TV's Best One-Sitting Binges: 20 Shows You Can Complete In A Day
As a new tally by FX revealed this month, a whopping 559 scripted series — just scripted! — were released in 2021 across broadcast, cable and streaming. In other words? You've got a lot of choices when you're scanning through your watchlist for a new show to start.
But as tempting as it might be to catch up on a veteran series with three, five or even 10-plus seasons under its belt, sometimes you're simply looking for an easy, day-long binge — the kind of show with only one or two seasons that doesn't require weeks of commitment. And in the list below, we've compiled 20 series that meet those criteria.
A note about our list: We kept our picks to closed-ended series only, with the exception of HBO's The White Lotus (which will return for Season 2, but, as an anthology series, can be enjoyed as a standalone show). As much as we wanted to recommend ongoing series like HBO Max's Starstruck or Peacock's Girls5eva, we've stuck with shows you can watch in their entirety during an afternoon, without the commitment of eventual future episodes.
And though the recs below do include recent favorites like HBO's Mare of Easttown and Disney+'s WandaVision, you'll also find some older fare, including the British sitcom Spaced, Michaela Coel's terrific Chewing Gum and HBO's wonderfully awkward Hello Ladies.
Scroll through our list of ideal one-sitting binges, then drop a comment with your own suggestions!
Behind Her Eyes
Where to Watch It: Netflix
Episode Count: Six
How Long It'll Take You: Four hours, 59 minutes
This Netflix thriller, which follows a single mom who has an affair with her boss and befriends his wife along the way, is delightfully bonkers. Even as new twists make you say, "Wait, what?!" you won't be able to resist watching the entire, absurd thing just to see how it ends.
Bodyguard
Where to Watch It: Netflix
Episode Count: Six
How Long It'll Take You: Six hours, two minutes
Our advice? Take a good, long intermission from your binge after Episode 3 or so; Bodyguard is excellent and gripping, but it's also intense, and you might want a little breather halfway through the run. But Game of Thrones' Richard Madden is utterly magnetic here as David Budd, a police sergeant tasked with protecting a politician whose beliefs clash greatly with his own.
The Chair
Where to Watch It: Netflix
Episode Count: Six
How Long It'll Take You: Three hours
Netflix served up one of 2021's breeziest, most enjoyable binges with this collegiate comedy, which stars Sandra Oh as the first woman ever appointed chair of Pembroke University's English department. It's almost too short... but then you've still got time to start another show on this list.
Chewing Gum
Where to Watch It: HBO Max
Episode Count: 12
How Long It'll Take You: Four hours, 32 minutes
If you're only familiar with Michaela Coel from her marvelous 2020 mini I May Destroy You, then run, don't walk, to wherever you do your best binge-watching and enjoy her phenomenal 2015 comedy about a young woman who's determined to lose her virginity.
The Duchess
Where to Watch It: Netflix
Episode Count: Six
How Long It'll Take You: Two hours, 20 minutes
Though Netflix opted not to renew Katherine Ryan's sharp, sassy comedy for Season 2, its six-episode run is still quite satisfying, packing in lotsa heart alongside its rapid-fire punchlines as Ryan's character tries to find the right man with whom to conceive her second child.
The End of the F***ing World
Where to Watch It: Netflix
Episode Count: 16
How Long It'll Take You: Five hours, 42 minutes
At 16 installments, this British dark comedy boasts the highest episode count on our list, but it's not a slog. Centered on James and Alyssa, two teens who embark on a road trip together for very different reasons, it's a witty, weird gem of a series, with episodes that run 20 minutes on average.
Fleabag
Where to Watch It: Prime Video
Episode Count: 12
How Long It'll Take You: Five hours, 11 minutes
You've likely had at least two friends recommend Phoebe Waller-Bridge's comedy to you in the past, especially after its acclaimed second season scooped up award after award in 2019. If your response at the time was, "I'll definitely put it on my list!," know that you can cross it off said list in just over five hours — and Waller-Bridge's hilarious, heartfelt turn as the title character will keep you pressing play.
Forever
Where to Watch It: Prime Video
Episode Count: Eight
How Long It'll Take You: Four hours, four minutes
Not to be confused with ABC's Ioan Gruffudd drama from 2014 — though that did make our list of one-season shows we still miss! — this Forever stars SNL's Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph as Oscar and June, a married couple whose relationship is, uh, forever changed on a fateful ski trip.
Hello Ladies
Where to Watch It: HBO Max
Episode Count: Eight, plus one follow-up movie
How Long It'll Take You: Five hours, five minutes
If cringe comedy is a genre you enjoy, then bask in the awkwardness of this series, which stars Stephen Merchant as a man looking for love in Los Angeles.
