I own multiple different services, and I've been binging on all of them, but I'll give you one show for each place
THE ROOKIE -- Hulu
Nathan Fillian is an old man trying to be a cop after having a mid-life crisis. Moves out to LA and tries redoing his life from scratch. It's a show better than I expected it to be, because while it's an ABC show, it's much more focused on the procedural part of the cop procedural show cliches than the heavy, cheesy drama you would expect. It's got some great characters, a lot of fun action, and some neat crime solving aspects that show off how a police department works together, rather than focusing on just one singular aspect of it.
DOCTOR WHO -- HBO Max
I revisited the original first few series of this series when it was rebooted back in 2005. Alien man in a time traveling spaceship disguised as a police box goes traveling through time and space for all sorts of hijinx. With a show like this, I remember I distinctly never watched it because it was 'for the nerds.' Like Star Trek, for example. And I didn't want to be seen as a nerd while hiding my nerdiness from the world. But eventually I broke down and watched it upon finding out there's an episode where Doctor Who fights Satan.
I watched the first episode of the first season, and got hooked after that. There's an incredible wit to the characters and plots, not focusing so much on the geekier aspects of space travel and historical eras they visit. The fun is from how these characters interact with their surroundings, how they solve these problems, and the creative setpieces they find themselves in. That episode where he fights Satan? On a planet orbiting a black hole, but isn't falling into it for some reason. Is Satan controlling the planet? Or is he a prisoner on it? It frames these mysteries and scenarios so well, it's impossible not to watch.
JACKASS -- Paramount+
I have no excuse for why I binged this. It's been 25 years since Jackass first started, but I had only ever seen the movies. So I decided to watch the show, then the movies, and see how these idiots evolve in their stupidity. Honestly, there is no big thing to analyze or explain that makes this interesting, it's just a unique time piece of a show. If you wanna see stupid people get hurt or do gross stuff, there you go. Shockingly, hasn't aged all that badly, no homophobic or racist stuff you would see from shows during this era that were trying to push the boundaries of what was acceptable on television. Think the most problematic thing is when P. Diddy shows up for a cameo... blegh.
COLUMBO -- Peacock
I adore Columbo! And I'll always go back to this time and time again.
The big catch with this show is that it's a 'howcatchem.' An opposite of a 'whodunit' murder story. You see who committed the murder and how they did it, and you have to see how Columbo, the detective of their case, solves and catches the baddies. It's incredibly clever, because the show takes full advantage of showing off the killers motives, whether they're sympathetic or not, and creates drama around how close they are to being caught and how they try misleading Columbo.
Columbo himself is an incredible character to watch. The actor playing him is magnetic on screen, every time he speaks with someone, or just appears in the background, you just get drawn to him because of his presence. He comes off as a bumbling fool, always wearing a worn out rain jacket, always smoking a cigar, driving around in this beat up car that's barely holding together. But underneath that is a cunning mastermind of a detective who can see immediately who the killer is, and is quick to use his appearance to undermine their intelligence and make them slip up in their alibis.
There's also some really fun actors in this show you wouldn't expect. Martin Sheen, William Shatner, Dick Van Dyke, Johnny Cash, Martin Landau, it's an incredible lineup. It's my top pick to watch if you haven't seen it.
MOON KNIGHT -- Disney+
I am a massive Moon Knight fan from his comics run, and while his show has some issues, I can't help but love it even with the flaws. Steven Grant works at the London Museum, and begins realizing his life is a lie when he finds out he's not only a man called Marc Spector, but is also the avatar for an Egyptian god called Khonshu, and is now in the middle of a battle with another Egyptian God. From there, all hell breaks loose as he's pulled left, right and center of this war, while struggling to understand his shattered mental state.
You got Oscar Isaac doing a fantastic job playing between two vastly different versions of himself, you got an Indiana Jones style adventure with a mixture of Fight Club in there, and you got a lot of action set pieces. Like I said, there are some issues with pacing and effects, but I love it either way.
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT -- Netflix
I'll preface this by saying watch only season 1, 2 and 3. 4 and 5 can be ignored.
Originally on Fox, this 'mockmentary' style comedy is about a family called the Bluths who get in all sorts of trouble when their family company goes under, thanks to their father doing some sketchy and illegal activities that get brought out into the open. Michael, the prodigal son, has to try and fix the business and his family, all while raising his son in this madness.
I lack the words to describe how incredible this show can be. It's like a live action version of the Simpsons in how wacky and nonsensical it can be. Plots get progressively more and more ridiculous, the characters are almost caricatures, and the visual gags are the stuff of farcical slapstick dreams. It won a ton of emmys, but got canceled, before being rebooted on Netflix. (Buuuuuut those seasons are pretty bad thanks to a lack of quality.) But the first three seasons still stand up! It's a great comedy show that rewards viewers for rewatching again and again with stuff and gags you might miss.
WOULD I LIE TO YOU? -- Amazon Prime
A panel game show of different British celebrities tell outrageous stories to each other to see if they are telling the truth, or telling a lie. If you aren't used to British game shows, it's more like a bunch of pals hanging around to tell stories and amuse each other than actually winning a game, and this feels like it. There are 'points' and a 'winner,' but it's so lax on that front, it's just there for some semblance of organization.
The real fun is in the ridiculous stories these comedians tell each other and if they're telling the truth about them or not. Like saying a famous singer gave advice to them about cracking an egg in their bath for better skin, or for the past 15 years, they've performed their own dentistry. (I'll let you guess which one is the lie.)
That's the big shows I've binged.
