THE 30 BEST TV SHOWS ON PARAMOUNT+

This post is updated frequently as TV shows leave and enter Paramount+. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.

Paramount+ has been in a bit of an identity crisis in the streaming era. For years, it was known as CBS All Access, the portal for people to watch both current and classic CBS programming, but the company rebranded as Paramount+ in 2021. The best thing that Paramount+ has had going for it is the development of creators, particularly the Kings, the team behind originals The Good Fight and Evil, and Taylor Sheridan, who has created a ratings juggernaut in his Yellowstone universe — there are four spin-offs on the air or in development. There are also some classic Paramount properties on the service like MTV originals Jackass and Beavis & Butt-Head, along with so many trips to the final frontier.

This Month’s Critic’s Pick

The Good Fight

Years: 2017-2022

Length: 6 seasons, 60 episodes

Creators: Robert King, Michelle King, Phil Alden Robinson

After the end of The Good Wife (which is also on Paramount+), the creators spun off a superior drama in this original series that followed Christine Baranski’s Diane Lockhart to a Chicago law firm. The ensemble here is phenomenal — including wonderful guest turns from Michael J. Fox and Michael Sheen — but it’s the writing that really elevates this very unusual drama, one that was entirely unafraid to incorporate real world issues into its storytelling. In the end, The Good Fight may be one of the best television reflections of the Trump era, and how we survived it.

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Drama

A Gentleman in Moscow

Year: 2024

Length: 1 season, 8 episodes

Creator: Ben Vanstone

Based on the wildly acclaimed 2016 novel of the same name, this original mini-series is a showcase for the eternally underrated Ewan McGregor, who does some of the best work of his career here. McGregor plays Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, who ended up trapped in a hotel room after the October Revolution in the 1910s, forced into a sort of domestic exile via house arrest. While a lot of the themes here work better on the page, McGregor does great work to bring them to life on the screen the best he can.

Dexter

Years: 2006-2013

Length: 8 seasons, 96 episodes

Creator: James Manos Jr.

One of the biggest critical and commercial darlings of the Showtime legacy is this thriller based on the books by Jeff Lindsay. Michael C. Hall segued beautifully from HBO’s Six Feet Under to playing Dexter Morgan, everyone’s favorite serial killer with a conscience. Dexter is a Miami forensic analyst who happens to murder the bad guys who slip through the police department’s grasp. It arguably outran its welcome (like a lot of Showtime shows) but it was brilliant for at least four seasons.

Mayor of Kingstown

Year: 2021-present

Length: 3 seasons, 27 episodes

Creator: Taylor Sheridan, Hugh Dillon

This is one of the few original shows keeping Paramount+ afloat, a dramatic series that seems to get more attention with each new season. Jeremy Renner stars as a sort of Tony Soprano of Kingston, MI, a place with an economy dominated by its prison system. It’s a part of the Taylor Sheridan universe of tough-talking American men, shows that appeal to a base that doesn’t often get targeted by pop culture like Yellowstone and Tulsa King.

Twin Peaks

Years: 1990-1991, 2017

Length: 3 seasons, 48 episodes

Creators: Mark Frost, David Lynch

When Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) went to Twin Peaks, television changed forever. To say something was ahead of its time is clichéd, but audiences legitimately had no idea what to do with this show when it premiered in 1990, forever changing expectations of network TV (and leading the way for the cable domination and Prestige era). By the time it returned in 2017 for The Return, which is also on Paramount+, its brilliance was widely recognized. It’s simply essential television.

Comedy

Beavis and Butt-Head

Years: 193-1997, 2011, 2022-present

Length: 9 seasons, 245 episodes

Creator: Mike Judge

It took forever for Mike Judge’s massively influential MTV hit to get to a streaming service, mostly held up by music rights to the videos that these lovable morons mocked in every episode. Not only are most of them now on Paramount+, but they’re accompanied by a revival of the show that’s actually pretty damn hysterical. There’s something timeless about the adventures of Beavis and his BFF Butt-head.

