5 long-running shows you can actually binge in a month

Streaming binges come in different forms. Sometimes you want a show that you can complete in one sitting or over the weekend. It is usually a limited series or a single-season show with eight episodes or fewer. I enjoy watching these shows when I can’t commit to something with multiple seasons.

However, there are occasions when I want a long-running show that I can sink my teeth into and watch for a month. I always have a list of shows I’ve been meaning to stream but never find the time to watch them. Now’s your chance to cross one of these shows off your list. I respect people who can go through 10+ seasons in a month, even if it’s a daunting task. Five to eight seasons is much more manageable.

Honestly, you don’t need my advice on Pantheon shows, like The Sopranos, The thread, Mad Men, Break the badAnd The office. I have six other long-form shows that you can finish in a month.

Brooklyn nine-nine

A police procedural with a comic twist

When I think of police procedurals, I think of serious dramas like NYPD Blue, Homicide: Life on the StreetsAnd Chicago Police Michael Shur, who wrote episodes of The office and co-created Parks and Recreationinjected his style of workplace comedy into a cop show in Brooklyn nine-nine. After his passage SNLAndy Samberg plays Jake Peralta, a talented but juvenile detective at the NYPD’s 99th Precinct in Brooklyn.

Jake will experience a rude awakening with the arrival of Captain Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher), who has a more pragmatic and serious attitude towards police work. The yin and yang nature of Samberg as the lovable goof and Braugher as the deadpan captain works perfectly. You can go through 153 episodes with a duration of 21 minutes. The Backstreet Boys’ cold open in Season 5 remains the show’s crowning achievement.

Brooklyn nine-nine

Release date

2013 – 2021-00-00

Network

NBC, FOX

Showrunner

Michael Schur, Dan Goor

Friday Night Lights

God, Family and High School Family

Say it with me: clear eyes, full heart, I can’t lose. I got chills watching this speech from coach Eric Taylor at Friday Night Lights pilot. Following the success of the film, Peter Berg developed Friday Night Lights in a television show that ran for 76 episodes over five seasons. The show features one of the best pilots of the 21st century: a perfect episode of television that will have you captivated from the start.

While it takes place in the world of high school football, Friday Night Lights is more focused on the characters and their motivations off the field, including Coach Taylor (Eric Taylor), Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford), and Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch). This show has aged so well that some consider it one of the greatest of all time. ​​​​​​​

Surroundings

Baby brother!

If you caught Surroundings at the right age (12-35) in the mid-2000s, this is probably one of your favorite comedies. Once Vincent Chase and the boys cruise down the Sunset Strip during the opening credits, you don’t move for the foreseeable future. The titular entourage includes actor Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier); Eric “E” Murphy (Kevin Connolly), Vince’s best friend and manager; Johnny “Drama” Chase (Kevin Dillon), Vince’s older brother and struggling actor; and Salvatore “Turtle” Assante (Jerry Ferrara), Vince’s other friend.

The quartet are all trying to make it in Hollywood, one way or another. Most of the team rides Vince’s coattails, but by the end of the show, the boys are blazing their own trail. Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), Vince’s hot-headed agent, tries to keep them out of trouble and becomes the funniest character on the show. The show has 96 episodes lasting between 20 and 35 minutes. I actually finished this binge in four weeks. It’s an addictive comedy that starts hot, loses its way, and ends strong. Victory!​​​​​​​

Nurse Jackie

Carmela Soprano goes to the hospital

Edie Falco is television royalty due to her portrayal of Carmela Soprano in The Sopranos. Where in the world to go after starring in one of TV’s most iconic shows? Well, you change gender and head to the hospital. Falco donned his blouse to play the lead role in Nurse Jackiea Showtime comedy-drama that ran for 80 episodes over seven seasons.

Jackie Peyton (Falco) works in the emergency room at All Saints Hospital in New York. Jackie is what we call a patient’s best friend because she will move heaven and earth to care for those in need, even if she has to find faults along the way. Jackie isn’t perfect, however, as she struggles with an addiction to painkillers. It may sound like a tragic story, and the show doesn’t shy away from depicting addiction. It’s very clever and, above all, funny, proving that Falco is an all-time television great. ​​​​​​​

Nurse Jackie

Release date

2009 – 00/00/2015

Network

Show time

Showrunner

Liz Brixius

Yellow stone

The Dutton Empire begins

When Yellow stone Originally premiered in 2018, it attracted a decent following. Kevin Costner, a movie star, headlining a TV show on cable television, was significant. It is a western soap opera about the Dutton family and their fight to protect the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. This is the kind of show that would have thrived on any of the major networks in the 1980s and 1990s.

COVID-19 happened and this show exploded in popularity. I’m talking about the most watched scripted show on cable in recent seasons. All 53 episodes can be streamed on Peacock, not Paramount+. You can watch Taylor Sheridan’s other shows on Paramount+, but Yellow stone lives on Peacock due to a licensing deal signed before the series took off. I bet Paramount wants to do this deal again.

Yellow stone

Release date

2018 – 2024

Network

Primordial Network

Showrunner

Taylor Sheridan

More shows to stream

The five shows mentioned above have finished streaming. If you’re looking for new shows, check out Euphoria season 3 on HBO Max and The boys season 5 on Prime Video. For basketball fans, discover Made for Marcha Paramount+ documentary about the 2026 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.