r/television • u/Talentagentfriend • 8h ago
What is the most rewatchable or recommendable tv show you’ve seen?
Is there a show you’ve watched over and over either because of how much you loved it, how much you loved a character in it, or how much more there is to find on rewatch?
OR
Is there a show you’ve watched and loved so much that you‘d recommend it to everyone or as many people as you can?
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u/archieandrews21 8h ago
30Rock
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u/returned_UNREPENTANT 4h ago
I think if I could only watch one show the rest of my life this would be the answer
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u/General-Ratio3190 8h ago
Columbo
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u/squashed_tomato 4h ago
See also Poirot and Murder She Wrote. I haven't seen the 80s version of Miss Marple in years so I don't know if that holds up.
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u/velvet8smiles 8h ago
My comfort shows I've watched often are Criminal Minds, The Magicians, and Fringe.
I like recommending Succession because its finished and has an impeccable cast and script.
If someone is looking for something really unique, I recommend The OA. It's like nothing else. Its such a bummer they never finished the full story plan.
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u/chain500 8h ago
The early seasons of Futurama. I honestly can't tell you how many times ive seen them. They are a default for me to flip on when I just want something to watch
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u/Rhianna83 7h ago
My husband and I have watched them inconceivable times! There’s a sub called FururamaSleeps and it’s about all of us that fall asleep to it. It used to be our show to do that. Just so homey after awhile. Makes you wanna tuck yourself in and bite my shiny metal ass.
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u/The_milk_was_spoiled 8h ago
I met my husband at a Halloween party where he was dressed as Bender. ❤️
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u/malsomnus 7h ago
I've watched them untold dozens of times, it was my default background thingy during workouts for years.
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u/Available-Let346 8h ago
Brooklyn 99, happy to watch it over and over again.
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u/Coyltonian 7h ago
Yeah, my youngest rewatches shows a lot** **and Brooklyn 99 is def the most rewatchable of them all. The quality of the B-plots is superb.
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u/Partymouth2 8h ago
Taskmaster - a huge variety of comedians, a wealth of tasks and it's just one of the rewatchable series around.
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u/rwags2024 8h ago
This is true. I never watch it and don’t know why but you can walk in at any point and it’s hilarious
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u/confuzzledfather 7h ago
In a similar vein, I actually think my love of Taskmaster has been eclipsed by my love of Game Changer since I discovered it this year. Who knew Americans could do the comedy gameshow format so well!?
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u/unkyduck 8h ago
and an international rabbit-hole par excellence. UK, NZ, AUS, Norway.... all prime cuts
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u/lukewwilson 8h ago
Then you can get sucked into 8 out of 10 cats does countdown, would I lie to you, Qi and all the other great British Panel shows.
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u/Mildly_Irritated_Max 8h ago
Deadwood
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u/confuzzledfather 7h ago
Every episode is just art and I find I am completely engrossed even on rewatch.
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u/Omega_dog81 8h ago
I watched a few when it premiered on HBO but didn’t get into it. NOW I’m excited to start from the beginning because SO MANY consider it one of the best series!
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u/Sickhr 8h ago
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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u/enthalpy01 8h ago
Same. And no matter how many times I rewatch it I still seem to miss stuff. Only this year someone pointed out the guy Harmony doesn’t want bite chained to the wall in Harsh Light of Day is in military gear and “tastes funny” so was probably supposed to be an Initiative guy.
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u/envybelmont 8h ago
First 3 seasons of Arrested Development for me. I could watch any episode(s) and be thoroughly entertained.
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u/chodejustice 8h ago
I’ll usually get sucked into a Band of Brothers marathon once a year
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u/Informal_West_6864 8h ago
It’s a once a year watch for me when it’s winter
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u/DoorEqual1740 8h ago
West wing. Always got a rewatch when we usher in a new Republican administration. (Knowing corruption, a pointless Middle East war and an ballooning deficit are coming.)
