Critically acclaimed TV series you may have missed
Looking for new (to you) streaming content to occupy your home hours? How about something highly recommended by critics? And something with quantity as well as quality?
We have selected all of the Must-Watch* (i.e., best-reviewed) shows from TV's golden age that are listed on our site and that meet two other criteria: (1) They are available to stream on at least one streaming service, and (2) at least two seasons are available. They are listed in alphabetical order below.
| Animation for Adults | ||
|---|---|---|
| Big Mouth |  |
|
| 3 seasons (3 more coming in the future) | ||
| BoJack Horseman | |
|
| 6 seasons (complete) | ||
| Rick and Morty |  |
|
| 3 seasons (Part 1 of S4 can be streamed at Adult Swim, with more episodes coming tba) | ||
| Comedies (and half-hour dramas) | ||
| Atlanta | |
|
| 2 seasons (2 more coming in 2021 on FX) | ||
| Barry |  |
|
| 2 seasons (1 more coming tba) | ||
| Better Things | |
|
| 4 seasons (S4 is currently airing on FX and streaming weekly on Hulu) | ||
| Broad City | |
|
| 5 seasons (complete) | ||
| Brockmire | |
|
| 3 seasons (final S4 is currently airing on IFC and streaming at IFC.com) | ||
| Casual | |
|
| 4 seasons (complete) | ||
| Catastrophe |  |
|
| 4 seasons (complete) | ||
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | * |
|
| 10 seasons (complete—for now) * 8 seasons on Prime Video | ||
| Dear White People | |
|
| 3 seasons (1 final season coming tba) | ||
| Everybody Hates Chris |  |
|
| 4 seasons (complete) | ||
| Extras | |
|
| 2 seasons (complete) | ||
| Fleabag | |
|
| 2 seasons (complete) | ||
| GLOW | |
|
| 3 seasons (1 final season coming tba) | ||
| The Good Place | |
|
| 3 seasons (the final S4 aired but is not yet available to stream in full) | ||
| High Maintenance | |
|
| 4 seasons (full-length) + 19 episodes (web series; listed separately on HBO) | ||
| Insecure | |
|
| 3 seasons (S4 begins airing April 12) | ||
| Jane the Virgin | |
|
| 5 seasons (complete) | ||
| Lady Dynamite | |
|
| 2 seasons (complete) | ||
| The Larry Sanders Show | |
|
| 6 seasons (complete) | ||
| Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | |
|
| 3 seasons (complete) | ||
| Malcolm in the Middle | |
|
| 7 seasons (complete) | ||
| Master of None | |
|
| 2 seasons (complete) | ||
| The Office [UK version] | |
|
| 2 seasons (complete) + two-part holiday special | ||
| One Day at a Time [2017 version] | |
|
| 3 seasons (S4 is now airing weekly on Pop) | ||
| Pushing Daisies |  |
|
| 2 seasons (complete) | ||
| Silicon Valley | |
|
| 6 seasons (complete) | ||
| Transparent | |
|
| 4 seasons (complete) + finale special | ||
| Veep | * |
|
| 7 seasons (complete) * Prime Video has S1 and S2 only | ||
| Dramas | ||
| The Affair |  |
|
| 5 seasons (complete) | ||
| American Crime | |
|
| 3 seasons (complete) | ||
| The Americans | |
|
| 6 seasons (complete) | ||
| Better Call Saul | |
|
| 4 seasons (S5 is currently airing on AMC and can be streamed at AMC.com) | ||
| Boardwalk Empire | |
|
| 5 seasons (complete) | ||
| Breaking Bad | |
|
| 5 seasons (complete) + a movie ("El Camino") | ||
| Broadchurch | |
|
| 3 seasons (complete) | ||
| The Crown | |
|
| 3 seasons (2 more coming in the future) | ||
| Deadwood | |
|
| 3 seasons (complete) + 1 movie (HBO Go/Now only) | ||
| The Deuce | |
|
| 3 seasons (complete) | ||
| Fargo | |
|
| 3 seasons (S4 will air later in 2020 or 2021 on FX) | ||
| Felicity |  |
|
| 4 seasons (complete) | ||
| Friday Night Lights |   |
|
| 5 seasons (complete) | ||
| The Good Wife | |
|
| 7 seasons (complete) | ||
| The Handmaid's Tale | |
|
| 3 seasons (more coming tba) | ||
| Homeland | |
|
| 8 seasons (the final S8 is currently airing) | ||
| Justified | |
|
| 6 seasons (complete) | ||
| Killing Eve | |
|
| 2 seasons (S3 begins airing April 27 on BBC America) | ||
| Lost | |
|
| 6 seasons (complete) | ||
| Mad Men | |
|
| 7 seasons (complete) | ||
| The Missing | |
|
| 2 seasons (complete) | ||
| My Brilliant Friend | |
|
| 2 seasons (S2 is currently airing; 2 more seasons coming in future years) | ||
| Nashville | |
|
| 6 seasons (complete) | ||
| NYPD Blue | |
|
| 12 seasons (complete) | ||
| Rectify | |
|
| 4 seasons (complete) | ||
| Rescue Me | |
|
| 7 seasons (complete) | ||
| Sherlock | |
|
| 4 seasons (complete, for now) | ||
| The Shield | |
|
| 7 seasons (complete) | ||
| The Sopranos | |
|
| 6 seasons (complete) | ||
| Survivor's Remorse | |
|
| 4 seasons (complete) | ||
| Top of the Lake | |
|
| 2 seasons (complete) | ||
| Treme | |
|
| 4 seasons (complete) | ||
| The Wire | |
|
| 5 seasons (complete) | ||
| Sci-fi, Fantasy, Horror | ||
| Battlestar Galactica |  |
|
| 4 seasons (complete) + miniseries + 2 films | ||
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer | |
|
| 7 seasons (complete) | ||
| Game of Thrones | |
|
| 8 seasons (complete, unlike the books) | ||
| Legion | |
|
| 3 seasons (complete) | ||
| The Returned [French version] | |
|
| 2 seasons (complete) | ||
* About Metacritic Must-Watch Shows
Did you know that Metacritic has a "Must-Watch" designation for the best-reviewed programs? To qualify, a show must achieve a minimum Metascore of 81 with at least 15 reviews from professional critics. For shows that run multiple seasons, the designation applies to the series as a whole (rather than on a season-by-season basis), and is based on the "series Metascore" that combines reviews for all seasons into an overall score.
Must-Watch Shows are designated on our site by a badge: 
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