Binge-watching: It’s a unique type of TV-viewing that’s not about savoring a show week-to-week, but jamming as much of it as possible into our systems at once. It’s also a fairly modern way of enjoying television. Before the introduction of DVD box sets, viewers were held hostage by the schedules of the cable companies. Television episodes were designed to be watched individually.
However, in the last 15 years, technology has changed the way we watch television — which means it’s changed the way TV is written. Now a season of a television series is experienced as a complete linear storyline and there’s a badge of honor in watching as many episodes as possible in one sitting.
To honor the rise of binge-watching, Decider is unveiling its list of the 100 Best Binge-Watches of All-Time. These are the shows that lend themselves to binging, helped spearhead new creative directions in the world of TV writing, and set the foundation for the rise of streaming culture. These are not necessarily the 100 best television shows of all time, but they are the 100 best binge-watches.
To determine the 100 Best Binge-Watches, Team Decider analyzed hundreds of our all-time favorite shows and ranked them considering the following criteria:
“Binge-ability”: A word we made up to describe the intangible ability that certain shows have to hook us in and keep us watching for hour after hour, until whole days pass us by.
Pop Cultural Relevance: How important was the show to the rise of binge-watching and how important was binge-watching for building its audience?
Quality of the Program: Point blank: How good is this show?
Our Personal Favorites: Yes, we admit that this list has a fair amount of bias. Everyone on the team wiggled something on the list that they are passionate about and believe that everyone in the mainstream should watch.
Over the next week, we’ll be unveiling our picks until we arrive at the very best show to binge-watch. We’ll also be sharing some interesting numbers — like which shows take the biggest time commitment, which take the smallest, and which network has spawned the most binge-worthy shows in TV history.
So grab a bucket of popcorn and buckle up! We’re kicking off the 100 Best Binge-Watches of All Time with #100-81.
100
'Stranger Things'
Original Network: Netflix Years on Air: 2016 – Present Number of Seasons: 1 Time To Binge: 5 hours, 50 minutes
It’s probably going to take some time and distance before we can properly assess just how good a show Stranger Things really is. But for now, there is just no denying what pure streaming pleasure this show has been this summer. At a concise 8 episodes (and with the episodes themselves generally clocking in humanely in the mid-40-minute range), it’s a show you can wolf down in just a couple sittings. And the ’80s pulp-adventure/monster movie/Stephen King tone encourages binging without ever feeling like a chore. And then of course there are the requisite bonus points that are given to a show that allows us to stream Winona Ryder out of our ’90s memories and onto our laptops. – Joe Reid
Original Network: Netflix Years on Air: (2015 – Present) Number of Seasons: 2 Time To Binge: 23 hours
“We’re not bad people, but we did a bad thing.” After his Emmy-winning run on Friday Night Lights, Kyle Chandler was the embodiment, for many, of shining, wholesome, All-American values (clear eyes, full hearts, yada yada). However, right from the very get-go of the Netflix original series Bloodline, viewers are clued in to the fact that the oppressively humid environs of the Florida Keys could not possibly be any further away from Dillon, Texas, and also that Sheriff John Rayburn is no Coach Taylor. This show’s first season is a gripping Möbius strip of familial deceit, lies and betrayal, bolstered by greaseball supreme Ben Mendelsohn’s dazzling (and Emmy-nominated) performance —which is equal parts terrifying and heartbreaking— as the scummy Danny Rayburn, and the second season builds successfully on the first season’s set-up. – Mark Graham
Original Network: The CW Years on Air: (2013 – 2014) Number of Seasons: 2 Time To Binge: 18 hours, 12 minutes
This Sex and the City spin-off got a lot of flack when it premiered in 2013, but The Carrie Diaries is winsome, clever, and deceptively charming. Did we mention it’s addictive?
Original Network: FOX Years on Air: (1992 – 1999) Number of Seasons: 7 Time To Binge: 6 days, 21 hours, 44 minutes
Aaron Spelling was the king of primetime soaps, and Melrose Place might be his trashiest, juiciest, and most twisted hit. Translation? It’s also the most binge-able.
Original Network: Nickelodeon Years on Air: (2005 – 2008) Number of Seasons: 3 Time To Binge: 1 day, 0 hours, 24 minutes
It’s hard to remember, but when Netflix first launched its streaming service, one of its very first “hidden gems” was Avatar: The Last Airbender, a beautifully-written animated series that had adults dipping into the cartoon world.
