Recommendation: "The hilarious and easy to watch Netflix show my boyfriend and I can't stop bingeing."

Like many child-free couples in 2017, my boyfriend and my biggest shared dilemma is finding a show we can both watch on Netflix together.

And as privileged as this problem is, it is a legitimate issue. As in literally, we can spend 45 minutes deciding on a TV show or movie to watch before we find one that neither of us are really happy with, but we are too tired to care by that point.

So when we found a show on Netflix that we both genuinely liked, I was appropriately excited.

It’s called Brooklyn Nine-Nine and it ticks all the boxes.

Listen: Everything you need to know about the biggest Netflix show of the year, on the latest episode of The Binge podcast.

I’m going to be honest here and say at first, I was not convinced this was going to be a show we’d both enjoy when my boyfriend first put it on. Then, two episodes in, without realising it, I was hooked.

It’s got laughs and action, plus a will-they-won’t-they romantic subplot and kick-arse female leads – so something for everyone. The sitcom is set in New York City and follows a bunch of cops as they get up to all kinds of hilarious antics at Brooklyn’s 99th precinct (hence the name). But don’t think this is just another crime-procedural. It’s so much more about the police officers themselves than the crimes they solve.

The characters are fun, quirky and loveable and played by talented comedic actors.

Saturday Night Live star and The Lonely Island member Andy Samberg plays Detective Jake Peralta and brings the same charming goofball persona to this role. He’s joined by comedian Chelsea Peretti, who again, plays a slightly more outrageous version of herself as assistant Gina Linetti, and established actor Terry Crews as the exercise and yoghurt-obsessed Sergent Terry Jeffords.

That's another thing I like about this show. The diversity isn't at all tokenistic. The lead characters are made up of black and gay men, latino women, and Jewish comic geniuses. And none of them are stereotypes.

Take Captain Raymond Holt, for example.

He's a gay, black man who has risen through the (often close-minded) ranks of New York's police department to become captain of the nine-nine squad. His personality is of a no-bullshit, firm and sometimes robot-like leader, who's also extremely intelligent and a bit of a puzzle nerd. Not one part of his character (played by Andre Braugher) is one-dimensional or stereotypical.

Watching Captain Holt interact with would-be-teacher's pet Detective Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) and slightly rogue Jake is such great viewing, as is watching how the other conflicting personalities in the show clash and get-along.

The show is created by Michael Shur, who brought us The Good Place, Parks and Recreation and The Office (US), but the series is unique and in my humble opinion, the funniest of these offerings.

The best part of Brooklyn 99 though, is that it is low maintenance. I say this because the episodes go for around 25 minutes long, are light, do not require deep thought, concentration, or mental energy and, for the most part, are standalone.

So you or your partner could watch an episode alone, and then easily watch the next episode together without feeling like you've missed anything, knowing you can go back and watch the skipped one later if you want.

That's not to say the show has a The Simpsons style of plot progression.  Things do develop week-to-week, particularly character's relationships, and you wouldn't want to miss a whole chunk or the cliff-hanger episodes.

But 'cheating' and watching an episode without the other person isn't going to result in the kind of relationship-threatening fight that it would if it were Game of Thrones or Orange is the New Black. And if you're single, there's no one stopping you watching a whole season in one setting.

Perhaps the only negative is that the show is in currently airing its fifth season in the US on Fox, but Netflix only has seasons one to four available to watch. Still, at 22 and 23 episodes a season, there are 80+ episodes you can binge-watch right now.

What's your favourite show to watch as a couple?