265 Best Binge-Worthy Movies to Watch (Page 7)

Whether you’re planning a TV marathon or bored in lockdown, nothing whiles time away like a bingeable show. Since it’s not always obvious what’s worth investing all that time in, here’s a list of the most binge-worthy shows to stream.

Read also:

91. Scavengers Reign, 2023

“World-building” doesn’t quite capture what Scavengers Reign does — the sheer imagination on display in just the first three episodes of this 12-part adult animation sci-fi could fill multiple universes. From the get-go, we’re immersed in a truly strange new world, one in which panda-like creatures with telepathic abilities control humans, fungi merge with motherboards, and plant-animal hybrids crackle with electricity. All this trippiness is rendered in a 2D animation style that appropriately draws on the fantastical art of Moebius (who in turn influenced Studio Ghibli).

Flashbacks and hallucinations gradually unravel the mystery of just how the crew of the Demeter and their robot assistant Levi (Alia Shawkat) ended up here — a grounding plot thread that keeps things from totally spinning out into mind-bendingly surreal territory. Not just an exercise in stretching creativity in bold new directions, then, but a gripping mystery laying bare the terrifying limitlessness of the cosmos.

Genre: Animation, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Alia Shawkat, Bob Stephenson, Sunita Mani, Ted Travelstead, Wunmi Mosaku

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

92. River, 2015

	
This six-chapter British miniseries stars the ever-reliable Stellan Skarsgård as an erratic London police detective. He starts seeing visions or “manifests” of his recently murdered colleague and tries to solve her case even though he was excluded from it. River blends reality and illusion in a thoughtful and original police thriller.Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Actor: Adeel Akhtar, Eddie Marsan, Georgina Rich, Jim Norton, Josef Altin, Lesley Manville, Michael Maloney, Nicola Walker, Owen Teale, Sorcha Cusack, Stellan Skarsgård, Steve Nicolson, Turlough Convery
Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

93. Our Flag Means Death, 2022

The scene: 1717, the Golden Age of Piracy; the people: brute criminals living on nothing but loot. Seems typical enough for a pirate story, but more than just an action-packed swashbuckling treat, Our Flag Means Death is also a raging ensemble comedy that is both modern and subversive as it dares to recast masculinity in a whole new light.

The show follows Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), a flamboyant aristocrat who leaves his pampered life and turns to the sea in search of deeper meaning and purpose. Specifically, he’s out to figure out, once and for all, what it means to be a man. Does it entail remorseless murder and a stoic acceptance of one’s responsibility, as he’s been taught and taunted to do for so long, or is there more to it than that? The wannabe pirate gets closer to answering these questions when he meets and eventually falls for the legendary Blackbeard, played warmly and hilariously by Taika Waititi.

Genre: Action, Action & Adventure, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, History

Actor: Con O'Neill, David Fane, Ewen Bremner, Guz Khan, Joel Fry, Kristian Nairn, Matthew Maher, Nathan Foad, Rhys Darby, Rory Kinnear, Samson Kayo, Taika Waititi, Vico Ortiz

Rating: 18+

Read also:

94. My Brilliant Friend, 2020

This wonderful Italian epic made by HBO was a huge hit in Italy but remains little-known elsewhere. It's based on four famous books that tell the coming-of-age story of two brilliant girls who grow up in a poor suburb on Naples in the 1950s. It also has scenes from the current time where one of them mysteriously disappears. Amazing production value, acting, and story make this show so easy to get hooked to.

Genre: Drama

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

95. Love, 2018

What a great allegory for love this show is. It's incredibly awkward and vulgar in the right places, best exemplified by dialogue scenes that are uncomfortably long and often uncomfortable to begin with. Our two lead characters are frustrating and manipulative, which might confuse you into thinking the show itself is frustrating because you see them so much, and sometimes it is. At which point, you might start to ask yourself why you keep watching, why you subject yourself to this emotional torture episode after episode, season after season—eventually, you stay for the other characters, they're funny and don't deserve to be abandoned.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Chris Witaske, Claudia O'Doherty, Claudia O'Doherty, Gillian Jacobs, Iris Apatow, Mike Mitchell, Paul Rust

