Editor's Note: This story comes from CableTV.com.
The CableTV.com team watches television professionally, so it’s easy to forget sometimes that normal humans don’t have time for all the shows, movies, and sports we throw at them every week.
With that in mind, we’ve compiled short series that you could easily take in over a weekend.
‘Exploding Kittens’
(2024; 10 episodes, 24-27 minutes each)
Based on the popular card game from The Oatmeal’s Matthew Inman and produced by the “King of the Hill” team of Greg Daniels and Mike Judge, “Exploding Kittens” is 2024’s fastest and funniest cartoon.
God (voiced by “Lucifer’s” Tom Ellis, oddly enough) is banished to Earth as a housecat to reconnect with humankind. Meanwhile, the Devil (Sasheer Zamata) lives right next door and is also a housecat. Will these chonky kitties wage holy war or become BFFs? Yes, and yes.
Where to watch “Exploding Kittens”:
- Netflix
‘My Lady Jane’
(2024; 8 episodes, 46-52 minutes each)
Historical romance is really having a moment right now, from “Outlander” to “Bridgerton.” “My Lady Jane” takes viewers back to the 1500s — and the aftermath of Henry VIII’s death — as out-of-touch Tudors battle for the English throne. It puts a comedic spin on medieval fantasy, a la “Ella Enchanted” and “The Princess Bride.”
Oh yeah, did I mention it’s a fantasy story? Rather than Catholics vs. Protestants, the dispute over succession is all about hot, shape-shifting animal people who live in the woods. Is TV good again?
— Olivia Bono, CableTV.com Staff Writer
Where to watch “My Lady Jane”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Freevee
‘Dead Boy Detectives’
(2024; 8 episodes, 52-56 minutes each)
“Dead Boy Detectives” is sort of like “The Sandman’s” cool teen sibling. It takes place in the same universe, inspired by the DC Comics series, but follows a group of teenagers solving supernatural mysteries and facing off against ghosts, witches, and metaphysical bureaucracy.
Fair warning: It’s nothing like the backdoor pilot from season 3 of “Doom Patrol.” Netflix recast the leads, Charles, Edwin, and Crystal, when they acquired the rights from Warner Bros. Discovery.
— Olivia Bono, CableTV.com Staff Writer
Where to watch “Dead Boy Detectives”:
- Netflix
‘Baby Reindeer’
(2024; 7 episodes, 27-45 minutes each)
In writer-creator Richard Gadd’s “Baby Reindeer,” traumatized struggling comedian Donny (Gadd) commits a simple act of kindness, landing himself in the 13th circle of stalker hell.
In the resulting cat-and-mouse routine, manic, maniacal Martha (Jessica Gunning, The Outlaws) relentlessly pursues Donny (her “baby reindeer”), upending his life and dredging up his considerable past trauma. It’s a gripping, hysterical, and terrifying story — especially because it draws from Gadd’s real-life experience.
You can blow through these seven half-hour episodes in one sitting.
— Randy Harward, CableTV.com Senior Staff Writer
Where to watch “Baby Reindeer”:
- Netflix
‘BlackBerry’
(2023; 3 episodes, 40-47 minutes each)
With Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton as nerdy BlackBerry phone co-inventor Mike Lazaridis and ruthless co-CEO Jim Balsillie, respectively, “BlackBerry” is a quick and cutting business biopic.
Originally released as a movie, AMC expanded “BlackBerry” by 16 minutes and reconfigured it as a limited series for TV. The BlackBerry was the mobile device of the early 2000s (IYKYK) — until the iPhone’s debut and in-house treachery brought the company crashing down.
Where to watch “BlackBerry”:
- AMC+
‘High Desert’
(2023; 8 episodes, 30 minutes each)
Directed by Jay Roach (“Austin Powers”) and starring Patricia Arquette, quirky amateur-detective series “High Desert” didn’t catch on like “Poker Face” did before it.
In the small desert town of Yucca Valley, California, recovering addict and general hot mess Peggy (Arquette) decides to become a private investigator following the death of her mother. With a sweet dune buggy and the reluctant mentorship of a real detective (Brad Garrett), Peggy stumbles into an actual crime.
Where to watch “High Desert”:
- Apple TV+
‘Everyone Else Burns’
(2023; 6 episodes, 21 minutes each)
British comedy “Everyone Else Burns” follows the Mancunian family, a puritanical Christian clan devoted to preparing for Armageddon while avoiding the temptations of the modern world. That’s easy for bowl-cut patriarch David (Simon Bird), but not so much for his children (Harry Connor and Amy James-Kelly), who have to attend school with the normies.
