If you're looking for a list of the best shows on Paramount Plus, then you're in the right place! On this page we've pulled together 20 of our favorite series that are available to watch right now on the streamer.
Although Paramount Plus isn't quite as big as Netflix, Disney Plus, or Prime Video, it's certainly one of the best streaming services – especially if you're a fan of great TV. As well as being the home of the Star Trek shows, it has an incredible selection of comedy, both new and old, not to mention the Yellowstone franchise, and plenty of superb standalone series.
We started out with a list of 10 shows and now we've expanded it to 20 – and we're not quite done yet! In the meantime, when you've finished here, why not check out our lists of the best Hulu shows or the best Max shows.
20. 1923
There's no arguing with the casting of this Yellowstone prequel, which stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, alongside former James Bond Timothy Dalton. Set in 1923 (obviously), the series follows the ever-troubled Dutton family through a period of great change and hardship in Montana.
For fans of Taylor Sheridan's Western franchise this will be reassuringly familiar stuff. That's no bad thing, though. Tough and exciting, 1923 also expands the scope of the saga, moving some of the action outside of the States with subplots set in Africa and at sea. And there's no doubt that casting a pair of bona fide movie legends in the leads lends the show some real class and gravitas.
19. Tulsa King
Year: 2022
Seasons: 2
Rocky star Sylvester Stallone made the move to TV with this two-fisted crime drama. Stallone plays Dwight "The General" Manfredi, a New York mobster who has just served 25 long years in prison for murder. On his release he moves to Tulsa and tries to start again – but that's going to mean dealing with a nasty biker gang and figuring out his relationship with Stacy Beale (Andrea Savage), an ATF agent who is investigating Dwight.
Created by Yellowstone's Taylor Sheridan, Tulsa King is something of a throwback. If you're after the new Sopranos, then you're in the wrong place. If, on the other hand, you want a mob drama with action, humor, and some slightly bananas plotting, then Tulsa King is the show for you.
18. Evil
Year: 2019
Seasons: 4
Over its four seasons this quirky horror series quietly became one of the most reliably entertaining shows on Paramount Plus. Forensic psychologist Dr. Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) joins forces with a Catholic priest David Acosta (Mike Colter) to investigate reports of supernatural events. Pitted against them is Michael Emerson (who played the villainous Ben Linus on Lost) as a rival psychologist and devout evil-doer – not exactly playing against type here.
With a nice mix of one-off episodes and ongoing arcs, Evil really does feel like The Catholic X-Files. It's not afraid to mix humor in with the laughs and the leads are compelling, especially the tormented Acosta, who is grappling with substance issues. Evil wrapped up its final season last year, meaning the whole is available to watch on the streamer right now.
17. Yellowjackets
Year: 2021
Seasons: 3
This gripping – and often unexpectedly very funny – mystery drama takes place in two different time zones. In the '90s, an all-girl football team's plane crashes in a mountainous wilderness. With seemingly no hope of rescue, the survivors turn to increasingly desperate measures to survive, including cannibalism. In the present day, we learn that some of the survivors eventually made it back to civilisation, but their adult lives are, if anything, even more perilous...
Yellowjackets has a perfect first season and two almost as good follow ups. It's a brilliantly unpredictable and often ruthlessly dark thriller with an exceptional cast. Christina Ricci impresses as Misty, shy and bullied as a teenager, now a master manipulator. But it's Melanie Lynskey's increasingly off the rails Shauna who has grown into the rotten heart of an increasingly psychotic series.
Seen all of Yellowjackets but still have questions? Check out our guide to the ending of Yellowjackets season 3.
16. South Park
Year: 1997
Seasons: 26
America's most outrageous animated series is as scabrously filthy and hilarious as when it debuted back in 1997. Trey Parker and Matt Stone's hands-on approach to every aspect of making the series means that, while it has its fair share of weaker episodes, it has remained remarkably consistent over more than 300 episodes now.
South Park follows the adventures of four young boys (along with their schoolmates and parents) in the titular town. There are occasional aliens and supernatural events, but mostly the series is about poking satirical fun at everyday life. In that regard, Parker and Stone go out of their way to offend everybody. And while it's fair to say that some of South Park's gags have aged poorly, it remains an impressively reliable joke machine. The show returns for its 27th season later this year.
