TV Series You Should Have On Your Watch List

Ever since the advent of Netflix and other streaming services, more shows are available to the public. Want some legal drama? See Suits and if that’s not your taste, there’s How To Get Away With Murder and more. Maybe legal drama isn’t your thing, you’re more inclined to fantasy? Game of Thrones, Supernatural, Stranger Things, yadda yadda yadda.

Before we jump into my list of tv series you should have on your watch list, we must remember the days when it was very difficult to watch your favourite shows or series. If you didn’t catch it while it was airing then you’d have to wait days to watch a rerun. But then came the late 2000s and everything changed.  

The point is, regardless of what genre you’re into, there are some that just stand out. From The Good Place to Luther, Big Mouth, Young Sheldon, Vikings, Power, Russian Doll and more, these are the ten TV series you should have on your watch list.

10 TV Shows You Didn’t Know You Needed

The Good Place

The Good Place is about a certain Eleanor Shellstrop played by the ever-adorable Kristen Bell, a very rude, selfish and arrogant woman who cared about nobody else but herself, somehow through fortuitous events makes it to the afterlife known as the “The Good Place.” She suddenly realizes that she’s not meant to be there seeing as she lived such a terrible life while she was alive on Earth, but she’s also determined not to be found out and devises a plan to remain in The Good Place.

So she teams up with her meant to be Good Place soulmate “Chidi” played by the charismatic and somewhat ripped William Jackson Harper, to help her pretend to be a good person so as to remain in The Good Place forever.

What can I say about this show? From the hilarious censoring of curse words to the supernatural beings with secret agendas, this is a show you’d definitely enjoy. Watch it and thank me later.

Other cast members include Ted Danson, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto (yep he’s a Filipino), and D’Arcy Carden.

Big Mouth

Yes, it’s animation and HECK YES it is worth your time. This isn’t some Barney and friends type animation children can watch. This is a raunchy adult sitcom that is as funny as it is informative and entertaining. This 21-minute series follows a group of 7th graders including Nick Birch voiced by Nick Kroll and Andrew Glouberman voiced by John Mulaney, as they try to navigate through puberty.

Andrew happens to have a large male reproductive organ, lol and spends most of his time fapping. Unfortunately, Nick, on the other hand, has a little phallus and that makes him jealous of Andrew. Their friend, Jay voiced by Jason Mantzoukas, is a hot-tempered boy who loves magic and more importantly loves having sex with his pillows. There’s also a gay kid, a mentally challenged gym teacher, a lesbian mom who hasn’t come out to her husband and their kid, and a whole lot more.

Far from being just laughs and fun, this show punches above its weight by actually tackling social issues and controversies within the society and families today.

Did I mention that both two seasons have a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score? This is definitely worth a watch and if you would like to escape having the dreaded puberty talk with your kids 13 and above, just have them watch this.

Peaky Binders

This Crime Drama stars Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max: Fury Road, Inception) as Alfie Solomons and Cillian Murphy (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Dunkirk) as the main protagonist Tommy Shelby.

In Birmingham 1919, Tommy controls the criminal organization known as Peaky Blinders, but he’s not satisfied. When some machine guns, ammunition and semi-automatic rifles go missing, Tommy recognizes an opportunity to move up in the world.

Tommy doesn’t just want to control Birmingham with his group known as small-time bookmakers, racketeers and gangsters, he is more ambitious than that. He believes his influence should stretch beyond Birmingham and what’s more frightening is his willingness to do anything to get his way.

With a supporting cast containing the likes of Anya Taylor-Joy (Split and Glass), Adrien Brody (The Pianist) and Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones, The Wire), you have no reason not to check this out.

Vikings

I know, I know, isn’t this just some cheap Game of Thrones knockoff? No, it’s not, far from it. Why? Well, let’s start from the fact that this show is actually based on true events. Yep, you heard me. The story of Ragnar and his sons, their raids and all that happens on this show are actually stuff that happened in reality, albeit a loosely adapted story since history is always disputed by many.

It is sad that one cannot mention Vikings without having to defend it against Game of Thrones. But the reality is that Vikings is a series you should give a chance. I mean actually give a chance with no preconceived notion of what to expect, with no comparison and contrast between itself and GoT.

The blood and gore are less in this show but the story-telling? Now that’s a solid reason to watch it. Not to mention following its titular protagonist in Ragnar Lothbrok who is being hailed as Tv’s most fleshed-out character in years.

It stars Travis Fimmel as Ragnar, Katheryn Winnick as Lagertha, Alexander Ludwig as Bjorn and many more. Give it a try and you won’t regret spending your 40+ mins doing so.