Director: Lyia Terki

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

96. Haikyu!!, 2020

	
Fun, wholesome, and relatable, Haikyu!! celebrates the highs and lows of high school volleyball. The show starts off focused on two freshmen volleyball players from opposing middle school teams, who have to learn teamwork in order to be accepted into their high school club. While the team might initially come across as self-conscious, over-the-top, highly dramatic characters, it’s clear that they're coming from a shared love for the competitive sport (and that they also just happen to be going through puberty). However, the show’s strategic storytelling makes us care about the team: explanations about volleyball tactics are taught just at the right moment in order to heighten the stakes of every player’s move. Simultaneously, every player moves into each new plot point as a natural consequence of their backstory and their perception of each event. Haikyu!!’s agile approach makes the show a compelling watch, and a great place to start if you're new to anime.Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Drama
Actor: Ayumu Murase, Daisuke Namikawa, Hiroshi Kamiya, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Hisao Egawa, Kaito Ishikawa, Kaori Nazuka, Kazunari Tanaka, Koki Uchiyama, Koutaro Nishiyama, Mark Ishii, Masaru Hayashi, Miyu Irino, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Nobuyori Sagara, Ryohei Kimura, Ryota Takeuchi, Satoshi Hino, Shinnosuke Tachibana, Soma Saito, Subaru Kimura, Sumire Morohoshi, Toshiki Masuda, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Yu Hayashi, Yuichi Nakamura, Yuki Kaji, Yuu Hayashi
Rating: TV-14

Read also:

97. For All Mankind, 2022

What if the 1960s space race never ended? For All Mankind imagines such a world; here, Russia's cosmonauts arrive on the moon first, the galaxy holds resources beyond belief, and global wars have expanded in stakes and scale. More than just the final frontier, outer space is now the focal point of warring nations hungry to capitalize and claim new assets.

For All Mankind's out-of-this-world premise alone make it a thrilling watch, but you'll be glad to know that the show also feels intimate and affecting thanks to its fully fleshed-out characters. If you're looking for an epic but grounded story to lose yourself in, this is it.

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Science Fiction, War & Politics

Actor: Casey Johnson, Casey W. Johnson, Coral Peña, Cynthy Wu, Edi Gathegi, Jodi Balfour, Joel Kinnaman, Krys Marshall, Michael Dorman, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten, Sonya Walger, Wrenn Schmidt

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

98. Extraordinary, 2023

Imagine if the show Girls was Marvel-ized (or if you like, Derry Girls blended with Encanto): that’s kind of what this series is, but actually good.

It has all the trappings of a quarter-life-crisis sitcom—broke 25-year-olds with big dreams and little prospects living under one roof—while also being set in a world where everyday humans develop a superpower by the age of 18. The British series follows Jen, a late bloomer who has yet to find her power. Having had enough of sucky jobs and boyfriends, she sets out to discover her power in the hopes of finally knowing more about herself. It’s a bizarre premise with an authentic, endearing core that's certainly worth checking out.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy

Actor: Mairéad Tyers, Robbie Gee, Safia Oakley-Green, Siobhan McSweeney, Sofia Oxenham

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

99. Delete, 2023

Centered around a phone with the power to make people disappear, Delete utilizes an intriguing supernatural element to create a steady mystery that thrives on moral dilemmas. With shifting perspectives and a non-linear narrative, it excels at building context and character motivation. What starts as an exposed affair becomes an exploration of the depths of human desires. The series has a strong start, setting a pace that hooks with melodrama and keeps eyes glued with its twists. Whether it's distrust in relationships or dependency on technology, there isn't a dull moment as the phones pass from hand to hand, and the stakes are risen by questionable intentions.

Genre: Drama, Mystery

Actor: Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Nat Kitcharit, Natara Nopparatayapon, Nopachai Jayanama, Sarika Sathsilpsupa, Sompob Benjathikul, Thasorn Klinnium, Yasaka Chaisorn

Director: Parkpoom Wongpoom

Read also:

100. Dear Child, 2023

Dear Child may be tackling difficult themes, including sexual violence and domestic abuse, but it’s not hard to watch at all. As a mystery, it’s well-told and gripping, with clues and cliffhangers appearing at just the right moment, and as a drama it’s expertly paced and brilliantly acted, with child actress Naila Schuberth, who plays Hannah, and Kim Riedle, who plays Jasmin, easily owning their scenes. Unlike other stories that decide to take on these delicate themes, it’s not gratuitous or exploitative either. Instead, it knows when to hold back and when to unleash the horrific details of its crimes. The sympathy it shows the victims is present but restrained, at least until the last few moments of the series. By then, the series, with full force, takes the victim narrative and excellently turns it against its head.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Hans Löw, Justus von Dohnányi, Kim Riedle, Naila Schuberth, Sammy Schrein

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

101. Dark Side of the Ring, 2024

Dark Side of the Ring is where the comfort of pro wrestling and the mystery of true crime meet. The very premise of the series is that the wrestling industry is rife with with sketchy and downright depressing stories; and while it continues the tradition of depicting pro wrestling tragically (to great results), the episodes are streamlined and very consistent with having an insightful and balanced pool of perspectives. There's a lot of details for wrestling fans to sink their teeth into, but for the true crime and mystery-loving crowd, expect baseline stories about drugs, self-destruction, and outlaw wrestling practices unless it's one of those transcendent stories.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Chris Irvine, Chris Jericho

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

102. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, 2019

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend starts with a very familiar setup. A girl leaves town to follow a boy she loves, and along the way, she picks up a best friend who blindly supports her, a rival who gets in romance’s way, and a second guy who, little does she know, loves her for who she is. That girl, Rebecca Bunch (played by writer-creator Rachel Bloom), is our romcom hero, and she knows it. She views life as one big musical movie where she’s supposed to get the guy and live happily ever after.

