Should you head to Netflix, Stan, Foxtel or iTunes to watch your favourite TV show?
Looking to binge on the most popular TV shows of the last ten years? Well, we've got you covered. Below are the top ten TV shows according to IMDb's rankings along with the Australian streaming services where they're available. If you'd prefer to own the show outright, we've also tracked down where you can purchase full seasons of the show digitally.
Want all the TV shows and movies? You can get a free trial with each of the streaming Internet TV providers below:
1. Game of Thrones
Is it any surprise that Game of Thrones takes the crown as IMDb's top-rated TV show? The brutal adaptation of George R. R. Martin's fantasy novels has well and truly taken the world by storm, drawing dividing lines between those who back the (mostly) honourable Starks, those who side with the fiery Targaryens and those who just want to see the world burn at the hands of the Lannisters.
While the many Houses of Westeros vie for the Iron Throne, there's no forgetting the looming threat of the White Walkers and the apocalyptic promise that "Winter is coming". If the wannabe regents can't stop their squabbling for five minutes to realise who their true enemy is, then there won't be much of a throne to sit on by the time the series is over.
Cost: $15 a month for a Foxtel Now subscription with either the Pop or Drama package, both of which contain the showcase channel, Foxtel's home for HBO content like Game of Thrones.
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2. Sherlock
While there have been many retellings of the classic Sherlock Holmes story in recent years, none have proved as enthralling as the BBC's mini-series masterpiece Sherlock. Benedict Cumberbatch's excellent portrayal of the twisted genius that is Mr Holmes is arguably the beginning of his entertainment career, catapulting him into roles in Star Trek, Doctor Strange and The Imitation Game.
Along with the equally-brilliant Martin Freeman playing the role of his sidekick Watson, Cumberbatch leads the witty reimagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original tales. While the basic story framework remains the same, the modern-day setting adds a delightful wrinkle to the mysteries, splicing in mobile phones, the Internet and social media to contemporize the 100-year-old adventures.
Cost: $10 per month
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3. True Detective
Starring the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams, True Detective is a Hollywood talent tour de force. Unlike most series, it brings completely different scenarios into each season with a fresh cast of characters, telling discrete stories that occur in a different time and place from the last.
The first season takes a novel long-term narrative approach, chronicling the efforts of two Louisiana detectives as they spend 17 years hunting down the serial killer responsible for the murder of Dora Lange.
The second season, meanwhile, centres on sunny California and a motley crew of detectives that stumble into a conspiracy involving murder, embezzlement and the Russian mafia.
Cost: $25 per month subscription (Available in "Drama")
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4. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
John Oliver has had plenty of success in the TV industry writing for The Daily Show and appearing in stand-up comedy specials, but all that pales in comparison to the popularity he has earned through Last Week Tonight With Jon Oliver. The late-night HBO talk show sees Oliver skewer traditional news stories from the week prior, poking fun at politicians, celebrities and the press alike.
Along with highlighting the absurdity of the weekly world news, Oliver also spends a good chunk of each episode delving deeper into a current political issue. These range from critical yet humorous analyses of corporate decision-making to send-ups of the rich and influential's ludicrous excess.
Cost: $25 per month subscription + $10 per month Entertainment Plus Pack
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5. Better Call Saul
A spin-off of the critically-acclaimed Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul follows the somewhat-corrupt yet endearing lawyer James McGill as his life leads him to become the Saul Goodman responsible for the ultimate fate of Walter White.
Better Call Saul begins six years prior to the events of Breaking Bad and depicts McGill as a questionable yet kind-hearted man trapped in circumstances that force him to set aside his morals for the sake of survival.
As one desperate act leads to another, McGill gradually abandons the ethical fortitude instilled in him by his brother Chuck. Soon, he's forging legal documents, extorting officials and working with drug dealers, all for a cause that's growing murkier by the day.
For McGill, honesty is simply the poorest policy.
Cost: $10 per month
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6. Rick and Morty
Take one part Back to the Future, one part Family Guy and sprinkle the whole thing with a generous helping of Adventure Time, and you'll find yourself with something approaching the absurdity of Rick and Morty.
Created by Dan Harmon of Community fame and Justin Roiland, the immaturely-mature animated series chronicles the exploits of the dimension-travelling inventor Rick Sanchez and his relatively-innocent and unwitting grandson Morty Smith as they brave the frontiers of the infinite multiverse.
Drugs, love and existentialism are just some of the myriad of topics Rick and Morty tackles, but don't expect the kind of ethical philosophizing the classic Star Trek popularised; this is a fast-paced comedy first and foremost, with plenty of laugh-out-loud humour and gratuity to offset the heady themes.
