Looking for something to binge-watch on NOW TV? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
If you’re trying to fill the void while waiting for new episodes of Grand Designs and The Great Pottery Throw Down (just me, then?), then why not give one of the following shows a watch on NOW TV? For TV fiends in the UK, it’s one of the streaming sites where you can watch Sky Originals if you don’t have Sky Go, and watch all those U.S. boxsets and series from HBO and Hulu.
We’ve picked 10 series you should watch if you’ve got NOW TV and need something buzzy or classic to watch. We’ve got something for everyone — be it oldies but goodies or fresh new content to feast your eyes on. Put the telly on and dive right in….
Suzie Pickles (Billie Piper) and Naomi Jones (Leila Farzad) in “I Hate Suzie.”
Image: Sky
Created by Billie Piper and Lucy Prebbles, I Hate Suzie is a topical British drama-comedy that sees Piper in the titular role as Suzie Pickles. When Suzie’s phone is hacked, and intimate photos of her are leaked, Suzie’s world begins to unravel — her personal life implodes, her marriage comes under strain, and her career takes a downward dive.
Intimate image abuse is a topic that doesn’t often get the attention it deserves in pop culture, but Piper and Prebbles tackle it with aplomb. This is the pair’s second collaboration — they first worked together on Secret Diary of a Call Girl in 2007. The story is structured around the stages of trauma and grief and each episode aims to tackle a different stage.
Where to watch: NOW TV
Hunter Schafer and Zendaya in “Euphoria.”
Image: HBO
Being a teenager might be a distant, rather-forgotten memory for most of us, but Euphoria brings a much more grown-up spin on teenage life. Sam Levinson’s HBO series follows a group of teenagers as they navigate sex, friendship, trauma, drugs, and identity. Zendaya plays Rue, who’s a recovering addict trying to figure out who she is. Hunter Schafer stars as Jules, who is a kindred spirit to Rue, and the pair of them rapidly become inseparable. Barbie Ferreira as Kat Hernandez, whose storyline delves into how she explores her body and sexuality. For those desperately awaiting Season 2, it’s coming Jan. 25, but there are two special episodes to tide you over until then.
Where to watch: NOW TV
Jeremy Strong and Sarah Snook in “Succession.”
Image: HBO
Your family squabbles pale in comparison to that of the Roy family, owners of media conglomerate Waystar Royco. In Succession, Brian Cox stars as terrifying hotheaded patriarch Logan Roy, with Kieran Culkin playing Roman, his largely useless but very witty son, Sarah Snook playing his smart and scathing daughter Siobhan aka “Shiv”. Jeremy Strong plays Kendall, a sometimes-loyal, sometimes betrayer-in-chief elder son. Cold blooded betrayal, naked ambition, and dark humour are in abundance in this bingeable comedic thriller.
Where to watch: NOW TV
Regina King as Detective Angela Abar aka Sister Night in “Watchmen.”
Image: HBO
Based on the 1986 DC Comics by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen is a superhero drama that hinges around racist violence in Tulsa, Oklahoma, starring Regina King, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Jeremy Irons. The show “is a hard-hitting and thoughtful meditation on institutional authority, racism, and America’s failure to address white supremacist violence,” wrote Mashable’s Alexis Nedd. “Watchmen centers Black trauma in a way few other shows have and follows the inherited pain of Black Americans through decades of oppression.”
Where to watch: NOW TV
Anna and Maya: friends forever.
Image: Lara Solanki / Hulu
Secondary school is an era of our lives many of us would sooner forget. Created by stars Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle, along with Sam Zvibleman, PEN15 leans hard into the cringeness of middle school life, telling the story of two 13-year-old social outcasts. The show delves into exactly what many of us remember teenage life being about — crushes, popularity (or lack thereof) masturbation, friendship, and much more.
Where to watch: NOW TV
6. The Wire
Haven’t yet watched “The Wire”?
Image: Paul Schiraldi Photography
David Simon’s sprawling 2000s crime epic about the Baltimore drug war is about as near-perfect as TV can get. The drama unfolds from the perspectives of both the gangsters and the police, bringing together a huge cast of memorable characters and sparking the careers of actors like Idris Elba and Dominic West. With five seasons that each focus on different aspects of a damaged city, The Wire‘s impressive scope set a new bar for just how ambitious TV could be. And with lines and scenes that are still being quoted years later, that ambition clearly paid off. – Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor
Where to watch: NOW TV
7. The Sopranos
Three Sopranos: Tony (James Gandolfini), Carmela (Edie Falco), and Anthony Jr. (Robert Iler).
Image: WILL HART / HBO
Allow your favourite waste management professional Tony Soprano to keep you company during lockdown. The Sopranos really needs no introduction, but just in case you’re not familiar with this slice of the entertainment canon, here’s what you need to know. Created by David Chase, The Sopranos explores the life of Tony Soprano, the leader of a criminal organisation in New Jersey, as he encounters difficulties with his mental wellbeing, and issues with his family life. God-level television. You’d be hard pressed to find a better series to watch.
Where to watch: NOW TV
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It’s the role Riz Ahmed made Emmys history for, so if you haven’t seen The Night Of, move it to the top of your list. Based on Peter Moffat’s acclaimed 2008 British series Criminal Justice (which starred Ben Whishaw), this excellent HBO show was written by The Color of Money’s Richard Price and Schindler’s List’s Steve Zaillian.
Without telling you too much about the plot (because not knowing anything is key), Ahmed leads this compelling New York crime drama as Nasir Khan, a young man who is arrested after a night out for a crime he can’t remember committing. The Night Of is a thrilling and perplexing mystery combined with a stark look at a corrupt and ineffectual criminal justice system, a bureaucratic nightmare fuelled by systemic racism. Though the show aired in 2016, it’s still infuriatingly relevant.
The strength of The Night Of rests on the show’s expertly paced pursuit of the truth, and powerful performances from the cast — Ahmed shines alongside an impeccable John Turturro (The Sopranos star James Gandolfini was originally set to star in Turturro’s role as Nasir’s lawyer, John Stone, before his death in 2013) and an intense Michael K. Williams. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
Where to watch: NOW TV
Idris Elba stars alongside Bill Bailey in his comedy series “In the Long Run.”
Image: sky
Created by Idris Elba, In The Long Run is a comedy drama based on the Wire and Luther star’s childhood, set in 1980s east London. Elba plays Walter Easmon and Bill Bailey (aka recent Strictly Come Dancing champion) takes the role of Terence ‘Bagpipes’ De La Croix, Walter’s best mate.
“I wanted to make it a comedy because I wanted to try my hand at comedy — doing a comedic role, at which I fail miserably!” Elba told Mashable when the show was released in 2018. “But that said it felt too heavy to be a drama; it felt like there was a statement to be made if we did a drama and we didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to focus on racism from a point of view of like, ‘Oh my God, this is what it was like in the ’80s’.
“So we wanted to take a comedic stance, and like I said selfishly I wanted to… I wanted to be in Only Fools and Horses, you know what I mean, I just never got the audition.”
Where to watch: NOW TV
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As the title suggests, Chernobyl tells the story of the nuclear accident that happened in 1986 in Pripyat, in the Ukrainian SSR. Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, and Emily Watson star in this high stress historical drama. Prepare for edge-of-your-seat, knee trembling suspense and tension. However, if you’re looking for escapism from the terrible events going on in the world right now, I wouldn’t recommend this.
Where to watch: NOW TV