Except, in real life, things are never as simple—and people never as one-dimensional—as that. This confuses Rebecca, who then goes out of her way to craft the perfect happy ending, even if it means hurting people (including herself) along the way.

In a series of wackily addictive songs, playfully subversive twists, and heart-aching breakthroughs, we join Rebecca as she learns to overcome her demons and live in the real world. Her journey to self-awareness and self-love can get frustratingly slow and surprisingly bleak, but it’s also deeply comforting and reassuring.

Watch this if you’re interested in subversive takes on love, affecting female friendships, genuinely catchy tunes, proper mental health representation, and seeing reductive stereotypes, the “crazy ex-girlfriend” just being one of many, fleshed out and reclaimed with great aplomb.

Genre: Comedy, Music

Actor: Donna Lynne Champlin, Rachel Bloom, Scott Michael Foster, Vella Lovell

Read also:

103. Count Abdulla, 2023

This new six-part comedy series is as razor-sharp as a vampire’s fangs, skewering everything from the horror genre’s historically iffy treatment of people of color, lazy media stereotypes of Muslims, and real-life fixtures of Islamic communities. It never feels bogged down by the weight of the issues behind it, though, always staying true to the lightness of its silly — but ingenious — concept.

The show follows the goofy Abdulla (Arian Nik), a British-Pakistani trainee doctor and horror nerd who has enough on his plate — what with an unavailable crush and the social pressures of being a not-so-perfect Muslim — without also having to contend with being turned by vampire-dominatrix Kathy (played with gusto by Jaime Winstone). Writer Kaamil Shah manages to pack an impressive amount of cutting humor into each 20-ish-minute episode, whether through Kathy railing against the appropriation of vampire culture during Halloween (presented less as an anti-woke joke and more as a wry analogy to media misrepresentation of real minorities) or a wink to Muslims about the epidemic of hypocritical haram police in our communities. This balance between universal humor and inside jokes that speak directly to — rather than over the heads of — British Muslims makes Count Abdulla a very welcome addition to TV comedy in general, as well as a refreshing widening of the horror genre.

Genre: Comedy, Horror

Actor: Jonny Green, Manpreet Bambra, Mariska Ariya, Sia Alipour

Director: Asim Abbasi

Read also:

104. Corporate, 2020

Warning: this workplace series takes everything you hate about corporate life and mirrors it back to you with alarming clarity. It takes place in a morally corrupt multinational called Hampton DeVille, and we mostly follow “junior executives in training” Matt and Jake in their daily goings-on in the office. Sometimes, they’re able to cope by sneaking a nap here or making watercooler jokes there—absurd imaginings and occasional protests also help allay their boredom—but for the most part, they’ve given up on the system and are just trudging through the everyday. While Matt optimistically hopes for a better life outside the cubicle, Jake cynically lets him (and us) know that “There no way not to waste your life.”

Like Office Space and Better Off Ted before it, Corporate is endlessly nihilistic, but unlike them, it doesn’t have a redemptive moment where the protagonists find a silver lining in their jobs. No, Corporate is as bleak as it gets. But buoyed by ridiculous hilarity, sharp social commentary, and the insane ability to perfectly describe corporate life, it remains highly watchable, like a dystopian tragicomedy inching closer and closer to real life.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Anne Dudek, Lance Reddick

Rating: TV-14

Read also:

105. Bosch, 2019

Bosch returned recently for a fifth season, with a sixth one confirmed. It’s a sleeper hit that you may not have heard of, but with time should get the coverage it deserves. Titus Welliver (Lost, Sons of Anarchy, Argo) plays an L.A.P.D. homicide detective who is on trial for using questionable methods during a fatal shootout. At the same time, he is trying to solve an open murder case. Bosch is carried by almost entirely by Welliver, who delivers such a good multi-layered performance that it’s hard to think anyone else could have played this character.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Amy Aquino, Jamie Hector, Titus Welliver

Rating: TV-MA

Read also:

1 … 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 … 18