Power

Power tells the story of James St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick), the owner of the hottest new nightclub in New Jersey called Truth. But it’s not that easy because James is also a drug kingpin nicknamed “Ghost,” and although he wants to leave the drug game and the criminal life behind and focus on being a true law-abiding citizen, his empire seems to come crashing down as rival gangs and the law attack him from all sides. Not to mention his personal life as his wife and partner in business keep luring him back into the game he desperately wants to leave.

Oh that’s not all, James’ high school sweetheart Angie played by Lela Loren whom he’s always loved (despite being married now) reenters his life but it’s not to rekindle some old flame, it’s to take him and his drug empire down using the law and if you didn’t catch it yet, it’s simple, she’s a prosecutor.

With an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score and two full seasons including the most recent season 5 all getting perfect 100% on the aggregator website, this is a show that is most definitely worth your time.

Young Sheldon

You’re a fan of The Big Bang Theory? Check. You’re in love with Jim Parsons and his portrayal of Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory? Double-check. Well, you’re definitely going to love Young Sheldon.

The story is simple yet absolutely entertaining, as we follow young Sheldon played by Iain Armitage on his journey through social awkwardness and fitting into a world that doesn’t seem to understand him, all the while his family and friends try to deal with his distinctive intellect.

This series has heart, a lot of it and you would honestly be doing yourself a disservice by not watching it.

Russian Doll

I know what you’re thinking, this is some Red Sparrow sh** right? Nope, no it is not. This is funnier, much funnier and this won’t bore you. No offense to Jennifer Lawrence, I ship her.

The plot isn’t as convoluted either but it will leave you scratching your head for some parts of it. It’s about a woman who dies repeatedly and keeps reliving the same night over and over again in some weird time loop. Ugh, not this again I hear you say? This isn’t another Happy Death Day, I mean yeah it’s the same time loop thingy but the premise is completely different and oh yeah, she is not being killed by some random dude.

Did I mention that this happens to someone else in the series as well? So whenever she dies, the guy dies too and vice-versa, pretty slick, right? So it makes you wonder if this is a series about second chances or something entirely different. It stars Natasha Lyonne as Nadia Vulvokov or the girl who keeps dying if you will, with supporting casts like Greta Lee, Elizabeth Ashley and Charlie Bennett.

Luther

It stars Idris Elba, enough said.

Lucifer

So imagine a world where the devil is bored and unhappy in his role as the lord of hell so he decides to resign from his post to run a nightclub in Los Angeles. Further down the line, he becomes a civilian consultant for the LAPD.

There really isn’t anything left to say about this if my short summary isn’t enough to convince you to see this and if you really need any more convincing, Rotten Tomatoes has this a certified fresh at 80% with multiple seasons pulling in a 100% rating. And oh the cast? Tom Ellis stars as Lucifer with Rachel Harris and Tom Welling as his support cast.

Dark

Okay, diving right in, this series is German but it is probably and most definitely better than most of the English series we’re all used to, in my opinion, and yours to be once you check it out.

Once children start to disappear from a German town, information about the dark past of four families starts coming to light, revealing a mystery that spans three generations.

Once you start watching this, you would be tempted to put it down as a Stranger Things rip off but this is much better, yeah I said it, this show is better than Stranger Things. The characters you become more invested in, the story would blow your mind and if you for some reason though ST was scary, well this would show you what scary really is.

With suspense, a whole lot of darkness metaphorically and wonderful performances across the board, it’s no wonder it got renewed for a second season and personally, I can hardly wait.

FINAL WORD

Suffice to say, these shows will blow your mind away and are definitely the ten tv series you should have on your watch list. We all have stuff to do yeah and ain’t nobody got the time to go online to watch everything in order to weed out the bad and binge the super good ones. So I’ve pretty much done the heavy lifting and not one show on this list isn’t worth your time and I promise you’d thank me later.

Now you’re either already locked into your favourite series or you’re still seeking for one to properly immerse yourself in, the ones mentioned above are definitely tv series you didn’t know you needed. Bear in mind that this list is subjective and I count myself as a couch potato who enjoys every single genre there is, I mean it, every single one. So my list isn’t genre based but entirely on the entertainment and binge-watching value.

If you notice that one of your favourites isn’t on this list, it doesn’t mean I hate it, it just means I find the ones listed more entertaining and engrossing or I just haven’t seen it yet so leave your comments down below of your own top 10 list of tv series we should have on our watch list.