The only thing better than having a weekend jam-packed with all sorts of exciting plans is having a weekend with no plans at all—especially if it means you can dedicate a blissful 72-plus hours to hopping on the couch, firing up your favorite streaming machine, and testing your own torpidity. Rather than rewatch Breaking Bad for the 37th time this weekend, or start a months-long catch-up on all 456 hours of Law & Order you missed, why not try setting your sights on an actual achievement: watching a television series in its entirety. Whether it’s a cancelled-too-soon gem or a British series that understands that two seasons can be just as satisfying as 20, here are 10 fantastic TV shows you can consume whole in one weekend—no waiting for “next season” required.
Freaks and Geeks
Paul Feig’s coming-of-age-in-the-1980s single-season sitcom has become the model for “brilliant but cancelled” TV shows. A slew of soon-to-be stars—including Seth Rogen, Linda Cardellini, Martin Starr, James Franco, Jason Segel, Busy Philipps, and Spider-Man: Homecoming screenwriter John Francis Daley—navigate the challenges of high school with what might be the most honest, awkward, funny, and painfully authentic portrait of adolescence ever seen on TV. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be glad you never owned a Parisian night suit.
Time Requirement: 13.5 hours
Where to Stream It: Netflix
Detectorists
Time Requirement: 7.5 hours
Where to Stream It: Netflix, Hulu
American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson
Time Requirement: 10 hours
Where to Stream It: Hulu
Firefly[#video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/mEx6UpiIKM4 Much like Freaks and Geeks, Joss Whedon’s Firefly—a space Western that ran for the 2002-2003 season—is one of the first titles that’s likely to be mentioned when the topic of TV shows that were canceled too soon is brought up. Nathan Fillion leads the cast in charm as Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds, the leader of a renegade crew aboard the Serenity spacecraft who, following the decimation of Earth’s resources (the show takes place 500 years in the future) must find ways to survive in outer space, be it via legal or illegal means. If it’s been a while since you’ve seen the series, it’s worth revisiting; if you’ve never seen it, you’d better do it now and be prepared should it ever get the reboot that audiences have spent the past 15 years begging for. Time Requirement: 11.5 hours Where to Stream It: Hulu
Eastbound & Down[#video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/bKsij5MogIA&t=27s Danny McBride has built a career on playing assholes. And Kenny Powers, the former pro baseball pitcher he played for four seasons of Eastbound & Down, might just be the biggest asshole of them all. That’s a compliment. And a boon for fans of offensive comedy, who get to witness the dark side of fame as Powers falls from grace and desperately tries to mount a comeback—then another one, and yet another—at any cost. And it’s not just a one-note joke: the storyline undergoes a dramatic shift from one season to the next as Powers sacrifices everything he has and loves (as much as a narcissist can love) to chase the high that fame brings him.
Time Requirement: 14.5 hours
Where to Stream It: Amazon Prime, HBO Go
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