Entertainment
7 Greatest Series to Stream With 20 Episodes or Less
There’s nothing like binge-watching an excellent TV series from start to finish. With long-running shows, this can take months, but shorter series can be watched in full over the course of just a day or two. A great short series makes the most of its limited number of episodes and gets viewers attached to the characters early on. These shows, no matter the genre, keep viewers engaged with compelling storylines and captivating relationship dynamics.
From limited series to shows that only got two seasons to others that are still releasing new episodes, there are so many fantastic shows that don’t have very many episodes. These shows make for the best binge-watches, and they are also great to rewatch over and over. Whether they be hilarious sitcoms with just a season or two or absolutely devastating miniseries, these are the seven best series to stream with fewer than 20 episodes.
1
‘Bad Sisters’ (2022–2024)
Bad Sisters is a dark comedy thriller series that follows the five Garvey sisters: Eva (Sharon Horgan), Grace (Anne-Marie Duff), Ursula (Eva Birthistle), Bibi (Sarah Greene), and Becka (Eve Hewson). In the present day, Grace’s abusive husband, Jean Paul (Claes Bang), has just died. As Grace mourns, her sisters try to cover up their mysterious involvement in his death, and two insurance agents try to find a way out of paying Grace.
In the past, Jean Paul ruins the lives of each of Grace’s sisters, while continuing to treat her horribly. Feeling out of options, Eva, Ursula, Bibi, and Becka decide to plot his murder. None of them know anything about killing someone, though, so they go through a lot of trial and error along the way. They try out a number of different methods to try to kill Jean Paul, and the result is both suspenseful and hilarious. Bad Sisters makes the most of its 18 episodes, and it keeps viewers on the edge of their seats until the very end.
2
‘Crashing’ (2016)
Crashing is a hangout sitcom that follows a group of people who all act as property managers for an abandoned hospital. Because of this, they get to live there for free — at least until the property gets torn down or used for something else. The events of the show start when two new people move in and shake things up: Lulu (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), the wild childhood friend of one of the residents, and Colin (Adrian Scarborough), a recently separated man going through a midlife crisis.
Crashing only has six episodes, and you can watch the entire show in just about two hours. Even though it is so short, Crashing is one of the best sitcoms on streaming. It is laugh-out-loud funny, with sharp dialogue, a delightfully bizarre main setting, and uniquely strange and charming characters. The main dynamics are also incredibly compelling, both among the larger group and through the individual friendships and romantic connections.
3
‘Daisy Jones & the Six’ (2023)
Daisy Jones & the Six tells the story of an iconic ’80s rock band, all building up to the night that mysteriously split them up at the height of their fame and success. The show starts with the formation of a band called The Six, while separately, up-and-coming singer-songwriter Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) makes a name for herself. Then, Daisy Jones and The Six are paired together to work on a song, where she and lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin) butt heads. It soon becomes clear that Daisy and Billy are magic together, and they are pushed to keep making music together.
Some time several decades into the future, the members of the band and those connected to them tell the story of those years in a tell-all interview, each separately recounting their own memories of the events. In the past, Daisy and Billy form an unlikely and explosive connection that propels all of their careers, while also threatening the core dynamics that make up the band’s inner circle. Daisy Jones & the Six is a deeply captivating drama series with excellent music and memorable characters, and it makes for the perfect binge-watch.
4
‘Over the Garden Wall’ (2014)
Over the Garden Wall is an animated fantasy miniseries that aired on Cartoon Network a little over a decade ago. The series follows two half-brothers named Wirt (Elijah Wood) and Greg (Collin Dean), who are already lost in a magical forest called the Unknown at the start of the series. They don’t remember how they got there, and they have no idea how to get out. Still, the brothers embark on a quest to get home, making both unlikely friends and dangerous enemies along the way.