“Everyone Else Burns” walks a fine line in not being critical of religion while still being funny as … heck. A doomsday cult comedy feels right right about now.
Where to watch “Everyone Else Burns”:
- The CW
‘Peacemaker’
(2022; 8 episodes, 39-47 minutes each)
John Cena reprises his role from 2021’s “The Suicide Squad” as Peacemaker, the most erroneously named “hero” in the DC Universe. (Mayhemmaker would be more accurate, if not pronounceable.)
Writer/director James Gunn is also back, penning all eight episodes of this action-comedy that reveals the origin story of Peacemaker, the man who “loves peace, no matter how many men, women, and children I need to kill to get it.” Bonus: a headbanging hair-metal soundtrack.
Where to watch “Peacemaker”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- Google Play
- Fandango At Home
- Max
‘Minx’
(2022–2023; 18 episodes, 25-35 minutes each)
In 1970s Los Angeles, young feminist Joyce (Ophelia Lovibond, “Guardians of the Galaxy”) teams up with a sketchy publisher (Jake Johnson, “New Girl”) to create the second erotic magazine for women. (Playgirl already existed in the ’70s, but Minx forged on.)
The Paul Feig-produced “Minx” also stars Jessica Lowe, Oscar Montoya, Lennon Parham, Michael Angarano, Idara Victor, and Gillian Jacobs. FYI, the dramedy contains copious amounts of male nudity and was canceled by both Max and STARZ.
Where to watch “Minx”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- Google Play
- Fandango At Home
- Starz
- The Roku Channel
- Spectrum
‘Jury Duty’
(2023; 8 episodes, 26-29 minutes each)
If you haven’t yet experienced the hilarious and unexpected delight that is “Jury Duty,” let me be the first to recommend you take a seat in this comedic courtroom. In this show, we get to watch behind the scenes of mundane jury service, or so we think.
Spoiler alert: It’s not mundane at all — every jury member is an actor except one. And the best part is that throughout all of the funny and cringy moments of the fake trial, we all come to love the one person not in on the ruse, juror Ronald Gladden.
— Chantel Buchi, CableTV.com Senior Staff Writer
Where to watch “Jury Duty”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Freevee
‘Cunk on Earth’
(2022; 5 episodes, 28-29 minutes each)
Documentarian Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan) gets history hysterically wrong at every turn with the deadliest deadpan delivery ever committed to film.
Over five brisk episodes, Philomena navigates the dawn of humankind, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the rise of science, and the wages of world war, leaving no fact unflattened.
“Cunk on Earth” is a mockumentary that at first seems legit because of the British accent and sweeping cinematography, but it’s just pure comedy.
Where to watch “Cunk on Earth”:
- Netflix
‘Cooper’s Bar’
(2022; 12 episodes, 10-22 minutes each)
Veteran Hollywood character actor Cooper Marino (played by veteran Hollywood character actor Louis Mustillo) runs a secret bar in his Los Angeles backyard.
When a studio exec (“Better Call Saul’s” Rhea Seehorn, also a show co-creator, director, and producer here) visits Cooper’s Bar, Cooper and his pals pitch her on an autobiographical comedy called “Cooper’s Bar” — it’s all very meta. The dryly funny Hollywood satire began as an online short before graduating to IFC.
Where to watch “Cooper’s Bar”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- Google Play
- Fandango At Home
- The Roku Channel
- Spectrum
- AMC+
- Plex
‘Angelyne’
(2022; 5 episodes, 42-52 minutes each)
In pre-internet ’80s Los Angeles, blonde bombshell Angelyne made herself (locally) famous by posting her busting-out image on billboards all over the city, a clever path to quasi-stardom long before influencer culture.
“Shameless” star Emmy Rossum worked for years to bring her story to biopic life. “Angelyne” (with Rossum in the titular role) is a wild, dazzling, and partially fabricated ride that paints an ambiguous portrait of one of America’s reality-fame pioneers.
Where to watch “Angelyne”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- Google Play
- Fandango At Home
- Peacock
‘1883′
(2021; 10 episodes, 44-67 minutes each)
If you want to cleanse your tear ducts over the weekend, binge all 10 episodes of “1883,” the first “Yellowstone” prequel series. The therapeutic journey will take you over nine hours to complete, during which you’ll google the Dutton family tree multiple times and wonder why actor Isabel May hasn’t gone on to bigger things.
