The Best TV Shows You Finally Have Time to Watch

You’d be remiss not to watch the show that changed the course of television. The David Chase mafia drama that sparked the Golden Age of Television — paving the way for many of the other series on this list — and introduced TV’s first real antihero, is a testament to the power of storytelling. Throughout its six masterful seasons, “The Sopranos” managed to make murderous New Jersey mob goons likable (at times) and relatable (at times). The late James Gandolfini delivered a bravura performance as Tony Soprano, a man wrecked with anxiety and depression, trying to better himself while juggling the best interests of his family and “the family.” Vile yet vulnerable, Tony was multi-layered, revealing more and more of himself as the HBO series went on. — Maane Khatchatourian

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Now or HBO Go)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus has the role of her career (sorry Elaine!) as Selina Meyer, the addled yet ambitious vice president of America, whose filthy, rapid-fire repartee will leave you racing to catch up and helpless with laughter. Over seven seasons, it skewers self-important politicians and the backstabbing American campaign process in just about every way possible, yet it’s not partisan — everyone is equally offensive. The memorable supporting cast includes Gary (Tony Hale), her obsequious assistant; Selina’s uptight chief of staff Amy (Anna Chlumsky); the President’s bumbling chief of staff Jonah (Timothy Simons) and her neglected daughter Catherine (Sarah Sutherland). — Pat Saperstein

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Now or HBO Go)

Sometimes you fully intend on watching that show everyone keeps recommending, but you keep putting it off because you know you’re going to get hooked and will need to invest a lot of time. Such was the case with showrunner Jason Katims’ acclaimed adaptation of the 2004 Peter Berg film, which has long been on a list of must-sees. Turns out everyone singing its praises was right; “Friday Night Lights” walks the tricky balance of daring to be heartfelt without ever turning maudlin. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton are pitch-perfect as a small-town football coach and his wife, who starts off as a guidance counselor at the school. The ensemble cast includes early work from future stars like Jesse Plemons and Michael B. Jordan. Now more than ever, it’s nostalgic to look back on high school students enjoying rites of passage. — Jenelle Riley

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu or Starz app)

Since you can’t gossip with your girlfriends over brunch — except via Zoom or FaceTime — catching up with Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha is the next best thing. Whether it’s your first time or you’re a “Sex and the City” devotee, the show’s six seasons are a rollercoaster ride through the highs and lows of love and life, with laughter, tears, cosmos, Manolos and sex along the way. After the HBO comedy hits its stride (in the latter half of its second season, in my opinion), the 94 episodes fly by fast enough to watch the super-sized movies that hit theaters in 2008 and 2010, or the CW spinoff “The Carrie Diaries,” if you dare. Yes, “Sex and the City” is a pop-culture touchstone and serves as a time capsule to America around the new millennium, but, most importantly, it’s a loving ode to female friendships (one’s true soulmates) and to New York City. And as the city fights the COVID crisis, the show is a lovely reminder of what makes it that “great love” Carrie was always searching for. — Angelique Jackson

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Now or HBO Go)

“Game of Thrones” ruled watercooler talk for years, but it’s never too late to dive into the vast world of Westeros. Blockbuster-level production value and special effects, a stellar cast, and a world full of complex characters, intrigue and stunning twists make “Thrones” one of the most engrossing series to catch up on. Sure, there are peaks and valleys throughout the epic eight seasons, but it remains one of the best adult dramas available to stream. And how many other entries on this list can boast dragons? — Alex Stedman

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Now or HBO Go)

It’s safe to say that TV will never again see the inspired lunacy cooked up by Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin in the seven seasons of “30 Rock,” named for the NBC headquarters where the series is set. Revolving around Fey’s Liz Lemon, the addled-yet-efficient producer of a variety show called “TGS With Tracy Jordan,” the show skates along with razor-sharp, but also thoroughly absurd writing from Fey and a cast of comedians, including Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer, who are game for just about anything. Guest stars included everyone from Nancy Pelosi to LL Cool J, Oprah Winfrey to Jennifer Aniston. — Pat Saperstein

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video or Hulu)

