1Bad Sisters
On this dark comedy from Apple TV+, a tight-knit group of sisters are suspected of murdering their abusive brother-in-law. It’s a modern spin on the classic whodunit that’s so good you’ll wish you could keep watching long after the mystery has been solved.
2Big Little Lies
Starring a powerhouse cast led by Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies dissects the glamorous facade of the California elite with sharp dialogue—cut to Laura Dern screaming, “I will not be rich!”—and a suspenseful plot that proves it’s always the prettiest people who have the most skeletons in their closets.
330 Rock
Did you know that the guys who developed Viagra were actually trying to create a drug to treat high blood pressure? Well, writer and comedian Tina Fey described the process of creating her NBC comedy, 30 Rock, as the exact opposite of the discovery of Viagra. “We were trying to create a hit,” she wrote in her 2011 memoir, Bossypants, “but we ended up with sildenafil.” The joke refers to 30 Rock’s failure to achieve the same level of popularity as The Big Bang Theory despite its status as a critical hit. Anyway, if you’re a fan of fast-paced satire and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it jokes about corporate media culture, this is your best bet.
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4The Office
This breezy 30-minute sitcom about the delusional boss of a midsize paper company and his bewildered employees is the ultimate cringe comfort show. Put it on in the background while you make dinner, and be grateful that you never had to work for Michael Scott.
Watch on Peacock Watch on Amazon Prime
5Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad isn’t just a show; it’s a life lesson about how much more money you can make as a drug lord than as a high school chemistry teacher. The show follows a cancer-stricken teacher (Bryan Cranston) and his former student (Aaron Paul) through five explosive seasons featuring enough moral decay and nerve-racking high jinks to keep you constantly perched on the edge of your couch cushion. Binge it to see a guy in tighty-whities become a criminal mastermind.
6Mr. Robot
Mr. Robot is the perfect show for our increasingly dystopian times. Starring Rami Malek as a vigilante hacker, this cyber-thriller examines the darker corners of society and the mind. It’s a great watch for those who like their protagonists brilliant, broken, and possibly hallucinating.
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7Mad Men
This Emmy-winning series from AMC is prestige TV at its very best. Starring Jon Hamm as Don Draper, an ingenious ad exec with a shadowy past, Mad Men explores the glitzy Madison Avenue scene in the 1960s while also diving deep into the stories of the many characters in the ensemble cast.
Watch on Apple TV+ Watch on Amazon Prime
8Only Murders in the Building
Only Murders in the Building mixes a true-crime obsession with a quirky sense of humor. Three nosy neighbors turned amateur sleuths slice through suspects and stereotypes, proving that the modern road to solving a murder is paved with podcast episodes.
9Mare of Easttown
On this HBO miniseries, Kate Winslet plays a gritty detective in a town where everybody knows everybody’s secrets—at least they think they do. Start watching for the plot twists and Jean Smart cameos; stay for Winslet’s Philadelphia accent, which is so thick you’ll soon be saying “wahr-ter” in your sleep.
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10Workaholics
This workplace comedy about three stoned slackers is the perfect show for unwinding after a long day of climbing the corporate ladder. If you’ve ever accidentally shit-talked a client on a conference call, Workaholics is for you.
11The Larry Sanders Show
There would be no Curb Your Enthusiasm without the massively influential The Larry Sanders Show. It pioneered the comedy style of celebrities playing exaggerated versions of themselves, with the stand-up comedian Garry Shandling making Larry David look calm and reasonable by comparison. It also spawned the “show about a show” trend, so we have it to thank for 30 Rock as well. Binge it to discover why every comedian considers it the greatest show ever.
12Stranger Things
The OG Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things involves a group of kids in Hawkins, Indiana, who befriend a girl with a bloody nose and try to figure out why everyone in their town keeps disappearing. Fans of Winona Ryder, government conspiracy theories, and Dungeons & Dragons are sure to enjoy it.
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13Game of Thrones
Look, I’m gonna be honest: I couldn’t get through the first season of Game of Thrones. The incest really bummed me out. But everybody else loved it, so you probably will, too. Devour GoT so you can be a part of the cultural phenomenon and nod along knowingly whenever someone says, “Winter is coming.”
Watch on Amazon Prime Watch on Max
14The Sopranos
The Sopranos may be the only show to have been a cultural phenomenon twice—once when it originally aired and again twenty years later when bored millennials binged it during the Covid lockdowns. What makes the HBO drama about a New Jersey mob boss and his family so utterly captivating? James Gandolfini’s and Edie Falco’s spellbinding performances as Tony and Carmela Soprano.
Watch on Amazon Prime Watch on Max
15The Bear
On The Bear, kitchen chaos meets personal drama when a fine-dining chef is forced to take over his dead brother’s sandwich shop. FX’s hit series is an intense, heartfelt drama that will change how you see a beef sandwich.
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16House of Cards
The series that started the binge-watching movement! Politics is a cruel, twisted game, and no one plays it better than Francis and Claire Underwood, the power-hungry couple at the center of the Netflix show’s six seasons. I guarantee you’ll be hooked after the first episode.
17Succession
This HBO juggernaut is technically about a fictional media company and the twisted family that runs it, but I see it more as a story about what happens when you have way too much money and you don’t resolve your daddy issues before you turn forty. In the mood to see someone self-sabotage? Succession is the show for you.
18Veep
This satirical deep dive into the messy, petty world of American politics is brought to you by the same folks who made the hit British comedy In the Loop. Featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Vice President Selina Meyer, Veep is a master class in one-liners and insults that’ll make you wonder just how incompetent our elected officials really are.
Watch on Max Watch on Amazon Prime
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19The Americans
Combine Cold War drama with domestic bliss and you’ve got The Americans, on which the biggest threat to marriage might be your spouse’s secret identity as a Russian spy. It’s thrilling and emotional—and the show’s wigmaker deserves all the Emmys.
Watch on Hulu Watch on Amazon Prime
20True Detective
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