Cut back on streamers? Here are 30 top shows to watch for free right now

2 months ago 8

Whether you’re visiting family, or you’ve cancelled all your paid streaming services, there’s a real possibility this summer you’ll have to rely on the free-to-air platforms for your viewing pleasure. Don’t panic, there are plenty of fine shows ready to go. The 30 series listed below, all available in full, cover a vast spectrum, and should keep you happily bingeing throughout the holidays. And, if there are any free-to-air favourites you’d like to recommend, please let us know in the comments below.

George Clooney, Eriq La Salle, Sherry Stringfield, Anthony Edwards, Gloria Reuben, Noah Wyle and Julianna Margulies.

20th-century classics

ER: You’ve got 331 episodes of this groundbreaking 1994 medical drama set in a chaotic Chicago hospital, which combined surgical realism and on-the-precipice emotion. Stars who graduated include George Clooney, Julianna Margulies and Noah Wyle. ABC iview

The Golden Girls: Few classic Hollywood sitcoms between observed the form’s rules while tearing up audience expectations than this 1985 comedy about a quartet of older women, all divorced or widowed, sharing a home in Miami. Reliable, endearing, outrageous. 9now*

Homicide: Life on the Street: Only recently added to streaming and led by an all-time performance from future Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andre Braugher, this 1994 police drama about Baltimore homicide squad detectives is a landmark series. SBS On Demand

Australian

Fake: Boasting deeply held performances from Asher Keddie and David Wenham as, respectively, an unsuspecting writer and her deceitful dating app boyfriend, Fake is one of the best Australian shows of the past 10 years. Gird yourself before the fifth episode. 10play

Reckless: The newest show on this list is an edge-of-your-seat comic thriller about a pair of feuding siblings from Fremantle, played by Tasma Walton and Hunter Page-Lochard, who try to cover up a crime. It does not go well for them. SBS On Demand

The Unusual Suspects: Opening with a posh children’s party that turns into a crime scene, this is a knowing portrait of contemporary Sydney society. As generations and cultures mix, there is farcical satire and genuine risk. SBS On Demand

Breakthrough roles

Damages: Rose Byrne had already featured in numerous films, but co-starring with Glenn Close in this gripping 2007 legal thriller vaulted her profile internationally. Each season was a twisty blockbuster case for these New York lawyers, complete with high-profile adversaries. 10play

The Marvellous Mrs Maisel: Superman star Rachel Brosnahan was aces in this highwire period comedy-drama, playing a wronged 1950s Manhattan housewife who discovers that she’s a natural stand-up comic. Amazing production design, sharp punchlines. SBS On Demand

Veronica Mars: Long before Nobody Wants This and The Good Place, Kristen Bell was both flinty and funny in this teen neo-noir mystery, playing a high school student moonlighting as a private investigator. The banter on this show hums. 9now

David Morrissey and Aimee Lou Wood in Daddy Issues.

Comedy

Daddy Issues: With a second season due soon, this British comedy about a down-on-her-luck daughter (Aimee Lou Wood) trying to sort out her sad sack dad (David Morrissey) is an underrated delight. It’s both hilarious and heartfelt. SBS On Demand

Peep Show: Pre-Succession, Jesse Armstrong co-created this influential British comedy about a pair of ill-prepared housemates (David Mitchell and Robert Webb) whose thoughts and point of view are shown to viewers. Bonkers good co-star? Olivia Colman. ABC iview

Reservation Dogs: Consistently on my hidden gems lists, this bittersweet comedy follows a quartet of Native American teens living on a present-day Oklahoma reservation. Sterlin Harjo’s show is absurd and angry, empathetic and spiritual. Live with it. SBS On Demand

Sian Brooke and Martin McCann in Blue Lights.

Crime

Blue Lights: Set in Belfast, this engrossing police procedural is a top-tier cop shop. Told through the experiences of three probationary constables, it deploys unsettling realism, a powerful sense of the city’s past, and unpredictable plotting. SBS On Demand

A Murder at the End of the World: When a famous amateur investigator (Emma Corrin) is invited to the Icelandic retreat of a tech billionaire (Clive Owen), she finds herself solving a case in a strange new world. 7plus

Mystery Road and Mystery Road: Origins: Whether played by Aaron Pedersen as a veteran Indigenous police detective, or Mark Coles Smiths as his younger self in the prequels, Jay Swan is an iconic Australian character. The show’s sharp edges have never been blunted. ABC iview

Jolene Anderson (left), Rodger Corser and Callan Mulvey in Rush.

