American Sign Language media content for receptive skills practice
Made this list because I really could have used it earlier on! My rubric is that it needs to include Deaf people signing, and that SimCom doesn't count (it may be present, but it can't be all there is).
This only includes stuff I've actually seen (or partially seen). Also, I'm including some warnings about what you may *not* want to watch, because again, I really could have used those warnings myself.
Easy (i.e. has subtitles and/or voiceover available, IIRC)
Mostly speaking:
CODA (movie; comedy/drama; on AppleTV+)
Kinderfänger (scary movie. Note that it has a 3.7/10 on IMDb. I personally liked it fwiw. not sure if it's streaming anywhere)
CODA (short film; on Kanopy)
Master of None S2.E6: New York, I Love You (TV show episode, currently on Netflix)
Wild Prairie Rose (drama/romance, currently on Peacock)
Queer Eye S8E4: Protect the Nest (reality TV, on Netflix)
CSI S11E13: The Two Mrs. Grissoms (crime show, Hulu)
ANTM Season 22 (the one with Nyle, obviously. I had to get this from the library on a DVD that, get this, had NO captions available. Not impressed. (The ASL was voiceovered))
CSI NY S3E12: Silent Night (crime show, Hulu). I found this one pretty ableist/audist (but it's hard to explain why without spoiling the whole thing - here's the summary if you're fine with spoilers: https://csi.fandom.com/wiki/Silent_Night) also the camera work sometimes seemed more interested in making the signing look artsy rather than making it legible lol
Sue Thomas, F. B. Eye (Peacock) - some episodes have lots of signing, some have none or close to it. Honestly it's pretty racist (the show came out 2002-2005. A lot of episodes are about terrorism, and they're constantly justifying racial profiling). If you can stomach that in exchange for surprisingly decent Deaf rep, here's a (probably incomplete) list of the ones with at least one non-Sue Deaf character, with a * if there are multiple: The Signing, The Heist*, He Said She Said, Girl Who Signed Wolf, Homeland Security, Bad Hair Day, Into Thin Air*, The Holocaust Survivor*, Elvis is in the Building*, Did She or Didn't She, The Fraternity*, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Troy Story*, Endings and Beginnings*. But yeah, I can't exactly recommend it, just trying to be honest about the pros and cons.
Switched at Birth - I really don't recommend this one either. I understand some people like it, but I have to give my disclaimer that if you watch a couple episodes and think "Well, I didn't like that, but maybe it will get better," lose that hope right now. To me, it only got worse. There is soooo much SimCom (yes, even later in the show when everyone should have learned to sign. Do NOT think there will be more or better signing later on). Daphne's actress has Meniere's disease; in a Reddit AMA, she said, quote, "Technically I am not deaf," so I really question why she was cast as the main Deaf character. Regardless of how she identifies, she is playing an experience she has not had; she isn't a native signer (she started learning in high school, not at age 3 like her character), and when she speaks in the show, she FAKES a "deaf accent". Also, this show is not as lighthearted as it looks, there are some truly disturbing plotlines that just get brushed over. Maybe you love this kind of drama - power to you. I'm just asking that if you watch a couple episodes and don't care for it, quit. Read some episode summaries on the wiki if you need to satisfy your curiosity, but don't hold out hope and watch almost 2 seasons' worth while feeling worse and worse about it l like I did. Moving on:
All or mostly signing:
Deaf U (reality show, on Netflix)
WHAT? (movie; comedy, silent movie; on Prime)
Blue Apple (creepy short film) https://media.gallaudet.edu/media/Blue+Apple+%281994%29/1_wke1swj2 also like. click around on the website. Gallaudet has soooooo much media available (plays, films, etc)
Scarecrow (creepy short film), also a Gallaudet production https://ssl.gallaudet.edu/videolibrary/?embed=16500 tbh there's not a ton of dialogue in this one, so maybe don't watch it if you don't like slow pacing
Don't Shoot the Messenger (raunchy YouTube series about an interpreter)
Barbie in ASL (On Max. It's the movie Barbie, but with a Deaf interpreter in the corner)
PBS also has some stuff with ASL interpretation. I didn't check everything so I don't know if they're all done by Deaf interpreters, but I recognized Jeremy Lee Stone as the interpreter for (at least some of) the Arthur episodes, and Lisa McBee for (at least some of) the Daniel Tiger ones https://pbskids.org/videos/american-sign-language-full-episodes
speaking of Jeremy Lee Stone, his Youtube channel is a great resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9HZ1JdV1Us
as are Nathie Marbury's storytelling videos https://www.youtube.com/@dawnsignpress/search?query=nathie
