What did we ever do before we were able to binge our favourite TV shows? It seems wild to think there was once a time (not even that long ago) when we would watch an episode of a show we loved and then – gasp – we would have to wait an entire week to find out what happened next! Thankfully, those days are long over with old favourites dropping on different streaming platforms all the time.
Whether you’ve seen them before or are keen to catch up on them now, here are ten of the best TV shows that you should binge as soon as you can.
The Nanny
She had style, she had flair…and that is why this 1990’s sitcom is still supremely watchable today. The Nanny, starring Fran Drescher (who created the series with her then-husband Peter Marc Jacobson), is full of whip-smart one-liners, over-the-top fashion and a whole lotta heart. The hilarious bickering between Niles (Daniel Daivs) and C.C. (Lauren Lane) alone is reason enough to binge this one, but the endearing familial relationships are pretty enticing too.
This one’s for you if: you love sequins, The Sound of Music and slapstick.
Watch it on: Stan
Heartbreak High
Catch all seven seasons of the gritty Australian teen drama and relive your adolescent crushes with Heartbreak High. The beloved series was ahead of its time as it explored sex, drugs, racism and domestic violence and gave us stars such as Callan Mulvey and Ada Nicodemou. A reboot is on the cards at Netflix, so binge this, while you wait for that.
This one’s for you if: you were a teenager in 1990’s Australia or enjoy a less soapy type of teen drama.
Watch it on: Netflix
Parks and Recreation
I don’t know about you, but when I’m feeling down the crazy kids of Pawnee, Indiana always cheer and crack me up. The series employed the mockumentary style of shooting (which proved to be very successful in another show on this list) and never failed to deliver big laughs when one of the actors broke the fourth wall – especially Ben (Adam Scott) whenever he gave one of those exasperated looks to camera. Add to that Ron Swanson’s (Nick Offerman) grumpy, government hating demeanour, killer catch phrases (“Treat Yo’self!’) and the enviable friendship between Leslie (Amy Poehler) and Ann (Rashida Jones) and you’ve got yourself seven seasons of pure joy.
This one’s for you if: you also love The Office, The Good Place or Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Chris Pratt before he was a mega movie star or endless cameos from comedy legends.
Watch it on: Netflix or Stan
Gossip Girl
“Hey Upper East Siders. Gossip Girl here. And I have the biggest news ever…”
Hopefully, you read that in the voice of Kristen Bell and hopefully, you are as excited about the reboot of Gossip Girl as we are. In the meantime, it is always a good idea to revisit the original mean girls (and boys) of Manhattan who never seemed to have curfews or get hangovers despite constantly drinking martinis on school nights. Yes, the plots got increasingly improbable as the series went on and yes, it seems highly unlikely that any of the gang would have remained friends let alone get married, but the fashion, takedowns and gorgeous sexy people made us not care and kept us coming back for more.
This one’s for you if: you are also a fan of Bridgerton, still can’t figure out how Gossip Girl could have been Dan, or simply for the glory that is Georgina Sparks (Michelle Trachtenberg.)
Watch it on: Stan
Glee
Over the years Ryan Murphy has given us so much good television: American Horror Story, Pose and Scream Queens just to name a few. But Glee was one that, despite being marked by several tragedies, continues to bring so many people so much joy. Over six seasons, the musical comedy-drama celebrated life as an “outsider” and tackled subjects like coming out, racism and young relationships with sensitivity and humour. Sadly, the deaths of stars Cory Monteith, Naya Rivera and Mark Salling have shrouded the series in a veil of sadness, but the joy of Glee and what it meant to so many people continue to shine through.
This one’s for you if: you love musicals, are a fan of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, or were a musical theatre kid in high school.
Watch it on: Netflix
How I Met Your Mother
The series finale has been dubbed one of the most divisive of all time, but How I Met Your Mother still delivered nine seasons of jokes, pick up lines and the most epic search for love we’ve ever witnessed. Packed full of catchphrases (mostly thanks to Barney who was played by Neil Patrick Harris) the show remains legend-wait for it-dary and a fan favourite.
This one’s for you if: you enjoy searching for continuity errors (the show became famous for them), are a hopeless romantic or appreciate ambitious script structures that cleverly traverse multiple timelines.
Watch it on: Stan
30 Rock
A true cult classic. If you loved 30 Rock the first time, or have yet to jump on the Liz Lemon bandwagon, it is time to go back and enjoy. This vaguely autobiographical comedy, based on Tina Fey’s experiences as a writer on Saturday Night Live, still packs a punch with its celebrity cameos, workplace antics, relatability and sarcastic undertones. 30 Rock also deserves huge amounts of credit for being incredibly smart and not playing into the “will they/won’t they” trope that is central to so many other TV shows.
This one’s for you if: you love sketch comedy, smart women and Tina Fey’s trademark brand of razor sharp writing and self deprecation.
Watch it on: Stan
The OC
One of the best “fish out of water” stories of the past few decades. Set in the impossibly wealthy and picture-perfect Californian county of Newport, the uber-successful drama series tells the story of Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) who is adopted by a well-meaning public defender and his heiress wife. The show examines the bonds of friendship (especially between Ryan and Seth, who is played by Adam Brody), family ties and lies, substance abuse, death and white privilege. The OC also has a surprising amount of comic relief and gets bonus points for being the perfect balance of glossy and gritty.
This one’s for you if: you like your teen angst dressed in Dior, you can’t get enough of Peter Gallagher’s eyebrows or you are a sucker for a high school sweethearts love story.
Watch it on: Stan
The Office
Both the original version starring Ricky Gervais and the American version with Steve Carrell are always worth returning to, with the US version being widely regarded as one of the more successful TV adaptations of our time. The Office is truly a gift that keeps on giving in every department: memes, one-liners, classic characters and the feeling that no matter how bad your boss is…it could always be worse.
This one’s for you if: you love a good workplace comedy, have a very droll sense of humour or want to decide for yourself which country did it best.
Watch it on: Stan
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Joss Whedon’s supernatural drama series, which ran for seven seasons, is frequently held up as a watershed landmark in television and pop culture in general. Whedon’s tale of a teen girl who fights vampires while trying to navigate the pitfalls of high school could easily have been a disaster, but through his smart scriptwriting and clever merging of several genres (one entire episode was a musical), it emerged as a true force to be reckoned with. The series also made history for portraying both the first long-term lesbian relationship and first-ever broadcast of a lesbian sex scene on US television when Willow (Alyson Hannigan) fell in love with Tara (Amber Benson). The relationship between the two women marked a huge turning point for LGBTQIA representation on screen and has been celebrated for it ever since.
This one’s for you if: you love pithy dialogue, are prone to a good metaphor or are just sick of your friends shunning you when you say you haven’t watched it yet.
Watch it on: Stan
