Maybe you review TV shows for a living and have every single streaming platform on your Roku stick. Or maybe you want to sign up for free trials in the near future so you can binge something good, but aren't sure which service to start. Whatever your situation, this guide will help you navigate the different streamers to manage free trials and your entertainment investments.
The streamers are listed in order by the number of high-quality shows.
Apple TV+
When it comes to quality, big-budget, big-time cast-type television, Apple TV+ stands above the rest. Even when they have a dud (Buccaneers, Still Up, Hello Tomorrow), they aren't really that bad.
- Top three shows (in order): Shrinking, Foundation, Lessons in Chemistry
- Must-watch TV (in no particular order): Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Bad Sisters, Silo, For All Mankind, The Big Door Prize, Platonic, Invasion, Physical. High Desert and Swagger were great shows, but Apple didn't think so and they were canceled.
- Mediocre: Slow Horses, The Morning Show, Changeling, Liaison, Ted Lasso, The Crowded Room
- Passable: Hello Tomorrow, Still Up, Buccaneers, Hijack, The Last Thing He Told Me, The After Party (canceled, though previous seasons were better), Truth Be Told (previous seasons were a little better)
MAX
HBO's streaming platform MAX probably leads the streamers in award nominations because of Succession and The Last Of Us.
- Top three shows (in order): The Last of Us, Succession, Barry (ended in 2023)
- Must-watch TV (in no particular order): 30 Coins, Bookie, Julia, Winning Time (canceled), Somebody Somewhere, White House Plumbers, Righteous Gemstones, Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Mediocre: Full Circle, Titans, And Just Like That..., Velma, Love and Death, Perry Mason
- Passable: The Idol
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video and Netflix are very close in quality. Amazon puts out far fewer shows than Netflix, especially with Netflix's huge repository of foreign series.
- Top three shows (in order): Reacher, Daisy Jones and the Six, The Swarm
- Must-watch TV (in no particular order): The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, The Horrors of Dolores Roach (canceled, which is really too bad), Jury Duty, Peripheral (canceled), Invincible, The Boys, Gen V, Los Farad, The Power, The Wheel of Time, Good Omens, Outlaws, I'm a Virgo, Bosch, The Legend of Vox Machina, The Rig
- Mediocre: Barrabrava, Deadloch, Dead Ringers, Therapy, Citadel, The Consultant, Jack Ryan (ended in 2023), Upload
- Passable: Carnival Row, Shelter
Netflix
Netflix is the giant of content. You'll never be able to reach the end of Netflix, even in a pandemic. The real hidden nuggets on Netflix are the foreign shows but to uncover all the good ones would be impossible.
- Top three shows (in order): Bodies, The Diplomat, All the Light We Cannot See
- Must-watch TV (in no particular): The Fall of House Usher, Sex Education (ended in 2023), Yu Yu Hakusho, You, Break Point, Drive To Survive, The Night Agent, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Castlevania, Lockwood & Co, The Witcher, Black Mirror, Kaleidoscope, That '90s Show, Firefly Lane, Sweet Tooth, Never Have I Ever, Fauda, Sky Rojo, Unstable, Lupin (ended in 2023), The Crown (ended in 2023), Money Heist: Berlin
- Mediocre: Beef, The Lincoln Lawyer, Manifest, Shadow and Bone (canceled), Painkiller, FUBAR, Agent Elvis, Florida Man, One Piece, Big Mouth, Obliterated
- Passable: Outer Banks, Sex/Life (canceled), Welcome to Eden, My Life with the Walter Boys
Hulu
It can be difficult to understand what is Hulu and what is just general cable. Especially since sometimes FX shows are on Hulu only and sometimes they are on both cable and Hulu. We include both in this list.
- Top three shows (in order): The Bear, Fargo, Murder at the End of the World
- Must-watch TV (in no particular order): The Artful Dodger, The Lazarus Project, Dave, Culprits, Tiny Beautiful Things, Reservation Dogs, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, UnPrisoned, Extraordinary, Kindred, The Patient, Pistol, Obituary
- Mediocre: Only Murders in the Building, The Great, Class of '09, History of the World Part II, Welcome to Wrexham, Black Cake, Vigilante, Connection
- Passable: Justified: City Primeval, Cruel Summer, Saint X, How I Met Your Father (canceled)
Paramount+
Paramount+ now includes Showtime.
- Top three shows (in order): Yellowjackets, Colin from Accounts, Ghosts of Beirut
- Must-watch TV (in no particular order): Special Operations: Lioness, The Gold, 1923, Strange New Worlds, Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, Wolf Pack, The Family Stallone, School Spirits
- Mediocre: Billions, Your Honor, The Envoys, Geddy Lee: Bassists are Humans, Picard (ended in 2023), Joe Pickett, Fatal Attraction, Rabbit Hole (canceled)
- Passable: The Curse, Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Peacock TV
There may be a few NBC shows that slip over into the Peacock TV category. Though Peacock might not have as much original content as some of the other streamers on this list, Mrs. Davis was one of the best shows of the year.
- Top three shows (in order): Mrs. Davis, Based on a True Story, Twisted Metal
- Must-watch TV (in no particular order): Quantum Leap, The Continental, A Friend of the Family
- Mediocre: Dr. Death, Found, Bupkis
AMC+
It would be hard to watch every single horror movie from Shudder or even watch everything from The Walking Dead Universe, but we'll try.
- Top three shows (in order): Interview with the Vampire, Mayfair Witches, Lucky Hank (canceled)
- Must-watch TV (in no particular order): The Walking Dead: Dead City, Dark Winds, Kevin Can F**k Himself
- Mediocre: The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon
- Passable: Fear the Walking Dead
Disney+
Disney+ shows mostly revolve around Marvel superheroes and the Star Wars franchise. Disney made a turn toward more family-oriented shows rather than the typical young adult or even adult viewing of the past.
- Top three shows (in order): The Mandalorian, Loki, Ahsoka
- Must-watch TV: Not much else
- Mediocre: American Born Chinese, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Secret Invasion
- Passable: National Treasure
MGM+
MGM is probably the last on your list of streaming services, but they did come up with a few hits this year.
- Top three shows (in order): From, Beacon 23, Billy The Kid
Which TV shows mentioned have you watched and enjoyed this year?