other kids' stories and resources for kids: https://www.youtube.com/@RMDSCO from Rocky Mountain Deaf School and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhbEjnwOPpyIHotZrGLu68OGeEZlTuvbg from Texas School for the Deaf (some of these are captioned or follow along with a book that they show on screen, but some aren't)
a few nonfiction Youtube series: Daily Moth (general news), Atomic Hands (STEM education), Quantum ASL (STEM education - just a couple longer videos, the rest are basically dictionary entries), BEHEARDDC (prison abolition), Joel West Barish (travel), Rogan Shannon (queer topics), Melmira (interviews)
Sign with Robert (available for free on both Kanopy and Tubi): this is mostly just general ASL teaching, but there are some episodes specifically labeled receptive practice where he tells jokes and stories (25, 26, and 29 - for 26 and 29 they play the stories twice, with captions the second time so you can see what you missed, it's actually super nice haha)
her specific channel doesn't have much, but you can just look up Melanie McKay-Cody, who does research about Indigenous sign languages (she is herself Cherokee). Lots of videos from her all over Youtube
SoCal Stories (interviews with folks including Marlee Matlin, CJ Jones, Bernard Bragg...): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8T937th3Qg&list=PLwR2tgM-4_AYjBRvj3GWqWRjjMiZz_w8u this is part of the Youtube channel Convo Communications, which has tons of other stuff I haven't explored
ASL music videos: this list was curated by a Deaf person so I trust it https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx1wHz1f-8J_xKVdU7DGa5RWIwWzRWNVt
Deafies in Drag (Youtube comedy series)
Reverie (short film, drama. Heavy themes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiFWE6Mtpu0
Perfect Match (short film, drama / sci fi) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxE65yzMgyE
The Witnesses (short film, satire) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u9iQ_hjXDg
4 translations of MLK's I Have a Dream speech: Richard Bailey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H2-3O-NJFg (no captions or voiceover), JC Smith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUmdM965Si8 , Takiyah Harris (rough video quality on this one) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiyG_h1tnZE , Missouri School for the Deaf students https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mmxJByigac
Intermediate
Mostly Speaking:
Sound of Metal (movie; drama; on Prime) (the late-deafened characters are not played by Deaf actors, but there's still a lot of Deaf actors. Most of the signing is mid-movie, and if I remember correctly, some is not subtitled, while some is)
Children of a Lesser God (movie; available on Kanopy). The signing isn't subtitled (it's mostly voice-interpreted by another character) and also it was very hard to understand - I gather it leaned more toward SEE? So that's why it's in intermediate.
Star Trek TNG S2E5: Loud as a Whisper (on Paramount+): no subtitles; most of the signing is voice interpreted, but not all. All the ASL is in the 2nd half but there's still a good amount, I thought
All or mostly signing:
look up Gallaudet Theatre Arts on Youtube. There's actually a variety of levels here (of the two I've watched, Bunnicula has voiceover, but Midsummer Night's Dream doesn't. The audio/video quality isn't great on any of it). I'm listing it as Intermediate because for e.g. Shakespeare you can just look up the script of the play and have it in another tab to check what's going on.
Sign (short film; some sexual content) https://vimeo.com/157890479 I was able to understand most of this, which means it's a loooot easier than the Shakespeare, but yeah, no subtitles, no voiceover, no help
The Deaf Family (YouTube sitcom) (don't be fooled, only the first episode has subtitles) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1uuntQOPnw&list=PLx1wHz1f-8J9KzkK5lLO3z0wk64eUzo3Y
Not going to list anything hard because I haven't made it through anything hard, but bonus warning categories:
Doesn't have as much signing as you'd think
(ranked roughly from most signing to least signing)
The Circle, Season 5 (reality show on Netflix. I did really enjoy the Deaf contestant but I definitely wanted more)
Fargo, season 1-ish (show; horror? On Hulu) I only watched a few episodes but Russell was only getting like 5 min screen time per episode and i wasn't enjoying the show otherwise, so it wasn't worth it for me personally
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist S1E9: Zoey's Extraordinary Silence (jukebox musical TV show. On Peacock)
Only Murders in the Building (mystery show on Hulu) - I did enjoy this show, so for me it was worth watching all of it, but if you're not interested, you could save time by only watching the 7 episodes with Theo in them
The Family Stone (I did enjoy the movie though tbh. on Hulu)
Curb Your Enthusiasm S12E3: Vertical Drop, Horizontal Tug (TV comedy, on Max) Troy only gets like 5 min of screentime 😭 he's an Academy Award winner...
