Original shows like The Boys or The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are backed up by fan favourites including The Office and House, and the company is also licensing plenty of big new American shows like The Walking Dead and Star Trek: Lower Decks. As there’s so much on offer, it can be overwhelming to choose what you’d like to watch next. Fortunately, we’ve taken out the hassle of searching through the entire library and rounded up our top recommendations of TV shows. Whatever your interests, there should be something here to suit you.
Good Omens
You’ll never know how much you wanted to see an angel and demon form a unique bromance across the history of time until you see Good Omens. Michael Sheen and David Tennant (playing Aziraphale and Crowley respectively) capture the essence of their characters and embrace the eccentric world created by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman wholeheartedly. This series has a dog that’s secretly a hellhound, the impending doom of Armageddon and more hairstyles than you can shake a stick at. If that doesn’t pique your interest, we don’t know what will. Best of all? There’s a second season on the way, with Gaiman himself running the show based on a plot outline he and Pratchett created years ago for a second novel that never materialised.
The Office (US)
Anyone who’s had a desk job at some point in their life will be able to relate to The Office. Steve Carrell stars as Michael Scott, a Regional Manager of a paper distribution company who lacks most of the basic skills needed to lead other employees discussing day-to-day life in this mockumentary. The main ensemble cast does change during its nine-season run, but the deadpan humour and absurd situations are consistent. It’s certainly a different route to the British version – but we’ll leave you to decide which style of humour goes down better.
Fleabag
We’re not sure if there’s a show that breaks the fourth wall more than Fleabag. Phoebe Waller-Bridge both writes and stars as Fleabag, a middle-class woman who struggles with her career, her friends, her family, her love life… pretty much everything to be honest. It’s a bit like a much bleaker and darker version of Miranda, filled with self-deprecating humour that gets you through the miserable events that are bestowed upon the characters of the show.
The Night Manager
Tom Hiddleston stars in this brilliant mini-series based on a book of the same name by John Le Carré. It’s the best kind of twisty-turny spy caper, with Hiddleston matched by Hugh Laurie’s villainous arms dealer, and a supporting cast that includes Olivia Colman and Elizabeth Debicki. There may only be six episodes, but The Night Manager is captivating beginning to end, with production values that’ll make you forget the show ever started life on the Beeb.
The Walking Dead
Whilst the first word that comes to mind when you think of The Walking Dead is “ZOMBIES!!”, this series is actually a lot more nuanced than that. Character drama and development of relationships is key in this series – it just so happens that it falls in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. You’ll find moments of horror, action and drama all blended in this cult show. However, we advise you to not let yourself get too attached to characters. This isn’t a programme that’s destined to have a happy ending.
The Boys
We know that superheroes are all the rage right now, but you’ve never seen them like in The Boys. These are superheroes for the celebrity age, vain and cruel egotists who are actually the villains of the piece – while the titular Boys are the ragtag group of regular humans out to take them down. Based on the comic books by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (but in fact far better than its source material), the show interweaves action and satire brilliantly. Just be warned: it’s dark, so go in prepared. The show is now awaiting its fourth season, so keep an eye on the latest news from The Boys – and check out the animated shorts Diabolical for more nastiness.
Fargo
Adapting one of the Coen Brothers’ finest films to TV was always doomed to be an act of folly until showrunner Noah Hawley came along and proved us wrong (so much so that he’s also been tasked with running the upcoming Alien show). Adopting an anthology format, the series tracks a different bumbling-yet-tragic crime caper each season, united by a broad region (mostly around the Dakotas and Minnesota) and a few loose narrative ties, but separated by new casts and even time periods each go around. The likes of Martin Freeman, Ewan McGregor, and Patrick Wilson have stepped into major roles across the show, which somehow still finds new ways to surprise and impress even four seasons in.
Tales from the Loop
Inspired by Swedish painter Simon Stålenhag, Tales from the Loop is an anthology series that explores a town dominated by a mysterious research facility. Set in a timeless version of small town America with more than a little Scandi inspiration, the show is melancholic to the core, using its science fiction concepts sparingly to explore its characters’ inner lives rather than set up action set pieces or light-hearted Stranger Things-style adventure. With a cast including Rebecca Hall and Jonathan Pryce, soundtrack work from Philip Glass, and even counting Jodie Foster among its directors, the pedigree is hard to resist. Just remember to set your expectations for ‘moody Scandi drama’ rather than ‘rollicking sci-fi romp’.
Veronica Mars
This early noughties teen noir was a cult hit that helped make Kristen Bell a star – and in fact the cast is packed with faces that would go on to become major names. Bell is the titular Veronica, the teenaged daughter of a cop who operates as a private investigator in her own right. High school drama is integrated with higher stakes murder mysteries, with a smart balance of episode-long cases and season-long investigations.
