18 Obscure And/Or Underrated TV Shows You Should Watch Instead of Socializing

We thought streaming television was a big thing before a global pandemic hit that caused everyone to stay inside. Well you’ve probably binged everything you’ve been meaning to by now. And it’s easy to get lost in the algorithms when it comes to Netflix and Hulu; it’s constantly recommending the same shows and nothing really interests you. Well I’m here to give you some shows to watch that you might not have heard of or you’ve completely forgotten about. Here are 18 obscure or underrated television shows to watch instead of socializing:

Galavant

This epic musical comedy set in a medieval fairy tale follows Galavant, a dashing hero, as he embarks on a quest to restore his “happily ever after” when he loses Madalena, the love of his life, to King Richard. But... I don’t like musicals. I don’t care, you’ll like this. It’s hysterical and fun in a way that not a lot of shows are these days. King Richard is one of the most hilarious characters to appear on screen in years and you’re missing out if you haven’t watched this one.

Where To Watch: Netflix

Jack & Bobby

This was a one-season masterpiece that’s honestly hard to explain how great it is. The show follows two brothers, Jack and Bobby, as teenagers going through normal teenage things but it’s told with a documentary framing device from far in the future. One of the brothers is destined to be president, one of the brothers dies; you don’t know which. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this ending.

Where To Watch: DailyMotion , Amazon Prime

Everwood

When The WB canceled Everwood, fans rented a ferris wheel and had it set-up outside the studio in an effort to convince execs to save the show. It didn’t work but damn does that show some passion. There aren’t a lot of shows like Everwood anymore, it’s a family drama but the drama is rooted in a place of reality. There are no kidnappings, or aliens, or spies, it’s a family who moves from New York to a small town in Colorado and they’re dealing with it. Also, a teenage Chris Pratt is in it so, there’s that.

Where To Watch: Amazon Prime and IMDbTV

Rome

Maybe you were too young for this when it first aired, maybe you didn’t have HBO at the time, but Rome was a Game of Thrones-level masterpiece all the way back in 2005. Dynamite casting, remarkable storytelling, and an aesthetic that truly takes you back to Roman days this show was too good for its day. It’s a Forrest Gump-esque tale of Roman history as we follow two men who seem to keep finding themselves in the center of grand historical events. You won’t be disappointed.

Where To Watch: HBO

The 100

The 100’s greatest downfall is that it’s on The CW. Occasionally, especially in season one, there are obvious additions to placate the teen audience but as the show grows darker these flourishes of teen drama disappear. The show is a grand scale survivor epic that begins as 100 juvenile delinquents from an Earth space station return to Earth after what they assumed was a planet-ending apocalypse. They soon find that humans have been living and fighting on Earth this whole time. Each season adds more and more complexity and you’d never imagine where they end up. The cast is amazingly capable of carrying such a heavy story and you’re truly rooting for their survival through it all.

Where To Watch: Netflix and The CW

Two Guys and A Girl

Two words: Ryan Reynolds. Not sold yet? Ugh fine. Okay, it also has Nathan Fillion. You need more? Okay, it’s a late 90s sitcom that follows employees at a pizza shop in Chicago while they go to college and eventually graduate. The pizza shop is such a big part of the show it was called Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place for the first two seasons. The two guys and the girl (Michael, Pete, and Sharon) are obviously the center of the show but the ensemble of characters that supports them are perfect too. This is a real hidden gem of the sitcom world and you won’t regret watching young Ryan Reynolds play a med student.

Where To Watch: DailyMotion

Younger

Another show lost to its network — this time TV Land of all places. Younger stars Broadway actress Sutton Foster trying to break her way back into the publishing industry after spending 18 years away raising her daughter. Turns out though that New York publishers aren’t keen on hiring a forty-year-old with no experience so she does what everyone would do: she pretends to be 26. Hilarity and drama ensue as she gets younger friends and a younger boyfriend all while trying to keep up the premise of being in her 20s. It’s wonderful and Sutton Foster perfectly plays both ages believably.

Where To Watch: Hulu and TVLand

Happy Endings

You’ve seen Friends, How I Met Your Mother, and maybe even New Girl but this sitcom surrounding friends is a hidden gem. The show begins as the central couple breaks up during their wedding and try and piece back together their friend group. This show has so many highlight episodes that I don’t even think I could tell you a favorite of mine. One of my favorite things about the show though is the effortless diversity in having a gay man be the slob, the black man be the rich, smart one, and the leading white man be a complete and utter buffoon. Don’t even get me started on how amazing Eliza Coupe is in this.

Where To Watch: Hulu

3rd Rock From The Sun

A lot of you probably just went “Oh I remember that show!” and a lot of you are probably going “Is that Joseph Gordon Levitt?” Yes, yes it is. And he plays the eldest member of a group of aliens assigned to Earth. He’s given the teenage body as it seems to be the most unwieldy. The strong lieutenant is given the body of “the woman” as it clearly requires strength. The idiot is given the idiot body for obvious reasons. And the captain, played by John Lithgow, is given the patriarchal role. They try to assume regular lives but struggle as their understanding of the human race is spotty at best. John Lithgow is a damn genius and his performance in this show is one of the best comedic television performances there is.

