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25 best Now TV shows
Now TV has been a revelation for Sky. It's arrival in 2012 meant a whole host of programmes that used to be strictly tethered to a satellite dish could be enjoyed without a contract. Now anyone can now enjoy Sky, as long as you have a broadband connection that can stream movies and TV shows.
The box is cheap – really cheap. You can get one for under around £20 and it comes with a (limited) free subscription to either the service's movies, sports or TV offerings.
We're here to tell you about the best Now TV shows available if you buy the monthly Entertainment Pass. Unlike Netflix or Amazon Prime Instant Video, Sky's shows tend to disappear a little quicker due to rights issues, but don't fear – we will keep this list of the best Now TV shows constantly updated so you always know what's available when you buy your monthly pass. And if you don't fancy anything, don't forget to regularly check back as new content becomes available through the service.
Check out the rivals...
● Best Amazon Prime Instant TV Shows: 25 to choose from
● Best Netflix TV Shows: 25 of the best
1. 24
The Jack Bauer Power Hour was a revelation. when it first hit television screens back in 2001. Debuting near to the attack on the World Trade Center, the show has always played on the spectre of real terrorist atrocities, but with a hyperreal edge that kept it firmly within the "entertainment" genre. A recent mini season - 24: Live Another Day - reinvigorated Kiefer Sutherland's portrayal of Bauer but it's unlikely we'll see the rogue agent on TV again. Even more reason, then, to get stuck into all nine seasons of the show.
Seasons on Now TV: 9
2. A Touch Of Cloth
A Touch Of Cloth is the ultimate dad joke show. Each episode is packed with puns, far too many to comprehend on a first watch, and it's ruddy hilarious. Charlie Brooker is the chief writer and creator here, offering up a more comedic side to his writing that still has lashings of the black humour that's found in his other TV masterpiece Black Mirror. John Hannah is great as detective DI Jack Cloth, giving Naked Gun's Leslie Nielsen a run for his money in the 'straight-laced' comedy stakes.
Seasons on Now TV: 3
3. Alias
JJ Abrams cut his high-concept teeth on Alias, a show about a double agent working for the CIA. Through its five series, Alias goes from the sublime to the ridiculous but there is a lot to love. Jennifer Garner is the glue that holds the show together - she makes sure that Sydney Bristow is more than a one-note lead. If you can suspend your disbelief long enough, then Alias will reward you with some fantastic action and set pieces to rival any Bond movie.
Seasons on Now TV: 5
4. An Idiot Abroad
After the Ricky Gervais Show aired on radio it was pretty clear that there was mileage in getting his producer Karl Pilkington to comment on the stranger things in life. His matter-of-fact manner is perfect for An Idiot Abroad, where he is whisked off to exotic locations and asked to take part in increasingly ridiculous rituals. Over three series he makes some, well, unique observations about the world around him, including his classic thoughts on the pyramids: "If that was on my road, the counsel would be on it to get that down. It's a death trap."
Seasons on Now TV: 3
5. Falling Skies
Falling Skies doesn't quite get the recognition it deserves. The show, now into its fifth series, is similar to Walking Dead, in that there's a ragtag group trying to survive against a destructive force. It may swap out the zombies for aliens, but the American wastelands are so similar you half expect Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) to bump into Rick Grimes and co at some point in every season. If you like your sci-fi cerebral then this is the show for you.
Seasons on Now TV: 4
6. The Blacklist
James Spader. That name should be enough to get you watching The Blacklist. The actor – who recently lent his voice to Avengers: Age of Ultron – is fantastic in this show. Only an actor of his calibre could portray playfulness in a character who at his heart is a cold, sadistic megalomaniac. The premise is simple: Red (Spader), one of the FBI's Most Wanted, hands himself in with the caveat that he has information on hundreds of other criminals – information he uses to twist the FBI around his malicious little finger. While the supporting cast isn't quite up to Spader's magnificence, this is one of the most enjoyable shows on Sky at the moment.
Seasons on Now TV: 2 (2 is ongoing)
7. Corleone
Way before Francis Ford Coppola claimed the word Corleone for The Godfather Trilogy, his sprawling gangster effort, it was the name of a village in Sicily that has long been seen as the epicentre of the Mafia. This short series focuses on Salvatore Riina, a real-life gangster from that town who became one of the biggest mob bosses of all time, while his childhood friend became rather prolific in capturing Mafia bosses. Made in 2007, this Italian-made drama is a superb look at some of the bloodiest times the Mafia has ever seen.