Bryan Cranston’s Walter White may be the first of his kind. Yes, there would be no Walter White without Tony Soprano (as Cranston himself has said), but Cranston’s character’s evolution into a completely different person by the end of the series is almost unmatched in television. Cranston legitimizes Walt’s trajectory from a sheepish high school chemistry teacher to meth kingpin and stone cold killer Heisenberg. Showrunner Vince Gilligan builds a world so intricate and complex over the span of five seasons that “Breaking Bad” can endure multiple rewatches. Packed with season-ending and season-opening cliffhangers, and gut-wrenching and jaw-dropping moments, the show, despite airing on AMC, is built to be binged. Having recently watched it on Netflix, it’s hard to fathom how fans endured waiting a full week between episodes, and a year between seasons (not to mention 13 months between the third and fourth season). — Maane Khatchatourian

(Watch on Netflix)

In 1998, when Jerry Seinfeld visited Michael Jordan in a Chicago Bulls locker room, as documented in ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” he allegedly teased Jordan about whose final season would be bigger. Well, a lot has changed since the 1990s — and not just His Airness’ hilariously oversized suits or Seinfeld’s mullet. Unlike Mike, “Seinfeld” is no longer considered the greatest of all-time, thanks to cable dramas like “The Sopranos,” “The Wire” and “Breaking Bad” (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). But wouldn’t it be nice, especially in this bats— moment, to step away from all of the drama? Pick any episode of “Seinfeld” — it doesn’t matter where you start — the erratic characters, the awkward-yet-familiar situations, the “bleh, bleh, bleh” — you may end up discovering the funniest show ever. And if you don’t, as Jerry would quip, munching on popcorn in front of the TV, “That’s a shame.” — Stuart Oldham

(Watch on Hulu)

In a time when spirits need to be lifted, I’ve found that Aaron Sorkin’s brilliantly crafted political drama “The West Wing” does just that. So many elements of the NBC show are both refreshing and surprising, from the incredible cast (including a young Elisabeth Moss as the president’s daughter) to the scripts that Sorkin crushed week in and week out. It’s hard enough to deliver 10 impactful episodes a season so the fact Sorkin and his team did 22 a season is quite the achievement. Most of all, in a time when citizens have trouble trusting heads of government, the show reminds us what great leadership looks like and gives us hope that it can one day return to those standards. — Justin Kroll

(Watch on Netflix)

Though I watched every episode religiously when it first aired, it’s been 27 years since this comedy left the airwaves. At first I resisted revisiting it, not wanting to sully my memories of its perfection. Turns out I didn’t need to worry: “Cheers” is still a masterpiece, with fantastic punchlines, deeply drawn characters, and plots that feel both familiar and surprising. Workplace comedies like “The Office” and will-they-or-won’t-they classics like “Moonlighting” owe a debt to Sam Malone and company. In fact, every role could veer into cliché (the bar know-it-all, the dumb barkeep), but in the hands of this ensemble, they achieve something sublime. Start from the beginning or just jump to one of my personal favorites in Season 8, “What Is … Cliff Clavin?” where everyone’s favorite mailman goes on “Jeopardy.” — Jenelle Riley

(Watch on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu or CBS All Access)

There are two “Twin Peaks” series — the groundbreaking 1990 original and the 2017 homage/continuation, which both sprung from the wildly creative mind of David Lynch. Known for the lush, surreal feature film melodrama “Blue Velvet,” Lynch brought a cinematic sense of storytelling to the series, pushing the boundaries of the small screen in a way that foreshadowed the era of prestige television. Kyle MacLachlan stars as cherry pie-loving Dale Cooper, a deadpan FBI agent who comes to a small Washington state town to try to solve the gruesome murder of “perfect” high school student Laura Palmer. His investigation reveals the positively depraved undercurrents of the seemingly placid town. — Pat Saperstein

(Watch on Netflix)

I was six years old when “Six Feet Under” first aired so it’s safe to say I missed its original run. I finished watching the HBO series a few weeks ago — mid-quarantine — and the finale is well worth the hours of investment. I’m not a critic and don’t need to go on and on about the finale (which has received numerous accolades), but, something about watching a show that deals so heavily with death felt fitting amid a global pandemic. Each episode of creator Alan Ball’s drama — centered around the dysfunctional Fisher family who run and live above a funeral home in Los Angeles — is intense and leaves you grappling with all the usual existential questions, but what better time to ponder life, death and everything in between than right now? — Meg Zukin

