SERIES

It seems like Netflix rapidly took over the world and become the ultimate streaming platform that is somehow always attached to our favorite series and movies. But, after so many binged episodes, we start to feel mildly saturated with its content. Everything begins to look the same.

Fortunately, the Internet is an unimaginably huge – and we use it not only to chat with our best friends or use promotions like the 10bet bonus code, but we also use it to find alternatives to our favorite things – Netflix, in the case of this article. And luckily, Netflix’s competition manages to keep up with demands. We’ll list some great streaming platforms, many of which are completely free, where you can easily find a refreshing binge-watching content.

HBO Now

HBO production is one of our favorites. There are, of course, series to recapitulate, like GoT or Chernobyl, but also many new promising titles.

HBO Now is not cheaper than Netflix, but it provides some of the most wanted titles this year.

Sony’s Crackle

This platform offers 150 movie titles and 75 exciting series. You get completely free streaming for thirty seconds of commercials, which seems like a fair deal.

Popcornflix

It contains a large number of generated films of all genres. All videos have decent quality. The only downside is that it is ad-supportive and occasionally shows short advertises.

Amazon Prime

It is one of the best replacements, not too different from Netflix in terms of quantity and choice of movies and series. Yet, it has a restriction of use outside the US.

Amazon is offering a one-month free trial service and, after that, an $ 8.99 standard and $10.99 premium membership fee.

Hulu

Hulu is an excellent platform for finding binge content that is available in Japan and the USA.

Like Amazon, it also offers a 30-day trial version and, after that, memberships that cost $5.99 with ads on, and an ad-free version for $11.99.

CBS All Access

CBS holds some great series like The Bing Bang Theory or TV classics Fraiser and The Twilight Zone. They are also broadcasting live sports events and local news. This platform is available in Canada and the USA. 

Different packages have different prices, depending on advertising. Ad-supportive service costs $5.99, while for the exclusive non-commercial watch you need to pay $9.99 per month.

Sling TV

Sling is a live TV and streaming that is available only in the US. This portal is not just about movies and series but also about sports streams and news broadcasts. For a 20-dollar membership, you can unlock 25 channels. For 25 dollars, you’ll get 40 channels, and for 40 dollars you can unlock them all. 

With all these alternatives, you should be careful about the cost of the service, as well as country restrictions. This type of service may provide more content than, for example, Netflix or the standard television. Moreover, they can be much more affordable than some more popular platforms.

Throughout the history of television, we have had the opportunity to watch so many great TV shows. This type of TV concept became very popular in the early decades of television broadcasting. Various genres and themes have always attracted big auditoriums all over the world. 

The fact that one story is divided into many episodes, prolonged and with an uncertain outcome, makes the series especially exciting and addictive for watchers who create a special bond with the characters over time.

Timeless TV Series

Sometimes, we are not even aware of the fact that one story is being broadcast during our whole lifetime. Take The Simpsons, for example. Did you know that this TV series is running for almost 30 years? Even Grey’s Anatomy aired their first season fifteen years ago. 

Unnoticed, we grow up with their characters. Many times we identify with their problems and relate to their life stories. In some TV series that run for a long time, we can spot an actual timelapse — passing moments painted on actors’ faces or changes in the scenery through the thirty or forty years.

Five Longest-Running TV Series Ever

Among the series that hold the absolute record in broadcasting, some have lasted for longer than half a century. Such shows have been a favorite pastime for our grandparents, parents and now us. Here are the five longest-running series ever. 

5. Sesame Street (49 years old) — So many children through generations have grown with the grouch named Oscar. It is a children’s show that has a mixed cast of adults, child actors, and mapped dolls. The adorable and educational program is the most popular children series ever.

4. Days of Our Lives (53 years old) — The legendary soap opera was aired for the first time on NBS in 1963, and since then has more than 13,200 episodes. 

Through decades of shooting and running, the series has been constantly changing its cast. One of the most exciting trivia is the fact that the popular series Friends features the character Joe Tribiani who is actually an actor (Matt le Blanc) that plays in this marathon soap opera.

