When you decide what show to watch next, there are a lot of considerations to keep in mind, including how long a TV series is and how many episodes it has. Sometimes, you want something easy and quick that you might be able to go through on a weekend, and other times, you’re looking for a much longer commitment. The more episodes a TV series has, the more in love you can fall for its characters and create relationships with them where they can become part of your family.
The other important consideration is, what are you in the mood for? What kind of genre is your favorite? Are you a sci-fi fan? A lawyer or doctor show watcher? Love action and drama? Just want to laugh for a bit with a sitcom? Whatever you love most, here are some ideas for you about the greatest shows with 100-plus episodes for a long binge.
15 Supernatural (2005-2020)
Supernatural tells the story of the Winchester brothers, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles), who hunt all kinds of monsters across America, as that’s their family business. Their battles are not only with monsters but also with angels, demons, and God themself.
One of the Greatest Fantasy Shows of All Time
This is one of the greatest fantasy shows of all time, and with 327 episodes, it can be one of the greatest long binges if you love the genre. The chemistry between Padalecki and Ackles makes the show great and holds it together in the not-so-great episodes. The addition of Angel Castiel (Misha Collins) in season four also helped, as it gave their missions a more Godly scope and consequences, as from that moment on, heaven and hell were involved in the Winchester brothers’ story.
14 Suits (2011-2019)
Suits
- Release Date
- June 23, 2011
- Seasons
- 9
Last year, Suits made the news when it broke every streaming-watching record. This lawyer TV series starts when Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) hires a college dropout with photographic memory, Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), to work at his firm. It also has 134 episodes and has proven perfect for a long binge.
The Performances Make it a Great Binge
The series has everything: incredible chemistry between its two leads and their mentor-mentee relationship; will they-won’t they romantic stories; fun cases; power battles inside the firm; and even a future Princess. The cases might sometimes be convoluted, and the firm’s internal power struggles might become repetitive after a few seasons, but the performances and the dialogue make it a great binge. One where you might end up even liking Louis.
13 Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
Vampires, magic, and life-and-death situations were all typical occurrences in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as the show used evil monsters as a metaphor for high school and puberty. This TV series was great with comedy and drama, and always knew how to break the audience’s hearts. The whole cast was impressive, but nobody was better (and has never been given such a well-written role) than Sarah Michelle Gellar.
Fantastic, Quippy Writing
This TV series had 144 episodes where the Scooby gang (a name they give themselves) must save Sunnydale and the world. The show had great characters and unique, quippy writing, and with the excuse of magic, some very inventive episodes, like a musical one and one where nobody could talk, creating one of the most beloved and cult status shows of the early internet era.
12 Grey’s Anatomy (2005-Present)
Five surgical interns start their medical careers at Seattle Grace. The problem is that Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) might’ve already slept with one of her medical attendants. That’s how Grey’s Anatomy started almost 20 years ago. With 420 episodes and counting, this is the only show on the list that’s still going, offering surprising medical cases and many relationships happening at the hospital.
The Longest-Running Prime-time Medical Drama Ever
Every season has something interesting, and each fan has their favorite doctor. The Ellen Pompeo show has become the longest-running prime-time medical drama ever by creating great love stories, killing many characters, and proving how a hospital can be sexier than it looks at first sight. If all that wasn’t enough, there’s also the promise of new episodes at the end of your binge.
11 Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
Gilmore Girls tells the story of a mother, Lorelai (Lauren Graham), and a daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel), who are just 16 years apart and behave more like sisters than mother and daughter. The TV series is about their relationship and everything else that happens in the small town of Stars Hollow during its 153-episode run.
Very Quick Dialogue and a Beautiful Mother-Daughter Relationship
From the mind of Amy Sherman-Palladino, the show has many rewatchable episodes, with very quick dialogue, full of pop culture references, and a beautiful relationship between mother and daughter. This story will melt your heart. Even if it never won awards, this TV series proved how good Lauren Graham is and how unique Sherman-Palladino’s writing is, as she’s proven time and time again in other projects like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. If you love Gilmore Girls’ first scene, it means this is the perfect show for you to binge.