Seasons on Now TV: 1
8. Game of Thrones
The fantasy genre on television was floundering before Game of Thrones came along. Prised from the George RR Martin's towering tome, GoT is a masterpiece of storytelling. It's part Godfather (warring families, copious bloodshed), part Tolkien (freaking dragons), and it gets better with each season. This is the crown jewel for both Sky and HBO, and is now one of the biggest shows in the world, with a budget to match. The series is now at a crucial point, as the show's plots are starting to overtake those in the books. Keeping avid readers sweet will be a tough challenge but for those who just know this world through the TV show, it makes for riveting television.
Seasons on Now TV: 1 (5 is ongoing)
9. Hunderby
If you like your comedy dark then Hunderby isn't for you. If you like your comedy so black it becomes a vortex that sucks in all of time and space then Hunderby is for you. At its heart the show is a send up of period dramas, following the messed up lives of Helene and Edmund at the turn of the 19th Century. Filled with hilarious plot twists and grotesque characters, there's good reason its creator Julia Davis won a Bafta for the show - it's hilarious. Season 2 is coming soon, so there's no better time to catch up.
Seasons on Now TV: 1
10. Gomorrah
This look at the "other" Italian Mafia does not shirk from showing the grime and brutality of life in the Camorra crime syndicate. Based on the fascinating book by Roberto Saviano, Gomorrah shines a stark light on the corruption that permeates the Italian city of Naples – from the fashion outlets to the drug dens, everything is connected – while ensuring interesting characters still shine through. You can tell this is a TV show based on true stories. Let's just hope there's many more series to tell them properly.
Seasons on Now TV: 1
11. Hannibal
There's been a glut of cult movies made into TV shows (Fargo and Psycho are also now TV favourites), but Hannibal is the best there is. The most surreal show since Twin Peaks, Hannibal weaves the mythos of Hannibal Lector effortlessly with dream-like imagery and superb acting. While Hugh Dancy's Will Graham is a little one note, Mads Mikkelsen as Lector makes the character his own, complementing Anthony Hopkins' portrayal rather than making you pine for it. The third season is set to delve into Hannibal's younger years – so there's no better time to catch this superb series.
Seasons on Now TV: 2
12. Hit and Miss
This one-off series was a critical hit when first released but didn't really get the ratings it deserved. Chloe Sevigny stars as Mia, a transgender contract killer who heads to Yorkshire to find an ex-girlfriend. Sevigny is superb as the killer - offering a nuanced performance where she balances the Tarantino-esque blood letting with fish-out-of-water family drama. Created by Paul Abbott (Shameless), the show has brains as well as bullets.
Seasons on Now TV: 1
13. The Jinx
This American Life's Serial podcast brought real-life unsolved crimes to the fore at the tail end of 2014. While we still await the next slab of audio goodness, The Jinx is fantastic factual crime filler. Investigating the exploits of real-life real estate heir Robert Durst, the show shines a light on one of the strangest crime cases of the 20th century. We could say more but it would spoil what is a twist-filled documentary that tries to untangle the strange world of the Durst empire. Essential viewing.
Seasons on Now TV: 1
14. Justified
Justified has never quite matched the critical heights of The Sopranos or The Wire, but it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath. It's extraordinary television that centres on a marshal (the excellent Timothy Olyphant) who is sent back to his home town after getting a little trigger happy on the job. The show was used as a bit of an experiment by Sky – the sixth season was only shown on demand, alongside an archive of all the seasons. We don't know if it was a success but it does mean the whole show is available to watch through Now TV and that can only be a good thing.
Seasons on Now TV: 6
15. Mad Dogs
Although this show suffers from diminishing returns – the third and fourth series aren't a patch on the first two – Mad Dogs is still one of the most entertaining British dramas in years. Centred on a group of childhood friends on a visit to one of their number who's made it big in Spain, the way the show twists and turns itself into a downward spiral is astonishing – as are some of the more surreal aspects of the story. Max Beesley, John Simm, Marc Warren and Phil Glenister are superb as the four mates who go through hell and back.
Seasons on Now TV: 4
16. Mad Men
After seven seasons of slow, brooding brilliance Mad Men is coming to a close. It's a show that needs to be seen by all. While it takes its time to unspool its narrative, the story of ad man Don Draper is one that's worth the wait. Creator Matthew Weiner – fresh from The Sopranos – mines great cultural events from the '60s and '70s to give Mad Men historical weight, but the show is at its best when it just focuses on its extremely flawed and brilliantly portrayed characters. Mad Men will be sorely missed, but at least it has been given the send off it so dearly deserves.