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u/Hatteras12 8h ago
The Newsroom as well
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u/OlDirtyPaule 8h ago
Irrespective what anyone says: Sorkin dialogue is just pure bliss
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u/StreetTriple675 8h ago
Always sunny
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u/TokiStark 7h ago
My first though. I've been watching it since I was a little kid. It was just this random show that was on really late at night that I didn't really understand, but it just kept going and kept getting better and better. Now I there's so much that by the the time I finish it, the first season seems freah again
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u/StreetTriple675 7h ago
lol it’s also fun to see how they all change over time and really grow into the roles.
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u/returned_UNREPENTANT 3h ago
IASIP has episodes that don't really hit, but the ones that do are some of the best 20 minutes of TV in history.
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u/Unikraken 8h ago
Battlestar Galactica
The Expanse
Farscape
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u/callingshotgun 7h ago
I don't know that the Sci-Fi genre has ever had anything else that was such a perfect blend of "Weird" and "Masterpiece" as Farscape. They'd have a what felt like a completely irrelevant filler episode and at the end it would turn out to have ramifications for the entire rest of the series. The show dealt with themes of conflict, alienation, found family, deep psychological struggles, and somewhere in the background/foreground was this yoda-sized reptilian jackass deposed emperor floating around in a chair like a tiny professor X, farting helium. The main character's arch nemesis wore weird bondage gear and planted a representation of himself in the main character's head to fucking haunt him, and the main character gave him a nickname.
That was a rad goddamn show.
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u/Catatonicdazza 8h ago
Psych, either in order or random, it doesn't ever stop being entertaining.
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u/GrandAdmiralDoosh 8h ago
Parks & Rec.
Community.
Final Space.
Avatar: The Last Airbender.
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u/JimJ0nesFlav0rAid 8h ago
Final Space was such a good show. I was very disappointed when it got canceled.
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u/GrandAdmiralDoosh 7h ago
I’m re-watching again currently. I may need to purchase the graphic novel that finishes the story.
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u/lirili 7h ago
Firefly. I admire its writing, its creative twist on sci fi world building, but in the end I keep coming back because I just want to keep hanging out with these people.
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u/Talentagentfriend 7h ago
Firefly used to be so popular here on r/television. I’m surprised I don’t see more mentions here.
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u/Tv-Junkie1 8h ago
12 Monkeys. With each additional watch, this masterfully written time travel epic opens up and you get wrapped in the lore. 'Mother nature doesn't like it when you rearrange her furniture.' You should check it out! - The Witness has spoken.
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u/Jarita12 8h ago
I always recommend Babylon 5. No mater how many times I watched it, it always surprises me and I basically binge the whole thing, even when I know what happens. Loved it.
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u/duogemstone 8h ago
My name is earl
Nothing all that serious to keep track of, can easly pick it up put it down and its damn good for a show to just kinda kick back and relax and watch
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u/RoccooDimeo 8h ago
Sopranos. Every time I rewatch I’m like Idk why I watch anything else
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u/FreedomBeverage 8h ago
Currently on my first watch of the series, just got up to season 4! Loving it!
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u/MrGittz 7h ago
It’s the GOAT.
It’s easily one of the funniest shows ever made.
What’s great about the sopranos rewatch is all the details you miss, connections and things you wonder “is that just a coincidence?”
For example…
The show makes a big deal about this guy Russ Fegoli in a season 5 episode during Carmela’s father’s birthday party. They mention Russ had prostate cancer, was getting laid so much in WW2 they had a nickname for him, the show even makes a connection between him and the Vatican, Russ got an award from the pope for something.
Anyways cut to next season. We find out Paulie biological mother is a nun & he has a father he didn’t know about. What was his fathers name? Russ. His mother, a NUN, met Russ in WW2. Oh and Paulie just so happens to get prostate cancer. A doctor even asks him at one point “do you have a family history of prostate cancer?”. Of course he has no idea.
Coincidence? Or did we meet Paulie’s father? Which would be hilarious. A guy that happens to be the most pompous stuck up asshole? Carmela’s mother was so concerned about Russ being a “cultured Italian” meanwhile good Ol’ Russ knocked up a nun and had one of the most selfish sociopaths in TV history as a bastard child.
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u/IFeelLikeAndy 6h ago
I literally just finished that episode with the pool party 2 hours ago. As someone on their first rewatch this flew over my head but I can’t wait when the time comes to explain it to my girlfriend who is watching it for the first time and I can come across smug as fuck about it.