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Now or HBO Go)

If you haven’t found “Lost” yet, just give the epic pilot a shot, and trust us, you’ll be hooked. “Lost” had one of TV’s most compelling ongoing storylines for six seasons, and the less you’ve managed to read about its reveals and twists over the years, the better. It’s not just the mystery that placed the ABC series — following the survivors of a plane crash stranded on an island — firmly into television history; it’s driven by a large, diverse ensemble cast. Their relationships and slowly unfolding backstories become the real heart of the show. Live together, die alone. — Alex Stedman

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video or Hulu)

Having just ended its eight-season run, there’s no better time than now to catch up on “Homeland.” Sure, the show may have partly lost its way following its flawless debut season in 2011, but it still kept viewers on the edge of their seats week to week. With ripped-from-the-headlines moments, and shocking twists and turns, “Homeland” always delivered thrills. Claire Danes was born to play flawed CIA agent Carrie Mathison in the Showtime drama co-created by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa. — Maane Khatchatourian

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu or Showtime Now)

Simply put, “Mad Men” is a classic. Matthew Weiner’s AMC drama is one of the most engrossing and visually stunning shows to have aired on TV. Set in 1960s New York City in the world of advertising before the time of political correctness, Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery and Elisabeth Moss offer insight into the men and women of Madison Avenue. But the show extends beyond office dealmaking and into the rich lives of its incredible characters. Hamm’s Don Draper seemingly has it all — the perfect job, a stunning wife (played by January Jones) and a lovely family — but he’s deeply depressed, drowning his sorrows in extramarital sex and alcohol. The show, which ran for seven seasons, also finds Hendricks’ Joan and Moss’ Peggy breaking down workplace barriers as they fight for gender equality. — Jazz Tangcay

(Watch on Netflix)

It may not have been a ratings juggernaut or an awards darling, but “The Wire” is nevertheless one of the greatest shows of all time. Crime reporter-turned-showrunner David Simon’s groundbreaking series was more than a look at the Baltimore drug scene, but an examination of the failures of America’s most trusted institutions. The crime drama, which is among the HBO shows seeing a surge in viewership during quarantine, told a different story with each of its five seasons, and introduced such iconic characters as Michael K. Williams’ stickup man Omar Little, Idris Elba’s drug kingpin Stringer Bell and Dominic West’s homicide detective Jimmy McNulty. — Maane Khatchatourian

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Now or HBO Go)

Considering the deluge of smart TV comedies in the ’90s, it’s a shocker that “Frasier” found the success that it did. A spinoff of “Cheers” — another show on this list — the show created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee followed Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier Crane as he returned to his hometown of Seattle to start a new life as a radio psychiatrist, and reconnect with his cantankerous father (played by John Mahoney) and competitive brother (David Hyde Pierce). What set “Frasier” apart from its contemporaries (aside from critical accolades and a record-breaking 37 Emmys) was its clever humor, sharp wit and strong ensemble. — Maane Khatchatourian

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, CBS All Access or Philo)

I watched all of “The Americans” in 2018 — the year that the show was ending. The series, which follows KGB spies (and especially attractive ones at that) posing as Americans in Washington D.C., is surprisingly bingeable for a Cold War period drama. Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell zigzag with ease between alter egos (while donning high-end wigs) and their suburban selves (with two kids in tow). Yes, the show is about spies, but not really. Come for the all-star appearances (Margo Martindale, Julia Garner) and stay for the intimate portraits of home, family and marriage. — Meg Zukin 

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video)

Drop everything and watch “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” No other series has ever come close to capturing how thoroughly irritating modern-day life can be. Being stuck at home isn’t all that bad, considering how annoying the most trivial slights are, according to Larry David. At age 72, he’s the cranky old man we all secretly want to be. The HBO show, originally running from 2000 to 2011, recently returned to TV true to form. Suggested episodes: “Shaq,” “Palestinian Chicken,” “The Nanny From Hell” and “The Spite Store.” — Dave McNary

(Watch on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Now or HBO Go)