The Must-Watch List: 17 TV Shows That Should Be On Your Radar
While many TV shows earn cult status over time, few command an instantaneous legion of followers that give a show “must-watch” status.
Members of a popular forum recently discussed a few shows that are currently airing (or streaming) that should have everyone's attention right now. Here are their top recommendations.
1. Yellowjackets (2021-Present)
Kind of like an updated, more messed up version of Lost, Yellowjackets follows a plane full of New Jersey soccer players who find themselves crashed in the wilderness of Canada. The series follows their fight for survival and the things they’ll do to live to see another day, including resorting to cannibalism. Similar to Lost, the series also flashes forward to explore the effects of the crash on the survivors of the 19-month peril.
The first season aired in November 2021 on Showtime and the series is expecting a third season, which was announced even before the second premiered.
2. Dark (2017-2020)
This Netflix series is the streaming service’s first German original series, and even if you’re not big on dubbed or subtitled productions, its three-season run is worth a watch. When a child goes missing in Winden, Germany, the people of the small town stumble upon time travel and a damning conspiracy. Though the first season surpassed the others in quality, the whole series comes together well for an enjoyable watch.
3. The Righteous Gemstones (2019-Present)
Though you might avoid it if you take offense to spoofs of organized religion, The Righteous Gemstones is a high-budget comedy about an ultra-rich tele-evangelical family caught up in misdeeds and misappropriations. John Goodman leads a stellar cast of characters who are game for a good time, righteousness be darned. The Righteous Gemstones can be watched on Max.
4. What We Do in the Shadows (2019-Present)
Anytime you hear someone complain that comedic entertainment is dead, direct them to What We Do in the Shadows—which is, ironically, a show about modern-day vampires who probably should be dead.
This is the vampire comedy you didn't know you needed in your life. Choose not to suck by and catch past and current seasons of What We Do in the Shadows on Hulu.
5. The Boys (2019-Present)
If Deadpool proved that irreverent superheroes could be smashingly entertaining (and profitable for studios), The Boys took the baton and flew with it. This Amazon Prime smash hit breaks the superhero mold by examining what happens when superheroes abuse their considerable talents.
6. Severance (2022-Present)
Few shows employ a truly original concept, but Apple+'s Severance is one of them. Surgeons have altered the memories of a group of office workers to have a mental block between work and personal lives. However, a disruption in the divide turns the worker bees into all-questioning investigators, transforming a great sci-fi show into a captivating investigative thriller.
7. Silo (2023-Present)
Though you'll need an Apple+ subscription to watch, Silo has become a darling of notoriously critical sci-fi fans. A group lives in an underground silo, believing the world above them is a toxic wasteland. But is it, really?
You'll have to watch to find out.
8. The White Lotus (2021-Present)
No show in recent memory has made such outlandish characters so believable while masterfully blurring the lines between comedy and mystery like The White Lotus. Plus, the theme song will stay stuck in your head, creating a Pavlovian response as each new episode begins. The White Lotus premiered on HBO and is available on the updated Max app.
9. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022-Present)
Trekkies, unite! If you are a Star Trek fan or just a TV watcher looking for fresh sci-fi entertainment, consider Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It's a critically acclaimed prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, though it's admittedly a hard break from the original Star Trek blueprint.
It's a musical, Scotty, that you should beam up to your streaming queue as soon as possible on Paramount+.
10. Jury Duty (2023)
What do you get when 11 actors (well, far more than 11) and an entire production crew agree to put on a fake trial, all to spoof the 12th juror, an unwitting straight man who has no idea it's all a rouse?
You get Jury Duty, one of the funniest shows to hit streaming in recent memory. It's available to watch on Amazon's Freevee service.
11. The Expanse (2015- 2o22)
Though the show ended in 2022, The Expanse is fresh enough to be considered current. The sci-fi epic explores political tensions in a world where we've colonized Mars and relegated people to different planets based on class status. A conspiratorial plotline makes The Expanse a spellbinding watch, so be sure to catch it on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
12. The Handmaid's Tale (2017-Present)
The showrunners behind The Handmaid's Tale have done an admirable job stretching Margaret Atwood's source material while infusing original twists that make the show feel fresh. Or, at least, as fresh as an authoritarian theocratic dictatorship keeping fertile women as concubines can be.
While some have tuned out, many still rank the series among the best you can stream today on Hulu.
13. The Bear (2022-Present)
If you have your ear to the street, you've likely heard rumblings about Hulu's The Bear. The show draws inspiration from Americans' obsession with Gordon Ramsay, Instagram chefs, and hole-in-the-wall restaurants slinging tastebud-tingling delicacies without pretense.
Though fans are generally split between loving and hating The Bear‘s frenetic pace and food-centric focus, most people are enamored by the strong cast led by Jeremy Allen White (Shameless).
14. Warrior (2019-Present)
When a martial arts prodigy relocates from China to San Francisco in the late 1800s, he finds a seedy Chinatown where crime pays. Double-crossing, racketeering, and lots of hand-to-hand combat ensues. Warrior can be easily found on Amazon Prime Video.
15. Fargo (2014-Present)
The debut episode of a new season of FX's Fargo is the type of event you drop the kids off at Nana's and call in sick to work for (not me, of course). Fargo is that good, brilliantly riding the wave of the Coen Brothers' eponymous film.
The same dark humor that made the movie a hit makes the series so good. You shouldn't be laughing at such a violent, crime-riddled show, but you always are.
16. The Last of Us (2023-Present)
One of the few shows in the past decade to be considered appointment television, The Last of Us gained steam as the season went on. Based on the eponymous video game about a pandemic that decimates civilization and leaves the world littered with hideous, bloodthirsty creatures, The Last of Us is an interesting entry in the apocalyptic sci-fi thriller genre. Catch the first season and watch out for the second on Max.
17. Slow Horses (2022-Present)
Apple+ has been able to convince (with money, I'm assuming) some seriously accomplished actors to lead its original shows, and none of those actors is more accomplished than Gary Oldman. A team of misfit British intelligence officers decides that they can transcend their collective status as screwups when a homicide case unexpectedly presents itself.
Source: Reddit.
Pop Culture Writer, Life Hack Aficionado
- Focus: Film and Television, Life Advice, Comedic Writing
- Education: Bachelor's of Journalism from the University of South Florida - Tampa
- Published in several international publications, including stories completed as a Wealth of Geeks geek
- Nearly seven years' experience writing professionally
Experience: Sam Mire is a freelance writer with over seven years' experience writing about entertainment, global events, American law, and sports. He got his start as a journalism major at the University of South Florida, and has since spent weeks in the Alaskan wildlands, immersed himself in the world of Florida's homeless population, covered live sporting events, and served as a linchpin for media outlets in the legal, tech, and entertainment spaces. Sam has written news stories and Op-Eds featured in Fast Company, Forbes, Entrepreneur, AP News, Fox News, and, most notably, Wealth of Geeks.
Sam focuses on popular culture, film and television, and general life advice in his role for Wealth of Geeks. He strives to turn readers onto the directors, actors, and other creatives who deliver compelling content outside of the box-office top-ten. In his free time, he enjoys boxing, woodwork, engaging in battles of strength and wit with his dog, and spending time with good company.
