Credit: Netflix
19 min read
Behold! It’s the Stylist guide to the best box sets ever to grace our screens. Expect great female casts or leads, gripping plotting and plenty of belly laughs.
There is nothing we love more than snuggling up in front of the TV, especially when there is so much great television to choose from. Plus, it’s autumn. TV season is truly upon us. And we don’t have all of our old favourite television shows to choose from: there’s a plethora of big-budget, star-studded, Hollywood-worthy shows available to dip into via the buffet of streaming services, too.
Here, we’ve pulled together our pick of the very best TV boxsets and series, so all that’s left for you to do is put your phone on airplane mode, stockpile snacks and get bingeing.
Nobody Wants This
Joanne (Kristen Bell) is sarcastic, agnostic and always dating toxic men – and then talking about them on the podcast she co-hosts with her sister. Noah (Adam Brody) is a newly single rabbi. On paper, they have nothing in common. But when the two meet at a dinner party, there’s clearly something between them. The series explores the pair’s blossoming romance, insane chemistry, differing beliefs and what their families think about their relationship.
Watch Nobody Wants This on Netflix.
One Day
Netflix released a TV series based on David Nicholls’s bestselling novel One Day earlier this year and we still haven’t recovered from the impact of this devastating love story. The show follows Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew after they meet for the very first time on 15 July 1988, the night of their graduation, and revisits them on the same day over the course of a couple of decades.
Watch One Day on Netflix.
We Might Regret This
Could you survive being a PA to your best friend? That’s the question posed by this sharp and witty new sitcom. And judging by the series’ title – We Might Regret This – it might not be a smooth journey…
Watch We Might Regret This on BBC iPlayer.
Such Brave Girls
Such Brave Girls is not your typical family sitcom. It follows the story of sisters Josie (Kat Sadler) and Billie (Lizzie Davidson), along with their single mother Deb (Louise Brealey) as they attempt to navigate their lives as a family armed with nothing but debt, poor judgment and a desperate need for love and affection. It’s a refreshing exploration of relationships and mental health – particularly focusing on how we cope and talk about our mental health with our loved ones.
Watch Such Brave Girls on BBC iPlayer.
We Are Lady Parts
The series follows the highs and lows of an all-female Muslim punk band – named Lady Parts – from east London. Hugely funny, and great on friendship and the trials of working with your friends, it has been lauded for showcasing different Muslim women in a joyful and positive light. Writer and director Nida Manzoor partially based the comedy series on her own life as a Muslim woman and it’s a firm favourite of ours, especially when you need your mood lifted.
Watch We Are Lady Parts on All 4.
Daddy Issues
The show centres on the relationship between Gemma (Aimee Lou Wood) and her hapless dad Malcolm (David Morrissey). Neither are in a great place.
Gemma has discovered that she’s pregnant after a random one-night stand, while Malcolm is struggling after his wife left him and took their savings to “Eat Pray Love her way around the world”. So when Gemma’s flatmate moves out, leaving her broke and alone, she asks her dad to move in for support.
Watch Daddy Issues on BBC iPlayer.
Colin From Accounts
Set in Sydney, Colin From Accounts is billed as a modern-day romantic comedy about two single people, Ashley and Gordon, who are brought together by a car accident and an injured dog. Created and written by husband-and-wife team Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, who also play the main characters, it’s one of those romcoms that feels more than just relatable; it’s incredibly authentic, too.
Watch Colin From Accounts on BBC iPlayer.
This Country
The hit British mockumentary is the creation of siblings Daisy and Charlie Cooper and follows fictional cousins Kerry and Lee ‘Kurtan’ Mucklowe (played by the pair) in their Cotswold village where, well, nothing really happens other than scarecrow-making contests and a Grease cinema night at the local community centre.
Watch This Country on BBC iPlayer.
New Girl
A personal all-time favourite, New Girl follows Jess (Zooey Deschanel), a middle-school teacher who moves into an apartment with three men after she finds her boyfriend with another woman and breaks up with him. What ensues is many seasons of hilarious one-liners, Cece and Winston mess-arounds and a will-they-won’t between Nick and Jess.
Watch New Girl on Disney+.
