The 7 best Paramount+ shows to stream right now
The 7 best Paramount+ shows to stream right now
The best shows on Paramount+ right now include spy thrillers, Western drama, sci-fi, crime, and a little ‘90s nostalgia.
I’ve actually been spending a lot of time in Paramount+ lately, though mostly for movies. But after poking around the TV lineup, you really shouldn’t sleep on that side of the app either. You’ve got CBS shows, Showtime dramas, Taylor Sheridan doing Taylor Sheridan things, and a bunch of originals that don’t always get as much noise as they should. So if you’re scrolling around tonight and need a place to start, here are my picks for the top seven shows streaming on Paramount+ right now.
Top 7 TV shows streaming on Paramount+ right now:
No. 7: ‘Goosebumps’ (1995) | Kids horror
“Goosebumps” is such a nostalgia hit if you grew up on R.L. Stine books. I was obsessed with them as a kid, especially “One Day at HorrorLand,” but honestly, the original TV series scared me so much I couldn’t even finish some episodes. And that’s kind of why it rules. It was made for kids, but it never felt like it was talking down to them.
Every episode has a simple, creepy little hook: a haunted mask, a living dummy, a cursed camera, a weird town, some monster quietly waiting to ruin a child’s entire week. It’s spooky, goofy, very ’90s, and still such a fun gateway horror binge if you want something scary without fully ruining your sleep.
Goosebumps
Anything can turn spooky in this horror anthology series based on the best-selling books by master of kid horror, R.L. Stine. In every episode, see what happens when regular kids find themselves in scary situations, and how they work to confront and overcome their fears.
No. 6: ‘All the Queen’s Men’ (2021) | Drama
“All the Queen’s Men” is big, messy, dramatic TV in the best way. Eva Marcille stars as Marilyn “Madam” DeVille, who runs Eden, an Atlanta nightclub built around male exotic dancers, power plays, money problems, shady alliances, and people making choices that are almost always going to blow up in their faces.
The fifth and final season is streaming now, with new episodes dropping weekly through the midseason finale on Wednesday, July 22, so this is a great time to jump in. This isn’t trying to be quiet prestige TV – it’s betrayal, revenge, glamour, survival, and Madam doing whatever she has to do to protect the empire she built.
All the Queen’s Men
Marilyn “Madam” DeVille is at the top of her game in the Atlanta nightclub industry, and she won’t let anyone or anything stand her in way as she rules a crew of male exotic dancers.
No. 5: ‘The Chi’ (2018) | Drama
“The Chi” has been around long enough that it really feels like its own lived-in world now. Created by Lena Waithe, the series follows people on Chicago’s South Side whose lives keep crashing into each other in ways that are painful, funny, romantic, dangerous, and deeply personal. What makes it work is that it’s not just about one big plot – it’s about a community.
You’re watching people grow up, fall in love, lose people, mess up, try again, and figure out how to keep going when life keeps pushing back. It can definitely get soapy, but that’s part of the appeal. If you like ensemble dramas where the characters are the whole reason you keep hitting play, this is one of the strongest Showtime shows sitting on Paramount+.
The Chi
A relevant, timely and distinctive coming-of-age story following a half dozen interrelated characters in the South Side of Chicago. The story centers on Brandon, an ambitious and confident young man who dreams about opening a restaurant of his own someday, but is conflicted between the promise of a new life and his responsibility to his mother and teenage brother back in the South Side.
No. 4: ‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ (2005) | Crime procedural
“Criminal Minds: Evolution” is comfort TV for people who relax by watching the FBI chase deeply disturbing killers. The BAU is still doing what it does best: profiling dangerous criminals, finding patterns everyone else missed, and trying to stop the next horrible thing before it happens. But the Paramount+ version gives the show a little more serialized weight, especially with the Elias Voit storyline hanging over everything.
The cases are still creepy, but the team is the reason it’s so easy to keep watching. Rossi, Prentiss, JJ, Garcia, Tara, Alvez, and the rest of the crew make it feel familiar right away. If you want a dark procedural you can fall into for hours, this is the one.
Criminal Minds
An elite team of FBI profilers analyze the country’s most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit’s most experienced agent is David Rossi, a founding member of the BAU who returns to help the team solve new cases.
No. 3: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ (2022) | Sci-fi adventure
“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” is probably the easiest modern “Star Trek” show to recommend, even if someone has never watched a minute of “Star Trek” before. It follows Captain Pike, Spock, Number One, and the USS Enterprise crew in the years before Kirk takes over, but the real reason it works is the format. It actually feels like an adventure show.
New planet. New problem. New moral headache. Anson Mount is great as Pike because he brings this warm, steady, thoughtful energy that makes the whole crew easy to root for. There’s plenty here for longtime Trekkies, but it’s also friendly enough for newcomers who just want smart sci-fi with heart, humor, and a little space weirdness.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Follow Captain Christopher Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.
No. 2: ‘Dutton Ranch’ (2026) | Western drama
“Dutton Ranch” is the big new “Yellowstone” universe show on Paramount+, and it knows exactly what fans want: more Beth and Rip. Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser return as Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, who are trying to start over in Texas after everything that went down in “Yellowstone.” But come on. These two were never going to get a quiet little ranch life where everyone minds their business and drinks coffee on the porch.
They’re trying to build something in Rio Paloma, but rival ranches, old wounds, new power players, and Carter growing into his own person keep turning that fresh start into another fight. New episodes are dropping now on Fridays, so this is one of those rare spinoffs you can follow week to week while everyone is still reacting to it.
Dutton Ranch
Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton gamble everything on a new life in South Texas, but the promise of building a future far from the ghosts of Yellowstone quickly collides with brutal new realities and a rival ranch that will stop at nothing to protect its empire.
No. 1: ‘The Agency’ (2024) | Spy thriller
If you want the best grown-up thriller on Paramount+ right now, “The Agency” is the move. Michael Fassbender plays Martian, a covert CIA agent who gets yanked out of his undercover life and sent back to London Station, only to realize the life he left behind isn’t done with him yet. Season 2 is now streaming, and the whole thing has only gotten messier, with mole hunts, old secrets, and covert wars making Martian’s world feel even shakier.
This is all paranoia, secrets, double lives, bad choices, and people who’ve spent so much time lying that the truth feels almost impossible to recognize. Fassbender is the obvious draw, but the cast around him is ridiculous: Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, Richard Gere, Katherine Waterston, and more. It’s tense, stylish, and smart enough that every conversation feels like someone is hiding something dangerous. For my money, it’s the best show streaming on Paramount+ right now.
The Agency
Covert CIA agent Martian is ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind unexpectedly reappears, their romance reignites, pitting his career, his real identity and his mission against his heart while hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.