10 The Good Wife (2009-2016)
Julianna Margulies returned to TV with The Good Wife, a show about Alicia Florrick (Margulies), a woman, who, after her former state attorney husband goes to jail for a sex and corruption scandal, goes back to being a lawyer, so she can provide for her two kids.
The Best Lawyer Drama Out There
Interesting cases, morally grey characters, and great performances are what you’ll find in this show’s 156 episodes. Margulies is great, but so are Josh Charles and Christine Baranski as the firm’s partners, and, especially Alan Cumming in a scene-stealing performance as Eli Gold. If you love lawyer dramas, this might be the greatest of them all, as it has the best of both worlds, the easy watch of the case-of-the-week structure, and having season arcs and incredibly quirky recurring characters.
9 ER (1994-2009)
ER was able to transmit all the chaos and tension of an emergency room to television, capturing the hearts and minds of everyone watching TV in 1994. The show about a hospital in Chicago, lasted 15 years and 331 episodes and had absolutely everything: love stories, helicopter accidents, bomb threats, and everything in between.
A Before and After for Medical Shows
There was a before and after ER in how it filmed the show and what themes they decided to talk about, winning 23 Emmys in the process, and creating a style from which many medical series like Grey’s Anatomy learned from. ER was always thrilling, but through its characters, it allowed audiences to fall in love, cry when someone died, and get to know some memorable patients. There are fans of the George Clooney and Anthony Edwards era, while others prefer the Goran Visnjic and Maura Tierney years, and some like the Laura Cardellini and John Stamos years. Audiences could always expect good performances, great ER scenes, and some thrilling moments.
8 The Office (2005-2013)
The Office (U.S.)
- Release Date
- 2005-00-00
- Cast
- Steve Carell , Jenna Fischer , John Krasinski , Ellie Kemper , Rainn Wilson , Angela Kinsey , Melora Hardin , Rashida Jones , Mindy Kaling , Creed Bratton , B.J. Novak , Ed Helms , Brian Baumgartner
- Seasons
- 9
When an American remake of Ricky Gervais’ British comedy started, nobody thought this Steve Carell sitcom would become one of the funnier and more heartfelt comedies on TV. That’s what happened with The Office, a show that lasted 201 episodes, 187 more than its English counterpart.
Cringe Comedy That Made Steve Carell a TV Star
Steve Carell became a TV star thanks to Michael Scott, but the show was much more. It was a love story between Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer), the eccentricities of Dwight (Rainn Wilson), and a new TV format where characters could speak to the camera as if there was a documentary crew filming their every move. If you want to laugh and cry, and enjoy cringe-worthy comedy and hilarious non-sequiturs, this should be your next long binge.
7 Seinfeld (1989-1998)
Seinfeld
- Release Date
- July 5, 1989
- Seasons
- 9
Seinfeld was a show about nothing, where nobody ever learned anything, and there were no hugs at the end. And yet, the stories of Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer were always hilarious, and most of them still hold up all these years later. There are 180 episodes with some incredible characters, making for an easy, hilarious, brisk binge.
A Revolutionary Comedy Show
The show was revolutionary when it started, as many episodes had the dumbest of premises, like the gang getting lost in a mall parking lot for the whole episode, which allowed TV comedies to start doing more experimental stuff. It was also Larry David’s first successful show before he created and starred in Curb Your Enthusiasm.
6 24 (2001-2010)
24 episodes per season, which represented the 24 hours in a day, one episode per hour. That was the surprising premise of the thrilling 24, as Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) had to deal with terrorists, bomb threats, and moles at the CTU in “real” time.