Chappelle’s Show

Years: 2003-2006

Length: 3 seasons, 28 episodes

Creators: Dave Chappelle, Neal Brennan

Everyone has an opinion on Dave Chappelle in the 2020s, but back in the 2000s, he wasn’t yet a household name when his sketch comedy show premiered on Comedy Central. Everything changed. In instant hit, Chappelle’s Show felt like the new wave of comedy unfolding before our eyes. It was what was going to replace your parents’ sketch comedy in shows like Saturday Night Live. And then Dave walked away from it. It holds up incredibly well, and it’s easy to see its influence on so many imitators since.

Cheers

Years: 1982-1993

Length: 11 seasons, 275 episodes

Creators: Glen Charles, Les Charles, James Burrows

Any list of the best sitcoms of all time that doesn’t include the gang at Cheers is simply wrong. Running for most of the 1980s, the NBC hit really defined that decade in terms of comedy, both in ratings and critical success. It’s also a great example of a show that needed time to find an audience after nearly being canceled after its first season. So many shows aren’t given time to find their people anymore. Thank God, someone at NBC allowed Cheers to do so.

The Curse

Year: 2023

Length: 1 season, 10 episodes

Creators: Nathan Fielder, Benny Safdie

The fearless comic behind The Rehearsal has joined forced with one of the minds behind Uncut Gems to create a new cringe classic, the story of a New Mexico couple (Fielder & Emma Stone) whose marriage falls apart as they put together an atrocious HGTV show called “Flipanthropy.” An insightful skewering of the kind of personality that constantly preaches philanthropy while doing everything selfish they can possibly do, it’s a comedy that is designed to make your skin crawl, including some of the most unforgettable scenes in any comedy in years. Don’t miss this one.

The Daily Show

Years: 1996-present

Length: So many, but just two seasons on Paramount+

Creators: Madeleine Smithberg, Lizz Winstead

There are a handful of Trevor Noah’s “best” episodes on Paramount+ and the last season and change, but this is on this list for one reason: Paramount+ is the place to watch Jon Stewart’s return to the show that made him a household name. If you haven’t heard, he’s going to do weekly shows on Mondays through 2024, meaning that we will hear his takes on what is bound to be one of the most contested elections in history.

Detroiters

Years: 2017-2018

Length: 2 seasons, 20 episodes

Creators: Sam Richardson, Tim Robinson, Zack Kanin, Joe Kelly

Before Tim Robinson became a comedy icon with I Think You Should Leave, the Michigan native co-created this clever comedy with his buddy Sam Richardson (of Veep and The After Party, also from Detroit). It’s about two normal guys who end up producing TV commercials for business in the Motor City and it deserved a better fate than its two-season run on Comedy Central.

Episodes

Years: 2011-2017

Length: 5 seasons, 41 episodes

Creators: David Crane, Jeffrey Klarik

This might be the best post-Friends project for any of its stars. Matt LeBlanc is excellent at satirizing himself in this send-up of the TV comedy industry about two writers who move from the U.K. to Hollywood and discover it’s a shark-infested profession. Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greig play the couple while LeBlanc plays the problematic star of the show they’re writing. It’s smart and consistently funny, at least for the first few seasons. In fact, LeBlanc got more Emmy nominations for this (four) than he did for the show that made him a household name.

Everybody Loves Raymond

Years: 1996-2005

Length: 9 seasons, 210 episodes

Creator: Philip Rosenthal

One of the best sitcoms of all time, this CBS juggernaut remains hysterical, and Peacock is now the exclusive streaming home of the Barone family. The ensemble here is so strong from top to bottom but revisit it now for the timing of Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts as Ray’s parents. They make every single joke funnier than it is on the page.

Frasier (1993)

Years: 1993-2004

Length: 11 seasons, 264 episodes

Creators: David Angell, Peter Casey, David Lee

Spin-offs are never this good. After the doors closed over at Cheers, Kelsey Grammer took the character of Frasier Crane to his own series on the same network and arguably found just as much as success. For over a decade, fans embraced Frasier and his professional and personal allies, including brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce), father Martin (John Mahoney), producer Roz (Peri Gilpin), and Martin’s care-giver Daphne (Jane Leeves). Consistently clever and funny, Frasier is one of the best sitcoms of the ‘90s. And it’s returning (sorta) in a reboot on the streamer (with only Grammer back in the cast).

