Binge-Watching 101: An EW Guide

Binge-watchers, consider these shows the first five items on your to-do list — but be ready to lose some sleep.

Battlestar Galactica
The ’70s sci-fi campfest rebooted as a post-9/11 allegory, BSG follows the remainder of humanity on a journey to the darkest reaches of space. Along the way, the nascent society contends with the treatment of prisoners of war, whether democracy is an absolute good, religion as a salve or an opiate…and some really angry robots. (75 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, Hulu Plus, iTunes, Netflix

Friday Night Lights
Maybe you presumed the show, about a small Texas town that gathers in the name of football, would be too earnest? Wrong! There are big dreams, breathless action, and broken and mended hearts, with Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton — each at the top of their excellent games — as Coach and his guidance-counselor wife. (76 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, Hulu Plus, iTunes, Netflix

The Sopranos
Tony Soprano and his family’s hunger for money, sex, power, and delicious-looking plates of pasta launched a new age for TV. Every season is basically self-contained, so hop around depending on which relationship you’d like to see Tony explore: His mother gets most of season 1, his wife takes season 4, and his own tortured psyche lords over season 6. (86 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, HBO Go, iTunes

The West Wing
This is the messy, invigorating, absorbing world we like to imagine lurks within the White House’s hallowed walls. Yes, it’s about tough-as-oak President Bartlet and his idealistic staff, but it’s more about a family of colleagues we’d love to see every day at our own workplaces, and the Aaron Sorkin dialogue we wish would come out of our mouths. (156 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, iTunes, Netflix

The Wire (shown)
”You haven’t seen The Wire?!” shrieks that guy who won’t stop talking about how David Simon’s sprawling depiction of urban life in Baltimore is the best drama ever. What can we say? He’s right. Each season tackles a different institution — from the police to City Hall to the school system — and together they form a stunning social tapestry. (60 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, HBO Go, iTunes

Whether you’re back from college or chilling at home, these are shows to lose yourself in.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (shown)
Before Joss Whedon assembled the Avengers, he brought together another group of heroes with his drama about a vampire slayer and her loyal band of Scoobies who took on the creatures threatening their small town of Sunnydale. (144 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix

Greek
Don’t be fooled by the frats and red plastic cups: This ABC Family favorite was never just about keggers. The show focused on a popular junior and her dorky freshman brother who came of age in different ways on the same campus. (74 episodes)
Watch It On: iTunes, Netflix

Party Down
An L.A. catering team made up of Hollywood wannabes (including Adam Scott and Lizzy Caplan) rarely got what they wanted — roles, relationships, respect — but they did have each other on this short-lived comedy. (20 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, iTunes

Skins
The cult-hit British dramedy made headlines for showing the sex- and drug-fueled exploits of working-class high schoolers. But the show’s quiet, emotionally raw moments are its best. The series regularly reboots its cast, but the darkly comic high jinks of the original haven’t been topped. (55 episodes)
Watch It On: Netflix

Veronica Mars
Kristen Bell stars as a teen detective whose wit is as sharp as her investigative skills. Required viewing before the Kickstarter-funded movie arrives next year. (64 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, iTunes

”Game of Thrones. I read all the books. Even though I know what’s going to happen, I want to see how they do it, and I hear it’s fantastic.” —Elizabeth Mitchell

Instead of watching another Big Bang Theory or Friends rerun, fire up these half-hour sitcoms. Just be careful you don’t fall off the treadmill laughing.

Chappelle’s Show (shown)
For a brief, beautiful couple of years, Dave Chappelle was comedy’s most precious natural resource. His sketch show is best known for its catchphrases (”I’m Rick James, bitch!”), but there’s hardly a skit that isn’t an enduring gem. Our favorite: ”The Racial Draft.” (28 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, Hulu Plus, iTunes

Community
Pop culture homages and meta humor abound on this comedy about a community-college study group — led by smooth-talking disgraced lawyer Jeff Winger — whose zany adventures usually merit repeat viewings. You don’t want to miss a single pillow fight or paintball war. (84 episodes and counting)
Watch It On: Amazon, Hulu, iTunes

Coupling
Six friends hang out in a bar, bantering and bickering. It may sound like Friends, but this British sitcom shares more DNA with Sex and the City, as the group obsesses over matters of size and sex tapes while falling in and out of bed (and sometimes love) with one another. (28 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Welcome to Paddy’s Pub, home of some of the worst (and funniest) human beings on earth. Dubbed ”Seinfeld on crack,” the show about the frenetic degeneracy of Dennis, Dee, Mac, Charlie, and Frank is exactly that addictive. While there’s little serialization, it’s worth watching the episodes in order if only to chart these characters’ gleeful descent into depravity. (94 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, iTunes, Netflix

Spaced
The playful Britcom centers on two twentysomething slackers (including star/co-creator Simon Pegg) who pose as a couple to get a flat. Think of it less as Ned & Stacey and more as a clever cross between Girls and Community. (14 episodes)
Watch It On: Hulu, Netflix

The whole family can enjoy these new (and old) classics — no earmuffs required.