Over the Garden Wall is a cozy and whimsical series with excellent animation and well-written storylines. Each episode, Wirt and Greg stumble upon a new part of the Unknown, having exciting adventures and getting to know the creatures and people that populate the space. All the while, the brothers are at risk from a villain who turns children into trees and burns them as kindling for his lantern. The series perfectly balances its lightness and whimsy with this darker storyline.
5
‘Adults’ (2025–Present)
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The cast of Adults lounge in formal wear with a “just married” sign behind them in the Season 1 finale. Image via FX -
Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, and Amita Rao pointing at a TV in Adults. Image via FX -
Owen Thiele, Lucy Freyer, Amita Rao, and Malik Elassal as Anton, Billie, Samir, and Issa with phone, Adults Image via FX -
The cast stand in a kitchen in their pajamas and talk to someone in Adults. Image via FX -
Owen Thiele, Malik Elassal, Amita Rao, and Jack Innanen as Anton, Samir, Issa, and Paul doubtful in Adults. Image via FX
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The cast of Adults lounge in formal wear with a “just married” sign behind them in the Season 1 finale. Image via FX -
Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, and Amita Rao pointing at a TV in Adults. Image via FX -
Owen Thiele, Lucy Freyer, Amita Rao, and Malik Elassal as Anton, Billie, Samir, and Issa with phone, Adults Image via FX -
The cast stand in a kitchen in their pajamas and talk to someone in Adults. Image via FX -
Owen Thiele, Malik Elassal, Amita Rao, and Jack Innanen as Anton, Samir, Issa, and Paul doubtful in Adults. Image via FX
Adults is an excellent sitcom that first premiered last year and will be releasing its second season at the end of this month. The show follows five close friends who all live in a house together in Queens: Anton (Owen Thiele), Issa (Amita Rao), Billie (Lucy Freyer), Samir (Malik Elassal), and Paul Baker (Jake Innanen). Each episode, the friends deal with anything from normal adult issues like money problems to strange dilemmas like accidentally befriending a local “stabber.”
The highlight of Adults is its fantastic main friend group. Each of the characters is complex and quirky in their own unique ways, and they all have excellent dynamics with one another. The writing is absolutely hilarious as well, and the show’s humor is delightfully over-the-top and strange. In between seasons, Adults released a prequel episode that shows how all the friends met Paul Baker, and its nine episodes are all available to binge-watch ahead of Season 2.
6
‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ (2020)
Based on The Turn of the Screw and other works by Henry James, The Haunting of Bly Manor is a stunning and terrifying limited series about a woman named Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti), who is trying to escape her painful past back in America. In 2007, an older woman (Carla Gugino) tells a scary story at a wedding. In the events of the story, back in 1987, Dani Clayton goes to work as an au pair for two young children at their family’s isolated and mysterious manor in Bly.
Soon, Dani starts to see things that make her question her reality, all while learning that this place has a horrifying history — starting with its beginning and ending with the recent death of Rebecca Jessel (Tahirah Sharif), the children’s last au pair before Dani. Over the course of the series, Dani becomes very close with her new coworkers and the children, forming a beautiful found family dynamic. Her new life here isn’t safe, though, and she’ll have to learn more about this place if she wants to keep her new family protected.
7
‘Galavant’ (2015–2016)
Galavant is a hilarious fairy-tale spoof that follows Galavant (Joshua Sasse), a formerly successful knight who’s been a mess since his true love, Madalena (Mallory Jansen), left him to marry the evil King Richard (Timothy Omundson). Galavant’s sulking is interrupted when the desperate Princess Isabella (Karen David) asks him for help saving her kingdom from Richard, telling him that Madalena misses him and needs saving as well.
Little does Galavant know, though, that Isabella is tricking him. Richard is holding her parents captive, and in order to save them, she has to take an unknowing Galavant to his death. Galavant is a laugh-out-loud funny and truly delightful series that has excellent original songs and some seriously exciting quests throughout. It’s fun and entertaining from start to finish, and over the course of its 18 episodes, it delivers some truly phenomenal arcs for its characters.
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