Valentine’s Day is a complicated holiday, to say the least, and it can take on many different directions based on where you are in life. At The Gazelle, we like to think of the day as a self-care indulgent day for the singles (I would advise staying away from social media) and a day of celebration for all those with partners, whether in person or away. No matter where you fall in the spectrum, here are a few Valentine’s Day TV shows and movie recommendations for Netflix-party dates and self-love extravaganzas:

Normal People (Caroline Sullivan, Senior Features Editor, Class of 2021)

Based on a novel by Sally Rooney, Normal People is a 12 episode journey of first love. It chronicles the coming-of-age years for Marianne and Connell, whose lives first collided in their final year of high school. There are no wild plot lines or dramatic effects, just the simple story of two young adults growing into more complete and complex versions of themselves while moving in and out of each other's lives.

There’s something serene about the cinematography, slow and beautiful, while you feel deeply for each character and are transported to a rainy, seaside town in Ireland. In each 30 minute episode, the protagonists grapple with loss, power and intimacy, and it unabashedly depicts how our internal contradictions can both help and harm those around us.

You can find Normal People on BBC or Hulu; it doesn’t seek to instruct but to immerse, and at a juncture point of young adulthood, the story resonates at moments you won’t expect.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

Crash Landing on You (Aasna Sijapati, Contributing Writer, Class of 2021)

Crash Landing On You was my first step into the addictive world of Korean dramas. This show had everything my bored self needed during the lockdown days: friendship, romance, laughter, heartbreak, thrill and so much drama.

Caught in an unexpected tornado, a millionaire South Korean beauty entrepreneur, Yoon Se-ri, paraglides into North Korea and quite literally crash lands into the arms of a North Korean captain, Captain Ri. The story follows this polar opposite couple in their journey to bring Se-ri back home. Through weeks of hiding and unsuccessful attempts to overcome insurmountable odds, the two develop a chemistry so strong that it made me believe in love again. The couple’s innocent and unending affection for each other made me smile through some really tough times. Filled with lovable and entertaining side characters and ruthless villains, the show is sure to keep you laughing, crying and at the edge of your seats. But for viewers with a weak heart, I would say tread with caution — you are likely to find yourself binging through almost 20 hours of content desperately rooting for Se-ri and Captain Ri to find their happy ending.

Photo Courtesy of HBO Max

Love Life (Laura Assanmal, Editor in Chief, Class of 2021)

The show follows a young college graduate in New York (a bit relatable?) as she searches for love throughout her early 20s and 30s, often in all the wrong places. Through Darby, we go on this painfully humorous, human and heartwarming journey of hooking up, waiting for a text back, falling in love, facing rejection and trying to navigate New York and life as a young woman. Love Life is a light rom-com that also somehow manages to touch on the frustrations of dating in this day and age, the difficulties of finding fulfillment in oneself in the midst of going from relationship to relationship, family, loss of friendship and so much more. This show is effortlessly honest: it will have you relating, crying, laughing and thinking about family and love. Darby has one of the best character growth arcs I've ever seen.

Available to watch on HBO Max.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

Sex Education (Kaashif Hajee, Editor in Chief, Class of 2021)

Sex Education is a British comedy that was released in 2019. It follows Otis, a socially awkward teenager with no sexual experience, and his mother, Jean, a professional sex therapist. Using the knowledge he has gained from her, he partners up with his classmate Maeve, a badass expert in existential philosophy and feminist literature, to start an underground sex therapy clinic in his highschool.

Through this wonderfully bizarre premise, the show explores a range of issues teenagers have to navigate as they explore their sexualities. With its diverse, well-rounded characters and fiercely feminist gaze, this show is extremely progressive and an immensely fun watch. It's also shot beautifully — every frame is bright and colorful, and its bubbly music score further adds to its freshness and the excitement of watching all these teenagers cum of age.

Two seasons of eight episodes each are out so far on Netflix.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

For all the Bollywood fans, here’s my pick from the brilliant director Shoojit Sircar. This is a story about many different spectrums of love, centered around Piku and her aging father Bhaskor Banerjee, who obsessively monitors his health and — this is true — shits.

When worried over the prospect of the sale of his ancestral home in Kolkata, Banerjee insists on traveling back. Paranoid about his health, he insists on going by road, and so Piku hires a taxicab for the journey from a company owned by Rana, played by Irrfan Khan, who is forced to make the journey himself after his drivers refuse. It is a journey revolved around familial love, around patriarchal expectations and around the finer details of shit-taking — in a car with a wooden commode sitting on the roof, just in case.

My favorite memories from back home are centered around this movie, which we would all sit and watch together at least once a month.

Irrfan Khan’s performance is, as usual, the highlight of the film. Injected with sarcasm and timed humor, he lets us understand the nuances of love and loss in Piku’s dysfunctional family. Let him steal the show on the day, immortalized on screen in a world that misses him deeply.