Even though Paramount+ is one of the relatively new services on the streaming scene, it has a ton of great content. Paramount+ was made by the combination of CBS All Access and Viacom after their merger in 2019. Since that merger, they have had access to a healthy amount of content for a mixture of audiences. With Nickelodeon for the kids, Star Trek for some sci-fi fans, plus a good amount of docu-series and TV shows, Paramount+ is an excellent option. And whether you’re just considering a subscription or if you’re already on the service, this guide will help you find the best shows to watch on Paramount+. Ready? Let’s begin then!
For more recommendations, check out our list of the best shows on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Disney+, or HBO, or browse the best movies on Paramount+.
Editor’s note: This article was updated October 2024 to include Matlock.
‘Matlock’ (2024 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% | IMDb: 7.6/10
A big hit in 2024, and a gender-swapped reboot of the original series, Matlock stars Academy Award winner Kathy Bates as the titular Matlock, a former lawyer who returns to work after some time, intent on becoming the smartest, most cunning case-winner at the firm. Many aspects of Matlock work in its favor, but it’s hard to look past Bates’ stunning lead performance when considering Matlock’s best features. Alongside Bates in this intelligently assembled cast are the likes of Skye P. Marshall, David Del Rio, Leah Lewis, Jason Ritter, and more, all of whom work wonders with a set of witty scripts. For crime drama fans, Matlock is the brand-new must-watch addition to your television schedules. – Jake Hodges
‘South Park’ (1997 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% | IMDb: 8.7/10
Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s iconic animated creation, South Park, became an instant phenomenon and, upon its debut, earned the highest ratings of any cable program on several occasions. The show follows the wild misadventures and unlikely lives of four grade-schoolers. However, these are no normal children, with their foul-mouthed, often disgusting antics leading to obscene and regularly hilarious shenanigans that are certainly not safe for kids. Across 30 seasons to date, no celebrity, theme, or political event has been safe from the satirical eyes of Stone and Parker, with the happenings in South Park always feeling relevant and fresh. Winner of five Primetime Emmys, among many other awards, South Park continues to produce strong, biting social commentary with a consistent edge of slapstick and vulgar humor. – Jake Hodges
‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ (2003 – 2010)
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% | IMDb: 7.8/10
Since the ‘80s, there hasn’t been a time without some kind of Ninja Turtle content, from live-action films to animated series to the original comic…but the top of the rankings has to be the seven-season Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series from the early 2000s. Departing from the comedic toy commercials that ran throughout the ‘90s series, this revival veers closer to the more mature themes and radical action setpieces of the comic books. Fans of the franchise get to grow with their favorite Turtles as this series expertly uses serialized storytelling to give each one their own unique and interesting arc. Before the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem film, this series was the best that any Ninja Turtle fan could ask for.
‘Elsbeth’ (2024 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% | IMDb: 7.9/10
Created by Robert King and Michelle King, Elsbeth is a mystery procedural comedy-drama featuring Carrie Preston in the titular role. The series is a spin-off of The Good Wife and The Good Fight, following Preston’s unconventional attorney, Elsbeth Tascioni, first introduced in The Good Wife. The show follows Elsbeth’s life and cases after she moves to New York and starts working cases for the NYPD as an outside investigator, with Carra Patterson and Wendell Pierce co-starring alongside Preston. With Elsbeth, Preston’s Emmy-winning supporting character becomes more entertaining than ever, perfectly fitting the role of a detective. Her performance is a delight to watch. The series is clever and cozy — a refreshing entry in a franchise that’s most known for its drama and intrigue — and it has drawn favorable comparisons to shows like Monk, Poker Face, and Columbo. Like those shows, Elsbeth follows a “howdunit” format, showing us the crime and then focusing on how our lovable lawyer catches the criminals. Whether you’re a fan of the franchise or completely new to this world, Elsbeth is a great watch with brilliant performances, well-crafted stories, and oodles of charm.
‘The Offer’ (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 57% | IMDb: 8.6/10
The Offer is one of the most recent additions to Paramount+ and has already proven itself to be an exhilarating watch. The miniseries tells the dramatized story of the making of The Godfather, one of the greatest movies of all time. With a star-studded cast and a high-profile subject, the show is easily one of the most exciting things Paramount+ has to offer. It’s not strictly speaking a hundred percent true story but the show does present an excellent portrait of the historic production and the complex individuals who brought it to life. Check out our review of The Offer for more and add the series to your watchlist right away. It is an offer you can’t refuse, after all.
