Five Current and Cult TV Favourites That Will Transport You To a Very Different World
Stream your way into space, a haunted house, a zombie apocalypse and more than a few dystopian futures.
Five Current and Cult TV Favourites That Will Transport You To a Very Different World
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Stream your way into space, a haunted house, a zombie apocalypse and more than a few dystopian futures.
Whether you're a happy-go-lucky type or you've just experienced a day that you'd rather forget, everyone needs a break from their own reality sometimes. The easiest way? A big dose of on-screen escapism. Maybe you'd like to creep your way through a haunted house? Perhaps you're keen to see what it's like in a witches' coven? If you'd prefer to explore a variety of different futuristic scenarios, head to space or navigate a zombie-riddled wasteland (all from the comfort of your couch, of course), there's a TV show that'll take you there.
If all of the above scenarios sound familiar, there's a few reasons for that. Firstly, a number of TV programs have tried their hand at these ideas, both recently and over the years. Secondly, some of the best are currently available to watch via streaming platform Binge, including shows still releasing new seasons and cult favourites that have already wrapped up. We've teamed up with the service to recommend five must-sees — which you can stream right now, including via a 14-day free trial for new customers.
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Before Michael Crichton conjured up an island theme park filled with cloned dinosaurs as seen in Jurassic Park, he took audiences to a different but just as eerie attraction. The year was 1973. The film was Westworld. And it was not only written by the author, but it was also directed by him as well.
That’s where HBO’s futuristic show of the same name starring Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright, Liam Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson and Aaron Paul first started. Yes, life really does find a way. Series creators Jonathan Nolan (brother of Christopher Nolan) and Lisa Joy have taken the central idea and expanded it, though, as Westworld‘s first three gripping TV seasons have shown since 2016. When it comes to tales about a technologically advanced amusement park where people pay to experience Wild West times, and where androids play the park’s roles but don’t realise that they aren’t human, there are oh-so-many stories to tell, after all.
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When a show is named after a space battleship, it’s instantly worth paying attention to. And when it tracks a war between humanity and an android race known as the Cylons, it isn’t going to be short on intrigue. That’s especially true when the flesh-and-blood side of the equation hail from a distant star system, and originally live across a group of planets known as the Twelve Colonies — and, when their very survival is at stake.
That’s the tale that Battlestar Galactica tells, and has in multiple shapes and forms since 1978. With no disrespect meant to the original series and its 1980 sequel, the reimagining that first hit screens in 2003 has become the version of record. The latter started as a miniseries, then served up four seasons of sci-fi drama, political battles, space-set adventures and all-round entertaining television until 2009, making stars out Katee Sackhoff and Jamie Bamber in the process.
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After screenwriter and TV showrunner Damon Lindelof played a pivotal part in bring Lost to screens, but before he revived Watchmen as a phenomenal miniseries, he was behind HBO’s The Leftovers. Based on Tom Perrotta’s 2011 book of the same title, the applauded show only ran for three seasons; however, it has been a constant topic of conversation since its 2014 premiere for good reason — namely, because it is thought-provoking, absorbing, exceptionally acted and, well, just excellent.
The Leftovers is also grim, too. Starring Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, Liv Tyler and Christopher Eccleston, it follows the aftermath of a world-changing event, with two percent of the planet’s population disappearing in an incident known as ‘the sudden departure’. That’s 140 million people gone without a trace, and it has quite the impact — including on Kevin Garvey (Theroux), a small-town chief of police. And, while plenty happens in the show that makes it a must-see, the fact that much of its third season takes place in Victoria is a definite point of interest.
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The unthinkable happens. Disaster hits, society collapses and the bulk of the world’s population becomes shuffling, brain-munching members of the undead. Yes, a zombie apocalypse is in full swing — but how long does it last? In The Walking Dead‘s case, the answer is 11 seasons. Ten have already aired since 2010, and the show’s final go-around will arrive in 2021. Whether you’re well acquainted with its dystopian world, or you’ve somehow missed this TV horror classic, that means there’s already 146 episodes to sink your teeth into.
The story, as adapted from the comic book series of the same name, will sound familiar. But you don’t squeeze over a decade’s worth of life out of the concept without delivering some drastic twists and turns — and plenty of gore, too. The premise: awakening from a coma, sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) learns that the zombie-free life he previously knew has well and truly disappeared. His first aim is to find his wife and son, but that’s not the most straightforward feat when you’re surrounded by walkers.
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Only one show on TV starts in a haunted house, then jumps to an asylum for the criminally insane, then follows a coven of descendants of the Salem witch trials. And, from there, it also steps inside a travelling freak show, explores the twisted history of an LA hotel, gets caught up in a small-town cult, sees the Antichrist unleash the apocalypse and sets a serial killer upon an 80s-era summer camp as well. That series: American Horror Story. Every season, it tells a different story, anthology-style. The creepy details change, as do the narratives and characters, but the eeriness remains.
Also staying the same: many of the faces seen in American Horror Story’s tales, including Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, Emma Roberts and Lady Gaga. The show is the brainchild of writer/producer/director Ryan Murphy (Glee, Pose) and, yes, it definitely takes audiences on a wild ride each and every season.
To watch your way through all of the above series, head to streaming platform Binge — where you can sign up for a free 14-day trial, then keep working your way through its jam-packed catalogue for $10 per month (based on Binge Basic, its first subscription tier).
