25 Exceptional TV Shows You Can Watch In One Weekend
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We've all been there: You're bored and need a new show to watch, but you simply don't have the time or energy for an eight-season epic.
That's not even to mention the brain power it takes to add season upon season of lore into our memory banks, leaving you wishing you could watch something fun and different but short enough to fit into a weekend.
With this conundrum in mind, I've gone ahead and found a solution by compiling 25 extraordinary television series that you can stream in their entirety in less than 48 hours (with sleep breaks included!).
1.The Legend of Vox Machina (2022–Present)
Adapted from the first campaign of the massively popular streaming Dungeons & Dragons-centric series Critical Role, The Legend of Vox Machina follows a wayward group of adventurers who must battle dragons, demons, bloodthirsty goliaths, necromancers, and more in their dangerous and dramatic exploits. A wonderful adult animated fantasy drama punctuated with laugh-out-loud comedy, you can easily consume the first two seasons of this engrossing and addictive Amazon series.
2.Champaign ILL (2018)
Initially produced as a YouTube Original prior to its unfortunate cancelation, Champaign Ill surrounds a pair of socially maladjusted friends (Adam Pally and Sam Richardson), who are forced to move back to their hometown after the accidental death of their best friend, a world-famous hip-hop artist off of whom they'd been living. Richardson and Pally have since found success on the likes of Apple's The Afterparty and TruTV's101 Places to Party Before You Die, but the pair are at the top of their game in this overlooked cringe comedy gem.
3.Mr. Show with Bob and David (1995–1998)
Arguably one of the greatest sketch comedy series of all time, Mr. Show helped usher alternative, subversive comedy into mainstream households, introducing the world to the likes of Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), David Cross (Arrested Development), Karen Kilgariff (My Favorite Murder), Paul F. Tompkins (BoJack Horseman), and Scott Aukerman (Comedy Bang! Bang!), among many others. But even aside from the groundbreaking nature of Mr. Show, this '90s HBO highlight is undeniably hilarious, with skits like "Pre-Taped Call-In Show," "The Story of Everest," and "Megaphone Crooners" guaranteed to leave you in stitches.
4.Archive 81 (2022)
Produced by horror maestro James Wan (The Conjuring), Archive 81 is based on the podcast of the same name detailing an archivist (Mamoudou Athie) who is hired to restore a video of a student's documentary project only to discover the video has a link to a mysterious cult and a missing person's case. Bolstered by strong performances, sharp direction, and eerie atmospheric chills, Archive 81 was unceremoniously canceled by Netflix shortly after its debut, but the scary series is well-worth eight hours of your time.
5.I’m a Virgo (2023–Present)
From filmmaker Boots Riley of Sorry to Bother You fame, I'm A Virgo is a strange yet side-splitting tale of a 13-foot-tall teenager (Jharrel Jerome) who leaves home in order to experience the real world alongside his political activist friends. An imaginative and surprisingly touching series that'll go to many places you won't expect, fans of high-concept comedy and stinging satire can enjoy all seven episodes of the series (to date) on Amazon Prime.
6.Shut Eye (2016–2017)
From the creator of Steven Spielberg presents: Taken, Shut Eye is a mix between Breaking Bad and Twin Peaks as we follow a failed magician-turned-con-artist who begins to experience real psychic visions while dealing with the complicated criminal underworld of fortune telling. Headlined by an exceptional Jeffrey Donovan, this trippy two-season Hulu Original also features great turns from KaDee Strickland, Angus Sampson, David Zayas, and Isabella Rossellini.
7.Shrink (2017)
Before he became a weekly scene-stealer on The Righteous Gemstones, Tim Baltz starred in this criminally obscure comedy series about a medical student who attempts to perform nearly 2,000 hours of free supervised therapy in his parent's garage. A victim of the Seeso closure that's since found its way to Peacock, this writer is sure that Shrink will become a cult classic comedy series as people continue to discover its sole hysterical season.
