Recommendations
Shows I'd tell you to watch.
Mind-bending
7Shows that break your brain — you'll need a minute
Dark
Time-travel mystery thriller
German time-travel sci-fi. Trust the subtitles. Perfect ending.
~95% RT. Massive international cult following — regularly tops 'best sci-fi ever' lists. Netflix's first German original. Three planned seasons, stuck the landing.
Twin Peaks
Surreal small-town mystery
The show that started it all. Nothing else feels like this.
Foundational — basically invented the modern TV mystery. S1 is iconic, S2 wobbles, The Return (2017) is considered Lynch's masterpiece. Cultural influence is immeasurable.
The Leftovers
Existential grief drama
What happens after the rapture — to the people left behind.
~94% RT. Small audience on HBO but critics absolutely loved it. Frequently cited as one of the best shows of the 2010s.
Severance
Corporate dystopia thriller
What if your work self and home self were literally different people.
~95% RT. Apple TV+'s biggest show — S2 added 2M subscribers in a month. Multiple Emmy wins. Crossed over from niche to genuine mainstream hit.
Undone
Reality-bending animated drama
Trippy and short. Amazon's best hidden gem.
~98% RT. From BoJack creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg. Rosa Salazar is phenomenal. Barely watched — one of Amazon's most underseen originals.
Silo
Subterranean slow-burn mystery
S2 stuck the landing. Renewed for a final third season.
S1 ~88% RT, S2 debuted at 100%. Apple TV+'s #1 show by viewership. Based on Hugh Howey's Wool trilogy. Rebecca Ferguson carries it.
Common Side Effects
Animated pharma conspiracy on acid
If you know, you know.
100% RT. Adult Swim's biggest debut in years, renewed for S2 before the finale aired. From Scavengers Reign creator Joe Bennett and Veep writer Steve Hely. Exec produced by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels.
Prestige
8Objectively excellent television
Succession
Billionaire family power drama
Rich awful people destroying each other. Shakespearean.
~95% RT. Swept the Emmys multiple years. Defined a generation of 'eat the rich' prestige TV. Widely considered the best show of the early 2020s.
Better Call Saul
Slow-burn crime character study
Watch Breaking Bad first. Then this. Somehow it's better.
~98% RT. 53 Emmy nominations, zero wins — the most snubbed show in Emmy history. Many consider it superior to Breaking Bad.
The Wire
Urban crime epic
The one everyone says is the best show ever. They're not wrong.
~94% RT. Tiny audience when it aired, now universally cited as the greatest drama ever made. Zero Emmy wins — one of the biggest snubs in TV history.
Atlanta
Surrealist Southern odyssey
Defies genre. Donald Glover's masterpiece.
~96% RT. Multiple Emmy wins for Donald Glover. Defies genre — critics loved it, audiences who stuck with it revered it. S3's European standalone episodes divided some fans.
The Expanse
Hard sci-fi space opera
The best space opera since BSG. Hard sci-fi done right.
~94% RT. Cancelled by Syfy, saved by Amazon after a massive fan campaign. Considered the best space opera since BSG. S6 is truncated but wraps the main arc.
The Thick of It
Vicious political satire
British political satire. Malcolm Tucker is an all-timer.
BAFTA-winning. Peter Capaldi's Malcolm Tucker is one of the greatest TV characters ever written. Spawned the film In the Loop. Armando Iannucci went on to create Veep.
Veep
Ruthless political comedy
Same creator as The Thick of It. JLD won six consecutive Emmys for a reason.
~93% RT. Julia Louis-Dreyfus won six consecutive Emmys — a record. Widely considered the best political comedy since The Thick of It (same creator).
Euphoria
Neon-drenched teen drama
Teen drama shot like a fever dream. Episode count includes the 2 bridge specials between seasons.
~82% RT. Zendaya won back-to-back Emmys. Massive cultural footprint. S3 is effectively dead — treat the two bridge specials after S1 as the emotional peak.
Gut-punch
4Funny, but it might hurt
BoJack Horseman
Animated depression comedy
Animated horse has depression. Best show about mental health ever made.
~94% RT. Gets better every season — by the end you'll wonder how a cartoon horse hit you this hard.
Dave
Rapper coming-of-age comedy
Lil Dicky's semi-autobio show. Surprisingly great.
~88% RT. FXX's most-watched comedy premiere ever. Started as a joke premise, became genuinely moving. Underseen outside its fanbase.
Barry
Hitman dark comedy
Hitman tries to become an actor. Gets darker every season.
~98% RT. Bill Hader won multiple Emmys for acting and directing. Started as a comedy, ended as something closer to a crime thriller. S3-S4 are polarizing but ambitious.
The Boys
Satirical superhero gore-fest
What if superheroes were corporate-owned sociopaths.
~93% RT. Amazon's biggest original series. Spawned spinoffs (Gen V). S4 dipped in quality and divided fans — S5 (final) is confirmed.
Comfort
9Turn your brain off for a bit
Parks and Recreation
Wholesome workplace ensemble
The warmest ensemble comedy ever made. Skip S1.
~92% RT. Slow start (S1 is rough), then became one of the most beloved comedies ever. Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt all became stars.
The Good Place
Afterlife philosophy sitcom
Philosophy class disguised as a sitcom. Perfect ending.
~97% RT. Mike Schur's best work. Known for its genuinely satisfying ending — rare in TV. Smart without being pretentious.
The Office
Legendary workplace mockumentary
You know what this is.
Consistently one of the most-streamed shows in America years after it ended. Cultural juggernaut. S1-S4 are peak, declines after Steve Carell leaves.
Mythic Quest
Game-dev workplace comedy
Rob McElhenney post-Sunny. The standalone episodes are some of the best comedy TV of the decade.
