The best shows of all time to watch free on Tubi
The best shows of all time to watch free on Tubi
‘Empire’ brings the drama, ‘Chappelle’s Show’ brings the comedy, and the rest of the list gets pretty much all over the place in a great way.
A bunch of big additions have dropped on Tubi over the last couple of months, so it’s the perfect time to revisit an all-time list. The streamer just added “Dawson’s Creek” if you want a classic teen drama, along with one of the best sketch shows of all time. If you’re looking for something good to watch without adding another subscription, these are the 10 best TV shows streaming on Tubi right now.
Top 10 all time best TV shows streaming on Tubi:
No. 10: ‘Colony’ (2016) | Sci-fi thriller
“Colony” is a sci-fi show, but it really plays more like an intense occupation thriller. It’s set in a near-future Los Angeles after a mysterious outside force has taken control, walled off the city, and turned everyday life into checkpoints, surveillance, and curfews.
Josh Holloway plays Will Bowman, a former FBI agent trying to protect his family, while Sarah Wayne Callies plays his wife Katie, who gets pulled toward the resistance. That’s the real hook here — it’s not just about aliens or big action. It’s about what people do when survival, family, and doing the right thing all start pointing in different directions. The show is tense, smart, and really easy to binge, especially if you like sci-fi with some political paranoia and moral messiness baked in.
Colony
In the near future a family must make difficult decisions as they balance staying together with trying to survive. They live in Los Angeles, which has been occupied by a force of outside intruders. While some people have chosen to collaborate with the authorities and benefit from the new order, others have rebelled — and suffer the consequences.
No. 9: ‘The Killing’ (2011) | Crime drama
“The Killing” can be a tough watch, but it’s worth it. Based on the Danish series, it follows Seattle detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder as they dig into the murder of a teenage girl. But this is not a quick one-and-done detective story.
The case unfolds slowly, with each episode showing you more of the victim’s family, the suspects around her, the city’s politics, and all the secrets hiding underneath. What really makes it work is the vibe — it’s rainy, grim, quiet, and extremely absorbing, with Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman giving the whole thing a visceral, exhausted feel. If you like mysteries that take their time and let the dread build, this is the one.
The Killing
The Killing is an American crime drama television series based upon the Danish television series Forbrydelsen. Set in Seattle, Washington, the series follows the various murder investigations by homicide detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder.
No. 8: ‘Broadchurch’ (2013) | Crime drama
“Broadchurch” is a small-town mystery that starts with one awful tragedy and then slowly cracks the whole town open. The story begins after a young boy is found dead in a seaside community, and suddenly, everyone who seemed normal moments before starts looking suspicious.
Tara and I ripped through this one, not only because of the mystery but because of how mesmerizing David Tennant and Olivia Colman are as the detectives leading the case. Much like “The Killing” above, nothing about the case is clean or easy. Every new clue brings another secret, another lie, or another reason to wonder how well these people actually know each other. It’s dark, emotional, and hard to stop once it gets its claws in you. I know from experience.
Broadchurch
The murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.
No. 7: ‘Dawson’s Creek’ (1998) | Teen drama
“Dawson’s Creek” is one of the defining teen dramas of its era, and I think it still has a lot of charm. The show follows Dawson Leery, an aspiring filmmaker growing up in the small coastal town of Capeside, Massachusetts, alongside his best friends Joey, Pacey, and Jen. And yes, these teenagers talk with the elegance that no teenagers you’ve met probably sound like, but that’s also kind of the fun of it. Every crush, breakup, fight, and late-night conversation feels huge because when you’re that age, it is huge.
What makes the show hold up is the emotional mess of it all — Dawson and Joey’s strange bond, Pacey slowly becoming the guy everyone roots for, and Jen trying to figure out where she fits after leaving New York. It’s nostalgic, dramatic, extremely late-’90s, and still one of the best teen shows you can stream for free.
Dawson’s Creek
Dawson’s Creek is an American teen drama that portrays the fictional lives of a close-knit group of teenagers through high school and college.
No. 6: ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ (2005) | Family sitcom
“Everybody Hates Chris” never quite got the love it deserves. Inspired by Chris Rock’s childhood, the show follows young Chris as he tries to make it through school, family drama, neighborhood chaos, and basically everything else life throws at him in 1980s Brooklyn.
His dad is obsessed with every penny leaving the house. His mom does not have time for foolishness from anyone. His siblings are always adding to the madness. And Chris Rock’s narration ties it all together with jokes that are honest and warm at the same time. It’s funny right away, easy to jump into, and one of those shows you can put on anytime without overthinking it.