High Fidelity
Where to Watch It: Hulu
Episode Count: 10
How Long It'll Take You: Four hours, 53 minutes
Hulu's take on the 2000 John Cusack film was, frustratingly, cancelled after just one season. But the 10 existing episodes are a fulfilling binge on their own, with Zoë Kravitz delivering one of 2020's most charismatic performances.
The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst
Where to Watch It: HBO Max
Episode Count: Six
How Long It'll Take You: Four hours, 28 minutes
There aren't many true-crime docuseries we'd recommend finishing in one sitting, as many of them are too bleak or gruesome for sustained viewing. But The Jinx — whose subject, convicted murderer Robert Durst, died earlier this month — is a fascinating watch, with the kind of twist ending you'd expect from a scripted HBO miniseries. Speaking of which...
Mare of Easttown
Where to Watch It: HBO Max
Episode Count: Seven
How Long It'll Take You: Six hours, 55 minutes
Kate Winslet does some of her very best work as Mare Sheehan, a detective investigating a recent murder in a suburb of Philadelphia. And though the series is tonally darker than most others on our list — you'll want to take a break or two during your binge, if only to satisfy your sudden hoagie craving — Mare is also so addictive, you can't help but cue up episode after episode.
The Night Manager
Where to Watch It: Prime Video
Episode Count: Six
How Long It'll Take You: Six hours
Already watched Disney+'s Loki and seeking more Tom Hiddleston content? Look no further than this miniseries adaptation of John le Carré's novel, which follows an undercover operation to infiltrate an arms dealer's inner circle. Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman... honestly, what more persuasion do you need?
Normal People
Where to Watch It: Hulu
Episode Count: 12
How Long It'll Take You: Five hours, 39 minutes
This sexy, stirring adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel topped our list of 2020's best drama series, thanks in large part to Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones' mesmerizing performances. The pair stars as Connell and Marianne, two high school (and later, college) students who strike up a steamy, secret relationship with each other.
The Queen's Gambit
Where to Watch It: Netflix
Episode Count: Seven
How Long It'll Take You: Six hours, 33 minutes
If Netflix's miniseries failed to make your watchlist during quarantine in 2020, we still endorse watching the breathtaking drama during a free afternoon. Anya Taylor-Joy, as you've likely heard by now, is completely captivating as Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy who struggles with drug and alcohol abuse while attempting to become one of the game's greatest-ever players.
Spaced
Where to Watch It: Prime Video
Episode Count: 14
How Long It'll Take You: Five hours, 47 minutes
We're going a little farther back with this one, a 1999 British sitcom starring Shaun of the Dead's Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson. They play Tim and Daisy, two strangers in London who decide to move in together and pose as a couple in order to score the only apartment they can both afford. Antics ensue, naturally.
Stay Close
Where to Watch It: Netflix
Episode Count: Eight
How Long It'll Take You: Six hours, 12 minutes
Given its release on New Year's Eve, you may have missed this Netflix mini when it first came out last December. Based on Harlan Coben's novel of the same name, Stay Close follows a soccer mom (Cush Jumbo), paparazzo (Richard Armitage) and homicide detective (James Nesbitt), whose lives are upended by a man's strange disappearance.
WandaVision
Where to Watch It: Disney+
Episode Count: Nine
How Long It'll Take You: Five hours, 57 minutes
Disney+'s decision to release WandaVision on a weekly basis made perfect strategic sense; the show's buzz ultimately built so high, you could hardly open Twitter on a Friday morning without getting spoiled right away. But with all nine episodes now available, the Marvel Studios series is perfect for all-at-once viewing, as answers about Wanda and Vision's bizarre life in Westview are carefully doled out.
Watchmen
Where to Watch It: HBO Max
Episode Count: Nine
How Long It'll Take You: Eight hours, 43 minutes
At nearly nine hours, Damon Lindelof's recent take on the Watchmen comics is the longest binge on our list — but man, it's a good one. Led by the always-terrific Regina King as Angela Abar, Watchmen's ensemble is stacked with compelling performers, and Lindelof's unique approach to storytelling — the kind that puzzles you at first, then delivers payoff after payoff — makes the series nearly impossible to quit until it's over.
The White Lotus
Where to Watch It: HBO Max
Episode Count: Six
How Long It'll Take You: Five hours, 51 minutes
The White Lotus will be back for a second season on HBO, but its freshman run tells a compact, standalone story about the vacationers at a swanky Hawaiian resort. Come for the mystery of which White Lotus character will perish before the season ends; stay for Jennifer Coolidge's memorable turn as the wealthy, wacky Tanya McQuoid.