Star Trek: Lower Decks
Lower Decks boldly goes where no Star Trek show has gone before: a goofy animated comedy in the vein of Rick and Morty. As the name suggests, this new series takes a break from the bridge crew to follow a few red shirts instead. It’s very silly and surprisingly gory, but less nihilistic than its obvious inspiration – there’s still a lot of heart here, and a clear affection for classic Trek too. Get the latest on the next season of Lower Decks.
Truth Seekers
Nick Frost stars as an internet installation man cum ghost hunter & YouTuber in this surreal British comedy that also features Simon Pegg in a recurring role, and the brilliant Samson Kayo as Elton John. But not that Elton John. It gets a little spooky at times, but not so much as to put off the horror-averse, but it’s mostly just unexpectedly funny, thanks in part to a dogged insistence to double down on even its dumbest jokes and carry them through.
The Man in the High Castle
Alternative history is always fascinating to think about, and no show has gone further into the subject than The Man in the High Castle, based off the popular Phillip K Dick novel. Imagining what would have happened if Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan had reined supreme over WW2, we see the United States held in the iron fist of the axis powers. Whilst the series starts out focusing on the history and politics, it begins to dissolve more and more into the science fiction genre (and it’s no wonder, considering the author).
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
That big budget means this is a typically lavish show, with plush props and expansive filming locations, but it’s got more for it than mere budget. The optimistic tone of Jackson’s films returns, aided by a capable cast anchored by Morfydd Clark’s excellent Galadriel.
Comrade Detective
Comrade Detective is…a difficult show to explain. The pitch is that this is a gritty detective series from behind the Iron Curtain in ’80s Romania, discovered, re-mastered, and dubbed by Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and more. The reality of course is that there was never any original Romanian show, and instead this is a modern (and silly) imagining of what a communist ’80s detective series might look like, complete with capitalist plots, Ronald Reagan masks, and the devilish influence of American blue jeans.
Chuck
This is one of the great noughties network shows, pairing adventure-of-the-week shenanigans with some fun ongoing mysteries and character development. Zachary Levi (now best known for Shazam) is the titular Chuck, a tech nerd who accidentally becomes a super spy, and from there the show remains exactly as silly as it sounds. Set your expectations right, and Chuck is a blast.
The Last Man on Earth
What would you do if you were the only living human being on the planet? Move into the White House and fill a paddling pool with margarita mix if you’re Will Forte’s Phil in The Last Man on Earth, one of the few sitcoms bold enough to kick things off with the elimination of the entire human race. It’s probably fair to reveal now that Phil isn’t quite the last person on Earth – even Forte couldn’t sustain four seasons without a supporting cast – but the plot twists here as just as welcome as the jokes, and the cast the show builds up is genuinely phenomenal.
Transparent
Star Jeffrey Tambor may have left the series in disgrace over harassment accusations, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying the series itself. Transparent is a groundbreaking mainstream exploration of gender transition, that only gets more interesting as it veers to explore the intersections between gender, sexuality, and religion in broader respects. It’s also a lot more fun, and funny, than that might make it sound.
All or Nothing
This ongoing docu-series has dipped around plenty of different teams and even sports (though this gooner is partial to the Arsenal edition). It all began with the Arizona Cardinals, and has since followed a range of NFL teams, Premier League clubs including Manchester City and the aforementioned Arsenal, Serie A’s Juventus, and even rugby’s New Zealand All Blacks national team and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the world of hockey. Whatever your sport, you’ll find a season devoted to the ins and outs of one of the major players across a season, from avant garde training sessions to dramatic pre-match pep talks. It’s not quite a tell-all, but it’s the best look you’ll ever get inside how the world’s biggest sports teams are run.
House
The TV show that made Hugh Laurie famous on the other side of the pond, medical drama House remains a classic for good reason. Its sharp, satiric tone made it an instant antidote to the familiar rhythms of E.R. when it first debuted, and the balance of comedy and drama still holds up today. It did run on for a little too long though, so don’t feel bad if you drop out before the end of the eight-season run.
The Handmaid’s Tale
Uplifting it isn’t, but The Handmaid’s Tale is perhaps essential television. This adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel takes the book as a starting point to weave its own ongoing story across three seasons so far. Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss is the titular Handmaid, a house-servant in a version of the US where Christian values and outdated gender norms have been pushed to their limit in a nightmarish police state that exerts total control over who can love – and sleep with – who. It’s unpleasant viewing, and may well challenge your views on gender dynamics, but it poses questions that all of us should be thinking about, now more than ever. And it’s damn compelling viewing to boot. Tech Advisor’s Deputy Editor, Dom covers everything that runs on electricity, from phones and laptops to wearables, audio, gaming, smart home, and streaming - plus he’s a regular fixture on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.
