The following article is long — but you have time. Where do you have to go?
Chances are, if you are reading this, you have time to kill. And, you are probably stuck at home as the world fights the coronavirus.
Which means, you are looking for (or will be looking for) something to stream.
Streaming services have never been more important to daily life, as the ubiquitous sources of nearly endless entertainment are the only option for many people who are self-quarantined while working from home (or worse, out of work).
We are here to help. In true March Madness style — because if this virus hadn't struck at the worst time on the sports calendar, we'd all be watching college hoops right now — we have compiled a bracket that we need you to vote on to help us determine the best show to stream during this unique period in the history of life in this country.
You can view the full bracket, here.
The TV shows we examine, 64 of them, are in four categories: Netflix shows, Hulu shows, Amazon Prime shows and HBO shows. Some shows, we know, have a little overlap and are available on more than one platform but we have them slated where they are most streamed.
The rankings and matchups have been determined by the show's rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. We believe that while Rotten Tomatoes may be a good frame of reference for how well a show is received in general, it is not indicative of how watchable or bingeable a TV show might be. That's what we are looking to find out with this bracket.
Please vote on the show, of the two, you think is the better watch, en masse, during this crisis. We will, over the next few weeks, use your votes to determine the best show to stream while in self-quarantine.
Let's start with Netflix today. I want to make sure to mention that, as best as we could, we tried to keep the shows we included as generally known as possible. There are a ton of excellent original series (perhaps for another bracket) that we did not include simply due to them being niche.
VOTE ON ROUND 1: Hulu Region | Amazon Prime Region | HBO Region
NETFLIX Region
*The percentages reflect the proportion of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
1. Breaking Bad (98%) vs. 16. Scandal (74%)
8. Cheers (91%) vs. 9. Stranger Things (91%)
5. Friends (94%) vs. 12. Arrested Development (81%)
4. The West Wing (95%) vs. 13. Orange is the New Black (81%)
6. The Office (92%) vs. 11. Lucifer (85%)
3. Better Call Saul (96%) vs. 14. Grey's Anatomy (80%)
7. Parks and Recreation (91%) vs. 10. NCIS (87%)
2. Mad Men (96%) vs. 15. Gossip Girl (78%)
Here are the best sports movies, TV shows and docs to stream
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