The Cosby Show
The Huxtables presented an idealized — yet totally relatable — family unit, led by the tough-loving Cliff and Clair. Proof that wholesome can mean brilliant, funny, and timeless. (201 episodes)
Watch It On: Hulu Plus

Gilmore Girls
Single mom Lorelai and her Ivy League-aspiring daughter, Rory, spend their days in the quirky hamlet of Stars Hollow, consuming too much coffee and making pop culture references at lightning speed. (153 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, iTunes

Parenthood
Follow the charming, funny, and sometimes aggravating Braverman clan as they grapple with growing up (at all ages). And while there is a lot of parenting in these parts, the dating drama and workplace woes will pull in viewers across generations. (68 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix

The Wonder Years (shown)
Before Malcolm was in the middle and Dawson crossed the creek, there was 12-year-old Kevin Arnold, who navigated the suburbs alongside gawky best friend Paul and neighborhood crush Winnie Cooper on this never-treacly ’60s-set dramedy. (115 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, Netflix

”I started last summer with Breaking Bad and I went through all of it like an addict. Appropriately so. And I just can’t wait for the last eight episodes…. You totally buy into it, and that’s partly because of the scripts and partly because the actors are fantastic on that show.” —Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

When you’re couch-bound for a day or two, you can watch these series from start to finish.

Downton Abbey
The sometimes sweeping, sometimes soapy period drama about an aristocratic British family and the servants who wait on them is rife with romance, death, and wartime woes for both the upstairs and downstairs residents. But it’d be worth watching for Lady Mary’s glittering wardrobe alone. (25 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, Hulu Plus, iTunes, Netflix

Firefly
The quickly canceled space opera about the crew of a renegade ship benefits from repeated binges, each one focusing on a single character’s depth: Captain Mal’s winking heroism, Jayne’s sensitive badassery, Kaylee’s disarming sweetness. (14 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix

Freaks and Geeks (shown)
Paul Feig’s achingly hilarious distillation of adolescence captures a single school year. Moments of leave-the-room humiliation — like Nick Andopolis’ cringeworthy drum audition in episode 6 — seem built for bathroom breaks, but you’ll want to tough ’em out. (18 episodes)
Watch It On: Netflix

House of Cards
This sleek drama led by Kevin Spacey about a corrupt congressman, his steely wife, and a cunning reporter boasts so much insider detail about American politics that you’d never guess it was based on a 1990 BBC series. (13 episodes)
Watch It On: Netflix

Rome
Devious rulers and ambitious women fight for power in a tale filled with copious bloodshed and premium-cable nudity — paving the way for Game of Thrones. (22 episodes)
Watch It On: Amazon, HBO Go, iTunes

The Staircase
Novelist Michael Peterson let a camera crew watch while he stood trial for the mysterious 2001 death of his wife, resulting in a twist-packed docuseries that truly is stranger than fiction. This spring saw a two-hour epilogue — it doesn’t add much, but it’s still essential viewing for conspiracy theorists. (8 episodes, plus epilogue)
Watch It On: iTunes

”I binge-watched Veep. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is brilliant. Veep is brilliant and fast, and it totally reminds me of 30 Rock, with the speed that the jokes fly at you and with the flipping cameras and the amount of fun it is to watch.” —Chloë Grace Moretz

Just make sure you don’t commit a crime so heinous your TV/streaming privileges are revoked.

Doctor Who
The British series about a kooky time-traveler is half a century old and encompasses 794 episodes…and counting. (Unfortunately, availability is spotty prior to the BBC’s 2005 relaunch.) Eleven actors have played the Doctor, but the rotating cast of ”companions” may provide a better entry point for newcomers. Check out the era of Rose (Billie Piper), which lasted about two seasons.
Watch It On: Amazon, iTunes, Netflix

Written and reported by Meeta Agrawal, Kyle Anderson, Carrie Bell, Mandi Bierly, Adam Carlson, Darren Franich, Sandra Gonzalez, Samantha Highfill, Adam Markovitz, Nuzhat Naoreen, Ray Rahman, Keith Staskiewicz, and Karen Valby