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Unlike the other big streamers, Tubi only has a handful of original shows, most of them imports (its original movie selection is much larger). That's not to say it's a wasteland for TV addicts: The streamer might actually have too many shows, a vast and sometimes wild catalog that spans decades.
As the likes of Netflix and HBO Max have slimmed down their catalogues, Tubi is growing, offering a mix of established hits, underrated gems, and more obscure offerings. For the sheer breadth of material on offer, it has become the first place I look for anything outside the current zeitgeist—like the following 18 shows, an entirely non-comprehensive sampling of what Tubi has to offer, crossing genres and decades.
Dead Hot (2024)
Vivian Oparah and Bilal Hasna star in this Tubi original comedy (mostly) about a couple of roommates united by a mysterious disappearance. Hasna is Elliott, who came home five years ago to find his boyfriend Peter's finger in a pool of blood—and nothing else. The guy hasn't been seen since. Oparah is Jess, Peter's twin sister who hasn't given up on finding him, or at least finding out what happened to him. The tone here is all over the place, and it mostly works: it's a caper, a thriller, and a dark comedy, with elements of horror tossed in. If nothing else, it's energetic and pretty unique. Stream Dead Hot.
The Twilight Zone (1959 – 1964)
As we close out Rod Serling's centennial year, what better way to celebrate one of the 20th century's great dramatists than with his signature anthology series. Serling's science fiction, fantasy, and horror series offers up morality tales that spoke to his time, and ours—try watching "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" without finding it depressingly relevant. If you've mostly caught the show during seasonal marathons, you'll appreciate that there are many episodes that you've probably never seen, as they don't make the syndication rounds as often. Stream The Twilight Zone.
Maude (1972 – 1978)
Before they were Dorothy and Blanche, they were Maude and Vivian. Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan star in this Norman Lear series offering a progressive take on Archie Bunker that's funny, acerbic, and pointed. The character became a TV icon in a show that skewers Maude's reflexive liberalism even as she's very much the heroine—and good luck finding shows even decades later that would tackle racism, homophobia, and abortion rights nearly so plainly. All that and "And Then There's Maude," one of the great sitcom theme songs. Stream Maude.
Demascus (2025)
Sci-fi comedy Demascus was a victim of that very stupid moment a couple of years ago when streamers and studios were shelving every other project for tax reasons. Demascus, originally an AMC project, was rescued by Tubi—and a good thing, too. From playwright Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm (Hooded: Or Being Black for Dummies), the show stars Okieriete Onaodowan as the title character, turning 33 and pursuing therapy for the first time in an alternate present. He's offered the chance to use DIRT (Digital Immersive Reality Therapy), in which he can visit and view other versions of himself, as long as he doesn't interfere. Which, of course, he does, with results that are sometimes poignant and sometimes funny. Hard to believe that this clever show almost wound up in the bin. Stream Demascus.
Ranma ½ (1989 – 2012)
Whether or not you've seen the Netflix update, you can still catch the original (all 161 gender-bending episodes!) over on Tubi. After falling into a cursed spring, martial arts prodigy Ranma Saotome finds that he turns into a girl when he gets wet, with hot water turning him back into a boy; not to be outdone, his dad turns into a panda. That same father pledged him in marriage years ago to one of the daughter of the Soun Tendo, owner of a prestigious dojo with no male heir. Akane Tendo is a fiery, skilled martial artist in her own right, and the love-hate relationship between the two unwilling partners is the focus of most of the comedy and the drama. Stream Ranma ½.
Babylon 5 (1993 – 1998, five seasons)
J. Michael Straczynski’s wildly ambitious sci-fi epic was way ahead of its time, with a planned (more or less) five season story arc set on the titular space station. Babylon 5 is a remote outpost that becomes the last best hope for peace in the face of conflicting human and alien agendas—even more so after an ancient threat is awakened. With increasingly complex storylines that expanded over its run, this was a stab at prestige TV before that was a thing, and it still holds up (dated CGI effects notwithstanding. Stream Babylon 5.
All in the Family (1971 – 1979)
The show that almost singlehandedly rewrote the rules for broadcast television, Norman Lear's long-running sitcom focused on a working-class family and dealt with gender roles, racism, war, religion, sexual orientation—issues that sitcoms had never bothered with before. Shows with more on their minds than chuckles would follow in its wake, but none were quite as fearless as this one. Stream All in the Family.
Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 – 1975)
The prestige drama without which there'd be no Downton Abbey, this series (which was a big major international hit back in the day) follows the wealthy Bellamy family and the servants and staff who keep things running at their prime London address. Through years of scandal, war, and economic uncertainty in the early decades of the 20th century, the show tracks the decline of the British aristocracy alongside the rise of a new middle class with all the twists and turns that make for a really great soap opera. Stream Upstairs, Downstairs.
Empire (2015 – 2020)
Hip hop mogul and Empire Entertainment CEO Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) is dying, having been diagnosed with ALS at a young age. He wasn't planning to hand off his company so early, but nevertheless finds himself preparing his three very different sons (Trai Byers, Jussie Smollett, and Bryshere Y. Gray) to take the keys to the kingdom—by pitting them against one other. Into this already Shakespearean setup steps Lucious' ex-wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), just released from prison and harboring her own plans for Lucious's empire. Stream Empire.