Everybody Hates Chris
Chris is a teenager growing up as the eldest of three children in Brooklyn, New York during the early 1980s. Uprooted to a new neighborhood and bused to a predominantly white middle school two-hours away by his strict, hard-working parents, Chris struggles to find his place while keeping his siblings in line at home and surmounting the challenges of junior high.
No. 5: ‘Wentworth’ (2013) | Prison drama
“Wentworth” wastes no time throwing you into prison life with Bea Smith, who quickly realizes that getting through each day means learning who has power, who wants it, and who absolutely cannot be trusted. The show is brutal in a way that feels very different from “Orange Is the New Black.”
This is darker, tougher, and much less interested in softening the edges. The alliances keep changing, the danger always feels close, and the characters are messy in a way that makes them feel real instead of polished for TV. If you want a prison drama that goes hard and keeps getting more intense, this one is a serious binge.
Wentworth
Bea Smith is locked up while awaiting trial for the attempted murder of her husband and must learn how life works in prison. A modern adaptation and sequel of the iconic Prisoner series.
No. 4: ‘Boarders’ (2024) | Teen comedy drama
“Boarders” takes the elite boarding school story and gives it a much fresher spin. The show follows five teens from inner-city London who win scholarships to a fancy private school where the traditions are old, the students are loaded, and the whole place clearly was not built with them in mind. That culture clash gives the show a ton of funny, awkward, and uncomfortable moments, but it never feels empty.
Underneath the jokes, it’s really about identity, friendship, class, and what it feels like to be dropped into a world that keeps reminding you you’re an outsider. The cast clicks fast, the episodes move, and because it’s a Tubi original, it’s the kind of free-streaming surprise people should actually be talking about more.
Boarders
Brace yourselves - the new kids are here. Five talented black scholarship students, and an elite private school with a reputation problem. One of them will have to change…
No. 3: ‘Chappelle’s Show’ (2003) | Sketch comedy
“Chappelle’s Show” landed on Tubi recently, and it’s an automatic for a list like this. This show was just everywhere for a while. Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan created the Comedy Central sketch show, and the format was pretty loose — Chappelle talking to the audience, a sketch, maybe a musical guest, then Charlie Murphy suddenly telling you about the time Prince destroyed him at basketball.
And going back and watching it now, some of this stuff is wild. But that’s also part of why “Chappelle’s Show” is a cultural institution. He takes something about race, fame, music, or just people behaving terribly and push the idea way past where you thought it was going. Rick James, Prince, Clayton Bigsby, the racial draft. There are an absurd number of sketches people still remember more than 20 years later, which is probably the best argument for putting this this high on the list.
Chappelle’s Show
Dave Chappelle’s singular point of view is unleashed through a combination of laidback stand-up and street-smart sketches.
No. 2: ‘Archer’ (2009) | Animated spy comedy
“Archer” is technically a spy show, although half the time everybody seems more interested in insulting each other than completing the mission. Sterling Archer is absurdly good at his job and also, somehow, the absolute worst person you’d ever want as a coworker. Malory, Lana, Cyril, Pam… basically nobody in this office is normal, and watching all of them make a bad situation worse is most of the fun.
The show also refuses to stay put. One stretch is classic spy stuff, then suddenly you’re watching noir, pirates, space missions, whatever. The jokes come fast, people are constantly yelling over each other, and there are little callbacks buried everywhere. I’ve already called it the best comedy to watch first on Tubi, and I’m sticking with that.
Archer
Smart-mouthed superspy Sterling Archer and his dysfunctional team of secret agents turn dangerous missions into messy misadventures around the globe.
No. 1: ‘Empire’ (2015) | Musical drama
“Empire” does not believe in having a normal amount of drama. Lucious Lyon runs a massive music company, gets some life-changing medical news, and starts thinking about which son should eventually take over. Then Cookie gets out of prison after 17 years, walks back into everybody’s life, and basically says: cool company, remember when I helped build it?
And from there… good luck. Brothers turn on each other, parents turn on kids, somebody’s always hiding something, plotting something, or dropping a song in the middle of the chaos. Taraji P. Henson as Cookie is the reason the whole thing really takes off, though. She can make a scene funny, threatening, sad, sometimes all three before it’s over. Yes, “Empire” is ridiculous sometimes. It also knows exactly how to make you hit the next episode, which is why it’s still the first drama I’d watch on Tubi.
Empire
A powerful family drama about the head of a music empire whose three sons and ex-wife all battle for his throne.