20 series that are best when watched one episode at a time

As he did with Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes demonstrated with The Gilded Age that he knows how to craft a compelling piece of period drama. As its title suggests, this series takes place during the late 19th century, and it focuses on a number of characters as they contend with the social and political pressures of the era. Though it can be a slow burn at times, it is definitely the kind of series that invites the viewer to immerse themselves in these characters, their romances, and their struggles, and the payoff is more than worth the investment. 

Amazon has leaned into fantasy in recent years, and one of its most ambitious series is The Wheel of Time, based on the long-running and immensely popular series by Robert Jordan. It’s a chosen one story, in this case focusing on a savior figure known as the Dragon Reborn. The series is richly imagined. While finding footing in the first season takes some time, the second is much more confident. Though it cuts out some of the narrative complexity of the original novels, which sprawls to an astounding fourteen volumes, there’s still enough complexity here to make it worth taking time to immerse oneself in this world.

The Boys remains one of Amazon's most outlandish (and popular) series, and it's easy to see why. In this dystopian and cynical world, superheroes might have a lot of power, but they are corrupt and venal, and they're also essentially avatars for a corrupt corporation. They're opposed by a group of rebels known as the Boys, and much of the series focuses on these characters as they try to bring the superheroes down to size. It makes for difficult viewing at times — particularly since the series doesn't shy away from showing extreme violence — but it's worth it because it undermines contemporary culture's fixation on the myth of the superhero. 

Julian Fellowes has repeatedly shown that he knows how to craft a compelling costume drama, and it seems likely that Downton Abbey will always be seen as his best work. Focusing on the members of the Crawley family and their various servants, it follows their fortunes and misfortunes as they contend with the onset of 20th-century modernity. Of course, there are many twists and turns to the series, and there's an undeniable appeal to its melodramatic storylines. However, it's precisely the series' emphasis on emotions, as well as its sumptuous production design, that make it a series to savor.

Mike Flanagan had a very productive partnership with Netflix for several years, and Midnight Mass is arguably his greatest achievement. It’s a delicious slow burn of a horror series, focusing on the residents of an isolated island and a predatory evil that takes up residence there. Even though, in typical Netflix fashion, all of the episodes were released simultaneously, it’s still worth relishing. Not only does doing so allow one to really appreciate the gradual unfolding of the horror, but it also gives more time to contemplate the bigger philosophical, moral, and religious questions with which the series engages.

Mike Flanagan left his partnership with Netflix with a true bang, bringing the works of Edgar Allen Poe to magnificent life with his The Fall of the House of Usher. The brilliance of the series lies in its ability to bring out the macabre pleasures of Poe’s work while tying the various stories together into a coherent narrative whole that also manages to have some potent commentary on the present and the wealthy who are willing to bargain way the lives of their children so that they can enjoy their ill-gotten gains. It’s a richly imagined and often deeply unsettling series that makes Poe’s works relevant for a modern audience.

It’s no secret that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is one of the most expensive series ever made, and it looks like it. Indeed, the level of detail that went into the crafting of Amazon’s series is one of the reasons that it benefits from a slower watch. Furthermore, taking a bit of a break between each episode allows the viewer to appreciate better how the various narrative threads play out as the season unfolds. The characters — from the Elf Galadriel to the Dwarf Durin — seem to leap off the screen, and they invite the viewer to take the time to get to know them.

Given the enormous success of Game of Thrones, it was inevitable that it would get a spin-off, and the result is House of the Dragon, which chronicles the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. Like its predecessor, House of the Dragon is exquisitely crafted in terms of the writing involved and the level of detail used to bring Westeros to life. Savoring the series rather than binging it allows audiences to really immerse themselves in this world and also allows for a more nuanced appreciation of the character dynamics at play. This, in turn, makes the twists in the final few episodes land with greater effect, 

Not many fantasy series have had quite the impact of Game of Thrones, demonstrating the genre's mass appeal. Though set in a fictional world, the series reflected many of the pressing issues of the 21st century, particularly concerning power and gender relations. It was released on a weekly schedule, which gave (and gives) audiences time to relish the extremely detailed world-building and fully grapple with the numerous philosophical and ethical questions the series raises. While the creators certainly did not stick the landing, Game of Thrones is still worth a deliberative rewatch. 

Succession is undoubtedly one of the most acclaimed HBO series of the last decade, and it’s easy to see why. In addition to being bitingly funny, it also features fantastic character work from the likes of Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, and J. Smith-Cameron. It’s definitely a slow burn of a series as the audience watches the various members of the Roy family conspire to be the heir to Cox’s paterfamilias Logan. It is a bleakly funny series, and it rewards those who take their time to get to know the characters, their dynamics, and their weaknesses. 