Nightly procedural

Covert Affairs: This glossy drama is to espionage thrillers what Suits was to legal dramas: a slick, good-looking case of the week series from the 2010s that was never unduly taxing. Piper Perabo plays young CIA agent Annie Walker, whose work-life balance is complicated. 7plus

Elementary: There are 154 episodes of this modern-day Sherlock Holmes in New York mystery series, with Jonny Lee Miller as the master detective who’s fresh from rehab and Lucy Liu as Dr Joan Watson. The chemistry between the two is the show’s accelerant. 9now

Rush: This Melbourne police procedural made its debut in 2008 and stars Rodger Corser, Catherine McClements and Samuel Johnson, and followed the weekly cases of a specialist tactical response team. Solidly made, and always matching character to action. 10play

Dominic West and Romola Garai in The Hour.

Period Drama

Babylon Berlin: The most expensive television series ever made in Germany – the production design is exquisite – this neo-noir mystery follows a 1929 Berlin police officer during the final days of German democracy. It’s a thrilling, immersive masterpiece. SBS On Demand

The Hour: Headlined by Ben Whishaw, Romola Garai and Dominic West, this British series follows the fictional 1956 exploits of the BBC’s first current affair show, and it soon gets caught in Cold War plots, government interference and personal compromise. 7plus and 10play

Mussolini: Son of the Century: English filmmaker Joe Wright (Darkest Hour) directs the hell out of this deeply relevant Italian-French production, which charts the maniacal 1920s rise of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini (a brilliant Luca Marinelli). SBS On Demand

Prestige Limited Series

The Good Lord Bird: Ethan Hawke gives a masterful performance as the American abolitionist John Brown, a fanatic whose attempts to end slavery in the 1850s comingled faith and violence. Rarely have a tragedy and a satire felt so deeply interwoven in one show. 7plus

Little Fires Everywhere: Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington are the heavyweight talents atop this Clinton-era drama about two mothers who become entangled, drawing in their teenage children. It’s about the roles women want, and the roles they’re allowed. SBS On Demand

Mrs America: When Cate Blanchett does a television show, it matters. She’s excellent throughout this retelling of 1970s American feminism, not as an activist but a conservative adversary. Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba and Elizabeth Banks co-star. 7plus

Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones in Normal People.

Romantic Drama

Normal People: This COVID-era hit launched Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, playing high school students bound together in an adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel. As a love story, it’s vivid, heartfelt, sometimes despairing and often cruel. SBS On Demand

The Newsreader: Kudos to creator Michael Lucas, who made three seasons of this compelling Australian drama about a pair of flawed, co-dependent 1980s news anchors (Anna Torv and Sam Reid) and ended it perfectly. ABC iview

Poldark: Both the Cornish landscape and the torso of star Aidan Turner enthralled the camera in this moody, melodramatic historic drama about an 18th-century British soldier returning to his ruined family home. Enter Eleanor Tomlinson’s maid, Demelza. ABC iview

Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connelly in Snowpiercer.

Science-Fiction

Continuum: Back in the day, I had to buy DVD box sets to watch this knotty Canadian series about a police officer (Rachel Nichols) from a dystopian future who time-travels back to the present day alongside terrorists. Morally subtle with a brain-bending plot. 7plus and 10play

Snowpiercer: Bong Joon Ho’s 2013 film is a revolutionary blockbuster, but this four-season reboot turns a vast train circling a post-apocalyptic Earth into an engrossing us-versus-them drama. Expect excellent world-building, bolstered by Jennifer Connelly’s star power. SBS On Demand

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Forget the failed blockbusters post-James Cameron. The best Terminator sequel is this 2009 series, starring a pre-Game of Thrones Lena Headey, where the Connor family fights to stop the future’s AI overlord and its murderous cyborgs. 9now

*9now is owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.

Read Entire Article