The Best Old TV Shows to Stream Right Now

More than 400 scripted television shows aired on broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms in 2015, according to FX Networks. That’s almost double the amount of original programs that aired in 2009.

With so many new TV shows popping up every day, “you can’t even keep up with all the really good ones,” says Robert Thompson, Ph.D., director of the Bleier Center for Television & Popular Culture at Syracuse University.

So here’s a radical proposal: Stop watching new TV shows.

You’ll never catch up on the new seasons of Bloodline, Mr. Robot, and Orange Is the New Black before you read a spoiler alert.

Instead, do a TV rewind. There are tons of forgotten gems from the 1970s, 80s, and early 90s that are totally worth your time and Internet bandwidth, Thompson says.

You’ll be just as entertained by these old sitcoms and dramas as you would by new, buzz-worthy shows—only you won’t feel as obligated to burn through seasons in fear of getting left behind.

Your summer of no-pressure binge watching starts now.

St. Elsewhere

Originally Aired: 1982-88
Stream It: Hulu/Amazon/Vudu

This critically acclaimed medical drama laid the groundwork for later hits like ER and Grey’s Anatomy. Plus, it’s where stars like Denzel Washington and Howie Mandel got their first big break.

“It was one of the shows that started to push television into more artistically ambitious territory,” says Thompson. “Breaking Bad notwithstanding, I still think St. Elsewhere is the best show ever made.”

Hill Street Blues

Originally Aired: 1981-87
Stream It: Vudu/Hulu/Amazon

If St. Elsewhere was the archetype of modern medical dramas, Hill Street Blues—about an inner-city police unit in an unspecified metropolis—helped establish the template for most cop shows that followed it, Thompson says.

Hill Street was among the first shows to feature an “ensemble” style of storytelling, meaning it closely followed the lives of many characters, says Thompson.

Columbo

Originally Aired: 1971-78
Stream It: Netflix

This show centers on a detective who seems slow and easily befuddled at first blush, but invariably turns out to be the smartest person in the room.

Peter Falk’s titular detective is “one of the great TV characters of all time,” Thompson says. “Also, detective series are often visually boring, but Columbo is one of the gems.”

Amazing Stories

Originally Aired: 1985-87
Stream It: NBC.com

G.O.A.T. director Steven Spielberg created this anthology series centered around strange, scary, or surreal events—kind of like an 80s version of The Twilight Zone.

Amazing Stories never earned the same reputation in sci-fi circles, but a lot of big-name actors—like Kevin Costner and Danny DeVito—appeared in critically acclaimed episodes.

Wiseguy

Originally Aired: 1987-90
Stream It: Hulu/Amazon

Wiseguy’s irresistible plot sounds like that of a prestige drama in 2016: An undercover Justice Department agent serves time in order to infiltrate the world of Italian organized crime.

“This was a critical darling when it came out, and it had this gritty, cinematic look that was unusual at the time,” Thompson says.

Wiseguy was also among the first shows outside of daytime soap operas to include plot arcs that would span several episodes—as opposed to “self-contained” storylines that would wrap themselves up neatly by the end of each episode.

“It laid the groundwork for the way most current TV dramas are plotted,” says Thompson.

Kung Fu

Originally Aired: 1972-75
Stream It: Amazon

David Carradine of Kill Bill fame starred in this 1970s series about a Shaolin monk. On the run in the American West after committing a (very justified) murder, the monk constantly gets into trouble that requires extensive martial arts skills.

“Carradine is kind of a Western-style good guy, but one who uses all these Zen and martial arts defense techniques,” Thompson says. “It’s quirky and definitely of its time, but also really fun.”

Homicide: Life on the Street

Originally Aired: 1993-99
Stream It: Amazon

If you love The Wire, you’ll probably dig Homicide, a similar police show set in Baltimore that features many of the same producers, writers, and actors.

Thompson calls it a “dress rehearsal” for The Wire, which many critics hail as the greatest drama ever. “[Homicide] was really well done, but it just never caught on in the same way,” he says. “And now a lot of people have forgotten about it.”

Roseanne

Originally Aired: 1988-97
Stream It: Amazon

Most Millennials have heard of Roseanne, Thompson says, but not many have actually watched this pioneering sitcom that made comedian Roseanne Barr a household name.

“It was a comedy about this struggling working-class family, and it broke a lot of ground,” says Thompson. Roseanne tackled issues like poverty and abuse in a time when those topics were taboo on TV.

Quantum Leap

Originally Aired: 1989-93
Stream It: Netflix/Amazon/Hulu/Vudu

This feel-good show followed the time-traveling exploits of Dr. Sam Beckett, a scientist who “leaps” into other people’s bodies in order to right wrongs or prevent historical tragedies.

“This was a big hit and a good show,” Thompson says. It’s an immensely entertaining, relatively breezy antidote to many of the dark, hyper-real dramas on TV today.

Moonlighting

Originally Aired: 1985-89
Stream It: Amazon

Before he was John McClane and the guy who was dead the whole time in The Sixth Sense, Bruce Willis starred as a wisecracking private eye alongside Cybill Shepherd in this mid-80s hit.

“Moonlighting did some of the most freaky, experimental episodes of that time,” Thompson says, including a Claymation episode and an installment that took place inside a woman’s womb.

“It’s just a wonderfully creative show,” says Thompson.

10 Old TV Shows That Are Totally Worth a Binge Watch

Watch Next

Life