Where To Watch: Tubi TV, Sling, Vudu, and DailyMotion.

Graceland

My husband and I once saw a commercial for an unrelated television show that exclaimed “Beautiful People in Dramatic Situations” and we use the phrase frequently to make fun of television shows. However, I have to admit Graceland’s main draw is its beautiful people in dramatic situations. Graceland, though, does it in a way that’s truly enticing. The show follows a group of undercover agents from different agencies (the DEA, the FBI, and ICE) who all live together in a beach house to keep up their cover. It sounds ridiculous but it’s so great and has just the right amount of crime-solving in my opinion.

Where To Watch: Hulu

The Last Kingdom

I think this show may finally be starting to see the light of day but only now that Netflix has bought it after three seasons on the BBC. If you like Game of Thrones and Vikings, I argue this is better. For one, it’s historically accurate (down to King Alfred’s hemorrhoids) and two, their ability to tell a compelling story long-term without dragons is phenomenal. Each fight scene feels life and death and the hero Uhtred makes choices that make him more realistic than most other epic television heroes. There are also a ton of really badass women that make this tale very fun to watch.

Where To Watch: Netflix

Party Down

Party Down is a beautiful, beautiful comedy that got hidden away on Starz and never saw the light it truly deserved. The show follows a catering company full of misfit failed/aspiring actors in Los Angeles. An all-star cast with amazing guest stars each episode (or party) is its own treat and it’s hard for me to pick a favorite. If you’ve ever worked a job you didn’t like with people who are idiots, you will love this one.

Where to Watch: Hulu and Starz

Avatar: The Last Airbender

You may have recently heard that this was on Netflix and you may have also wondered why people in their 20s-30s care about a Nickelodeon cartoon. You may have seen a horrible movie that has nothing to do with this tv show. I’m here to tell you that this show has humor, drama, love, friendship, heroism, darkness, spirituality, and one of the best villain redemption arcs of all time. I don’t like anime, I don’t usually like animated shows, this is a show though I can 100% get behind.

Where to Watch: Netflix

Freaks & Geeks

I could probably just list the cast here and you’d go watch it but it’s so much more than that. Filmed in the 90s it takes place in an 80s high school but doesn’t try and “John Hughes” it over. There are freaks and there are geeks and there’s never going to be a detention that makes them run off with the popular kids. It strives for displaying the normal teenage experience and I’ve never seen a show so perfectly nail it on the head.

P.S. The cast? James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Busy Phillips, Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daly. And written by Judd Apatow and Paul Feig. Just go watch it.

Where to Watch: Vimeo and DailyMotion

Dharma & Greg

This is a cheesy 90s sitcom that is just meant to bring you happiness. There is no darkness, only comically irreverent situations. The show tells the tale of Dharma and, well, Greg who get married on their first date without knowing much about each other. Turns out Greg is a straight-laced lawyer from a family of WASPs and Dharma is a dog masseuse from a family of hippies. Their parents are now forced to interact with one another and things are just so wonderfully funny.

Where to Watch: Hulu

Felicity

J.J. Abrams wrote a teen soap? Yeah, he did. Well, kind of. It’s more of a young adult soap. Unlike a lot of the teen shows like Dawson’s Creek and One Tree Hill focus on the high school years. They often fall apart when the “kids” go off to college and no longer have that central school experience to keep them together. Felicity takes that and simply starts in college and makes that the show’s center from the get-go. Felicity, the girl, follows her high school crush to college and soon finds that not everything turns out wonderfully just because you stalk it. Sorry, the beginning is just a tad cringe-inducing but as she explores college and grows her gang of friends, the show becomes a wonderful watch. Oh, it’s always cringe-inducing, but only because of the era it was made in and you can’t help but long for a time when recording tapes and mailing them was a way of communicating.

Where to Watch: ABC , Amazon Prime

Roswell

ALIENS. AS TEENAGERS. I mean what gets better than that, right? Three teens in Roswell, New Mexico are keeping the secret that they’re not from this planet. They don’t know much else though as they were left on Earth as babies with no further information. Amazing drama unfolds as they explore inter-species dating issues all while trying to maintain their cover. Also, Max and Liz are one of the great television love stories you’re missing out on.

Where to Watch: Hulu

Jericho

Feeling isolated? Not compared to the people in this show. After a nuclear attack on 23 American cities the citizen of the small town of Jericho, Kansas attempts to survive and figure out what life is like when you’re on your own. Skeet Ulrich carries the show and he does a great job capturing the panic and uncertainty that would come after the apocalypse.

Where to Watch: Netflix and CBS All Access

Other Space

Another show lost to its hidden network this time Yahoo Screen. You don’t know what that is? Exactly. Yahoo tried its hand at a streaming service in 2015 and Other Space was one of the first original shows they released. Think Galaxy Quest as a TV show and you’ll get close to what this show is. A new captain is assigned his bossy older sister as a first officer and hilarity ensues as they become trapped in an unknown universe. The crew is a perfect assortment of oddness and comedy and it’s a shame this show didn’t last longer.

Where to Watch: Yahoo Entertainment