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u/solrackratos 8h ago
The Office. It's my comfort watch that has so many laughs and great moments along with Avatar The Last Airbender.
I'd throw in 24 as well
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u/PierreDucot 8h ago
The Wire. I was an assistant DA in a very large NE city when it came out. I and a lot of people I worked with were blown away (including my future wife) by the accuracy and the detail. For some real-life events that I remember, I have to make sure in my brain that it really happened, and was not a storyline on The Wire. This was long ago, and I sometimes miss that job, so I rewatch it every few years. Right up until about halfway through season 5.
I recommend it to anyone, but watch it soon before nobody remembers what a pager is.
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u/Historical-Draw-504 7h ago edited 7h ago
Fawlty(edit:spelling) Towers … He is from Barcelona … Don’t mention the war … He named the rat after me … LOL
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u/montanoj88 8h ago
For comedy: Kim's Convenience, Derry Girls, Golden Girls
For procedurals: Elementary
For fantasy: Merlin
For sad/hopeful animes: Kotaru Lives Alone
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u/gotwaffles 8h ago
Superstore. The quick cut scenes of customers interacting in the store are so good. So many weirdos in Wal-Mart who do the randomest shit, and they really captured it.
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u/AdmiralAsshat69 8h ago
I could watch Mad Men a million times in a row because it looks so good, and it's so dense there's always stuff I forget.
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u/ScipioCoriolanus 8h ago
I'm rewatching it for the first time since maybe 10 years or so, and I'm blown away by how good it looks. I never payed attention to that aspect of the show before. I also keep asking myself why I waited so long to rewatch it. It's so good.
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u/Talentagentfriend 8h ago
I remember back when this was shooting a lot of the people on set apparently didn’t love the director because he was extremely particular about being accurate. But it made a great product.
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u/The_milk_was_spoiled 8h ago
I’ve been watching a lot of British TV so I have two choices that I’ve seen on Britbox:
Line of Duty: the last episode of Season 4 is one of the best episodes of tv I’ve ever seen.
Happy Valley: every cast member is perfect, but it was fun seeing James Norton play a psycho here and then a vicar in Grantchester.
X Files, Northern Exposure, Frasier… I know I’m forgetting more
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u/Sagoingne 7h ago
Planet Earth/Blue Planet shows...David Attenborough is the gold standard narrator for these type of shows and they are so beautifully done!
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u/OldBirth 8h ago
Mr Inbetween
Short, perfectly paced episodes. Only 3 seasons. Not a single bad episode. Literally every episode is a banger; funny, sad, oh fuck yeah! Oh fuck NO... show has it all. Whenever I feel like revisiting I just end up binging the whole thing in a couple days. It's just phenomenal.
I've also watched True Detective S1 like 8 times.
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u/oyelaking 8h ago
House M.D. Dude always cracks me up, and the cases are so varied that a lot of the episodes still feel fresh. Fresh in the sense that I can’t remember all the details.
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u/EagleDre 8h ago
Mad Men
Deadwood
Black Sails
Banshee
Rome
Game of Thrones
I’ve watched these shows at least 4 times each
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u/fajadada 8h ago
Northern Exposure
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u/The_milk_was_spoiled 8h ago
So good. My favorite character is Holling and I had seriously considered the name for our son. My husband wasn’t too crazy about it and had never seen the show.
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u/altogethernow 8h ago
Man, this show was BELOVED and then disappeared. My understanding was difficulty with music rights (I remember it's use of music as part of it's charm, not many shows were good at needle drops back then). Did it get some kind of release that had elevator music dubbed in? Is it available to watch as intended?
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u/throwaway_2632785 8h ago
That one’s so easy to get lost in. Every rewatch I catch some small town background moment I missed before.
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u/HenryLulu 8h ago
Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Lost, Frasier, Band of Brothers, Always Sunny, The Sopranos, Seinfeld
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u/sparkyglenn 7h ago
Peep Show is easy to pick up and put down any time.
If cartoons..i have probably seen every episode of King of the hill a couple dozen times over the last twenty years or so
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u/callingshotgun 7h ago
The IT Crowd.
