Best Binge-Worthy TV Shows
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As the holiday hangover persists and hibernation-inducing winter weather crushes parts of the world, now is as good a time as any to catch-up on these binge-worthy television shows. For more on how the binge trend is taking of in-flight, read “Streaming in the Air” in The Education Issue.
Orange is the New Black (2013- )
Number of Seasons: 2
Number of Episodes: 26
Time Need: Approximately 1 day, 23 minutes
Based on the memoir by Piper Kerman, the Netfilx series Orange is the New Black recounts the story of Kerman’s (changed to Chapman for the TV series) year in a women’s prison. In the original Netflix series, Chapman, played by Hollywood new-comer Taylor Schilling, shocks her fiancé (Jason Biggs) and family when she turns herself in for a drug-related crime she committed for an ex-girlfriend ten years before. Although categorized in the “Best TV Series – Musical or Comedy”category at the Golden Globes this year for its comedic elements, Orange has its share of dramatic scenes and we’re pretty sure the cliff hanger endings will have you addicted after episode one!
Sherlock (2010- )
Number of Seasons: 3
Number of Episodes: 9
Time Needed: Approximately 13 hours and 26 minutes
Starring the ever-popular Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, with Martin Freeman – of Bilbo Baggins Hobbit fame – as his trusty sidekick, Watson, the series’ hour-and-a-half long mystery-crime episodes are more like bingeable mini-movies. When Sherlock faces off against his long-time nemesis and arch-villain Moriarty, played delectably by Irish actor Andrew Scott, you’ll be Sherlocked-in, hook-line and sinker.
House of Cards (2013- )
Number of Seasons: 2
Number of Episodes: 26
Time Needed: Approximately 23 hours and 41 minutes
Originally a British mini-series by the BBC that aired back in 1990, it’s easy to see why the American version of House of Cards was adapted by Netflix. Kevin Spacey’s character, Francis Underwood, is a cut-throat and ruthless politician that one might technically despise in real life, but you quickly find yourself rooting for Underwood and tuning in episode after episode to find out if he succeeds in his plan to destroy his allies. Be careful though, once you start you’ll have a hard time waiting for season three, premiering February 27, 2015.
The Wire (2002-2008)
Number of Seasons: 5
Number of Episodes: 60
Time Needed: Approximately 2 days, 11 hours and 26 minutes
Just re-released in 16:9 high definition, there’s no better time than now to indulge in (or re-indulge in) what many, including Anthony Bourdain, and several other critics have described as the greatest TV show of all time. Set in backstreets of Baltimore, the novelistic drama sees flawed cops face off against sophisticated drug-dealing gangs while delving ambitiously into tough issues of class warfare, imperfect public school systems and corrupt political bureaucracy. Dominic West and Idris Elba contribute to the ensemble cast that produces some of television’s greatest characters of all time.
True Detective (2014- )
Number of Seasons: 1
Number of Episodes: 8
Time Needed: Approximately 7 hours and 30 minutes.
If you’ve been swept up by the McConaissance but haven’t yet seen True Detective, then the McConnaissance will gloriously live on for you, unless you’re painfully distracted by his Lincoln commercials, which no one will blame you for. In the first season of the critically acclaimed HBO series, co-billed Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson form a team of mismatched copper sleuths who work a mysterious case on satanic ritual murders in the backwaters of Louisiana.
Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)
Number of Seasons: 4
Number of Episodes: 73
Time Needed: Approximately 2 days, 11 hours and 37 minutes
Sci-fi is so easy to get engulfed in, and when post-apocalyptic war is added to the mix, you’re bound to get viewers imaginations wound tight. The program launched from a 3-hour miniseries and quickly gained notoriety among sci-fi fans before latching onto the minds of the general public. You’ll binge-watch this one for all the regular reasons: love, war, survival, a compelling narrative… and the carrot at the end of the stick is the ever-elusive “Earth,” which the Battlestar crew are desperately trying to find. You won’t be able to wait for the next episode to find out who’s really a human and who’s an enemy Cylon impersonating a human.
Black Mirror (2011- )
Number of Seasons: 3
Number of Episodes: 7
Time Needed: Approximately 5 hours and 48 minutes
This British series swept American audiences away in 2014 after being added to Netflix. Each episode explores a dark and often twisted look into how technology might soon change our lives. You’ll be flattened by the realistic portrayal of future tech, with each stand-alone episode depicting an entirely different plot, cast and setting. Of course this means that some episodes outshine others, but that won’t stop you from quickly consuming all installments over a weekend. As creator Charlie Brooker notes, “If technology is a drug…then what, precisely, are the side effects?” We can tell you that you’ll quickly become addicted to the ideas conveyed in this program, so bingeing is a very probable side effect. And maybe a nightmare or two. Tune in at the three-minute mark above to see the unsettling way the show imagines next-gen airport technology.
To see which of these shows got some love at the 72nd annual Golden Globes, check out our coverage here.