The Best CBS All Access Shows to Binge

With so many folks forced to stay at home in self-quarantine right now, everyone is looking for something great to watch or stream on television. Last week, ahead of the debut of the Star Trek: Picard premiere, CBS began offering a full month of its CBS All Access streaming service for free.

The offer was obviously timed to coincide with the Picard finale, but there’s plenty of other great content on CBS All Access. The premiere of the fourth season of The Good Wife is right around the corner, and there’s plenty of other shows to enjoy in the service’s back catalog. Keep reading to see our top choices.

10. Star Trek: The Original Series

One of the best things about CBS All Access is that it offers access to every episode of every Star Trek television series ever. You can binge the entire franchise, but why not start at the beginning with Star Trek: The Original Series?

The original Star Trek stars William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, and DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. Together with the rest of the crew, they explore new worlds and new civilizations in each episode of the series. Start here, then keep going with the rest of the Star Trek franchise.

9. Tell Me a Story

The CBS All Access original Tell Me a Story is a seasonal anthology series that takes beloved fairy tales and reimagines them as psychological thrillers. The show’s second season combined three princess stories — Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella — to create something new and surprising. The story centered on the Pruitt family as they navigate the music industry in Nashville, Tennessee.

The first season was set in New York City and turned the tales of The Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, and Hansel and Gretel into subversive stories of love, loss, greed, revenge, and murder. If you want new takes on the familiar but with a dark edge, this is your show.

8. Why Women Kill

Why Women Kill a dramedy created by Marc Cherry. The series explores the lives of three women living in three different decades: a housewife in the ’60s, a socialite in the ’80s and a lawyer in 2019, each dealing with cheating spouses. The series looks at how the role of women in the home and in society has changed over the years, and yet some things stay the same.

The series is a fun, dark satire featuring great performance, especially from Lucy Liu. This may be CBS All Access’ most criminally overlooked show.

7. No Activity

From the comedic minds of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, No Activity is a weird, dry comedy featuring a long list of hilarious actor cameos like Tim Meadows, Jake Johnson, JK Simmons, and Amy Sedaris.

No Activity is a police comedy celebrating the more mundane aspects of the job. Set against the world of a major drug cartel bust, the series follows two low-level cops who have spent too much time in a car together; two criminals who are largely kept in the dark; two dispatch workers who haven’t really clicked; and two Mexican tunnelers who are in way too small a space considering they’ve only just met.

6. Cheers

CBS All Access allows you to enjoy some classic television, like the classic sitcom Cheers. This show is the perfect comfort food.

Cheers helped launch the careers of a stars like Woody Harrelson, Kirstie Alley, Kelsey Grammer, and Ted Danson. It’s easy viewing, so you can binge attentively or while trying to unwind. 

5. Twin Peaks

Another classic television series, this early 90s crime drama from the mind of David Lynch has become a cult classic, leading to a revival on Showtime. It’s safe to say that Twin Peaks is a singular viewing experience, often emulated but never duplicated. It’s something everyone should experience at least once.

4. Star Trek: Discovery

CBS All Access doesn’t just offer you classic Star Trek. It offers brand new Star Trek too. When it debuted in 2017, Star Trek: Discovery began a brand new era of Star Trek. Taking advantage of the streaming model of television and the higher budgets of the day, Discovery looks and feels more modern than past Star Trek shows.

The series takes place 10 years before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series, and has plenty of nods to classic Star Trek events and episodes. This show is the perfect way to get your sci-fi fix.

3. The Good Fight

This spinoff of The Good Wife helped launch CBS All Access and it remains one of the platform’s best shows. The series follows Diane Lockhart as she rebuilds her career and her reputation following a finance scandal that undid so much of what she built.

The Good Fight is just as good, if not better than The Good Wife, but you don’t have to choose. Both are available on CBS All Access.

2. The Twilight Zone

In The Twilight Zone, Jordan Peele offers his take on Rod Serling’s classic anthology series. The new series uses the same basic format but extends each episode to a full hour in length with modern-day twists and production.

The show also has an incredible cast. Episodes have featured stars like John Cho, Kumail Nanjiani, and others. Every episode is a new story, so find something that looks enticing and dive in.

1. Star Trek: Picard

Where Star Trek: Discovery serves as a prequel to The Original Series, Star Trek: Picard breaks new ground in the Star Trek canon, taking the universe beyond the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. Even so, the writers of the series took great care to make the show accessible to newcomers.

Lead by the incomparable Sir Patrick Stewart, Star Trek: Picard introduces a new cast of Star Trek characters and brings back some classic Star Trek favorites. This one will keep you engaged through every episode.