Freaks and Geeks

Years: 1999-2000

Length: 1 season, 18 episodes

Creator: Paul Feig

It was considered enough of a failure by NBC that the network only aired 12 episodes before pulling the plug, but few shows have ever reclaimed their legacy as much as this one. Judged on its own terms, it’s one of the smartest coming-of-age comedies to ever play on television, but it was also the minor leagues for comedy to come, helping launch the careers of James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, John Francis Daley, Martin Starr, Linda Cardellini, and many more.

Jackass

Years: 2000-2001

Length: 3 seasons, 25 episodes

Creators: Jeff Tremaine, Spike Jonze, Johnny Knoxville

The adventures of Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Wee Man, and the rest of the lunatics over at Jackass have become an essential part of the Paramount+ brand. They have all four of the films (and Bad Grandpa) along with full episodes from the MTV era that started it all. Don’t try this at home, kids.

The King of Queens

Years: 1998-2007

Length: 9 seasons, 207 episodes

Creator: Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt

Often in the shadow of its CBS comedy roommate Everybody Loves Raymond, this sitcom never quite got the attention it deserved but has had a long life in reruns and should find some fans on Paramount. Kevin James and Leah Remini have underrated comic timing, and Jerry Stiller and Patton Oswalt are fantastic in the supporting cast. It’s comfort food comedy that goes down easy even in repeats.

Kroll Show

Years: 2013-2015

Length: 3 seasons, 30 episodes

Creators: Nick Kroll, Jonathan Krisel, John Levenstein

Nick Kroll doesn’t get enough credit for being one of the most consistently inventive comedians of his era. If you don’t believe me, look no further than his Comedy Central sketch comedy show that allowed the gifted actor to really go all-in with his warped sense of humor and remarkable skill at crafting memorable characters. It feels like Kroll could get a boost in the future from people who were teens when this show was originally on as they find it again. Let’s start that now.

Review

Years: 2014-2017

Length: 3 seasons, 22 episodes

Creators: Andy Daly, Jeffrey Blitz, Charlie Siskel

Review is the funniest show you probably haven’t seen. The insanely talented Andy Daly plays Forrest MacNeil, a professional critic who decides to review real-life experiences instead of just movies or TV shows. He then rates each experience in an unfolding saga of a man who basically gets so swept up in a project that it destroys his actual real life. Each episode is titled after what Forrest is reviewing that week, and there may be no funnier half-hour of television in the 2010s than “Pancakes; Divorce; Pancakes.”

Horror, Sci-fi, and Fantasy

Aeon Flux

Years: 1991-1995

Length: 3 seasons, 21 episodes

Creator: Peter Chung

Anyone old enough to remember MTV’s Liquid Television probably remembers how much it ruled. Experimental animated shorts on a major cable network wasn’t (and still isn’t) a common thing, and the show allowed for all kinds of unexpected visions and creative expression. One of the most memorable was Aeon Flux, which was then spun-off into its own series (and even an eventual movie). One wishes there were more things as ambitious as this on TV now.

Evil

Years: 2019-present

Length: 3 seasons, 36 episodes

Creators: Robert King, Michelle King

The creators of The Good Fight launched a very different (but just-as-smart) series on CBS in 2019, but it moved to Paramount+ for its second season and got even better. Katja Herbers and Mike Colter star in a show that’s really about the modern definition of evil, and how it manifests in everything from social media to crypto currency. This is one of the smartest shows on TV, a modern X-Files riff that’s sexy, creepy, and brilliant.

Penny Dreadful

Years: 2014-2016

Length: 3 seasons, 27 episodes

Creator: John Logan

Fans of this show were crestfallen when it ended after only three seasons, but its limited run has arguably made it even more of a cult hit in the years since. Penny Dreadful is drenched in violence and sexuality, using a ton of 19th century Gothic fiction as its base, inspired by the tales of characters like Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll. In fact, some of those famous characters appear directly with Harry Treadaway memorably playing Victor Frankenstein. But the show is stolen by the formidable Eva Green, who should have won at least one Emmy for her work here.