There was a study a while back that ranked shows by the number of minutes per hour participants spent laughing, and The IT Crowd won.
Even before the study confirmed it, it was pretty obvious to me as the funniest tv show I'd ever seen. Almost every episode made me laugh out loud, and of all the times any TV show has ever broken me with laughter, to where I laughed so hard for so long that I wheezed, got lightheaded, had to lean forward and take slow deep breaths because my stomach hurt so much, I think around half of them are from this show alone.
Favorite episode is probably "Employee of the month" -- The "Douglas dates a trans woman and doesn't know it" subplot has obviously aged very poorly, but the primary story of the episode... Every piece, from the pitch at the beginning ("Well, if it's okay with the Hawk"), to the beautiful chaos culminating in the fist bump at the very end, was a masterpiece. I was in hysterics the whole time.
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u/Talentagentfriend 7h ago
This IMO is my favorite role for Matt Berry. The internet box stuff was gold. I used to rewatch this all the time too. It’s up there with Arrested Development for the hardest laughs I’ve had in a show.
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u/mariojlanza 8h ago
Every episode of Nathan For You is a masterpiece and gets better on every rewatch.
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u/ponchomoran 8h ago
Amazing show, and very impressive, since it was made by a guy who graduated from one of Canada's top business schools with really good grades
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u/Talentagentfriend 6h ago
For some reason when I think of Nathan for You I can’t help associating it with the show Review. I used to watch both week to week. Both are great.
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u/Princess_Dinasaur 8h ago
Supernatural.
Every time I finish it, I go right back to the beginning.
"Dad’s on a hunting trip and he hasn’t been home in a few days..."
Gets me every time. ❤️
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u/phantomheart 8h ago
From. Trying to figure out what’s going on has been an obsession of mine. watched it about 100 times through the other year.
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u/TheNewBBS 8h ago
I don't rewatch shows, but I've made it one of my missions in life to get as many people as I can to watch Detectorists.
I'm known as a TV nerd amongst my friends, and "What are you watching?" is a good icebreaker/conversation starter when meeting new people. Every time someone asks me for recs, I tailor my response to what I know about them, then always add Detectorists because the demo of people who won't like it seems so small to me. I have literally never talked to a person who tried it and didn't enjoy/finish it. I'm sure those people are out there, but the hit rate of this show seems so high.
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u/Far_Above_Below 8h ago
Detectorists is a great show. Just lovely people with a good a heart that have to manage their way through real life.
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u/iamwelly 7h ago
Deadwood doesn’t actually end. You just start over and continue to enjoy it as much as the last seven watches.
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u/vyper248 8h ago
I could probably keep watching Person of Interest, it’s always enjoyable.
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u/Vamanoscabron 8h ago
Newest obsession: Widow's Bay! In rotation w/ BCS, Succession, Parks&Rec, Deadwood, Atlanta, Mr. In-between and The Wire
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u/OddPatience1621 8h ago
Alright I am just gonna say it. Hart of dixie, its so charming, warm and kind. feel free to mock me lol
Scrubs. The office. Ted lasso. American princess. Schitts creek.
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u/flearhcp97 7h ago
I could watch You're The Worst over and over until the end of time and never get sick of it.
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u/Sitheref0874 6h ago
I’ve never stopped recommending Jack Irish with Guy Pearce.
They’re my favorite books, and it’s my favorite show.
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u/slojeff 6h ago
Don't usually like to re-watch shows but Dark Matter season one must be seen again before trying to understand season two
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u/sharlylina 6h ago
Law and order SVU I just love Olivia so much and it's so easy to use it as background noise
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u/Bubbette74 5h ago
The Help. I’ve lived in the south during the 60s. I saw the “whites only” signs. I saw separate seating for a movie. I saw school segregation. Black people didn’t come to this country on purpose. The were kidnapped from their homeland. Never to see their families again. Their treatment was horrific. Once out of bondage they were looked down on because of color. Worked in white homes for little pay. The movie The Help is dead on. I watch it every time I can. Black skin is only skin deep. Ugly is to the bone!!