Original Network: Netflix Years on Air: (2014 – Present) Number of Seasons: 3 Time To Binge: 15 hours
Back in the ‘90s he was a famous TV star, and now he’s a depressed alcoholic who has been causing us to have existential crises for three seasons. In the age where sadcoms reign supreme, BoJack Horseman may be the best series to balance laugh out loud jokes with authentic emotion. However, the show offers far more than animal puns and bleak monologues about the effects of loneliness. This Netflix Original features an all-star cast, including Will Arnett, Aaron Paul, Paul F. Tompkins, and Amy Sedaris as well as guest starring roles for big names such as Aisha Tyler and Maria Bamford.
That’s a lot of praise for a show that has helped bring animated comedies back into the critical landscape. So why did we rank this binge so low? Precisely because of how emotionally complicated it is. Whereas some of us can’t help but greedily devour each season as soon as it appears (raises hand), other viewers have a hard time emotionally binging through episode after increasingly depressing episode. It’s a beautiful watch and a great binge, but yeah, it has the ability to destroy your emotional well being. Proceed with caution. – Kayla Cobb
Original Network: Netflix Years on Air: (2015 – Present) Number of Seasons: 1 Time To Binge: 11 hours, 16 minutes
Marvel’s Jessica Jones is not here to be a role model and she’s not here to save the world. This subversive Netflix Original looks at the darker side of superpowers.
Original Network: The CW Years on Air: (2015 – Present) Number of Seasons: 1 Time To Binge: 12 hours, 11 minutes
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend isn’t just a great binge-watch; It’s a show that would have lived and died on the bubble in the old days of coaxial, but can now be saved by reaching a wider audience on Hulu and Netflix.
Original Network: Channel 4 Years on Air: (1999 – 2001) Number of Seasons: 2 Time To Binge: 6 hours, 18 minutes
Think of Spaced as Friends for geeks. What Spaced lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality. It’s a quick one, just 2 7-episode half-hour seasons, but it’s British comedy at its finest. From Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost, the minds behind The Cornetto Trilogy movies (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End), Spaced tells the story of two 20-somethings who pretend to be a married couple so that they can land their dream apartment. It’s nerdy, it’s overflowing with pop culture references, and it will make you want to move in with them immediately. Basically, these are the kind of people that love a good binge-watch. — Lea Palmieri
Original Network: HBO Years on Air: (1997 – 2003) Number of Seasons: 6 Time To Binge: 2 days, 9 hours
Oz is not only a fascinating watch that will leave you rapt (and in shock), but it’s also the very first one hour drama to come from one of the kings of the binge-watch: HBO.
Original Network: BBC One Years on Air: (2010 – Present) Number of Seasons: 3 Time To Binge: 13 hours, 30 minutes
This ground-breaking look at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective made Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman international stars. Sherlock would probably rank higher but for the fact that its episodes are serious journeys (and there are only so many of them).
Original Network: Amazon Years on Air: (2015 – Present) Number of Seasons: 2 Time To Binge: 5 hours
This delightful marriage of British and American comedy sensibilities breathed fresh new life into the romantic comedy. Catastrophe is a breezy look at the terror of falling in love.
Original Network: FX Years on Air: (2005 – Present) Number of Seasons: 11 Time To Binge: 1 day, 21 hours, 6 minutes
This raucous, rambunctious sitcom helped pave the way for quirky dark comedies and established a new standard for both quality and quantity. Seriously, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia doesn’t let up.
Original Network: Bravo Years on Air: (2006 – Present) Number of Seasons: 13 Time To Binge: 7 days, 23 hours
Reality television was tailor-made to be binged and not savored, and for no series is that more true than Top Chef. Bravo’s illustrious competition show has been entertaining audiences and advancing the cause of foodies for a full decade. In that time, we’ve watched disaster strike in the kitchen, unlikely culinary stars be born, and drama, drama, drama! In fact, you could say that Top Chef stole The Real World‘s corner on intense roommate drama. The thing that really makes Top Chef stand apart though is its track record. Not only is just about every season guaranteed to leave you entertained, but the cast is a who’s who of emerging American culinary talent. Top Chef is — in a word — delicious. — Meghan O’Keefe