The Most Binge Worthy TV Shows Of All Time

Following the boom of streaming services in the last decade, viewers are often overwhelmed with options for watching television. Max, Netflix, and Hulu, among others, have dozens of incredible shows perfect for binge-watching. Binge-watching culture has become central to television, and keeping audiences hooked to the “Next Episode” button is an art in itself.

This has influenced the narrative and episodic structure of TV, and many series prove why this release model can be so effective: it plays with expectations, setting cliffhangers along the way or simply giving a feel-good vibe to the viewers. Even more enticingly, every genre imaginable, from romance to drama to horror, has innumerable shows available for a TV marathon. As a result, all current streaming services boast some of the best shows to binge-watch ever, but which ones are truly the best binges on TV?

Updated by Fawzia Khan on March 12th, 2024: Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video… The list of streaming giants is endless, as are the viewing options available on all of these platforms. The sheer number of television shows, both old and new, are immense, and viewers can get confused just looking at the variety. CBR has put together a list of the very best TV shows for a weekend binge-watch to make the process of choosing easy breezy.

35 Bridgerton Shifts Lead Characters Each Season, But It Never Becomes Boring

Based on the book series by Julia Quinn, Bridgerton quickly won audiences over with a swoon-worthy cast and scandalous storylines. While the first season revolved around Daphne Bridgerton and her romance with the Duke of Hastings, the second season shifted focus to Anthony Bridgerton, played by Jonathan Bailey, and his love life. What set this show apart was an intentional departure from the stuffy period genre — Shonda Rhimes chose to make it sultry, sexy, and whimsical with modern sensibilities.

Despite the departure of fan-favorite Regé-Jean Page, Bridgerton proved it could successfully follow the book’s unusual format of shifting lead characters each season. The show’s second season broke streaming records for Netflix upon its release, cementing it as one of Netflix’s best binge-worthy shows.

• Bridgerton is available for streaming on Netflix.

34 Zombies Aren’t The Only Villains In The Last Of Us

Based on Naughty Dog’s video game, The Last of Us follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a bitter carpenter trying to survive amidst the Cordyceps pandemic, and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old immune girl who may be the key to creating the vaccine. Together, they have to brave both the zombies and the corruption of this post-apocalyptic society.

The Last of Us is both a thrilling sci-fi series and a harrowing tale about human nature. Every episode delivers a poignant story about the survivors without neglecting the action-packed fights against zombies and other villains, forcing the audience to keep watching until the end. This show proves that the zombie genre is here to stay, so long as it gets updated now and then.

• The Last of Us is available for streaming on Max.

33 Abbott Elementary Is Full Of Heart

Recent Emmy winner Quinta Brunson stars in Abbot Elementary as Janine Teagues, an overly optimistic millennial teacher who finds herself in the most absurd situations while trying to help her students at her underfunded, predominantly Black elementary school. Together with her equally eccentric peers, she goes the extra mile to ensure the education system stops failing her community.

From the very first episode, Abbott Elementary charmed both the audience and the critics. It introduces wholesome (but hilarious) characters, touches on important topics without becoming too dramatic, and criticizes the system while remaining faithful to the chaotic day-to-day of an elementary school. This show is full of heart, so it stands out from other binge-worthy stories because is a lighthearted, adorable journey.

• Abbot Elementary is available for streaming on Hulu.

32 Anna Taylor-Joy Shines In The Queen’s Gambit

The Queen’s Gambit is one of the best streaming shows of the last few years in a miniseries format. It tells the story of Elizabeth Harmon, a chess prodigy who is well on her way to becoming an elite player. The show focuses on Elizabeth’s career and her struggle with drugs and alcohol, her familial problems, and her love life. It is her character that carries the show forward.

The Queen’s Gambit was a total phenomenon when it premiered, even winning a couple of Golden Globes. In only seven episodes, this series tells a harrowing story that viewers won’t be able to pause. It definitely helps that Anya Taylor-Joy does a terrific job with her performance as Elizabeth as she turns chess into a thrilling high-stakes ride.