These are the 25 best South Park episodes, mmkay?
15. Halo
Year: 2022
Seasons: 2
Halo was one of the flagship shows created to introduce viewers to the fledgling Paramount Plus. Inspired by the famous video game series, it follows the adventures of Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 (Pablo Schreiber), a super-soldier in the war against the alien Covenant.
The wider Halo franchise has some fairly in-depth lore, established in both the games and expanded universe novels. The Halo show sensibly streamlines a lot of this, taking place in a separate "Silver Timeline." This decision alienated some hardcore fans but made sense for a show aimed at a wider audience. After a solid but occasionally a little sluggish first season, the show really matured in its second year. The action stepped up and so did the drama, resulting in a show that did the legendary FPS justice. Sadly, it was axed after just two seasons.
14. Yellowstone
Year: 2018
Seasons: 5
Taylor Sheridan and John Linson's mega-hit Western franchise started with this addictive drama. Kevin Costner stars as John Dutton III, the head of a family of ranchers in Montana, whose border runs alongside a Native American reservation. Meanwhile, land developers are eying up the territory, causing problems for everyone.
Yellowstone is peak Dad TV, full of tough men making tough decisions against rugged landscapes. But while the show's soap opera-ish tendencies have made it an easy series to overlook, there's no disputing that Yellowstone has struck a chord with viewers, and Costner – already Western royalty thanks to 1990s Dances With Wolves – remains as charismatic as ever. The main show wrapped up last year with its fifth and final season, but the franchise lives on with spin-off prequels 1883 and 1923, as well as a forthcoming sequel, The Madison.
13. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Year: 2022
Seasons: 2
The best of the many recent Star Trek spin-offs is this refreshingly old-school space adventure show. Set a few years before the original 1960s Trek, Strange New Worlds follows the crew of a pre-Captain Kirk USS Enterprise. In the captain's chair is Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), a charming, immaculately coiffed leader who we know will eventually face a terrible fate. Alongside him is Rebecca Romijn as Pike's first officer, nicknamed Number One, and Ethan Peck as a young Spock.
Strange New Worlds mainly trades in one-off episodes, which makes it the easiest Trek to get into for new viewers, but there are also some neat arcs ticking along in the background – such as Pike learning of his seemingly inescapable fate. It's also blessed with a truly lovable central cast. Two seasons are streamable now, with a third run starting later this year.
Unsure where Strange New Worlds sits in relation to Deep Space 9 or The Next Generation? Check out our Star Trek timeline.
12. Cheers
This beloved sitcom is far more than just the show that spawned Frasier. Set in Boston, and focused on the titular basement pub, Cheers was built around the will they/won't they romance between down to earth bartender Sam (Ted Danson) and Diane Chambers' more academically-minded Shelley. They weren't the only great characters though – in fact the pub was stocked full of them, from Nicholas Colasanto's slow-witted Coach, to Rhea Perlman's belligerent cocktail waitress Carla, and Norm (George Wendt), a perennial fixture at the bar.
Cheers ran for 11 seasons and 275 episodes, and remained a remarkably consistent joke machine throughout. It weathered major cast changes – Colasanto passed away suddenly in 1985, while Diane Chambers left the series to pursue a movie career. She was replaced by Kirstie Alley's Rebecca, who stayed till the end of the series. It also introduced the world to a certain neurotic psychiatrist played by Kelsey Grammer – but that's a whole other story...
11. Ghosts UK
Year: 2019
Seasons: 5
This supernatural sitcom has quietly become one of the UK's most beloved TV exports. Cash-strapped couple Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) unexpectedly inherit a crumbling mansion from a previously unknown relative and move in only to find that it is absolutely riddled with ghosts. These specters date from different time periods connected to the house and while they initially try to spook Alison and Mike, they eventually all become firm friends – albeit friends that often bicker and squabble.
Over its five seasons, the BBC version struck the balance between family-friendly silliness, some surprisingly cutting gags, and real emotional heft, with the show never forgetting that loss is at the core of its premise. The US version, which started in 2021, doesn't quite have the same heart, but the strength of the show's premise and a larger cast means that it's still a fun and often inspired watch.
