The Best TV Shows on Stan You Need to Watch ASAP

Nights in have never looked so good, thanks to the neverending catalogue of binge-worthy shows on streaming services. From local comedies to big budget American dramas, start with our picks for the best TV shows on Stan and you’ll never be short of a thing to watch, ever again.

Normal People

The highly anticipated screen adaptation of Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel is every bit as heart-rending as the source material. The tender, complicated relationship between sensitive Irish youngsters Marianne and Connell is rendered in exquisite detail, with brilliant lead performances that make the pair’s misunderstandings and longings feel as real as your own. 

One season, 12 episodes

Call the Midwife

This lovable BBC drama has captivated audiences for nine seasons with its intimate insight into the world of midwifery. Set in 1950s London, it follows the newly qualified Jenny as she joins an eccentric community of nuns, from the formidable Sister Evangelina to the quirky Sister Monica Joan. They force deep friendships while treating women against the backdrop of historical events and emerging issues such as interracial marriage, abortion, LGBT rights and contraception. 

Seven seasons, 60 episodes

Vida

A death in the family forces estranged Mexican-American sisters Lyn and Emma to head home to their old neighbourhood in East LA and reconnect. As you can expect drama ensues, from the uncovering of family secrets to the reopening of old emotional scars. Be prepared to laugh and cry, in equal measure.

Three seasons, 19 episodes with new ones released weekly

Killing Eve

The first season of Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s other smash hit is currently on Stan, and it’s the perfect dose of escapism for your nights in. This dark comedic thriller sees Sandra Oh play a beleaguered MI5 operative engaged in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a kooky yet brutal female assassin. The two form a mutual obsession as they chase each other around the world.

Three seasons, 24 episodes

The Bold Type

Providing viewers with an insight into the publishing world, The Bold Type follows the lives, loves and careers of three young women navigating the corporate ladder.

Four seasons, 40 episodes

Breaking Bad

The ultimate binge-fest, Breaking Bad is one of – if not the most – celebrated shows of all time, solidifying its place as one of the best TV shows. And possibly the most addictive. It follows Walter White, a high-school chemistry teacher, who after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, decides to put his science skills to extracurricular use – because every great business venture starts off with a crystal meth lab on wheels. And with a Breaking Bad movie on the horizon, there’s every reason to go in for round two. 

Five seasons, 62 episodes

Billions

If you’re a Wolf of Wall Street fan, then Billions will be the best TV show for you. Featuring a stellar cast, this complex drama tells a story of power politics in the cut-throat world of New York finance. Award-winning actors Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis (Homeland) go head-to-head in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. In a battle of power and influence, there’s only space for one winner, and that winner will take it all.

Five seasons, 48 episodes

The Good Fight

This spinoff of hit legal drama The Good Wife is every bit as intelligent as its predecessor. Picking up a year after the events of the finale, fierce feminist lawyer Diane Lockhart loses her savings and her reputation in an enormous financial scam. Forced to rebuild, she signs on as a junior lawyer at a prestigious African American–owned firm making waves by taking on police brutality cases. The show takes on many topical issues, including the Me Too movement, online harassment and fake news.

Three seasons, 33 episodes

The Handmaid’s Tale

Based on Margaret Atwood’s 1986 best-selling feminist book, The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian story that details a near-future totalitarian America, where women are forced to live as concubines under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship. It’s a hard watch – gruesome in fact – but the story is such a thought-provoking masterpiece, with an impeccable performance from Elisabeth Moss, you’ll be completely transfixed with every episode. 

Season 1-4 available

The Baker and the Beauty

This sweet and spicy rom-com is just the tonic we need from our everyday lives. A Miami-set adaptation of a smash hit Israeli show, in The Baker and the Beauty follows a blue-collar baker and a glamourous international superstar as they fall into a relationship after a chance encounter. Their chemistry is undeniable but the unlikely couple must first survive clashes of culture, class and family, with hilarious results. 

One season, Nine episodes

Everything’s Gonna Be Okay

If you laughed, cried and danced your way through Please Like Me, you can expect more of the same in Josh Thomas’s heartwarming new show Everything’s Gonna Be Okay. He plays Nicholas, the well-meaning if ill-equipped Aussie half brother to two American teenage sisters who come under his care after the death of their father. Together they navigate grief, parenthood, autism and budding sexuality, one awkward conversation at a time, as they build their family anew.