A Thrilling, Stressful Ride
Kiefer Sutherland gave his all to the show, and when it started, the thrilling, stressful ride where every second counted made for great TV. Some of the later seasons were more irregular, but the show is a perfect long binge, with 192 episodes. If you watch you still want more Jack Bauer, you can add 24: Live Another Day and 24: Legacy to your watchlist.
5 How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)
How I Met Your Mother was all about Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) and how he told his kids about the adventures he had in his youth with his best friends Marshall, Lily, Barney, and Robin before he met their mother. It took 208 episodes to meet her, but some of them are still some of the funnier, most surprising episodes that a sitcom has ever made.
One of the Most Romantic and Inventive Shows of the 21st Century
Even though it started as another show about white young people having adventures in New York, this TV series was one of the most romantic and inventive of the 21st century. The “talking to your kids in the future” wrinkle allowed for many hilarious and surprising jokes; the character of Barney and Neil Patrick Harris’s performance stole the show, and Marshall and Lily were one of the best married couples ever shown on TV.
4 This Is Us (2016-2022)
This Is Us
- Release Date
- September 20, 2016
- Seasons
- 4
The story of the Pearson family in This Is Us lasted 106 episodes. The show followed two timelines: the past, when the Pearson triplets were young, and their father Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) was still alive, and their present, where they have their own problems as adults.
Emotionally Devastating
The show has many memorable moments and could be emotionally devastating. It also had a lot of heart and showed the importance of family, even when things aren’t going your way. The performances by everyone involved were great, so much so, that the actors were routinely nominated for Emmys, even if only guest actors ended up winning them.
3 Lost (2004-2010)
Lost
- Release Date
- September 22, 2004
- Seasons
- 6
With 121 episodes of mysteries, questions, and surprises, Lost might be the perfect binge if you’re into intriguing shows. What starts as a group of people stranded on an island after a plane crash, becomes much more during the TV series’ duration, as on the island, nothing is what it seems.
So Many Mysteries
Polar bears, smoke monsters, recurring numbers… those are some of the questions the first episodes left audiences with, and from there, it only got weirder and more sci-fi-focused. The series also made people filter through flashbacks and non-linear structure, something the whole medium has benefited from since. At least now, you can binge one episode after another to discover every mystery the island had for Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Locke (Terry O’Quinn), and the rest of the castaways, and not have to wait years for answers.
2 Friends (1994-2004)
Friends
- Release Date
- September 22, 1994
- Seasons
- 10
Friends showed the adventures of a group of 20-somethings in New York and became memorable thanks to great writing and perfect performers. There are 236 episodes where Monica, Joey, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, and Chandler can make you laugh and cry, as the 10-season show had everything.
Friends Will Make You Laugh the Most
Thanks to streaming, the show is still one of the biggest ever and has been adopted by a new generation of people who weren’t even born when the TV series started. That’s why “being on a break”, “pivot” or “unagi” have become memes, and that’s why binge-watching Friends might bring you the most laughs on the whole list.
1 Cheers (1982-1993)
Cheers
- Release Date
- September 30, 1982
- Seasons
- 11
Cheers is still one of the best comedies ever made, and with 273 episodes, there are a lot of stories to watch about this Boston bar where everybody knows your name. The sitcom about Sam, the bar owner, and the regulars was a staple of the ’80s and ’90s and made stars of Ted Danson, Shelley Long, and Woody Harrelson.
A Comfortable Place to Spend Time With Your Favorite People
With the bar as the central location, most episodes were about the fun, silly situations the bar patrons got into, and the chemistry and conversations between the cast. It was also one of the first shows to use the “will they, won’t they” romantic storyline, with Sam (Danson) and Diane (Long) and then with Sam and Rebecca (Kirstie Alley). The show’s best episodes mark some of the most important events that happened, but what audiences loved most was that Cheers was a comfortable place to be and spend some time with your favorite people and friends. In the ’80s, that’s what television was all about. The show was so famous that it dominated TV awards, winning 28 Emmys during its run.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