Of course, don’t forget the tissues. Unless Brian Tyler’s hypnotically tragic music score gets stuck in your mind, you should recover emotionally by Monday.
— Taylor Kujawa, CableTV.com Sports Editor
Where to watch “1883”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- Fandango At Home
- Microsoft
- Paramount+
‘Mare of Easttown’
(2021; 7 episodes, 58-66 minutes each)
Kate Winslet stars as Marianne “Mare” Sheehan, an Easttown, Pennsylvania, police detective investigating the murder of one young woman and the disappearance of another. As per small-town murder mystery rules, Mare’s personal life is a mess piled up like a stack of empty Rolling Rock bottles, and most of her case leads are dead ends.
Winslet, Julianne Nicholson, and Evan Peters won Emmys for “Mare of Easttown,” and the series enjoyed near-universal critical acclaim (especially for the Philly accents).
Where to watch “Mare of Easttown”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- Google Play
- Fandango
- Spectrum
- Max
‘Los Espookys’
(2019–2022; 12 episodes, 25-28 minutes each)
If you’ve been charmed by Julio Torres’ series “Fantasmas” and his movie “Problemista,” you’ll want to check out his previous co-creation, “Los Espookys.” The series, about a group of young friends in an undisclosed Latin American country who stage supernatural-themed events for hire (exorcisms, sea monsters, alien abductions, etc.), is an utterly unique Spanish/English comedy.
“Los Espookys” even won a Peabody Award in 2022 before it was canceled.
Where to watch “Los Espookys”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- Google Play
- Fandango
- Microsoft
- Spectrum
- Max
‘The Little Drummer Girl’
(2018; 6 episodes, 60 minutes each)
The first role that hinted at Florence Pugh’s vast potential as an actor, “The Little Drummer Girl” is also one of the best adaptations of espionage novelist John le Carré’s works.
In 1979, an aspiring British actress (Pugh) is recruited by a Mossad agent (Alexander Skarsgård) to infiltrate a Palestinian terrorist group planning attacks in Europe. “The Little Drummer Girl” is a six-episode slow burn that glides on the performances of Pugh, Skarsgård, and Michael Shannon, and the lush direction of Park Chan-wook.
Where to watch “The Little Drummer Girl”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- Google Play
- Acorn
- The Roku Channel
- Spectrum
- AMC+
‘Crazyhead’
(2016; 6 episodes, 43-45 minutes each)
In British import “Crazyhead,” Amy (Cara Theobold) learns that she’s a “seer” who can identify the demon-possessed hiding among humans. She then forms an at-first rocky alliance with fellow seer-turned-hunter Raquel (Susan Wokoma), creating an instant “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” vibe of ass-kicking, wisecracking, and trauma-bonded female friendship.
“Crazyhead” also boasts a killer soundtrack and, weirdly, some stunning public restrooms.
Where to watch “Crazyhead”:
- Netflix
‘Wolf Hall’
(2015; 6 episodes, 60-65 minutes each)
You don’t need to be a history buff to relish in the subdued drama of “Wolf Hall.” Adapted from Hilary Mantel’s novels, “Wolf Hall” centers on the cool and calculating Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) as he rises to the position of King Henry VIII’s (Damian Lewis) closest advisor.
What becomes of Cromwell after (500-year-old spoiler alert) Anne Boleyn’s (Claire Foy) execution? The show’s second and final season will eventually answer the question: Can anyone make it out of Henry’s court alive?
— Logan Jones, CableTV.com Junior Staff Writer
Where to watch “Wolf Hall”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- Google Play
- Fandango At Home
‘Tin Man’
(2007; 3 episodes, 90 minutes each)
Back when Syfy was the Sci-Fi Channel and actually spent big bucks on big events, the network launched an epic steampunk reimagining of “The Wizard of Oz” in “Tin Man,” a three-part miniseries.
Small-town waitress D.G. (Zoey Deschanel as Dorothy) travels to the O.Z. (Outer Zone), where she meets Glitch (Alan Cumming as the Scarecrow), Wyatt (Neal McDonough as the Tin Woodman), and Raw (Raoul Trujillo as the Cowardly Lion).
“Tin Man” is darker than “Oz,” but still a fun angle on an old favorite.
Where to watch “Tin Man”:
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple TV+
- Fubo
- Crackle
- Tubi
- The Roku Channel
- Pluto TV
- Peacock
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