‘Frasier’ (2023 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 60% | IMDb: 6.8/10
One of comedy’s most beloved sitcoms, Frasier’s initial run earned itself a worldwide fanbase, with lovers rejoicing upon hearing the news that a reboot was on its way. Once again starring Kesley Grammer as the titular Frasier Crane, in this long-awaited reboot, he finds himself in a new city facing hilarious new obstacles as the past slowly creeps up on him. Adding sitcom veteran Nicholas Lyndhurst to the cast, the Frasier reboot looks to find the magic of the original and combine it with modern-day sensibilities, all in an attempt to bring one of TV’s most fondly remembered comedies to a brand-new generation of viewership. – Jake Hodges
‘Special Ops: Lioness’ (2023 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 56% | IMDb: 7.7/10
Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3) continues her kickass streak with Special Ops: Lioness, an action-packed spy thriller series from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. In a series full of strong and powerful women, Saldana plays a team leader who enlists a Marine named Cruz (Laysla De Oliveira) with special skills into her program geared towards rooting out terrorists. Supporting the cast are heavy hitters like Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, and Dave Annable. Special Ops: Lioness successfully blends female empowerment with espionage suspense, political drama, and general intrigue, only adding to Sheridan’s gritty drama repertoire. – Yael Tygiel
‘Joe Pickett’ (2021 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.7/10
Based on the novels by C.J. Box, Joe Pickett is a neo-Western about a small-town game warden in Wyoming who gets embroiled in a political powder keg as a series of murders pits the residents against one another in a conflict that threatens to destroy the community. Michael Dorman (For All Mankind) fills the boots of the titular reluctant hero of the series, and he does an amazing job portraying a simple family man who’s in over his head but can’t stop himself from trying to do the right thing. But it’s not just Dorman — the social issues tearing the town apart surround big-game hunting and the preservation of nature in Yellowstone Park, which is a fresh motivating factor that we don’t often see in the Western genre that makes the morality of the show delightfully gray. – Tauri Miller
‘The Family Stallone’ (2023 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% | IMDb: 6.5/10
The Family Stallone is a behind-the-scenes look at the legendary action star Sylvester Stallone (Rocky), his wife, and his three daughters. This reality series differs from a lot of the famous family fodder out there, choosing to eschew manufactured drama and focus on the day-to-day struggles of trying to preserve the legacy of the Stallone name. It offers a slice-of-life story for a larger-than-life family that primarily focuses on the daughters Sophia, Sistine, and Scarlet trying to pave their own path while their father cheers them on, showing that he’s always in their corner no matter what they do.
‘School Spirits’ (2023 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% | IMDb: 7.6/10
For many, high school can be a haunting experience, but in this murder mystery thriller, it’s our main character that’s doing the haunting. When 16-year-old Maddie (Peyton List) is murdered in the boiler room of her school, she finds herself in the afterlife among other students who have passed away on campus. Fortunately, she discovers she can still somehow interact with the living, and it’s going to take every bit of skill and sleuthing she can muster to solve her own murder. School Spirits has the sheen of similar teen dramas like Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars, but that only serves to hide the darkness lurking below this tale of murder and betrayal. – Tauri Miller
‘Rabbit Hole’ (2023 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 76% | IMDb: 7.4/10
Kiefer Sutherland (24) returns once again to fight for American democracy in this spy thriller featuring Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) and Rob Yang (Succession). Sutherland stars as John Weir, a corporate spy framed for murder by a shadowy organization and must go on the run. As he fights for his life, he meets a group of like-minded allies who try to gain his trust in time to stop a massive conspiracy that threatens to destroy democracy as we know it. Rabbit Hole takes on the issues of privacy, data security, and voter manipulation that we face today and injects them with riveting action and layers of drama.
