Don't open Instagram. And definitely don't put on anything with a tight-knit friend group having the summer of their lives — which means Outer Banks, The Bear, or any show where beautiful people are constantly at parties/beaches/group dinners is going to make you feel worse. You already feel like you're missing out. You don't need to watch fictional people having more fun than you too.
Here's what actually works when you're home solo on a Tuesday in June while the rest of the world seems to be at a rooftop somewhere:
The Detectorists (Acorn TV)
Two guys with metal detectors wandering around empty fields finding nothing. That's it. That's the show. And somehow it's the most soothing antidote to FOMO that exists. There's something about watching people choose quiet, solitary hobbies — and find meaning in them — that reframes your own solo evening. Plus the English countryside in summer looks ridiculously peaceful. You'll finish an episode feeling like staying in was meditative, not mandatory.
Somebody Somewhere (Max)
Sam is also spending a lot of nights alone in Kansas, and the show doesn't treat that like a problem to be fixed. It treats it like life. There's a difference between lonely and alone, and this show knows it. The pace is slow enough that you won't feel like you're missing jokes because you're half on your phone. And when Sam does connect with people, it's so small and real that it doesn't trigger that "why don't I have friends like that" spiral. Watch seasons 1-3.
Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch (Discovery+)
Absolutely ridiculous reality show about people convinced there's treasure/aliens/something under a Utah ranch. It's completely absorbing without requiring emotional investment. You can eat dinner in front of it. You can half-watch it. You'll get invested in whether they find the underground cavern, then remember none of this matters, then keep watching anyway. It's the perfect trash-comfort balance for a night when you don't want to think about your own life.
The honest truth about watching tonight
Put your phone in another room for just the first 30 minutes. Not the whole night — we're not monsters. But give yourself one episode without the split-screen comparison to everyone else's highlight reel. The relief you'll feel is immediate, and the show you pick will actually work the way it's supposed to.