The best NOW TV shows (May 2023): the best Sky series in one place (2023)

The landmark miniseries dramatises the real-life events of the horrific 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and is the first ever production collaboration between Sky and HBO.

If that wasn’t itself a marker of the 2019 miniseries being about as high-quality as you can get, it’s officially the top rated TV show of all time, with a 9.7-star rating out of 10 on IMDB. This puts it ahead of Breaking Bad, which has been knocked into second place.

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We may be in a golden age of telly right now, but it had to start somewhere. And twenty years since it first aired, Sopranos is still among the finest TV shows of all time.

It place in TV history is cemented, but when it first aired HBO was so concerned audiences would think ‘The Sopranos’ was about music, that they popped a gun into the title’s logo design. Wise guys.

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The entire eight seasons of Game of Thrones are on NOW and you should get watching before setting off on the House of the Dragon journey. Game of Thrones was the biggest thing on TV for years, focusing on the warring factions in Westeros that are all after one thing: to ascend the iron throne. The last season may feel rushed but the show as a whole is absolutely epic.

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All three seasons of Succession are on NOW and they are an absolute must watch. The show focuses on Logan Roy, a media mogul who may or may not be stepping down in the near future. The comedy here is jet black and revolves around the Roy family, their in-fighting and the machinations of the rich and the powerful. Everything from the theme tune to the acting to the script is just an absolute joy.

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If you are looking for a Big Little Lies replacement then Mare of Easttown is for you. It stars Kate Winslet who plays a detective in Philadelphia - she is utterly convincing, her accent perfect - trying to solve a murder. Directed by the fantastic Craig Zobel, whose movies Compliance and The Hunt are essential, and created by Brad Ingelsby this is an essential watch.

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This one disappears at the end on September but if you get in there quick you can watch one of the best TV shows ever made. The Wire is about a police department looking to undo a drugs empire through wire-tapping in Baltimore. It's a slow burner but one of the greatest studies of America, boiled down into a cracking series that focuses on a slightly different side of Baltimore in each season.

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This was breathtaking TV when it was first released in 2001 and still one of the best TV shows ever made. Exec produced by Steven Spielberg, the show revolves around the people of Easy Company, the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, from 1942 to the end of World War II and what they did in the war. Tom Hanks stars, as does a whole host of now familiar actors.

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If you didn’t see this one first time around, then it demands your attention. Riz Ahmed stars in an eight-part crime drama television miniseries that revolves around a grizzly murder. He’s implicated but he doesn’t seem to know anything about what happened or what went on. It’s a taut thriller that exposes some nasty truths about the justice system and everyone involved.

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You'll be watching this HBO comedy through gritted teeth and your hands. The White Lotus shines a light on the entitled class, showcasing everything that is wrong with them to excruciating effect. The cast are ace, but it's the always amazing Jennifer Coolidge (Stiffler's Mom) who is the star of the show here.

Good news, the second series of White Lotus is now streaming and the focus has shifted to a brand-new set of characters, as well as a new hotel - this time in Sicily. This is one show which is getting better and better.

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Our editor was so smitten with Boardwalk Empire, when it first aired, that he bought the same shoes Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) wears in the intro to the show. But don't let that put you off: this is an epic gangster drama set during the Prohibition and is packed with old-school charm. Featuring an amazing cast, this is event TV at its finest.

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House of the Dragon is a must for Game of Thrones fans. Set some 200 years before the events of GoT, the show focuses on the in-fighting and eventual civil war of the Targaryens, the family from which Daenerys Targaryen is eventually born. This makes House of the Dragon something of a Succession-like look at who should be the successor to the throne. Matt Smith stars, among some other famous faces.

House of the Dragon is currently streaming weekly on NOW.

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The Leftovers is fantastic television. Created by Lost scribe Damon Lindelof, and based on a book by Tom Perrotta, it focuses on those who are left behind on Earth after a rapture-like event. Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler all star and, well, we think this is one of the best things on NOW right now.

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The US version of The Office started off as a copycat of the UK original but turned into its own thing once Steve Carrell stopped playing Michael Scott as a David Brent knock-off and more of an optimist who just wants the best from his job and the world. There’s moments of absolute comedy genius throughout and the casting is superb, with many now gone off to do bigger and better things.

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With its second season on the way, there's no better time to catch Gangs of London - a hard-hitting series from action maestro Gareth Evans the director and driving force behind The Raid and The Raid 2. Set in a fantastical modern-day London, the high-production series follows the stories of rival gangs, and the ensuing chaos and shifting power dynamics in the wake of the death of a criminal kingpin. The second season of the show ups the ante - and then some!

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One of the most gripping things on TV for a long time, Save Me is about Nelly (Lenny James) whose life is changed completely when he is accused of kidnapping his daughter. Throughout both seasons, the writing is impeccable, the acting sublime and Lenny’s puffer jacket has become as iconic as the sweater Sarah Lund wore in The Killing.

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This one will keep you guessing. It's about a plane crash that happened 35 years ago and the survivors of that crash hiding some pretty brutal secrets as to how they stayed alive. The casting is superb (and meta, given most of them were child stars), with the likes of Christina Ricci and Juliette Lewis starring as the grown-up versions of the teenagers.

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It's not often a SyFy original features on our best NOW TV shows list but Resident Alien is fantastic, heartwarming stuff. It features Alan Tudyk as an alien who tries to act human in a small, American town. This is a fish-out-of-water tale that is packed with charm and Tudyk is brilliant in the main role.

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You have until the end of March to watch all of Euphoria, Season 2 - the fantastic show about high school friends in the US. Starring the ace Zendaya (Spider-Man), there aren't many themes this show will skirt which makes it all the more engrossing.

