she travels to home kitchens of Italy, the southern islands of Japan, the heat of the Yucatán and back to Berkeley's Chez Panisse — where she started her culinary career— to demystify and explore the central principles of what makes food delicious and how each of us can easily incorporate those elements into every dish."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 100%

Audience score: 66%

If you need a palate cleanser, Samin Nosrat's short and sweet documentary series "Salt Fat Acid Heat" is a gorgeous and gratifying look at how the four main elements of any great dish are used around the world.

Nosrat's take on the well-tread ground of food documentaries is educational, earnest, and light-hearted in a way that sets it apart. You'll be both a better home cook and general foodie after watching this series.

• Read more:
• The 101 best TV shows to watch on Netflix right now
• 27 hidden gems you can stream on HBO right now
• Insider's ultimate guide to the best movies and TV shows to watch while you're stuck at home

Hulu description: "['Shrill'] is a comedy series starring Aidy Bryant as Annie, a fat young woman who wants to change her life — but not her body. Annie is trying to start her career while juggling bad boyfriends, a sick parent, and a perfectionist boss."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 87%

Audience score: 66%

The two seasons of "Shrill" currently on Hulu add up to 14 episodes, all about 30 minutes each, making it a great weekend binge.

"SNL" alum Aidy Bryant is phenomenal in this series, which is a loose adaptation of best-selling author Lindy West's book "Shrill." The show carries the same sharp and wry sense of humor as West's book, along with a ton of heart and power.

Netflix description: "'Russian Doll' follows a young woman named Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) on her journey as the guest of honor at a seemingly inescapable party one night in New York City. "

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 97%

Audience score: 87%

"Russian Doll" follows Nadia as she gets stuck in a loop of her own 36th birthday in New York City, a bleak but hilarious premise that's brought to life fantastically by cocreator and star Natasha Lyonne.

The neon-lit New York setting and bizarre-but-compelling plot of a woman dying again and again in a strange loop will have you instantly hooked.

NBC description: "'Parks and Recreation' is a hilarious ensemble comedy that follows Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana, and her tireless efforts to make her quintessentially American town just a little bit more fun."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 92%

Audience score: 91%

Whether you've seen this sitcom dozens of times already or have yet to experience the magic of Leslie Knope's indefatigable optimism, "Parks and Recreation" is a perfect weekend binge-show.

You can stream it on Netflix, or on NBC's website. If you want more Netflix picks, read Insider's list of the 101 best TV shows to watch on the streaming service right now.

Hulu description: "A record store owner revisits past relationships through music and pop culture while trying to get over her one true love."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 84%

Audience score: 83%

This TV series adaptation of the 1995 novel (which was made into a seminal John Cusack movie in 2000) has been praised by critics since its debut on Hulu last month.

Zoë Kravitz is sensational in the slow-burning story of modern dating that blends romance and comedy and heart into a perfect mix.

Netflix description: "['Dark'] is a family saga with a supernatural twist, set in a German town in present day where the disappearance of two young children exposes the double lives and fractured relationships among four families. In 10, hour-long episodes, the story takes on a supernatural twist that ties back to the same town in 1986."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 94%

Audience score: 94%

"Dark" was Netflix's first original German series, and we implore you to watch it with the original audio and subtitles (not the dubbed version Netflix defaults to).

This show requires a lot of attention with three different time settings and inter-generational family drama and time-travel to boot, but it's one of the best supernatural TV shows the streaming service has ever produced.

HBO description: "'Run' follows a woman whose humdrum life is thrown upside down when she receives a text from her college sweetheart inviting her to drop everything and meet him in New York to fulfill the pact they made 17 years previously."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 83%

Audience score: 81%

"Run" is a delicious blend of drama, romance, thriller, and anti-hero antics. Domhnall Gleeson and Merritt Wever have no business being as captivating and kinetic and sexually charged as they are in "Run."

But there they are, managing to make even a pinky graze feel electric. And so the rest of us simply need to sit back and enjoy the heart-racing tension and melodrama of every scene.

"Run" is airing new episodes weekly on Sunday. If you prefer binge-watching, then you might want to save up a few episodes of this one before diving in.