10. The Good Wife
Year: 2009
Seasons: 7
This legal drama followed the life and career of Julianna Margulies' Alicia Florrick, the wife of a State's Attorney caught up in a sex scandal. Initially deciding to stick with her husband while returning to work as a lawyer after more than a decade raising kids, Alicia faces many personal and professional challenges, not least her attraction to Will Gardner (Josh Charles), a partner at the firm she works for.
The Good Wife ran for seven seasons and was never afraid to change things up a little. Alicia's marriage flounders. She embarks on a turbulent relationship with Will, and starts her own law firm, before eventually running for State's Attorney herself. The series was always smart and engaging, mixing real world issues – vote-rigging, gender inequality, and more – with high drama. A sequel series, The Good Fight, followed Christine Baranski's Diane Lockhart, and ran for six seasons.
9. Frasier
Year: 1993
Seasons: 11
Is Frasier the best TV spinoff ever made? It's certainly one of the most successful, running for 11 seasons between 1993 and 2004. Kelsey Grammar reprises his Cheers role as Dr. Frasier Crane, a fussy radio psychiatrist brought down to Earth when he is forced to take in his father Martin, a retired cop played with earthy charm by the late John Mahoney. Also in the mix is Martin's live-in carer Daphne (Jane Leeves), and Niles (David Hyde Pierce), Frasier's even snootier younger brother.
Frasier strikes the perfect balance between sitcom farce and genuine emotion. The relationship between the Crane boys and their father is strained, but loving, while the tentative romance between Daphne and Niles becomes the heart of the show. Frasier relaunched in 2024 for a new series, which ran for two seasons. It's better than its critics might suggest, but doesn't touch the original.
8. RuPaul's Drag Race
Year: 2009
Seasons: 17
The only reality show on this list is this wildly OTT, gloriously camp, and endlessly entertaining competition. Every season the iconic drag queen RuPaul, and a group of judges, pit a group of up and coming queens against each other in a series of challenges, involving makeovers, lip syncs, and more. The contestants are whittled down to just a few finalists who display the most "charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent". until RuPaul declares America's next drag superstar.
Drag Race is a world-conquering phenomenon that has so far run for 17 seasons of the original, and numerous spin-offs. The reason is simple: it's just a huge amount of fun. What started as an enjoyably scrappy and low budget show now has real glitz and glamor, but its cheeky sense of humor remains intact, as does RuPaul's deadpan delivery.
7. The Twilight Zone
Year: 1959
Seasons: 5
There have been many horror and sci-fi anthology shows over the years, but none have made as much of an impact as The Twilight Zone. Created and hosted by screenwriter Rod Serling, The Twilight Zone ran for five game-changing seasons and 156 episodes between 1959 and 1964, with Serling penning many of the episodes himself. Not only was the series a masterclass in how to tell one-and-done stories week-after-week, it was also remarkably consistent. The stories would move from horror to fantasy to sci-fi to comedy, but you were pretty much always guaranteed a rattling good yarn – not to mention a sting in the tale.
Many have tried to replicate the success of the original Twilight Zone – it's been revived no less than three times, but there's no denying that Stirling's original remains the best and a true television landmark.
One of our writers reminisces about two of The Twilight Zone's best episodes.
6. Key & Peele
Year: 2012
Seasons: 5
Before he rebranded himself as the master of smart, subversive and satirical horror films like Get Out and Nope, Jordan Peele was most famous for his work with Keegan-Michael Key. Together, the pair made five seasons of sketch show Key & Peele for Comedy Central, a relentlessly funny shotgun blast of absurdist ideas and social commentary.
Summing up a sketch show is a difficult task, so instead we'll suggest you check out a few specific sketches to get a flavor of the show, all of which are available on the Comedy Central YouTube: the Gremlins 2 brainstorm from season 5, the Obama meet and greet from season 4 (the former US President has even praised Peele's impression of him), and the blisteringly funny pizza order from season 2. Key & Peele's ability to quickly create fully realized characters is unmatched, and their show is a fountain of hilarious ideas.