8.Bupkis (2023–Present)
If you threw Atlanta, Freddy Got Fingered, and Curb Your Enthusiasm in a blender, you might get something similar to Bupkis, a wild, star-studded series fictionalizing the life and times of Pete Davidson in his attempt to tackle stardom, sobriety, and Staten Island. Davidson himself has never been funnier, and a supporting cast that includes Joe Pesci, Edie Falco, and a metric ton of guest stars all deliver in their respective roles; without spoiling much, you'll never look at Ray Romano the same way again.
9.Emerald City (2016)
In 2016, NBC tasked visionary filmmaker Tarsem Singh (The Cell) with directing a Game of Thrones-esque dark fantasy series taking place in the world of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. With stunning visuals, a talented and diverse ensemble cast, and the weight of prestige drama television anchoring every frame, this short-lived yet fascinating series deserves to be seen, if not just to watch one of the biggest swings a network has taken with an existing IP in a long time. Besides, even with an edgier tone and some eerie imagery, Emerald City is still not as traumatizing as Return to Oz.
10.Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (2004)
It's a crime that there are only six episodes of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, a supremely funny and very warped spoof of '80s horror series, jumping between a campy vanity project from a goofy horror author and the "interviews" from the cast looking back at the doomed project. A dry comedy masterpiece from Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness, it's never too late to get into this cult favorite, which has found a massive underground audience from its reruns on Adult Swim and the Syfy Channel. Plus, if you're jonesing for more Darkplace, Holness's recent in-character book, Garth Marenghi's TerrorTome, should do the trick, especially if you listen to the Holness-narrated audiobook.
11.Kevin Can F**k Himself (2021–2022)
Capitalizing on a brilliant concept that's executed with the utmost finesse, Kevin Can F**k Himself follows a beleaguered and downtrodden sitcom housewife stereotype who awakens from her laugh-track-ridden existence and decides to murder her drunken and inconsiderate sitcom husband. Produced by Rashida Jones and starring Annie Murphy, this pitch-black dramedy series not only makes for inspired viewing but is a surprisingly quick watch, with the show concluding organically at the end of its second season.
12.Magic City (2012–2013)
Starz's attempt to create their own mob drama akin to Boardwalk Empire didn't necessarily catch on as they had hoped, but that shouldn't speak to the quality of the two-season series about a Miami Beach hotel that falls into the grip of a mafia boss in the 1950s. Starring a pre-Walking Dead Jeffrey Dean Morgan as well as a pre-Yellowstone Danny Huston, Magic City is not only a seductive and gripping crime drama, but allegedly informed by series creator Mitch Glazer's experience on the fringe of a Miami Beach hotel during his formative years.
13.Detroiters (2017–2018)
Between his time on Saturday Night Live and his Netflix tour de force I Think You Should Leave, Tim Robinson costarred alongside longtime collaborator Sam Richardson on Detroiters, a wonderfully weird sitcom about a pair of upstart advertising agents producing commercials for businesses throughout the Motor City. Highlighting the pair's brand of off-beat and frequently irreverent humor, Detroiters delivers nearly nonstop laughs across the series' 20-episode run.
14.Lights Out (2011)
For over 20 years, FX has been the home for many reputed and provocative dramas, from The Shield to The Bear, but occasionally, they produced truly terrific programs that became lost in the shuffle, such as Lights Out. Sadly axed after one season, Lights Out surrounds a retired boxing champion (Mindhunter actor Holt McCallany) who is forced to choose between a brutal, immoral job as a debt collector or an in-ring comeback that could threaten to worsen his budding dementia after his brother (Orange Is the New Black actor Pablo Schreiber) squanders his life savings. If you think the concept sounds good, just wait until you give the show a chance.