Schitt’s Creek
This impossibly feel-good series follows the adventures of the Rose family, who, after going bankrupt, are left with only one asset – the deed to a small town called Schitt’s Creek. Without any friends to turn to, the family abandon their pampered lifestyle and move into the town’s motel. In doing so, they’re forced to reckon with the realities of family, friendship and community for the first time in their lives.
Watch Schitt’s Creek on Netflix.
Community
With six seasons under its belt, you’d better believe that Community has a dedicated fanbase. The premise is simple: a suspended lawyer is forced to enroll in a community college to earn his qualifications, where he forms a study group with some of his classmates. The utterly wild mayhem that follows, though? Anything but simple. Trust us.
Watch Community on Netflix.
Vigil
Vigil begins with the disappearance of a Scottish fishing boat out at sea – a disappearance which is followed up swiftly by a suspicious death aboard the nearby nuclear submarine HMS Vigil. Cue a murky conspiracy (and murder most foul) for Suranne Jones’s DCI Amy Silva to solve. Too bad she’s a) claustrophobic, b) frightened of water, and c) destined to spend a significant amount of time on a submarine, eh?
Watch Vigil on BBC iPlayer.
The Flight Attendant
Cassie Bowden (Kaley Cuoco) is this show’s eponymous flight attendant, and she’s a reckless alcoholic who drinks during flights and spends her time off having sex with her passengers. In the first episode of the show, though, Cassie wakes up in a hotel room in Bangkok with a) a pounding hangover, b) no recollection of the night before, and c) a dead body lying next to her. Cue a murder mystery that promises to be unlike any other…
Watch The Flight Attendant on NOW.
Killing Eve
If you haven’t found the time to catch Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh in Killing Eve just yet, the time to do that is now. Following the lives of Eve (Sandra Oh), a desk-bound MI5 officer, and Villanelle (Jodie Comer), a talented assassin, the show documents their growing obsession with one another – and the deadly game of cat and mouse which ensues. Killing Eve is a whirlwind of action, adventure and female-led anarchy: the perfect recipe for keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Watch Killing Eve on BBC iPlayer.
Bridgerton
One of Netflix’s biggest original TV series, Bridgerton is the sexy period drama to end all sexy period dramas – and, with a new season coming in the next year or so, now is 100% the time to get stuck in.
Watch Bridgerton on Netflix.
Small Axe
Small Axe, an anthology of five films from writer and director Steve McQueen, takes its title from a West Indian proverb about collective struggle (“If you are the big tree, we are the small axe”), and tells true stories from the late 60s to the mid-80s. We’re here to tell you that it is one of the most transfixing series we’ve ever seen.
Watch Small Axe on BBC iPlayer.
I May Destroy You
It’s the TV series everyone was talking about in 2020, and for good reason. Created by and starring the incredible Michaea Coel, I May Destroy You sees Arabella’s life change irreversibly after being sexually assaulted in a nightclub. And, in a series of witty, relatable, and emotionally-charged episodes, we watch as she is forced to reassess everything, including her career, friends and family.
Watch I May Destroy You on BBC iPlayer.
Mare Of Easttown
This award-winning series tells the story of Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet), a detective in a small Pennsylvania town who carries the weight of fading hometown glory on her shoulders. When she is assigned to investigate the murder of a young girl, the line between her personal life and professional duties soon begins to blur, and it’s not long before she finds herself struggling to stop her world from falling apart around her.
Watch Mare Of Easttown on NOW.
Fleabag
The ability to inspire a spike of 24% in sales of M&S’s canned G&Ts is just one of the things which makes Fleabag such a gem. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s witty two-season comedy was an instant classic and gifted us with Andrew Scott’s ‘hot priest’ and his predisposition for pre-mixed spirits. The refreshingly raw and realistic chaos of Fleabag’s life makes for the type of TV you just don’t see often.
Watch Fleabag on BBC iPlayer.
Big Little Lies
Following the story of three troubled women from Monterey, California, Big Little Lies is jam-packed full of drama and deceit. Led both onscreen and offscreen by actresses Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon (the pair worked as executive producers after buying the screen rights to Liane Moriarty’s novel), this show is anything but simple.
Watch Big Little Lies on Prime Video.