~88% RT. Underseen but well-loved. Cancelled after S4, which is a crime.
New Girl
Quirky roommate ensemble sitcom
Nick Miller is the heart of it. Great ensemble chemistry all around.
~95% RT for early seasons. Big network audience. Max Greenfield's Schmidt is the breakout. Late seasons lose steam but the core cast chemistry carries it.
Community
Meta pop-culture comedy
Six seasons and a movie — and the movie's actually happening. S4 dips without Dan Harmon, but the rest is gold.
~88% RT. Cult classic — small audience, massive influence. Dan Harmon before Rick and Morty. Will make you insufferably quotable.
Superstore
Big-box retail workplace comedy
Sneakily one of the best workplace comedies of the 2010s. Never got the buzz it deserved.
~93% RT. Steady NBC performer. Genuinely funny and sneakily progressive. America Ferrera anchors it. Never got the buzz it deserved.
Taskmaster
Gleeful competitive chaos
British panel show. Comedians do absurd tasks. Endlessly rewatchable.
BAFTA-winning. 20 seasons and counting — a UK institution. Free on YouTube internationally. Endlessly rewatchable, huge global cult audience.
What We Do in the Shadows
Vampire roommate mockumentary
Matt Berry is transcendent in this. Stayed great across all six seasons, which is rare.
~94% RT. Based on the Taika Waititi/Jemaine Clement film. One of the most consistent comedies in recent memory.
Unhinged
11Gloriously trashy, chaotic, and we love it
The Rehearsal
Reality-simulation comedy
Watch Nathan for You first — this is the evolution. Nathan Fielder builds life-sized simulations for people. Insane.
~93% RT. Nathan Fielder's follow-up to Nathan for You. Blurs the line between documentary and performance art. Polarizing but brilliant.
Nathan for You
Cringe business-sabotage comedy
A socially awkward genius "helps" small businesses. Unmatched.
~98% RT. Small Comedy Central audience, massive word-of-mouth. 'Finding Frances' finale is considered one of the best episodes of TV ever made.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Improvised social-catastrophe comedy
Larry David being Larry David for 12 seasons. The Seinfeld reunion arc alone is worth it.
~89% RT. Larry David's semi-improvised magnum opus. 24-year run. The finale mirrors Seinfeld's — intentionally. Cultural institution.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Degenerate gang sitcom
Terrible people doing terrible things. Renewed through S18.
~85% RT. Longest-running live-action American comedy — 17 seasons and counting. Tiny early audience, grew into a cult institution. The Gang never learns, and that's the point.
I Think You Should Leave
Absurdist escalation sketch comedy
15-minute episodes of pure chaos. Most efficient comedy delivery system ever built.
~94% RT. Tim Robinson became a comedy deity. Massively meme-able. You'll quote it constantly.
Trailer Park Boys
Canadian trailer-park mockumentary
Julian never spills his drink. Early seasons are peak.
Cult classic. Tiny Canadian show that became a global phenomenon via Netflix — one of the platform's earliest international acquisitions. Early seasons (~S1-7) are peak.
Nirvanna the Band the Show
Gonzo guerrilla-comedy adventure
Two guys try to book a gig in Toronto. Gonzo masterpiece.
Near-zero audience, near-perfect critical reception. Nathan Fielder-adjacent — same real-world chaos energy. The movie hit theaters in 2025 to rave reviews.
The Life & Times of Tim
Minimalist animated cringe comedy
12-minute episodes of quiet humiliation. Deeply underrated.
Steve Dildarian's creation. Cancelled twice by HBO, revived once. Tiny audience, devoted cult following. Quietly influential on modern cringe comedy.
Toast of London
Absurdist British actor farce
Matt Berry as a failing actor. Very specific comedy style — not for everyone, but if it clicks, it really clicks. YES I CAN HEAR YOU CLEM FANDANGO.
Small Channel 4 audience, big cult following. Matt Berry at his Matt Berry-est. Essential viewing if you love him in Shadows or The Mighty Boosh.
South Park
Rapid-response animated satire
Still occasionally brilliant after 25+ years.
Cultural institution. 27+ seasons, $900M Paramount+ deal. Quality varies year to year but still capable of brilliance. The specials format works.
Da Ali G Show
Character-comedy ambush interviews
Sacha Baron Cohen before Borat. Ali G, Borat, and Bruno all started here.
Launched Sacha Baron Cohen's career and spawned the Borat and Bruno films. BAFTA-winning. Basically invented modern cringe comedy.
Cozy weird
2Warm and strange — they'll make you think
Adventure Time
Deceptively profound cartoon adventure
Starts goofy, becomes legitimately profound.
Emmy-winning. Started as a kids' show, evolved into one of the most emotionally complex animated series ever. Spawned multiple sequel specials on Max.
Over the Garden Wall
Autumnal fairy-tale miniseries
10-episode miniseries. Perfect autumn watch. Gorgeous.
~100% RT. Annie Award-winning. Just 10 eleven-minute episodes — perfect seasonal watch. Universally beloved, especially in animation circles.
Honorable Mentions
2Still good, just not the ones I'd lead with
Manhunt
Methodical cat-and-mouse thriller
Limited series about the Unabomber investigation. Tight and well-paced.
~83% RT. Well-received limited series. Strong performances from Sam Worthington and Paul Bettany. Flew under the radar but well-regarded.
Ted Lasso
Feel-good fish-out-of-water comedy
S1 is genuinely great. It trails off from there, but S1 alone is worth it.
~88% RT overall. S1 (~92%) was a pandemic-era phenomenon. S2-S3 dip in quality but still watchable. Multiple Emmy wins.