15.Mr. Mercedes (2017–2019)
Based on Stephen King's "Bill Hodges" novel trilogy that introduced the world to the fan-favorite character of Holly Gibney, Mr. Mercedes flew under most people's radar due to its airing on the short-lived Audience Network, but it's simply one of the best (and most twisted) Stephen King adaptations to ever hit the small screen. Anchored by a powerhouse performance from Brendan Gleeson and a completely chilling turn from Harry Treadaway, Mr. Mercedes follows a retired detective who attempts to catch a mass murderer who continues to torture the former lawman via psychological warfare, leading to a tense, edge-of-your-seat cat-and-mouse game between the two that threatens all of the loved ones around them.
16.Utopia (2013–2014)
Not to be confused with the Amazon Original US remake, Utopia is a jaw-dropping conspiracy thriller that will push your every button while keeping you guessing just how wilder it can get (and believe me, it always gets wilder). Previously unavailable in the US outside of import discs prior to 2020, Utopia uses its hypnotic visual style and murderer's row of incredible character actors to keep the audience firmly in its grasp throughout all 12 of its episodes.
17.Paul T. Goldman (2023)
18.Shining Vale (2022–Present)
In a foul-mouthed comedic spin on The Shining, Shining Vale follows a struggling writer (Courteney Cox) whose complicated professional and personal lives go even further south when the ghost of a murderous housewife becomes her new muse. With drop-dead funny supporting performances from Greg Kinnear and Mira Sorvino, all eight episodes of Starz's raunchy must-see horror-comedy's first season will leave you laughing and gasping in equal measure.
19.Alternatino with Arturo Castro (2019)
A tragically overlooked sketch comedy series from Broad City scene-stealer Arturo Castro, Alternatino's brand of sharp and timely comedy was sadly cut short when the show's second season was greenlit by the ill-fated Quibi streaming service. However, the hilarious series has since found a new life online with individual skits racking up millions of views on YouTube, with plenty others absolutely worth watching on Paramount+.
20.Penny Dreadful (2014–2016)
From Skyfall writer John Logan, Penny Dreadful created a sprawling, seductive, and sinister shared universe inhabited by Gothic Horror's most iconic characters, from Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) to Frankenstein's Monster (Rory Kinnear) to Count Dracula (Christian Camargo). Driven by a spellbinding, Golden Globe-nominated performance from Eva Green as the medium Vanessa Ives, Penny Dreadful is an astounding and mature new vision for the familiar material while still offering viewers a copious amount of gruesome nightmare fuel.
21.García! (2022–Present)
Essentially playing like a straight-faced take on Austin Powers, García! surrounds a super-powered secret agent from the 1950s who emerges from a cryogenically frozen state to fight enemies old and new in present-day Spain. Even if some may be scared off by the language barrier (and, face it, that's not an excuse anymore in a post-Squid Game world), García! works as both a fish-out-of-water blast and an intriguing mystery filled with sleek, thrilling action courtesy of visionary director Eugenio Mira.
22.Watchmen (2019)
Most people had written off HBO's limited series sequel to Alan Moore's Watchmen before the first frame had hit the screen, but those people seriously missed out as the program absolutely rose above even the highest expectations. Taking place more than 30 years after the events of the graphic novel, Watchmen (2019) follows Angela Abar (aka Sister Night), a detective who uncovers various insidious plots after the death of a colleague, entrenching her deeper into the frequently heartbreaking and deranged world of masked "heroes," including former Crimebusters Doctor Manhattan, Silk Spectre, and Ozymandias.
23.Do You Want to See a Dead Body? (2017)
24.Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022)
Cyberpunk 2077 has gone a long way from buggy fiasco to lauded sci-fi sandbox game, with its expansion, Phantom Liberty, and a sequel on the way, but one instant hit in the Cyberpunk mythos was the Netflix-released anime mini-series, Edgerunners. Capturing the frenetic spirit of Cyberpunk 2077 as well as the exciting, imaginative universe established by the source material, Edgerunners is an action-packed and shockingly soulful series that will rock even those unfamiliar with all things Cyberpunk.