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We think you'll agree that the original ending to Dexter was, well, meh. Thankfully this new mini series has given Dexter - unlike his victims - a new lease of life. It's great to see the character back, even if he is still haunted about the many bad things he has done in his past.

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This sci-fi epic has been created by Aaron Guzikowski, with the big-name backing of Ridley Scott who directed the first two episodes. It's beautifully shot and is a serious look at what happens when a world is ruled by androids.

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All episodes of Peacemaker are available to stream now on NOW and they are an absolute joy. Filled with the irreverence that James Gunn gave us with The Suicide Squad, this one doesn't hold back on the violence and the comedy.

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Billions is a really easy watch. Now six seasons long, the show is about Wall Street billionaire Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis) and his constant sparring with a prosecutor who wants to take him down, as he things the way Axelrod is making his money is, well, illegal. We're not quite sure how they manage to keep the show going, stretching the premise like they do but it's fun to watch.

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There are currently eight seasons of Curb available on NOW, which is a little annoying as it's now up to 11 but if you are a newbie, then this is an absolute must watch. The season follows the exploits of a fictionalised Larry David and his unique look on life.

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Creepy doesn't come close to this surreal true crime drama, where a mild-mannered couple house a dark secre. Will Sharpe has created this one (having replaced Alexander Payne) and if anyone has seen Flowers (which also starred Colman) then you will know exactly what you are going to get - a beautifully surreal tragicomedy.

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This brilliant new series is based on true events that happened in 2001. Writer Michael Peterson (played by Colin Firth) calls to report his wife Kathleen (Toni Collette) has fallen down a set of stairs in the mansion they are living in and has died. Of course, that's not really what happened, though, and the story gets stranger from there. This one is currently streaming weekly and is a must watch - even if you have already seen the brilliant documentary.

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This isn’t the show you think it is. Yes, it’s a funny and honest look at parenting, with Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard the frayed parents bringing up two children, but it also goes to places you wouldn’t think it would. The hilarity is punctuated by sadness and heartbreak and this makes for a really rounded show. While the humour is sometimes a tad more vicious than we would have liked (something that is actually brought up in the end), it’s certainly worth a watch.

Series 3 is streaming now.

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The Benedict Cumberbatch-starring drama based on a series of semi-autobiographical novels follows an upper class Brit in the 1980s trying to overcome his addictions. It won two BAFTAs this year: for Best Mini-Series and for Best Actor.Cumberbatch can thank Reddit for the award-winning role. In a 2013 AMA, when asked which literary character he wants to play next, he replied with Patrick Melrose. Years later, his forum post led to meeting the producers to cast the series.

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This time-bending thriller is the perfect binge-watch. It focuses on an app developer (Paapa Essiedu) who, during a pandemic, meets a shady group of people who can seemingly time travel, lead by the brilliant Caroline Quentin. Cue twists galore.

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You have never watched anything like The Rehearsal. Seriously. The show is a stunning achievement, a docu-comedy of sorts with a rather out-there premise. Comedian Nathan Fielder helps members of the public with a situation they are in. It could be as simple as lying about a degree they don't have, or something far more hefty to deal with. To make sure they can confront the situation, he helps them through the myriad ways the scenario could play out - recreating things Truman Show style with actors and sets to get them ready for their big day. And from there, the show goes even deeper until you question everything. It's meticulous in the way it's made and will constantly have your scratching your head, questioning and questioning some more.

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This new adaptation of John Wyndham's celebrated novel is a creepy tale, about a village where the women are all seemingly impregnated by an alien, that goes straight to the source material rather than the more famous The Village Of The Damned film. Keeley Hawes plays Dr Susannah Zellaby, gender-flipped from the original story, who tries to help the women in the town and, in turn, finds out that something is very wrong.

It's not perfect, there are some surprisingly clunky bits of dialogue throughout, but we would still recommend this updated adaptation.

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Kenneth Branagh is Boris Johnson in this brutal look at what when on behind the scenes during the Covid-19 pandemic. Michael Winterbottom is the brains behind this blistering polemic which tells a story that affected us all.

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While Blumhouse is best known for its horror movies, it produced this fantastic historical drama that sees Ethan Hawke as American abolitionist leader John Brown, in what was one of the most violent times in US history. Yes there is historical revisionism at play here but there is a lot of fun to be had here.

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Billie Piper is back to her very best as Suzie, a media personality who is about to hit the big time and then nude pictures of her are made public. Piper is back with Secret Diary of A Call Girl scribe Lucy Prebble and it’s a stunning show that sees her character unravel in the most astonishing way. You can stream all episodes now.

I Hate Suzie Too is also available and is shorter series to the first but just as powerful a watch.

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The latest series to earn a place on our best NOW TV shows guide is a supernatural delight. Neve Kelly wakes up dead after a night out. From here she decides to try and find out who her killer is. Her investigations lead to her finding out some startling truths about her friends and family.

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Saying anything about The Third Day will be putting us well into spoiler territory. So we will just say that this is an absolute treat of a show, that twists and turns in its Wicker Man-esque environment. Created by Utopia's Dennis Kelly, the show is packed with folk horror nods and underlined by a thread of unknown terror. The structure is clever, too, with the first three episodes devoted to the story of Jude Law's social worker who ends up on the mysterious island of Osea (this segment is called Summer). The next three episodes (Winter) star Naomi Harris and try and pick up the pieces of what is going on. If this wasn't high concept enough, a live episode (Autumn) was shown and was hours long and something else entirely.

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It has never been a better time to revisit Treme. Made by the creator of The Wire, David Simon, it charts how New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina and how that community was broken and rebuilt by the natural disaster. It shines a not-very-nice light on the US government and how they deal with people in need. This is a heart-breaking, heart-warming slow burn, filled with the best music and acting ever seen on TV.

Image Credit: Sky Atlantic / HBO

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