Jean Smart might have become famous thanks to her role as Charlene in the hit sitcom Designing Women, but she has rarely been out of television, and she has garnered significant acclaim thanks to her starring role in Hacks. She portrays Deborah Vance, who develops a strange yet mutually rewarding relationship with her assistant, Hannah Einbinder’s Ava. This is an undeniably hilarious series, but while it might be tempting to binge it, there are so many layers to both the characters’ relationship and the comedy as a whole that it’s worth taking one’s time to really appreciate the craftsmanship that has gone into one of the best comedies of the 2020s.

The works of the late Anne Rice have seduced readers since the 1970s when her Interview with the Vampire updated the vampire myth for a new age. The novel is the source for the acclaimed AMC series of the same name, starring Jacob Anderson as the tortured vampire Louis and Sam Reid as his seductive yet somewhat maniacal maker, Lestat. The series is as lush and sexy as its source material, which is precisely what makes it worth being savored rather than binged. In addition, taking one’s time with the series allows for a more nuanced and rich appreciation of the dynamic between Louis and Lestat, as well as between the two of them and their vampire progeny, Claudia (Bailey Bass in the first season and Delainey Hayles in the second) and between Louis and interviewer Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). 

Bryan Cranston gave one of the best performances of his career as Walter White, the chemistry teacher turned ruthless drug maker, in the hit AMC series Breaking Bad. It’s tempting to blaze through this series, but it’s far better to slow down and watch an episode or two at a time to fully appreciate and relish the character work and the extent to which the series ratchets up the tension bit by bit. Aside from everything else, it would also be too stressful to watch the entirety of this series in one go, particularly once Gus becomes a part of the story. 

Few sci-fi series have had as much influence and longevity as Star Trek. Even though it has changed a great deal since its beginnings in the 1960s, one thing remains the same across its various iterations: it deserves to be savored. Part of this has to do with the sheer level of talent involved in the series, and characters such as Kirk, Spock, and Picard have become iconic. However, Star Trek also deserves to be savored because it is one of those science fiction series that really does try to engage with weighty philosophical issues. Thus, it’s easy to see why it still remains so widely popular.

Black Mirror deserves its reputation as one of the most provocative and thought-provoking series on television. Since it’s an anthology, it’s possible to start at any point, but it definitely does reward starting from the beginning to see some of the more notable through-lines. What’s more, given the show’s tendency to be quite nihilistic and cynical about the way that technology affects modern life and society, it’s a series that should be watched in increments rather than all at once, at least if one hopes to hold onto any sense that fascination with technology doesn’t inevitably doom the human race.

Steven Yeun and Ali Wong are perfectly cast in Beef, which focuses on the growing hostility between Danny Cho and Amy Lau. What begins as a fairly minor disagreement soon takes on horrifying proportions, leading to death, mishap, and mayhem for the main characters and almost everyone surrounding them. There’s a remarkable momentum to the plotting and pacing that can only fully be experienced through a more deliberate mode of watching. This slower viewing approach also allows the audience time to get to know these characters better and appreciate Yeun and Wong's work mining their hidden depths.

FX’s The Bear  has received well-deserved critical acclaim, thanks in no small part to Jeremy Allen White’s performance as Carmy Berzatto, who takes over his family’s restaurant and has to not only keep it afloat but also try to turn it into a high-end dining experience. The series is tautly woven and often tense to watch, and, as with so much other quality TV, it’s also filled with electrifying performance. Though the stakes might be relatively small, the show makes them feel high as the viewer becomes increasingly invested in the restaurant and its fortunes. It’s thus a series that rewards slow watching.

Netflix certainly outdid itself with The Crown,  which chronicles the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, played in succession by Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, and Imelda Staunton. The production is lavish, and the performances are exquisite. Still, more than this, the series also engages with the various issues surrounding the Crown as an institution and the damage it inflicts on those in its orbit. Although all the episodes are now available and easy to binge, the series only offers up its philosophical richness if one takes the chance to savor it rather than simply trying to race through it to the end.

The historical epic miniseries made a big return to popularity thanks to the FX series Shōgun, based on the novel of the same name by James Clavell. It is the perfect blend of romance and epic storytelling, focusing as it does on Cosmo Jarvis’ English sailor John Blackthorne, whose fate intertwines with those of the powerful warlord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and the tormented noblewoman Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai). There’s much to savor about this show, from the extraordinarily layered performances to the production design, making this a show that should be taken episode by episode rather than devoured all at once. 

The Coen Brothers’ Fargo remains one of their most beloved films, and it inspires the FX series of the same name. Each season of the anthology drama focuses on a different set of characters, and while it clearly has an aesthetic and ethos of its own, its quirky and bleak sense of humor clearly owes much to the original film. It also benefits from being released on a weekly schedule rather than all at once. This gives the audience a chance to both savor the humor and see how the various plotlines play out during a season.