5. Dexter
Year: 2006
Seasons: 8
This serial killer thriller, inspired by Jeff Lindsay's novel series, has an irresistible premise. Over eight seasons Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) struggles to keep three very different parts of his life separate. To his friends and relatives he is a kind family man. At work he is a forensic technician working with the Miami Police. But by night Dexter is a serial murderer, albeit one with a very specific MO: he only kills killers.
Dexter was an immediate sensation when it launched in 2006, and for its first four seasons it was a remarkably gripping watch. Alas, its final years were less surefooted, leading to an infamously awful final episode. Happily, that was not the end for Dexter. Hall reprised the role in 2021 for Dexter: New Blood, a sequel miniseries that helped clear the original show's name, while another sequel, Dexter: Resurrection, is set to drop later this year.
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation
Choosing the best Star Trek series is hard. The original series remains a science fiction classic, while Deep Space 9 steered the franchise into darker, more morally complex territory. But The Next Generation is our pick for a very simple reason: its impeccable, endlessly endearing cast. Patrick Stewart as the legendary Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Jonathan Frakes as charming first officer Will Riker, Michael Dorn as stout Klingon security officer Worf, Marina Sirtis's empathic councillor Deanna Troi – and on, and on.
A Star Trek show lives and dies by its crew. And while The Next Generation's first two seasons were... uneven, the Starfleet officers of the Enterprise NCC-1701-D made it worth sticking with. That the show underwent an incredible transformation in its third year, and evolved into one of the smartest and most consistently exciting shows on TV, was the cherry on the cake. The Next Generation secured Star Trek's place in sci-fi history, and established a future for the franchise that continues to this day.
3. Colin From Accounts
Year: 2022
Seasons: 2
This Australian comedy has grown into a huge word-of-mouth hit over the last few years. Harriet Dyer plays Ashley Molden and Patrick Brammall is "Flash" (real name Gordon Crapp), two singles who meet and embark on a bumpy relationship. So who is the Colin from the title? That's actually the name of a stray dog that Gordon accidentally runs over in the first episode. The two rush the dog to a vet and are faced with the tough decision of either putting him down or adopting him. They choose the latter and name him Colin "from Accounts Payable, who's working on the big merger."
Colin From Accounts's secret sauce is that it mixes its edgy jokes and spiky banter with deep characterization. Both Ashley and Gordon feel like real, flawed, complicated people. And Colin? Well he's just adorable. A third season is currently in production.
2. Twin Peaks
Year: 1990
Seasons: 2
There's a reason why Twin Peaks remains so beloved, 35 years after it changed the face of TV. Its blend of surreal murder mystery, soap opera, and extra-dimensional horror was groundbreaking, and while it inspired countless imitators, nothing quite compares to David Lynch and Mark Frost's baffling, brilliant series. Peaks brought a more mature style to US television when it first aired in 1990 and became an instant smash hit as audiences around the world longed to discover who murdered homecoming queen Laura Palmer.
Twin Peaks lived fast and died young. Its second season started strong, but once the Palmer mystery had been resolved (against Lynch and Frost's wishes) the show floundered. Still, Lynch made sure it went out in style, giving the show one of TV's greatest endings and a cliffhanger that would pay off 25 years later in the excellent sequel, Twin Peaks: The Return.
1. The Curse
Year: 2023
Seasons: 1
Nathan Fielder follows up the impossibly funny Nathan For You with this brilliant, if absolutely agonizing sort-of-comedy. Whitney (Fielder) and Asher Siegel (Emma Stone) are a married couple who star in a grim reality TV show about a couple who do supposedly good deeds for the people of Española, New Mexico. In truth, they are also trying to boost their own business interests, buying and flipping cheap homes for the maximum amount of money.
Uncut Gems' Benny Safdie co-created, co-wrote and also appears in the series, and some of that film's unrelenting tension is palpable here. But The Curse also feels in many ways like the natural next step of the sort of jaw-dropping mix of cringe comedy and cutting satire that Fielder excelled at in Nathan For You, here taken to new extremes. The Curse is so funny, so devastating, and so original that it feels like nothing else on TV.
For more TV streaming picks, you can read our lists of the best shows on Amazon Prime, the best shows on Disney Plus, and the best shows on Netflix.
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