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We all want to get swallowed up by a show sometimes. To be so entirely swept away and lost in a story, that we don't look up till it's over. We often seek those TV shows that are addictive, either because of how intense they are or because they give you the warm fuzzies. So whether it's an easy, light watch you're after, a lavish escapist spectacle, heart-stopping mystery, or feel-good comedy, we've got you covered.
Here's our list of 10 of the most binge-able shows you can speed through and devour in a day.
Streaming On: Disney+ Hotstar Premium
Disney Plus' flagship show exceeded expectations as Jon Favreau gave us one of the best Star Wars stories in recent memory. The Pedro Pascal-starring space Western offers the scale of any Star Wars movie, but doesn't require you to know much backstory. It's accessible to hardcore fans and newcomers alike.
Across eight, hour-long chapters, each episode is a new adventure with an overarching story which offers fantastically well-executed, escapist fun. And, of course, nothing could have prepared the world for its standout star, Baby Yoda, who stole hearts and birthed countless memes. Baby Yoda alone worth the hours of watching.
Streaming On: Netflix
There's arguably no show that has binge-watching built into its DNA quite like Stranger Things. Netflix's smash hit series plays out like smaller parts of one larger whole instead of isolated episodes, which is the very thing that makes it impossible to avoid that cursed 'Next Episode' button. A great blend of sci-fi adventure, coming of age and, of course, big scary monsters, Stranger Things is some of the most fun you'll have watching a series. Not to mention permanently adding terms like 'the upside down', 'mind-flare' and 'Demogorgon' to your vocabulary. While there are three seasons out so far, you could easily get through a season a day.
Streaming On: Amazon Prime Video
The Looming Tower is a Zero Dark Thirty-esque grim yet gripping mini-series about the events leading up to September 11th, and how key intelligence got lost in ongoing clashes between the CIA and FBI. With a fantastic cast that includes Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg and Tahar Rahim, the series followed the agents heading intelligence gathering and how all the pieces were there, they just didn't come together in time to stop an atrocity. The 10-episode drama explores the messy intersection between politics, bureaucracy and the intelligence gathering community in a way that's lively, powerful and accessible.
Streaming On: Disney+ Hotstar Premium
Few shows epitomise the era of peak TV quite like Big Little Lies. The addictive series uses a whodunnit to explore the personal lives of five women and their families in a rich California society. While season 2 didn't quite live up to the hype, season 1 one still makes for a fantastic standalone watch which you can get through in one emotionally taxing yet deeply rewarding day.
Streaming On: Disney+ Hotstar Premium
With his HBO miniseries Watchmen, Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof didn't just bring to life one of the greatest, most politically-charged graphic novels of all time, he adapted it and updated it for the times. Not only is his Watchmen a spiritual sequel to Alan Moore's acclaimed novel, but it's also a powerful meditation on race relations, white supremacy and police brutality in the US. Watchmen is a blistering achievement which is as much an unabashed superhero show as it is a scathing commentary on the very idea of superheroes and the state of America today. It's only 12 unforgettable episodes, which are all just as fantastical, twisty and cerebral as each other.
Streaming On: Disney+ Hotstar Premium
The first season of Nick Pizzolatto and Cary Fukunaga's engrossing anthology is one of the most celebrated miniseries of all time and with good reason. True Detective's greatest achievement is how it uses an absorbing murder mystery spanning twenty years to explore the complicated relationship between the two troubled men tasked with investigating it. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson's winning chemistry gave new meaning to the term bromance. And not only did Rust Cohle set in motion McConaughey's McConaissance, but he also remains one of the most memorable and quotable TV characters of all time. At only 7 episodes True Detective is one of the best prestige dramas to devour in a day.
Streaming On: Netflix
The word 'bingeable' has come to be associated with shows that have twists and cliffhangers. But not enough is said of those that are calming. Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories is a wonderful look at humanity, connection and how food brings people together. A fatherly figure runs a midnight diner, and every night different people come in with their stories, conflicts and issues on love, career and family. But none of the stories are looking to preach or even absorb you. Instead they calmly unfold before you. At 12 episodes that are 30 minutes each, this is a deceptively relaxing viewing experience which has lots to offer beneath the surface.
Streaming On: Amazon Prime Video
While the Indian streaming space continues to find its footing, it has given us a number of big winners that are on par with any great show overseas. Of those, none of them is quite as well-executed, entertaining, unique and straight-up bingeable as Raj And DK's The Family Man.
An odd but brilliant show that's tough to put in a box, it's as much about intimate moments of marriage and family and the struggles of the common man as it is about badass action and thwarting global terror threats. Led by a show-stopping Manoj Bajpayee, The Family Man will make you laugh, get your heart racing, have you on the edge of your seat, cry and introspect all in the span of 10 hour-long triumphant episodes.
Streaming On; Amazon Prime Video
Arguably no TV show has managed to make as much of a cultural impact as Fleabag, despite having only two seasons of 6 episodes each. As funny as it is painful and complex, Phoebe Waller Bridge's series is a hilarious and poignant window into the world of a quick-witted woman dealing with loss. If the first season is about pain, the second is about healing, hope and…hot priests. You can experience the entirety of Fleabag in a day. And what a day it would be.
Streaming On: Netflix
Easily Marvel's best TV show, Daredevil follows the blind lawyer by day and Hell's Kitchen vigilante by night. Yes, it's about superheroes, but Daredevil gives us a humanized, vulnerable, and a complex central figure grappling with the toll of pursuing justice. Daredevil isn't just about getting the bad guys and saving the day, it's about the price you pay for saving every day. But that's not to say it isn't chalked full of terrific fight sequences, with all the back alley brawls and rooftop rumbles you could ask for. Later seasons of the show didn't land quite as well but season 1 makes for a great standalone watch.