3. As The World Turns (54 years old) — The CBS series currently holds the third place for the longest airing, but given the fact that it ended in 2010, it can yet be surpassed.

2. General Hospital (55 years old) — This is one of the most popular series in America. At the same time, this is the longest-running series that is still in production. The story is located in a fictional city and an unnamed New York hospital and follows the lives of employees, patients, love and family relations.

1. Guiding Light (57 years old) — Officially the longest-running series lasted from 1952 to 2009. In the late ‘30s, this was a radio show that followed the life of a middle-class family in the small town of Springfield. Later, it moved to the small screens and became a real hit.

The holiday season is a perfect time to find a great TV show and binge it all the way. With cold weather and plenty of free time, what else to do? (Okay, many of my friends prefer looking up for sports-betting sites like the Apuestas Deportivas USA and having fun over watching TV shows, but hey… hear me out) But be careful when choosing what to watch, because we’ve recently witnessed a lot of good shows being canceled. 

Luckily, this is the age of Netflix, HBO, and a bunch of fantastic TV shows, so it shouldn’t be so hard to find a perfect one to be mad about. In our finest selection, we can make a bit of variance, depending on watchers’ mood and taste. 

When it comes to the best TV shows for binge-watching, there are some of them that should be reviewed, others that should be studied, and returning shows to be welcomed.

TV Shows to Review

Game Of Thrones (8 seasons) — For all of you who successfully resisted watching this show when everybody else was mad about it, now is the perfect time to finally meet the North and the Mother of the Dragons.

Breaking Bad (5 seasons) — When it comes to TV storytelling, it doesn’t get much better than Breaking Bad. This mindblowing story about a chemistry teacher who cooks meth can keep you on the edge of your seat for hours. If you missed it before, don’t miss it now.

True Detective ( 3 seasons) — Each season is a different brilliant story filled up with mystery and excitement, as well as fantastic casting crew, photography, and music. 

TV Shows to Study

Stranger Things (4 seasons, on-air) — A small-town community, faced with supernatural forces and dark government secrets — perfect for binge-watching weekends.

Orange is the new black (7 seasons) — Much rewarded and nominated TV show that follows the story inside the minimum-security women’s prison.

Peaky Blinders (7 seasons) — Epic story about the family of gangsters located in Birmingham, England at the beginning of the twentieth century. Shelby brothers can easily get under your skin and make you binge-watch the whole seven seasons in one breath.

Returning Shows

Vikings (6 seasons) — History Chanel productions brought us the Vikings saga back in 2013. Since then, we are more than addicted to the bravery of savage warriors in a unique combination of history and fiction and a lot of intrigues. While waiting for new adventures, it can be a good idea to remind ourselves of the old ones.

A Discovery of Witches (2 seasons) — We met Diana Bishop last year and immediately fell in love with her. This is yet another TV show about a witch, but with a whole new perspective.

Ray Donovan (7 seasons) — The best “fixer” in LA is returning this December with one of the strongest characters and TV shows that can be watched for hours. 

As much as the cinematography cherishes the sport as one of the most inspirational ideas, things are a little bit different in the world of TV series. It seems like the TV series concept rarely puts sports into the focus and produces less TV series on this subject. Even if one show is somehow linked to sports, it is usually a side story that follows some of the characters.

Yet, we can select some genuinely great TV masterpieces that can introduce you to the whole new world of sports. The following stories are about particular athletes, careers, and their lifestyle. They picture another, sometimes comic, but more exciting world. However, TV series sometimes can show us some more repulsive and cruel side of sports. 

One thing is sure — by watching any TV series of this type, we can find out a lot of the sport in question and none of them will leave us without reaction. We can also find ourselves a Coral Sports Promo Code to go along with watching sports-related shows.

Best Sports TV Series Ever

10. The League (2009–2015) — This is a hilarious comedy about the group of friends who are playing fantasy football league. Through a funny storyline, they constantly trap each other, but also share the most profound emotions and real friendship. 

9. Coach (1989–1997) — An old-school comedy that follows the university coach who dedicated his life to football. Opposite to him, his partner is a family guy. Together, they make a perfect match.