• The Queen’s Gambit is available for streaming on Netflix.

31 The White Lotus Mixes Dark Humor And A Big Mystery

Created by Mike White, The White Lotus follows the lives of both guests and employees of the White Lotus Resort, a fictional hotel chain. Through the many complex relationships between both groups, the series explores human nature, its darkest recesses, and the many power dynamics embedded in it.

Both seasons of The White Lotus — set in Maui and Sicily respectively — start with the murder of an unknown character. Then they go back and follow the circumstances that led to that moment. The show hooks the audience with this mystery, but viewers definitely stay for the show’s great dark humor. Jennifer Coolidge’s performances over the two seasons are highlights of the show.

• The White Lotus is available for streaming on Max.

30 Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Gives The Monarch Her Own Tender Love Story

While fans wait for the third season of Bridgerton, they can watch Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, its prequel spin-off, in the meantime. This show follows two timelines: one focuses on Charlotte’s younger years and her eventful marriage to George II, and the second one sees an older Queen Charlotte deal with a succession crisis when her granddaughter, Princess Charlotte, dies.

Like Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte is far from historically accurate. The matriarchal monarch is powerful and headstrong, and her fictional origin story shows fans her motivations and evolution from a naive little girl to the Queen of England. More importantly, her love story with King George is tender, touching, and a lesson to her subjects on how to handle love and mental health for a successful marriage. Since Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story only has six episodes, it’s a great option for a non-commital binge-watching session.

• Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is available for streaming on Netflix.

29 Never Have I Ever Is The Best Coming-of-Age Story On Netflix

Created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, Never Have I Ever follows Devi Vishwakumar, an Indian-American Tamil teenager living in LA. After her father dies of a heart attack, Devi loses mobility in her legs due to the trauma. After she recovers, she struggles with her own identity in high school.

Never Have I Ever is an excellent comedy for the whole family and its hilarious plots and relatable characters quickly charm viewers. Never Have I Ever also touches on serious topics like self-identity, race, mental health, gender, and sexuality, shining a positive light on some of the most complex experiences in life. Following the premiere of its fourth and final season, fans were sad to see it go, but satisfied with its ending.

• Never Have I Ever is available for streaming on Netflix.

28 Extraordinary Attorney Woo Is Lighthearted And Relatable

After graduating from law school, Woo Young-woo finds a job at a large film in Seoul. As Korea’s first licensed attorney on the autistic spectrum, she seems awkward in the beginning, but slowly and steadily, she wins over her colleagues with her surprising emotional intelligence and photographic memory.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo follows Woo Young-woo’s day-to-day life as she tackles different cases and deals with her own life. It’s an adorable story, full of relatable characters. Besides, it does a decent job of grappling with the differences between Woo, her friends, and her loved ones. Both K-drama’s long-standing fans and viewers who are new to the genre will enjoy this refreshing series.

• Extraordinary Attorney Woo is available for streaming on Netflix.

27 Dark Is A Richly Complex Sci-Fi Series

From the first episode, Dark lays out a mystery that eventually engulfs three generations. Every detail on the German sci-fi show fuels new theories about the truth behind the kids in various time periods, disappearing into a cave in Winden, Germany. Time travel, double lives, and broken relationships come together to form a thriller that is engrossing in every one of its three seasons.

Dark is full of secrets and twists and its young cast knocks it out of the park at every turn. Viewers will find it impossible to stop watching this incredible sci-fi series with a plot that only gets more and more complicated by the minute. Dark will have even those who don’t consider themselves binge-watchers hooked.

• Dark is available for streaming on Netflix.

26 The Umbrella Academy’s Premise Will Delight Comic Readers

Netflix’s Umbrella Academy is a fresh and unique addition to superhero TV. Based on the comic book series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, the show follows an eclectic group of superpowered siblings raised by the mysterious billionaire, Reginald Hargreeves. Hargreeves tries to raise them to be heroes, but instead leads them into dysfunction and disappointment, and when he dies they’re left quarreling with each other as Armageddon looms large.

