What to watch on TV tonight

In an era of cord-cutting and prestige TV abundance, there are some things that are worth it, and many things that are not! I’m going to break down my subscription list.

United States streaming services

Cable and satellite are awful. The ugly, horrific set-top box, the 12/24-month lock-in period, and the channels upon channels of garbage programming are completely unnecessary. The beautiful thing about streaming is that, sure, you may save a ton of money (I saved about 50% off my DirecTV bill when I cut the cord several years ago), but you also gain the convenience of being able to cycle onto services when programming of interest to you is available, and cycle off when it isn’t. For example, I love the show Billions. But it’s literally the only show on Showtime I care for. So, I subscribe to Showtime for a month, binge a season of Billions, and unsubscribe when I’m done.

With that in mind, here is a list of all the streaming services available in the US and when I elect to subscribe or cancel them:

• Broadcast streaming. Options include YouTube TV, Sling TV, AT&T Now, and Hulu Live. I always subscribe. Prices vary, I chose YouTube TV and it is $60/month. This handy comparison chart helps you decide which service is best for you based on the channels you’re interested in. (substantial discounts on AT&T Now if you’re an AT&T cellular subscriber)
• Netflix. I always subscribe. Premium 4K is $15.99/month. (substantial discounts if you’re a T-Mobile cellular subscriber)
• HBO Max. I always subscribe. $15/month.
• Hulu. I always subscribe because they are absolutely crushing it now with great content. All episodes don’t release at once. Ad-free is $11.99/month.
• Disney+. I always subscribe. $6.99/month ($12.99/month with the Hulu and ESPN bundle).
• AppleTV+. I always subscribe. $4.99/month. (also available as part of Apple One)
• Paramount+. I always subscribe because they’ve been clever and drip-releasing Star Trek where you have no choice. All episodes don’t release at once. All the other content on this service is horrible. Ad-free is $9.99/month.
• Showtime. I subscribe for one month only at the end of a season of Billions (episodes release weekly). $11/month.
• Starz. I don’t subscribe. $9/month.
• Peacock. Free version is good enough for me for now. I’ll wait and see if the original content is worth it to subscribe. Thus far it isn’t. $4.99/month.
• Amazon Prime Video. I always subscribe. Comes with Amazon Prime.
• ESPN+. Only subscribe if you’re a hardcore sports addict who also gets ESPN elsewhere. Doesn’t include NFL or Sportscenter, but does include many NHL, MLB, and MLS games, as well as UFC. $4.99/month ($49.99/year)
• Discovery+. I always subscribe because I’m a home reno addict. $5/month. Includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, and more.

Note: US streamers aren’t always available to overseas subscribers (we are expats living in Lisbon). I highly recommend using SmartDNS on your AppleTV and smart TV devices and the SurfShark VPN on your phones and tablets.

Streaming programming I loved

I’m being overly praiseful when I say “loved”. Some of this programming is merely tolerable. That said, here’s a list of programming I enjoyed (in no particular order) and would recommend considering if you’re at the end of your rope in terms of new stuff to watch:

Netflix:

• Altered Carbon
• Away
• Bridgerton
• Cobra Kai
• Collateral
• The Crown
• Dark
• Dead to Me
• Derry Girls
• Delhi Crime
• Emily in Paris
• Enola Holmes (movie)
• Glow
• The Good Place
• Halt and Catch Fire (AMC)
• The Haunting of Hill House
• Inventing Anna
• Lost in Space
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (movie)
• Messiah
• The Midnight Sky (movie)
• Never Have I Ever
• The Old Guard (movie)
• On My Block
• Ozark
• Peaky Blinders
• Pine Gap
• Queen’s Gambit
• Russian Doll
• Sabrina (the witch)
• Sex Education
• Sherlock
• Stateless
• The Stranger
• Stranger Things
• Travelers
• Umbrella Academy
• The Witcher
• You
• Le Chalet (French)
• Giri/Haji (Japanese/British)
• The Hookup Plan (French)
• Into the Night (French)
• Lupin (French)
• La Mante (French)
• Money Heist (Spanish)
• Bom Dia, Veronica (Brazil)
• Coisa Mais Linda (Girls from Ipanema) (Brazil)
• Onisciente (Brazil)

HBO:

• Big Little Lies
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• The Flight Attendant
• Game of Thrones
• Ghosts (the British version)
• Hacks
• Harley Quinn
• I Hate Suzie
• Industry
• Landscapers
• Let Them All Talk (movie)
• Love Life
• Lovecraft Country
• Murderville
• My Brilliant Friend
• Perry Mason
• Raised by Wolves
• The Sex Lives of College Girls
• Station Eleven
• Succession
• True Detective
• The Undoing
• Veep
• Watchmen
• Westworld
• White Lotus
• Winning Time
• The Wire

Amazon Prime:

• The Americans
• The Boys
• The Expanse
• Fleabag
• The Hunters
• Jack Reacher
• Jack Ryan
• The Marvelous Ms Maisel
• Modern Love
• Paper Girls

Paramount:

• Star Trek: Discovery
• Star Trek: Lower Decks
• Star Trek: Picard
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Disney:

• The Book of Boba Fett
• Falcon and Winter Soldier
• Hawkeye
• Loki
• The Mandalorian
• Ms. Marvel
• Obi-Wan
• She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
• WandaVision
• What If…

Apple:

• Afterparty
• Amazing Stories
• For All Mankind
• Foundation
• Little America
• Severance
• Slow Horses
• Ted Lasso
• Tehran
• The Morning Show
• Mythic Quest
• We Crashed

Hulu:

• A Handmaids Tale
• The Bear
• Deutschland 83 / 86 / 89
• Devs
• Downton Abbey (Peacock)
• The First
• Fosse/Verdon
• The Great
• High Fidelity
• Hillary
• Little Fires Everywhere
• Nine Perfect Strangers
• The Orville
• Under the Banner of Heaven

Other:

• Atlanta (FX)
• Killing Eve (FX)
• Snowpiercer (TNT)
• Billions (Showtime)
• Dexter (Showtime)
• Homeland (Showtime)
• True Blood (Showtime)
• Better Call Saul (AMC/Netflix)

Legendary shows always worth bingeing:

• The Americans
• Breaking Bad
• Downton Abbey
• Game of Thrones
• Lost
• Mad Men
• The Sopranos
• The Wire