Insecure
Best friends Issa (Issa Rae) and Molly (Yvonne Orji) always strive to find solutions to their problems by facing them together. The result? A show with a cool 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and one which offers viewers an insightful, hilarious, and stereotype-free journey through the life of a 20-something Black woman at that.
Watch Insecure on NOW.
Dead To Me
Dead To Me, starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini, is all about two women who grow close after meeting at a grief counselling session. Jen Harding’s husband had been killed in a hit-and-run, while Judy Hale was struggling to come to terms with the loss of her baby… or so we thought, anyway.
Watch Dead To Me on Netflix now.
Glow
From the creator of Orange Is The New Black Jenji Kohan came Glow, a comedy series based on the world of the 1980s women’s professional wrestling circuit.
Following the life of struggling actress Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie), the show documents her audition for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling and the fictionalisation of the characters involved. And trust us when we say it is an inspirational story of female empowerment – and enormous fun.
Watch Glow on Netflix.
Sex Education
Brazen, honest and hopeful, Netflix’s Sex Education is a must-watch. Otis (Asa Butterfield) is a socially awkward teenager and the show follows his life as the son of a sex therapist, and the awkwardly blunt conversations his mum tries to start.
Deciding to use this insider knowledge to his benefit, Otis sets up a sex clinic in school with the help of his new friend Maeve. Featuring subjects from female masturbation to revenge porn, Sex Education is a charming reminder of the trials and tribulations of navigating relationships as a young person, whether that be with sex, family, friends, or your own body.
Watch Sex Education on Netflix.
Chewing Gum
Another gem written by and starring Michaela Coel (hurrah!), Chewing Gum tells the story of Tracey Gordon, a religious, virginal, Beyoncé-obsessed 24-year-old living in London’s Tower Hamlets. Tackling everything from Pentecostals to periods, this brilliantly funny sitcom taps into a feeling we all of us know far too well: that the more we learn about the world, the less we understand.
Watch Chewing Gum on All 4.
Catastrophe
When two become one after a fling ends up in an unexpected pregnancy, Sharon and Rob must figure out what to do next. Written by and starring Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, Catastrophe follows the couple as they decide to try and forge a relationship while juggling the realities of pregnancy complications and family feuds.
Watch Catastrophe on All 4.
Normal People
Set in a tiny Irish town during the economic downturn of the 2000s, Normal People begins with a secret schoolyard romance: Connell (Paul Mescal) is well-liked by his peers, and so does his utmost to hide his relationship with the unpopular Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones).
But it doesn’t follow the path of so many other love stories and wrap things up neatly with a bow, however. Instead, it follows Marianne and Connell’s relationship as it continues well into adulthood.
And, as the lonesome Marianne finds her footing at university, and Connell finds himself on the sidelines, we’re left to ponder whether their intense bond can ever hope to last.
Watch Normal People on BBC iPlayer.
When They See Us
Ava DuVernay’s powerful miniseries dramatises the true story of the Central Park Five: five boys who were wrongfully convicted of rape and assault in 1990 and spent years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit as a result of police corruption and racism.
Watch When They See Us on Netflix.
The Handmaid’s Tale
Margaret Atwood’s dark and compelling dystopian tale translates brilliantly to the screen in this adaptation of her best-selling feminist novel.
Following the character of Offred, The Handmaid’s Tale is based in a future America where fertility rates have dropped, and those who are still able to get pregnant have been enslaved and forced to bear children for the upper classes. And, yeah, you better believe it hits a little close to home.
Watch The Handmaid’s Tale on All 4.
Broad City
The cult hit web series Broad City brings us nothing but the highest of high jinks in its tale of Ilana Wexler and Abbi Abrams, two best friends struggling with their low-paying jobs while balancing daily lives in New York City.
Watch Broad City on Prime Video.
The Marvellous Mrs Maisel
Miriam Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) is a 50s Jewish American housewife who lives a seemingly perfect life in New York’s Upper East Side. But one evening, her husband and the father of their two children says he is leaving her to start a new life with his secretary.
Midge reacts uncharacteristically by swigging a whole bottle of wine, jumping on the subway in her nightgown and heading to the Gaslight Club downtown, where she ends up performing one hell of a stand-up routine that changes her life forever… and that’s where our story kicks in.
Watch The Marvellous Mrs Maisel on Prime Video.