Cost: $3.49 per episode, or $26.99 for Season 1.
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7. Arrested Development
There's always money in the banana stand, and there's always a reason to go back and watch the inimitable Arrested Development time and time again. As the launching point for actors like Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, the eclectic comedy series takes the concept of familial dysfunction to a whole new level.
From George Bluth Sr.'s numerous failed attempts to escape jail, George Michael Bluth's uncomfortable crush on his cousin and Tobias Funke's commitment to never, ever expose his naked body, Arrested Development is constantly upending the assumptions it tricks you into making.
Across its four seasons, Arrested Development sees the Bluth family struggle to stay afloat in the wake of George Bluth Sr's fraudulent business deals. As the Bluth Company crumbles, the ungrateful misfits that comprise the family turn to poor Michael (Jason Bateman) to solve their multiple problems. Between the arrival of a surprise doppelganger, the discovery of a long-lost child and an incompetent lawyer named Bob Loblaw, the only one making it out of this show with a smile on their face is you.
Seriously, go watch Arrested Development.
Cost: $8.99 per month for Netflix
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8. Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter (2011) is the latest adaptation of the ongoing anime series of the same name from famed Japanese artist Yoshihiro Togashi.
Like the original comic, the show follows the young Gon Freecss as he discovers that the father he thought was dead is actually still kicking it. More than that, the absent patriarch is a "Hunter", a highly-trained warrior tasked with finding rare and exotic treasures and performing other tasks too difficult for regular people to manage.
Determined to find his father and live up to his impressive legacy, Gon sets off on a path to become a Hunter himself. Throughout his journey, he teams up with fellow Hunters-in-training Kurapika and Leorio and faces off against all manner of monstrous foes, from a troupe of cut-throat assassins to a human-sized Queen ant.
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9. House of Cards
"Politics" might as well be a synonym for "boring" in many people's vocabularies, but somehow House of Cards makes the subject captivating.
Following the ruthless Frank Underwood as he lies, cheats and manipulates his way up the rungs of the American political system, the show revels in the idea of a bloodless power fantasy, the empire built upon the broken but still-breathing bodies of the guilty and innocent alike.
Make no mistake: House of Cards is every bit as adult as Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead despite its lack of severed limbs and arterial spray.
Both Underwood and his wife Claire will do anything and everything to seize the power they believe they deserve, even if that means unleashing martial law on their own country.
Cost: $8.99 per month on Netflix
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10. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
Based on the Fullmetal Alchemist manga, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an adaptation of all 27 volumes of Hiromu Arakawa's original story.
It follows the two brothers Alphonse and Edward Elric, sons of a talented alchemist who ran off while the boys were very young, leaving their mother to raise them alone. Despite their father's absence, the siblings soon prove to be capable alchemists on their own and after their mother's untimely death, they set off to hone their skill under the tutelage of master alchemist Izumi Curtis.
Empowered by their training, Edward and Alphonse attempt to use their powers to bring their mother back to life. Unsurprisingly, the plan goes awry and Alphonse is nearly killed. Only by sacrificing his right arm is Edward able to save his brother and capture his soul inside a suit of armour.
Jaded by their failed attempt, the brothers set their sights on becoming official State Alchemists and hunting down the fabled Philosopher's Stone, the source of eternal life that could undo the damage they've done to themselves.
However, it just so happens that their father might have the same idea...
Cost: $8.99 per month.
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Honourable Mention: Orange Is The New Black
Nothing says "I love you" quite like a 15-month prison sentence.
That's the gift poor Piper Chapman received from her former girlfriend Alex Vause's actions. After smuggling dirty money for Vause's drug-trafficking syndicate ten years prior, history catches up with Chapman and lands her in Litchfield Penitentiary, a minimum-security prison in New York.
Along with completely upending the happy, stable life she'd built for herself since parting ways with the shady Vause, Chapman finds herself forced to compromise her morals and values in order to survive the ruthless prison she now calls home.
Between corrupt guards, inmate conflict and the profit-driven decisions of the private company that owns Litchfield Penitentiary, Orange Is The New Black doesn't shy away from the brutal realities of the American prison system.
Cost: $8.99 per month on Netflix
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If I get the iTunes downloads of Rick and Morty, do I end up with the censored or un-censored versions?
Hi there!
As far as I can tell, the Rick and Morty episodes you purchase through iTunes are censored. The only way to get an uncensored copy is to wait for the DVD/Bluray release.
Cheers,
Brodie