There are too many supposedly great new TV shows to keep track of. And that’s coming from someone trying to watch as much TV as they can (even shows I don’t even enjoy watching). With the fall TV season slowing down a bit in streaming (She-Hulk and Rings of Power both aired in the finale this week), I figured it’s time my recommendation engine got going again.
So we’re using one of our favorite resources to back up some of our favorite shows at Tom’s Guide. These seven shows impressed Everyone the critic and deserves 100% Rotten Tomatoes (opens in new tab) Scores, which is pretty darn tough considering how many have aired multiple seasons.
Want more shots? We’ve also selected the top Netflix shows with ratings of 90% and above, the top Apple TV Plus shows with ratings of 90% and above, and the top Hulu movies with ratings of 90% and above.
So let’s dive into what we love about seven of the best damn shows to watch online — to help you fill in those cultural blind spots.
Streaming Editor-in-Chief Henry T. Casey calls himself “the streaming guy” for a variety of reasons. He’s obsessed with watching the latest lively shows, streaming devices, and especially streaming services, and seeing what he’s meant to watch. He’s trying to manage his budget while worrying about the upcoming merger of HBO Max and Discovery Plus.
The Bear (2022)
The Bear might have a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s also not for everyone. That’s because it’s too good at capturing the chaos behind the scenes at a small, family-owned Chicago restaurant that churns out hot Italian beef. After a tragedy in said family, top chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) returns to steer the ship into the future. White gives The Bear an amazingly tense mood, as every little twitch on his face seems like a deliberate reaction to the chaos around him. Family friend Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is often the one who stirs up this nonsense because he doesn’t like the “improvements” that Carmy makes. Including hiring young culinary school graduate Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) to run the shop.
The bear sizzles with a kinetic energy rarely seen on TV, and the big surprise of its finale still lives rent-free in my mind. You have to be careful, cousin.
seasons: 1 (eight episodes)
Genre: comedy/drama
Keep streaming it Hi (opens in new tab)
Bad Sisters (2022)
A death in the family should not be cause for celebration. However, the Garvey sisters are unlike most families. These five sisters survived the death of their parents and took an oath to protect each other. And then Grace (Anne-Marie Duff) married John Paul (Claes Bang), who treats her horribly. So if JP dies? The other Garveys immediately think it’s time to pop bottles. Makes you wonder, did they kill him? And this dark comedy is so sharp, it’ll have you laughing while you rarely stop to wonder if you’re on the right side of history – and cheer at a man’s death.
The Garveys don’t seem innocent at all, but they are such well-crafted characters with excellent chemistry between them that you love them. And you will spend his 10 episodes finding out who is actually responsible and how much John Paul deserved it.
seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
Genre: Dark comedy/mystery thriller
Keep streaming it HBO Max (opens in new tab)
Yellowjackets (2021 – ongoing)
Yellowjackets appears to be hovering over the skeletons of Lost’s Oceanic Flight 815, or at least it did during its amazing first season, which garnered the “perfect” critical consensus. In it, we meet a high school girls’ soccer team who are on their way to the national team despite a lot of power struggles and a lack of trust. Only their plane crashes on the way and they get stuck in the wilderness. A perfect place for young people who already have a problem with cooperation. And that’s one of the reasons Yellowjackets is a winner, as it shows a mastery of using high school group dynamics to create outstanding suspense and drama.
It’s all looking bleak until Yellowjackets pulls another Lost and looks back at the adult lives of a few of the surviving girls. Adults with post-crash secrets. Building on a phenomenal cast, including Christina Ricci, Melanie Lynskey and Juliette Lewis in the fast-forward roles, Yellowjackets wowed in its first season.
seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
Genre: Drama/Mystery/Horror
Keep streaming it Showtime via Amazon Prime Video (opens in new tab)
Hacks (2021 – ongoing)
Jean Smart rules Vegas as comedian Deborah Vance, or at least she used to be. In “Hacks,” Vance is now nearing the end of her career, apparently selling more item of questionable quality on QVC than performing her rather broad comedy live. So she needs help to get her act back on track. Luckily, her ailing manager Jimmy (Paul W. Downs) has just the right person: Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), a blacklisted writer who got banned for making the wrong jokes about the wrong people.
While the two initially don’t get along – when Deborah insults everything sent to Ava, down to her hands – the two soon learn to help each other. It’s hard to stay mad at someone who taunts you with really good material. But the road to career renaissance is difficult, especially when one is suing the other. Or the whole thing with the bed situation in the tour bus. Still, much like women have to do in the entertainment world, hacks keep proving themselves.
Genre: comedy/drama
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Keep streaming it HBO Max (opens in new tab)
Fleabag (2016 – 2019)
Do you ever feel like your life is so messy that you could just put on a show about it? Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s TV series (adapted after her one-woman show) is so messy she dubbed it Fleabag. In two seasons filled with hilariously funny moments mixed with serious emotional lows, we never really hear anyone call her character by her name (the show’s script dubbed her Fleabag), which is odd considering she runs through all the wrestlers.
Whether she’s dealing with the great dating catastrophe or her godmother (Olivia Colman) dating her father, you’d think someone would call her by her name at some point. Fleabag is a show perfect, shadowing her character for two seasons and leaving long before she oversteps her reception.
seasons: 2
Genre: comedy/drama
Keep streaming it Prime video (opens in new tab)
Adventure Time (2010 – 2018)
The world of adult animation is often full of programs that are particularly unfriendly to children. Adventure Time is that rare series that managed to thread the needle. While later seasons will cover some issues (such as abandonment) that kids might not be ready for, Adventure Time is an animated show that’s great for both kids and kid ults.
This fantasy series immediately transports you to the land of Ooo, which we later realize is a post-apocalypse. But that’s not where the drama lies. This comes into play when Finn deals with his crushes and spends his free time adventuring and stopping the mad Ice King (Tom Kenny) from kidnapping Ooo’s many princesses. Oh, and Marceline the Vampire Queen (Olivia Olson)? Let’s just say her backstory delivers one of the best flashback episodes of all time.
While Adventure Time might sound a bit much, each of its 15-minute-or-less episodes is a treat, and the show built amazing characters and stories over its nine-year run.
seasons: 10
Genre: Animated Fantasy
Keep streaming it HBO Max (opens in new tab)
Old enough! (2022)
And now something completely different. Old enough! will sound like either real pleasure or a cruel and unusual punishment. In this series (which originally aired in Japan and Netflix imported 20 episodes as a kind of test) we meet a bunch of fairly young (usually under five) kids who are sent on errands or assignments that test their independence.
A perfectly sane slice of reality TV, Old Enough! is designed as a competitive show, complete with a narrator who takes these children’s missions seriously. Some of the contestants are considered too meek by the show and their parents, and so old enough! acts as a way to push yourself out. Old Enough is bloody adorable (at least for some) and one of my favorite Netflix shows of the year.
seasons: 1 (20 episodes)
Genre: reality
Keep streaming it Netflix (opens in new tab)
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