Line Of Duty
Another gem from Jed Mercurio, this BBC drama deals with the murky schemings of AC-12 as DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) and DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) dig up high-level police corruption, treachery and bloodshed at every turn.
Watch Line Of Duty on BBC iPlayer.
The Queen’s Gambit
This feminist TV sensation tells the tale of orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) as she struggles with addiction in a quest to become the greatest chess player in the world. And people have become besotted with the lush seven-parter, praising the miniseries for its searing performances, emotionally-charged storyline, and gorgeous period aesthetics.
Watch The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix.
How To Get Away With Murder
Viola Davis is an absolute goddess, always, but she truly shines bright as How To Get Away With Murder’s Annalise Keating.
For those who haven’t seen the award-winning series, Keating is a criminal defence lawyer and professor, who spends her days teaching and inspiring a group of aspiring law students. However, her life is flipped upside-down when she finds herself entangled entangled in an aberrant murder.
Cue the drama.
Watch How To Get Away With Murder on Netflix.
Happy Valley
They may call it Happy Valley, but it’s anything but happiness and sunshine. Talk about a flood of emotions, as you watch the main character Catherine Cawood struggles to cope with her daughter’s suicide while also becoming obsessed with the man responsible for her daughter’s rape.
Watch Happy Valley on BBC iPlayer.
Wandavision
Wandavision sees superheroes Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) living out idyllic suburban lives. However, it seems as if this might be… well, a massive grief-inspired illusion. Which, considering (sorry, massive spoiler) Vision died at the end of Avengers: Endgame, seems pretty likely, as theories go…
Watch Wandavision on Disney+.
This Is Us
When This Is Us first graced our screens, we knew it would be quite a tearjerker right after the pilot episode. Heck, we knew it after the first trailer was released. Parents Jack and Rebecca are expecting triplets, but one of their babies ends up being stillborn in the very first episode.
Convinced that they were destined to have three kids, the parents adopt another baby. The show flashes forward to the lives of the three siblings: Kevin, Randall and Kate and how they battle with their own inner demons.
Watch This Is Us on Prime Video.
The Crown
The award-winning smash hit retells the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, as the drama gives an inside look at her marriage with Phillip Duke of Edinburgh, the Suez Crisis of 1965 and her sister, Margaret and her relationship with Peter Townsend.
Having concluded with the sixth season, the show shifted dramatically over the years. Olivia Colman reigned as Queen Elizabeth II we saw Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki play Prince Charles and Princess Diana, as well as a young William and Kate.
Watch The Crown on Netflix.
Succession
After picking up a whole host of Emmy awards over the years, Succession became one of the most fascinating and talked-about shows on television.
The show gets us up close and personal with the ridiculously wealthy Logan family, who is perhaps best known for controlling the biggest media and entertainment company in the world. Their world changes, however, when their father steps down from the company.
Watch Succession on NOW.
The Morning Show
One of the jewels in Apple TV+’s crown is The Morning Show, a drama about the lives of the news presenters that wake America up every day. Inspired by Brian Stelter’s book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV, the starry series (yes, that really is Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon) explores how the world of morning news deals with the complicated power dynamics between men and women.
Watch The Morning Show on Apple TV+.
Girls
If you are a millennial woman, put a date in your iPhone with Girls, the show that follows four female friends – Hannah, Jessa, Marnie and Shoshanna – as they navigate their 20s in New York. Tackling issues from UTIs to unpaid internships with humour and admirable honesty, the six series are a groundbreaking depiction of young womanhood.
Recommended snack: the remnants of your fridge. Try peanut butter out of the jar washed down with a box of cheap wine.
Watch Girls on NOW.
Gavin And Stacey
Tidy. What’s occurring? Gavla. Written by Ruth Jones and James Corden, Gavin & Stacey could have its own Catchphrase special… Essex boy meets Welsh girl, the BAFTA-winning show follows the relationship of Gavin and Stacey, from long-distance dating to marriage and babies.
Watch Gavin And Stacey on BBC iPlayer.
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is a feel-good series that follows mother-daughter duo Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) as they navigate life and love in the sleepy town of Stars Hollow. And the hugely popular show saw early performances from actors who have since become big A-list stars, including Melissa McCarthy and Rami Malek.
Watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix.
Gossip Girl
A mysterious blogger spills on every intimate detail of this group of privileged Upper East Siders lives, as well as Lonely Boy, Dan, and sister Jenny from Brooklyn. Also, look out for Blair and Serena’s seriously covetable wardrobes.
Watch Gossip Girl on BBC iPlayer.
The Mindy Project
Mindy Kaling is brilliantly funny as Mindy Lahiri, an ego-centric OB/GYN living in New York and looking for Mr Right. Don’t be fooled by Mindy’s celebrity obsessions and often inappropriate behaviour; she is a strong, successful woman that runs circles around her male colleagues.
Watch The Mindy Project on NOW.
Arrested Development
The Bluth family is ruined and eldest son Michael has the task of pulling them back from the brink. Unfortunately the brink is where the rest of them seem happiest. Whipsmart one-liners and surreal mania redefine the family sitcom.
Watch Arrested Development on Netflix.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
In 1997, the world changed forever when Buffy kicked down gender barriers. In 2021, the show still feels as fresh and furiously funny as ever before. Skip series one to launch straight into the good, progressive stuff, and go armed with plenty of cake – the Scooby Gang talk about baked goods almost as much as they do vampires, so you’ll be craving delicious spongey goodness before long.
Watch Buffy The Vampire Slayer on Prime Video.
Sex And The City
You know the plot – four single 30-somethings in NYC – so here are some more reasons why SATC is genius: Big v Aidan, Samantha’s sassy one-liners and a walk-in closet we would live happily ever after in.
Watch Sex And The City (and And Just Like That) on NOW.
Modern Family
The beauty of this Emmy hoovering US comedy is that it’s so darn relatable. As tender as it is toe-curling, it follows the dysfunctional lives of father/step-father/grandfather/new father Jay Pritchett and his extended family in mockumentary style.
Watch Modern Family on Disney+.
Mad Men
Set in 60s New York, Mad Men revolves around a Madison Avenue advertising agency and the people who run it. It’s synonymous with its enigmatic male protagonist Don Draper, but you’ll really root for supporting stars Peggy (played by Elizabeth Moss) and Joan as they navigate a man’s world.
The real-life issues and historical moments make for compelling viewing and the sumptuous mid-century sets will leave you with an urgent desire to redecorate.
Watch Mad Men on Prime Video.
Parks And Recreation
A US government official building a new park is not a riveting premise for a comedy, but add a series of mishaps (an accidental shooting, a controversial penguin marriage), characters written with affection and TV’s most iconic ’tache and we’re sold.
Watch Parks And Recreation on Netflix.
Scandal
Kerry Washington is Olivia Pope, Washington DC’s finest fixer, in Scandal, the Shonda Rhimes show that insists you make an ‘OMG’ face every five minutes. The plot twists are off the scale as Pope manages other people’s crises while sleeping with the US president. Bonus points: he’s played by the bad guy from Ghost, Tony Goldwyn.
Recommended snack: A goblet of blood red wine and a gargantuan bowl of popcorn, Pope’s nightly routine.
Watch Scandal on Prime Video.
The O.C.
The premise of this cult teen series might sound far-fatched: Ryan is the boy ‘from the wrong side of the tracks’ who gets adopted by his youth attorney’s well-to-do family; the Cohens, who also happen to live in the rich kid’s playground of The OC.
But when the storylines are this good, who cares? Ryan is plunged into a life of private schools, pool houses and charity balls, and strikes up one of our favourite ever unlikely TV friendships with the Cohens’ sarcastic, comic book-obsessed son, Seth.
Watch The O.C. on All 4.
Downton Abbey
Nothing takes the edge off a Sunday evening like the pure escapism of Downton. The gowns, the houses, the massive sweep of the story arcing through generations of the same family. Yes, it’s a bit like a theme park version of history, but the ride is simply charming.
Watch Downton Abbey on Netflix.
Desperate Housewives
Wisteria Lane: my favourite cul-de-sac of curtain-twitching, stiletto-toting neighbours where no plot line – no matter how absurd – is out of bounds.
Watch Desperate Housewives on Disney+.
Images: BBC/Channel 4/Apple/Netflix/Amazon/Sky/Disney
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