The Hargreeves siblings’ powers are fairly unconventional, which helps the series stand out from its competition. The Umbrella Academy keeps viewers hooked as the team travels through time to stop the impending apocalypse. The Umbrella Academy cast and their impressive chemistry support an action-packed plot that has made the Netflix original a hit.

• The Umbrella Academy is available for streaming on Netflix.

25 Ted Lasso Will Have Viewers Laughing & Crying The Whole Time

Ted Lasso, an American football coach from Kansas, becomes the new leader of Richmond’s English Premiere League soccer team in an elaborated scheme by Rebecca Welton — the team’s new owner — to see the team fail. However, Lasso’s apparent unfaltering optimism and compassion, even across the ocean, ends up changing everyone’s life at AFC Richmond.

Ted Lasso is equally hilarious as it is heartbreaking. Although Lasso’s upbeat personality is his signature, when he’s alone, it’s obvious that he’s dealing with his personal demons. Jason Sudeikis, who portrays the titular character, does a terrific job with the role in both comedic and dramatic circumstances. He and his supporting cast will have the audience fall in love with them immediately. With three stellar seasons, it is not overly drawn out, neither is it too short.

• Ted Lasso is available for streaming on AppleTV+.

24 Breaking Bad Broke Every Rule in The Book With Walter White’s Anti-Hero

One of the best-known shows of the 21st century, Breaking Bad‘s story of an underpaid chemistry teacher turned meth manufacturer needs no introduction. With unforgettable antiheroes Walter White and Jesse Pinkman at its center, the series brilliantly chronicled the unlikely team’s dysfunctional descent into a murderous criminal underworld. The evolution of White is something viewers loved and hated in equal measure.

At this point, very few people who are interested in Breaking Bad haven’t seen it, but it’s a show that fans can revisit as its incredible writing makes it one of the best series to binge-watch. Easily one of the best-performed and written shows of the decade, BB is full of shocking moments that will devastate viewers as they find themselves unable to look away.

• Breaking Bad is available for streaming on Netflix.

23 Derry Girls Is A Light Coming-Of-Age Story With A Political Background

Erin, Orla, Clare, Michelle, and James are five teenagers from Northern Ireland studying in a Catholic School during the ’90s. Derry Girls follows their lives and their middle-class families during the end of the Troubles and up to the peace process in Northern Ireland. With likable characters, rib-tickling comedy, and a beating heart, Derry Girls gets plenty right about the teenage years.

Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls covers Northern Ireland’s key historical moments, but it’s a comedy like no other. The show focuses on the teenagers’ misadventures as they struggle with typical adolescent problems. Derry Girls has a very strong nostalgic vibe that will keep viewers invested until the very end.

• Derry Girls is available for streaming on Netflix.

22 The Sandman Is A Complex Tale Full Of Eccentric Characters

Based on Neil Gaiman’s comic of the same name, The Sandman follows Lord Morpheus, Emperor of Dreams, as he tries to recover his mystical tools — a pouch of sand, a helm, and a ruby — after being trapped in the human realm for a whole century. The show follows the titular Sandman and many other eccentric characters in the Dreaming and the waking world.

The Sandman only adapts the first two arcs from the comics, “Preludes & Nocturnes,” “The Doll’s House,” and the first two issues of “Dream Country,” but it does a terrific job. Every episode introduces strange new characters in bizarre situations. Poetic and laced with horror, it’s impossible to stop watching it.

• The Sandman is available for streaming on Netflix.

21 Maid Is A Thought-Provoking And Heartbreaking Story

In Maid, Margaret Qualley stars as Alex, a young mother who flees from her abusive household, only to discover that the American social security system is far from perfect. While she’s living in a shelter for women with her three-year-old, Alex finds an underpaid job cleaning houses. At the same time, she struggles with her narcissistic parents and her alcoholic ex-boyfriend.

