Which TV show should you watch next? These websites and apps will help you quickly find the best TV series to stream or binge-watch based on your interests.
As events force us to spend an inordinate amount of time at home, we all seek solace on the TV. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+ and other streaming services have so many great TV shows to offer, it's difficult to choose what to watch.
So we rounded up a different way to find the best TV series for you. A few apps recommend new shows, but there are others that recommend old ones, and even make rewatching your favorites more fun.
From lists to random and ranked episodes, get ready for wholly unproductive but entertaining times.
1. Flixi (Android, iOS): AI That Predicts What You'll Rate a Show
Flixi is a gorgeous movie and TV series recommendation app for mobiles. Like with many such apps, you need to first set up what you like and dislike. In a Tinder-like interface, add a rating for a TV show, swipe right to save or bookmark it for later, and swipe left to remove it for three weeks.
Once you've rated 25 different series on a scale of one to ten, Flixi's AI kicks in. Instead of simple "recommendations", it predicts what you would rate other shows. So when a friend tells you that you must watch something, you can search for it on Flixi and find out what you're likely to rate it. Cool, eh?
Jump to Flixi's "discover" section to get a ton of random recommendations and lists. In one pane, you'll see what's airing this week, trending, shows that have recently ended, and new and popular series in your preferred genres. You can also track shows in Flixi and get reminders when new episodes are available.
Flixi also lets you choose which streaming services you subscribe to. It works with catalogs across the world, not just USA. The whole package is put together in a gorgeous interface that makes this a must-have app for those who love their TV shows.
Download: Flixi for Android | iOS (Free)
2. Episode Generator (Web) and TV Randshow (Android): Watch a Random Episode of Favorite Shows
In these stressful times when you're encountering something new every day, you want the comfort of familiarity. Rewatch an episode or two of your favorite TV series, it's a great stressbuster. And these two apps will help you pick which episode to watch.
Episode Generator has a catalog of several popular sitcoms, procedural TV shows, and award-winning series. Check where you can stream a series and click it in the catalog. The website will instantly generate a random episode, with a short description.
TV Randshow asks you to add any series as your favorites. Tap a series to similarly get a random episode with a short synopsis. TV Randshow has a wider catalog as it lets you add any show from the massive TMDB database. In both tools, you can generate another random episode with a click or a tap.
It's a bit like getting the old TV experience when you would switch to a channel to find that one of your favorite series is on air. And just for a while, you could sit back and forget about your worries while having a good time with a series you're familiar with.
Download: TV Randshow for Android (Free)
3. Show Skimmer (Web): Find the Best Episodes of Any Show
"Give it a few episodes, it gets better later." How many times have you heard that? Not every show or series is good from the first episode. But it can be brilliant later. When a friend or an app recommends a series, do your research at Show Skimmer.
This website will give you a list of the top five or top ten episodes of any series (which had at least 35 episodes). The episodes are listed in chronological order since that's the best way to view it. You can also sort the list by rating, of course. Show Skimmer doesn't specify which sources it uses, but it's probably some of the oft-used ones like TVDB, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, etc.
So you can use Show Skimmer on a show you already love to find its top-ranked episodes and rewatch them. Or you can skip ahead to the best episodes of a procedural TV series. Or you can figure out how many episodes you need to give a friend's recommendation before you stay on it or quit.
4. No-Brainer Watchlist (Web): Trello-Like Board to Pick by Genre, Year, and Ratings
No-Brainer Watchlist sports an interface that organized minds will love. The web app has three columns: Suggested, Picked, and Watched. Like Trello or any other Kanban board, move your selections between the three.
There's a drop-down arrow next to Suggested, which you use to filter your choices. Choose TV Series (or movies, or both), when it was aired, if it's available to stream, and whether you want to group the suggestions by year.
You also need to pick a minimum rating for IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes. But the biggest filter is by genre, where your multiple selections define what you want and what you don't want.
The option to exclude certain genres is unique and amazing and will help you get recommendations you want.
Once No-Brainer Watchlist brings you the list, drag-and-drop any interesting choice into the other columns. If you hover over any title, you'll get its synopsis and ratings. Each TV series also indicates how many seasons it has through a small number next to the title in the list itself.
5. Ranker Watchworthy (Web): What to Watch If You Love...
Ranker is famous for its collection of "best of" lists and challenges, which in itself will give you several recommendations. But its new Watchworthy section is particularly good if you're looking for TV series recommendations based on a show you love.
Here's how it works. Browse or search for a series in Watchworthy and you'll likely find a "What to watch if you love" article. The article lays down a few rules about how to vote and a brief write-up. After that follows a list, which readers vote on. That's where you'll find some off-beat recommendations and suggestions.
You'll get a big poster of the show, a brief synopsis, and how people voted for it. If the series is part of other lists on Ranker, you'll see links to those too. The "Where to Watch" section gives you quick links if it is available to stream or rent.
Watchworthy is packed with such articles for new and old series, so you're bound to find something that you're in the mood for.
More Ways to Find TV Series to Binge Watch
Oh, you thought we were done? We're not even close. The internet is packed to the brim with people, apps, and websites recommending TV series to watch. It's all about finding one that works best for you.
For example, I like going back to Goodviews.TV, which offers charts and analytics for TV shows. You'll find what's trending on Twitter or Reddit, web searches, or even torrents. It's like a Billboard chart for TV series. And it's only one of the cool ways to find TV series to binge watch next.