‘Wolf Pack’ (2023 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 44% | IMDb: 6.5/10
Wolf Pack is a sexy new teen drama from Criminal Minds creator Jeff Davis. Although it shares an unfathomable number of similarities with the beloved Teen Wolf series, including its creator, Wolf Pack is a brand-new concept with its own separate universe and rich mythology. Starring supernatural legend Sarah Michelle Gellar, along with Rodrigo Santoro (Love, Actually), Armani Jackson, and Bella Shepard (The Wilds), Wolf Pack is based on the novels by Edo van Belkom. Wolf Pack follows a couple of teens who become werewolves after a creature wounds them during a strange wildfire, leading them to find another pair with a similar story from a fire 16 years prior. – Yael Tygiel
‘Criminal Minds: Evolution’ (2022 – Present)
IMDb: 8.1/10
Criminal Minds: Evolution is an unbelievably fantastic continuation of the hit series Criminal Minds, which ran for 15 seasons. Reuniting a core group of FBI agents in the Behavioral Analysis Unit, Criminal Minds: Evolution focuses on a network of serial killers. Shifting from the original procedural format, Criminal Minds: Evolution explores how the pandemic forced criminals to adapt, ultimately making the BAU step up their game as well. Stacked with familiar faces, Joe Mantegna, Kirsten Vangsness, A.J. Cook, Aisha Tyler, and Paget Brewster return to their beloved characters, welcoming Criminal Minds: Evolution as a wonderful new chapter in the Criminal Minds franchise. – Yael Tygiel
‘Tulsa King’ (2022 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% | IMDb: 8.0/10
From Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone) comes Tulsa King, a new drama series starring Sylvester Stallone (Creed). In his first television role ever, Tulsa King sees Stallone as a mafia man named Dwight “The General” Manfredi, who finds himself starting over in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after his release from prison. Already renewed for a second season, Tulsa King was destined to be a hit, especially with such an incredible lead and the mind behind television’s current slew of gritty macho dramas. Utilizing tropes of mob movies and criminal enterprises, along with found families as “The General” recruits unlikely characters to help him build his new empire, Tulsa King is a captivating series. – Yael Tygiel
‘1923’ (2022 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% | IMDb: 8.3/10
Further developing the Yellowstone universe created by modern cowboy Taylor Sheridan, 1923 serves as Sheridan’s newest prequel series, set after the hit series 1883. Starring Harrison Ford (The Rise of Skywalker) and Helen Mirren (F9: The Fast Saga), 1923 introduces fans of the franchise to the Dutton’s new generation settled in the Montana mountains. Within the gritty drama, the Duttons must survive historical hardships, including the Great Depression and Prohibition. Through the planned two seasons, 1923 will explore the Dutton family’s strength during Western Expansion and allow Sheridan to refine his rancher life stories. – Yael Tygiel
‘Star Trek: Picard’ (2020 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% | IMDb: 7.5/10
Star Trek fans can mostly be divided into two groups based on whether they prefer Captain Kirk or Captain Picard. Star Trek: Picard is a show that’s clearly meant for the latter camp. Featuring the return of the iconic Sir Patrick Stewart as an older and more troubled Jean-Luc Picard, the series cemented its position in the Star Trek canon with an excellent first season. Season 2 expands the story even further with the return of more beloved characters like Q and Whoopi Goldberg‘s Guinan. This show is a must-watch for sci-fi fans and especially for fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Picard Season 3 is set to be the final season of the show.
‘Halo’ (2022 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% | IMDb: 7.3/10
Halo is possibly one of the single most popular video game franchises of all time. So it’s easy to understand why it took so long to adapt it in a way that really does justice to the source material. The Paramount+ show isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it does present a solid adaptation of the games that stands on its own as a great story. And it really does look like this show is only going to get better with future seasons so get in now for one hell of a ride. Check out our Halo review for more and immerse yourself in this thrilling series.
‘Star Trek: The Original Series’ (1966 – 1969)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% | IMDb: 8.4/10
When a franchise has grown to the gigantic scale of Star Trek, it’s clear that the original project must have been something amazing. And oh boy it is! The original Star Trek show is legendary. It’s probably one of the best sci-fi shows to ever grace a television screen. Featuring iconic characters like William Shatner‘s Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock, Star Trek: The Original Series is a delightful watch that has aged better than you’d expect. While the effects and props might not be up to the standards we expect from shows these days, it’s still a great show for fans of classic sci-fi. The series follows the adventures of Captain Kirk and the rest of the crew of the starship Enterprise as it explores the mysteries of the universe. In case you haven’t seen it yet, add the show to your watchlist right away. And as always, live long and prosper!
‘Bull’ (2016 – 2022)
IMDb: 7.1/10
Bull is a CBS reality TV series about a trial scientist Dr. Jason Bull, who is a psychologist who analyzes people’s behavior. Bull isn’t just a world-class people reader though, he also has a team of lawyers, former FBI agents, and a hacker. If you are ready for a good amount of TV drama, this show likes to ask some deep questions about the nature of why we have laws, and how we use them.
Bull has a total of six seasons and originally came out in 2016. The sixth season is the final season with a total of 12 episodes in this final showing.
‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ (2020 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% | IMDb: 7.7/10
Star Trek: Lower Decks is a new era of Star Trek. Written by Mike McMahan, who has also worked on famous shows such as Rick and Morty, South Park, and Out There. This adult comedy often uses Star Trek tropes for comedic effect while questioning some of the most basic assumptions of the Star Trek Universe. The show focuses on a group of ensigns on the lowly ship the U.S.S Cerritos, and they cover all the “usual” missions that get assigned to Star Fleet. This show originally started in 2020 and currently has two seasons. Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 is currently in production and it is set to release in late 2022 with a total of 10 episodes.