Queer as Folk S1E4: F*ck Disabled People (on Peacock) (Nyle is in it but I don't think he even ever talks to anyone else who can sign? He's mostly communicating via writing)
Not Worth It
What the Bleep Do We Know: we attempted to watch this "doc" without realizing beforehand that it was all pseudoscience. Honestly, I'm not even sure there was signing in it? I think there was a little
Wonderstruck (2017). There are multiple Deaf actors on the roster. But not one of them gets to sign *anything* as far as I could tell. (One plays a character who hasn't learned to sign, I think at least two were playing hearing people (I do support Deaf actors taking hearing roles, but not if you're gonna take that as an excuse to do the reverse.... which this movie did.....), and some must have had barely any screentime). Two hearing actors get to sign (also the signing doesn't start til like the last 20 min of the movie), and two other hearing actors briefly fingerspell. 👎
Intentionally Didn't Watch (the summary was that bad)
These included Deaf people despite not really wanting them to exist!!!! (think along the lines of forcing ppl to get cochlear implants)
Scrubs S6E16, "My Words of Wisdom" https://scrubs.fandom.com/wiki/My_Words_of_Wisdom someone described this episode to me in a bit more detail than the summary here, and yeah. not good
House S5E22, "House Divided" https://house.fandom.com/wiki/House_Divided legit infuriating
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Some housekeeping of shows I want to watch over the winter. More below the cut.
SHOWS TO FINISH
1. Black Sails (2/4)
2. Peaky Blinders (5/6)
3. Brooklyn 99 (5/8)
4. The Mentalist (4/7)
5. Justified (3/6)
6. The West Wing (3/7)
7. Sex Education (3/4)
8. Cold Case (4/7)
9. OUAT (6/7)
10. MI-5/Spooks (4/10)
11. ANTM (22/24)
12. Outlander (6/8)
13. Grace and Frankie (5/7)
SHOWS TO WATCH FOR THE FIRST TIME
1. Ted Lasso
2. Our Flag Means Death
3. Foundation
4. Staged
5. Young Royals
6. *continue DT’s filmography*
7. Love Victor
SHOWS I’VE STARTED BUT WILL (PROBABLY) NEVER FINISH
1. Reign
2. Agents of Shield
3. The 100
4. Friends
5. House
6. Arrow
7. Queer As Folk (US)
8. Weeds
9. How to Get Away with Murder
10. Attack on Titan
SHOWS I’M CURRENTLY WATCHING/ RE-WATCHING
1. Buffy (via reaction)
2. Leverage (w/ Rowan)
3. Fellow Travelers (currently airing)
4. Good Omens (via reaction)
5. DW (13’s seasons)
6. catching up on Taskmaster (s08-11, s13-16)
7. catching up on Drag Race (Mexico s01, Brazil s01, UK s05, Germany s01)
SHOWS I HAVE SEEN ALL OF THAT ARE DONE
1. The Tudors (4/4)
2. The White Queen/The White Princess/The Spanish Queen/The Serpent Queen (all 1/1)
3. Buffy (7/7)
4. Angel (5/5)
5. Pillars of the Earth (1/1)
6. HIMYM (9/9)
7. Psych (8/8 + movies)
8. Bones (11/11)
9. Broadchurch (3/3)
10. North and South (1/1)
11. BBC Merlin (5/5)
12. BBC Robin Hood (3/3)
13. Downton Abbey (6/6 + movies)
14. Sense8 (2/2 + special)
15. Jessica Jones (2/2)
16. Daredevil (3/3)
17. The Defenders (1/1)
18. Luke Cage (2/2)
19. Iron Fist (2/2)
20. Game of Thrones (8/8)
21. BBC Sherlock (yes it’s done LOL) (4/4)
22. ATLA (3/3)
23. LOK (5/5)
24. Vicar of Dibley (3/3)
25. OG Gossip Girl (6/6)
26. Leverage (5/5)
27. Versailles (3/3)
28. Veronica Mars (3/3 + movie + reboot)
29. Firefly (1/1 + movie)
30. Castle (8/8)
31. 1995 P&P (1/1)
32. Glee (6/6)
33. Agent Carter (2/2)
SHOWS I’M CURRENT ON BUT ARE STILL ONGOING
1. Heartstopper (2/?)
2. Good Omens (2/ prob 3)
3. Wheel of Time (2/?)
4. Rings of Power (1/?)
5. Drag Race US (15/?)
6. Drag Race All Stars (8/?)
7. Leverage: Redemption (2/?)
8. Queer Eye (7/?)
SHOWS I’VE HEARD OF BUT NEVER WATCHED MORE THAN AN EP OR 2 (AND PROBABLY WON’T)
1. Supernatural
2. any of the Star Treks
3. Breaking Bad
4. NCIS
5. JAG
6. Dexter
7. Chuck
8. Grey’s Anatomy
9. Community
10. The Office (UK or US)
11. Parks and Rec
12. Orange is the New Black
13. Black Mirror
14. Sons of Anarchy
15. One Piece
16. Dragon Ball Z
17. Full Metal Alchemist
18. The Vampire Diaries
19. The OC
20. Dawson’s Creek
21. Gilmore Girls
22. Teen Wolf
23. 24
24. Emily in Paris
25. CSI
26. 911 or any spin offs
27. Scrubs
28. Family Guy
29. The Simpsons
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