8. Sports Nights (1998–2000) — TV series that present the unrevealed part of the story — the life of sports reporters behind the camera. It is a story about best friends and their cable sports programs. 

7. GLOW (2017– In duration) — Glow is a refreshing and unique drama with comic elements that follow both the professional and personal life of the women’s wrestling organization members in LA during the ’80s.

6. The Game (2006–2015) — The story is more about personal lives and love relationships of the pro football players seen through the eyes of their girlfriends. 

5. Eastbound & Down (2009–2013) — The professional footballer with a harsh nature returns to his hometown after a failed career and begins to teach physics at his former school.

4. Footballers’ Wives (2002–2006) — British TV series that details the scandalous life of the famous European football couples that is full of intrigues, deceptions, and rivalries.

3. The White Shadow (1978–1981) — Ken Reeves is a former NBA player who returns to his hometown and takes the job of a basketball coach in a mixed-race school. It is a touching story about the basketball, personal struggles, and the power of community. 

2. Ballers (2015–2018 ) — The story about former and active football players, their lives and professional careers, with adorable Dwayne Jonson in the leading role. 

1. Friday Night Lights (2006–2011) — It is a quite popular TV series about the small Texas community. It portrays people’s passion and love for football and their high-school team. 

A highly practiced trend in watching movies and especially series over the past few years, the so-called binge-watching, is increasingly gaining its pros and cons on social networks and discussions around the world.

Binge-watch refers to a constant watching, episode after episode of all seasons, or even entire series. At first glance, it may seem as addictive as anything else you would do manically, but is it actually that dangerous? 

Before continuing the article, note that not all watching defines as binging; just like we have fun with online games or William Hill Promo Code offers, we can watch a few episodes in a sitting and that will be fine – we do it for fun. Let’s get into explaining what binging actually means!

Have You Ever Binged a Series?

It’s just like with gambling — if you have enough money for sports betting or gaming, you will do it. It will not make you addicted or put you in big trouble. But when you start spending the money you don’t have — that’s when the problem arises.

It’s the same story with binge-watching. An adult and responsible person is completely capable of determining the time they want to spend in front of the screen. It might mean a few sleepless nights or a missed party at the dorm, but it’s an individual choice. After finishing your series, stretch out a bit, fix your hair and move on with life. It’s not a big deal. 

Still, it happens that we find our friends in a terrible physical state after trying to reach them on the phone for days. The reason — they hooked on Marvel’s Punisher. They binge-watched, but also binge-ate and drank the whole week.

With a completely objective approach, here’s why the new trend is so great, but also when you should start worrying about it.

The Bright Sides of Binge-Watch

It’s a perfect getaway. After a tough week, the stress you bring home from school or work, or a lousy relationship, it is good to have some “me-time.” Watching a good series in one breath is an excellent anti-stress therapy.

Quite the opposite, a binge-watch in a dark room doesn’t necessarily mean that you are an introvert who runs away from others. It can be a perfect activity for family bonding, quality time with the best friend, or even a romantic weekend with your partner. Choose some adorable love story, get a bottle of wine and some chocolate, and you can create the perfect date. 

Binge-watching is a pure hedonistic pleasure. In the end, you wouldn’t watch episode after episode if you didn’t find it exciting and worth your time. Everyone occasionally deserves a complete enjoyment.

The Dark Side of Binge-Watch

The particular warning applies to huge fans of the series and people who are prone to manic worship of anything.

Continuous watching of series can lead to behavior that has elements of obsession. When you notice that you are nervous when you have to go outside, or you ignore your friends because you would rather watch the series than be with them, it’s time to cool down.

Episodes always end in a way that you can’t wait to see what happens next. But when we calculate that the average episode lasts at least thirty to forty-five minutes, and multiply that by the number of episodes we watched, it is a lot of time. Those who have never binged in life will say it is a waste of time. We would disagree, but could certainly use it for something more noble and relevant.

Diving too much into fiction can lead to the loss of the real world’s concept. After you watched a few seasons of the zombie apocalypse series, you can feel “infected” by the story and start thinking about it constantly.

With a little care and moderation, it is possible to enjoy your favorite stories and still have your own when you turn off the screen.