Maid is an upsetting show that makes the viewers feel Alex’s powerlessness from the very beginning. While not everyone will relate to Alex’s exact struggle, they’ll certainly feel empathy for her. Alex’s resilience is incredible and viewers will be hooked after they learn that Maid is based on a true story. Alex’s victories feel personal, while her losses are hard-hitting.

• Maid is available for streaming on Netflix.

20 Fans Will Notice Plenty Of Missed Details On A Loki Rewatch

After escaping the Avengers during the Time Heist in Avengers Endgame, an alternate version of Loki becomes entangled with the Time Variance Authority — a mysterious organization that protects the sacred timeline. This throws him into a painful but beautiful journey of self-discovery that was a long time coming from his MCU movie days.

Non-MCU fans may have a hard time with this one, but those who have followed Loki’s character arc from the beginning will agree that it’s one of the best in the MCU so far. Those who didn’t rewatch Season 1 before following Season 2 should go ahead and binge-watch the whole show. They will notice the many references to and interesting symmetry with the preceding season.

• Loki is available for streaming on Disney+.

19 Squid Game Poses A Lot Of Great Questions About Modern Society

Squid Game took the world by storm when it was released in September 2021. Boasting a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the show became the streaming site’s most-watched series. Squid Game follows protagonist Seong Gi-hun as he participates in a deadly competition for a chance to win a life-changing amount of money: 45.6 billion won. More than the shock value, Squid Game highlights the social state of poverty-stricken people and the economic disparity in the country.

Squid Game keeps viewers on the edge of their seats as the competitors battle horrifying versions of seemingly harmless playground games. Squid Game has won numerous accolades, including Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. It’s high-concept, but its simple premise conceals some dark twists and turns fans won’t want to miss. With Season 2 officially announced for 2024, now is the perfect time to binge this death-game thriller.

• Squid Game is available for streaming on Netflix.

18 The Haunting Of Hill House Reflects On Familial Relationships With Paranormal Allegories

Based on Shirley Jackson’s gothic horror novel of the same name, The Haunting of Hill House is an enigmatic drama that instantly draws viewers in. The show alternates between past and present timelines as it reveals the Crain family’s experience with the haunted mansion Hill House. Chilling images and disturbing plots will keep horror fans satisfied, but its emotional roots will hook drama buffs too.

The Haunting of Hill House embraces its horrific core with chilling imagery and haunting performances from the ensemble cast. Each episode reveals more about what the siblings are going through. This show is easily among the most binge-worthy series ever, as much about family and shared history as it is about ghosts and ghouls.

• The Haunting of Hill House is available for streaming on Netflix.

17 History Buffs Will Love The Great

The Great, starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult, is a humorous re-telling of the life of Catherine the Great as she became Empress of All Russia. The show explores the events that led to Peter III’s fall, focusing on the moral corruption of the court and Catherine’s plans to end this and lead Russia into the Enlightenment.

The Great is a great series both for history buffs since it’s often historically accurate, and for those who just want to have a good laugh at both elegant and raunchy humor. The script is both hilarious and full of conspiracies, and Fanning and Hoult have great chemistry. It’s a must-watch when it comes to comedy period pieces with a touch of romance.

• The Great is available for streaming on Hulu.

16 Mindhunter Is Perfect For True Crime Fans

Starring Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany, Mindhunter is a psychological thriller that gives audiences a chilling look into the history of criminal profiling within the FBI. Groff and McCallany star as two special agents in the FBI who interview notorious serial killers in prison to understand their psychology.

Mindhunter‘s eerie look inside the minds of killers is as fascinating as it is disturbing, entertaining audiences from the very beginning. Despite the show’s success among audiences and critics alike, Netflix canceled Mindhunter, but its two available seasons are enough to keep anyone hooked.

• Mindhunter is available for streaming on Netflix.