Seasons on Now TV: 7
17. Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge
Alan Partridge will always be a brilliant comic character, but there was always a worry that Steve Coogan would stretch the joke too thin. Thankfully this didn't happen with the arrival of Mid Morning Matters. Instead, plot was discarded in favour of Partridge doing what he does best, presenting a radio station. The best thing about the show is that the laughs are split between Coogan and Sidekick Simon (a superb Tim Key) and each episode is a perfectly concise burst of hilarity. Fantastic stuff.
Seasons on Now TV: 1
18. Modern Family
Modern Family has been consistently hilarious for six seasons now, using The Simpsons' method of showing good ol' family values through, well, good ol' family dysfunction. Every episode hits the spot. The writing is Emmy award-winning and the acting too, even if the central idea that the Dunphy/Pritchett family is being filmed for a documentary wears a little thin after a while. This is one of Sky's biggest shows and for good reason, too.
Seasons on Now TV: 6 (6 is ongoing)
19. Moone Boy
Chris O'Dowd has never been better than in this fantastic sitcom, loosely based on his life in Ireland. He stars as Sean, the imaginary friend of Martin Moone, a kid growing up in the '80s. Filled with some fantastic comedy – mainly from Ian O'Reilly who plays Padraic in the show – and more heart and pathos than you would normally find in a 30-minute sitcom, Moone Boy is as good a coming-of-age tale as you will find anywhere.
Seasons on Now TV: 3
20. Penny Dreadful
The last time famous characters from Victorian gothic literature got together on the screen it was for the laughable adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Even the genius words of Alan Moore couldn't make that work. So, when Bond scribe John Logan announced he was doing a similar thing with Penny Dreadful, we were sceptical. But it really works. Everyone from Frankenstein's monster – who is finally as poetic as he is in the novel – to Dorian Gray receives given a revisionist spin that makes this series both scary and entertaining. Season 2 has also arrived to much acclaim.
Seasons on Now TV: 1 (season 2 is ongoing)
21. Prisoners of War
Although this Israeli series was adapted into the US drama Homeland, the original remains the superior show. Where Homeland has one soldier coming back to the real world after captivity, Prisoners of War has three. Where Homeland pushes the action at the expense of the ideas, Prisoners explores how torture can change someone into something that they never thought they would become. Homeland lost its way after it stopped following Prisoners of War – which in itself shows how good this Israel-produced drama is.
Seasons on Now TV: 2
22. Silicon Valley
Mike Judge's send up of the technology start-up business in San Francisco is sometimes a little too good. Reporting on these things on a daily basis means that we get pitches from companies like Pied Piper and Hooli all the time - promising the world through a new algorithm when sometimes all that's for sale is snake oil - and Silicon Valley perfectly encapsulates that. Even with all the wrongs that happen in the show, though, the group are loveable losers and you can't help but hope that they will actually succeed in the tech business, if only to oust the idiots that seem to be running the show.
Seasons on Now TV: 2 (2 is ongoing)
23. This is Jinsy
This Is Jinsy is a strange beast. It has the playfulness of the Mighty Boosh and characters akin to The League of Gentlemen and yet there is nothing like it on television at the moment. The surreal nature of the show - set on the fictional island of Jinsy - means that not all of the comedy hits but when it does it's superb. Guest stars seem to be scrabbling to be on it, too. With the likes of Jennifer Saunders and David Tennant already sewn into the world of Jinsy, expect more talent when it comes back for season 3.
Seasons on Now TV: 2
24. Veep
Despite being a show based on the goings on of the US Vice President (an always brilliant Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Veep's comedy has a very British feel to it. This is down to the show's creator being Armando Iannucci, of The Thick Of It fame. Iannucci has now departed the series but he has left it on a high. Veep is one of the funniest shows on television at the moment, even if your interest in American politics is a passing one.
Seasons on Now TV: 2
25. The West Wing
Aaron Sorkin's stock as a screenwriter may be a little low at the moment, thanks to the saccharine nature of The Newsroom, but if you want to remember him at his best then The West Wing is for you. Not only does it have the best cast ever assembled for a television show – led by the fantastic Martin Sheen – it's also a series that has influenced many programmes since. A winner of 26 Emmys, The West Wing showed that network television can be just as good as cable TV. A must watch.
Seasons on Now TV: 7
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