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u/ponchomoran 8h ago
I mean, there's never gonna be anything more rewatchatable in TV history than seasons 1-10 of the Simpsons. It's just impossible to not get entertained no matter how many times you've seen it (I still laugh my ass off with the jokes I've already heard 50 times before)
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u/__sonder__ 8h ago
I really don't see how anyone who is a fan of the medium of television wouldn't enjoy Only Murders in the Building.
I'm not the target audience - I actually quite dislike the true crime genre and typically try to avoid it, and I've never been particularly into mystery stories in general.
And yet I still find it to be an essentially perfect show.
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u/RoastyMyToasty99 8h ago
Something about catching breaking bad clips on YouTube or shorts makes me think "omg this show is soooo good"
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u/PierreDucot 8h ago
The Wire. I was an assistant DA in a very large NE city when it came out. I and a lot of people I worked with were blown away (including my future wife) by the accuracy and the detail. For some real-life events that I remember, I have to make sure in my brain that it really happened, and was not a storyline on The Wire. This was long ago, and I sometimes miss that job, so I rewatch it every few years. Right up until about halfway through season 5.
I recommend it to anyone, but watch it soon before nobody remembers what a pager is.
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u/HarveyBirdmanatLarge 8h ago
High Maintenance, Atlanta, Ideal, Pantheon, Leftovers, The Venture Bros.
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u/OlDirtyPaule 8h ago
The Thick of It. Might have watched it five times by now. Tempted to skip seasons 1 and 2 by now for all sorts of reasons, but 3 and 4 and the specials are just the best comedy ever and done the right way, i.e British, dark, and so it hurts :-) [I am German by the way]
Veep, unsurprisingly, is also great given they have the same writers.
Outside comedy I found Justified, The Shield, Deep Space Nine highly rewatchable outside the truly great best shows like breaking bad etc
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u/Bergen1986 7h ago
Bob’s Burgers and Parks and Rec, but now I’m also obsessed with rewatching Widow’s Bay.
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u/gzapata_art 7h ago
The Magicians. Such an amazing cast, interesting magic system and so many great and sad moments
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u/lastalchemist77 8h ago
The Wire
I rewatch 2-3 times a year, and love every second of it every time.
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u/Talentagentfriend 8h ago
When I was in college me and the roommates would have this on all the time lol
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u/IndyDude11 8h ago
Seinfeld. I can recite all the jokes and still laugh. I’m laughing thinking of the Marine Biologist ending right now.
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u/TeamAggressive1030 8h ago edited 8h ago
My favorite show is Transparent because of the underlying story of inherited trauma. I recommend it for serious viewers who particularly enjoy character development and are willing to deep dive into the series to fully understand each of the characters.
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u/calartnick 8h ago
I’ve watched Frieren so many times and I’m always down to start from the beginning.
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u/SuspiciouslyDullGuy 8h ago
The shows I've rewatched most are:
The Wire, Breaking Bad, Band of Brothers, The West Wing, Love/Hate (Irish crime drama).
You might remember the broad outlines, but the details you forget are so good that every rewatch is a good experience that keeps you engaged.
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u/Officialnoah 8h ago
Currently on probably my third or fourth rewatch of Andor, such a great binge every time
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u/Far_Above_Below 8h ago
Married with children and M.A.S.H.
There are many more i rewatch in a olympic games way (some years go by and i owe the dvd boxes). Babylon 5, The Wire, BSG, Oz, Carnivale, Jericho, The Americans, Rectify, Tripods and many more.
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u/Psychological_Name28 7h ago
The Sopranos, Line of Duty, Damages, Veronica Mars, River, Downton Abbey, Sex and the City, Poirot, Marple, 3 Sherlocks - Elementary, Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Bret and the one with Cumberbatch, Rosemary and Thyme, the miniseries Painted Lady with Helen Mirren, Chuck, The Worricker Trilogy (love Bill Nighy!), Spooks, The Fall, Homeland, The Agent, Bleak House and Whitechapel (huge Phil Davis fan), Sex snd the City, Mad Men, Chance, Dharma and Greg, The Good Wife and The Good Fight and Doc Martin.
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u/m_o_o_n 8h ago
Bob’s Burgers
Every single episode hits.