The Stand

Years: 2020-2021

Length: 1 season, 9 episodes

Creators: Josh Boone, Benjamin Cavell

Stephen King’s breakthrough 1978 epic novel about the end of the world has been a puzzle for Hollywood for generations. They adapted it once as a mini-series for network TV in 1994, and then it was in various states of production for a feature film throughout the 2010s. It ended up a mini-series at the end of the decade and in the peak of the pandemic, and, well, it’s interesting but flawed. Still, King fans will want to check it out, particularly for Alex Skarsgard’s memorable work as Randall Flagg and solid turns from Greg Kinnear and Odessa Young.

Star Trek

Years: Various

Length: Various

Creator: Gene Roddenberry

Paramount and Star Trek have been partners for generations, so it makes sense that the streaming service has weeks-worth of trips to the final frontier for fans to watch. There’s a wave of new originals like Discovery, Prodigy, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds, and Picard. But the real draw remains the classics, including The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. You could watch nothing but Star Trek on Paramount+ and have little time to do anything else.

The Twilight Zone

Years: 1959-1964

Length: 5 seasons, 156 episodes

Creator: Rod Serling

No, not the Jordan Peele reboot. We’re talking about the classic original, a show that deserves to be on any list of the best of all time. It’s certainly one of the most influential, a masterpiece of sight and sound that’s still rippling across sci-fi television. With episodes that play out like short films, Rod Serling explored the potential of storytelling on episodic television in a manner that elevated the entire form. If you only want to pick out the absolute best, use this guide to do so.

Yellowjackets

Years: 2021-present

Length: 2 seasons, 20 episodes

Creators: Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson

Even fans would admit that the sophomore slump stung this Showtime hit, but that’s in part because the first season was so unabashedly brilliant. Taking place in dual timelines, this is the story of a group of teenagers who crashed in the middle of nowhere in 1996 and were forced to go to extremes to survive. It’s also the story of them today as survivors, blending grief, mystery, and intrigue into a fascinating narrative stew. Most of all, it’s a show that clicks because of its rock star cast, including great turns from Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci, Sophie Nelisse, and many more. The creators claim to have multiple seasons outlined, so there’s reason to hope that this show will fly again soon.

Reality TV

The Amazing Race

Years: 2001-present

Length: 35 seasons, 408 episodes

Creators: Elisa Doganieri, Bertram van Munster

There are reasons that this CBS reality show hit has been so successful for so long, winning consecutive Emmys for the best reality competition show on any network. One of them is that Phil Keoghan is as good as any host on these shows, finding ways to make this journey around the world pop. But The Amazing Race is really a model of perfect reality show editing, keeping viewers as excited as the contestants on every leg of the competition.

The Real World

Years: 1992-2017

Length: 33 seasons, 614 episodes

Creators: Mary-Ellis Bunim, Jonthan Murray

The Mount Rushmore of reality TV has to include the show where people started “getting real,” the MTV hit that simply put different personalities in a space and bounced them off each other in front of the cameras. It’s hard to over-state the impact that The Real World had on the TV landscape. We’re still feeling it today. Note: There are 21 seasons across the historical spectrum of the show on Paramount+. We’re not sure why the collection is incomplete, but we’re just being real.

Survivor

Years: 2000-present

Length: 46 seasons, 674 episodes

Creator: Charlie Parsons

The undisputed king of the reality series is only on Paramount+ in its entirety. Yep, you can relive all the buzz-worthy moments over the stunning 30+ seasons of this show. There have been some stinkers, but Survivor remains a strong performer for CBS for a reason. It still has the most addictive structure to its game, demanding both social and physical acumen, and it has the best host in the history of reality TV in Jeff Probst.

For Kids and Family

Spongebob Squarepants

Years: 1999-present

Length: 14 seasons, 299 episodes

Creators: Stephen Hillenburg

One of the longest-running animated series of all time, Stephen Hillenburg’s Nickelodeon hit is more a franchise than a TV show. In fact, the launch of Paramount+ came with a new film called Sponge on the Run and a prequel series called Kamp Koral. The adventures of a sponge with square pants and his underwater buddies have been running for over two decades now and you can find almost all of it on Paramount+, including a new season about to premiere. It’s a Squarepants world; we just live in it.

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