Two seasons, 20 episodes

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist

What would you do if you knew everyone's innermost thoughts and desires? Well, watch Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist to see what computer coder Zoey Clarke does with the curse/gift. We can guarantee it includes killer tunes, epic dance sequences and hilarity.

Two seasons, 25 episodes

Younger

When 40-year-old single mum Liza tries to step back into the publishing industry, no one will hire her – until she gets the bright idea to pretend she’s 26. As a result, she bags herself a dream job at a top agency, an even dreamier tattoo artist boyfriend, and a bunch of millennial friends and colleagues who think she’s on the same wavelength. But keeping it a secret proves more difficult than she bargained for. 

Seven seasons, 84 episodes

The Mighty Boosh

An oldie but a classic, this cult British comedy starring Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, follows the surreal adventures of zoo-keepers Vince Noir and Howard Moon, along with fellow zoo pals Naboo, Bob Fossil and Bollo the talking ape. 

Three seasons, 21 episodes

Seinfeld

One of the biggest, most successful and best TV shows ever made. Seinfeld gave way to a whole new landscape of TV watching. Famously coined “the show about nothing”, this quick-witted sitcom follows a stand-up comedian and his group of self-absorbed, eccentric single friends, who struggle – very comically – to deal with the quirks of every day New York City life. 

Nine seasons, 180 episodes

Masters of Sex

Come for the gorgeous 50s fashion, stay for the compelling portrayal of a singularly fascinating couple. Masters of Sex follows real-life pioneers in the science of sex, William Masters and Virginia Johnson, as their research takes them from humble beginnings to fame, fortune and the cover of Time Magazine. Anchored by top-notch performances from Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan, the story of mid-century America’s sexual naïveté is told with humour and sophistication.

Four seasons, 46 episodes

The Tudors

Before they became Superman and Margaery Tyrell, Henry Cavill and Natalie Dormer joined Jonathan Rhys Meyers in this sizzling period drama about the early years of King Henry VIII's reign. Treachery and passion collide in one of history’s most intriguing chapters, with marriages, alliances and political subterfuges rendered in sumptuous sets and costumes.

Four seasons, 38 episodes

RuPaul’s Drag Race

If you’ve never watched RuPaul’s Drag Race, you’re in for a wild ride. This cult-fave reality hit has introduced us to countless drag queen superstars, each week putting them forward to compete in creative challenges that result in hilarity and fabulousness in equal measure. It’s more than just epic fashions though, with inspiration, drama and more than a good dose of emotion all part of the journey to finding America’s Next Drag Superstar.

And better still, they have just finished up the first-ever Aussie season with RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under. Not to throw shade, but you're best sticking to the US seasons. And that's the Tea.

13 seasons, 157 episodes

The Hills

Before Keeping Up With the Kardashians there was The Hills, from the OG era of not-so-reality series that had us ogling the lives of the privileged and beautiful. The show chronicles Lauren Conrad’s move from Laguna Beach to LA for an internship at Teen Vogue, as she and her well-off group of friends navigate the ups and downs of friendship, careers and romance.

Six seasons, 102 episodes

City on a Hill

Produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, this fictional account of the “Boston Miracle” is centered around an African-American District Attorney based in Brooklyn, who forms a surprising alliance with a hardened Boston FBI veteran, as the two fight for change in the city’s criminal justice system.

Two seasons, 18 episodes

Hannibal

In this deeply twisted yet blackly funny re-imagining of the Hannibal Lecter tales, Hannibal (played by Mads Mikkelsen) is instead, a much younger and suaver version of himself. He still has a fondness for murder and cannibalism, but he generally manages to pin his crimes on other people. Or he just eats them. He’s so convincing that even criminal investigator Will Graham falls under his charm. He invites the gifted shrink to assist him in his criminal investigations, but it becomes slowly apparent that Lecter’s brilliant mind has gone over to the dark side. 

Three seasons, 39 episodes

Once you’ve conquered the best TV Shows on Stan, stay entertained with these addictive podcasts and thought-provoking documentaries, or flex your creative muscles with these Pinterest DIY projects and healthy food ideas.