Lockdown viewing 23 TV classics to finally catch up on

Those iconic TV shows you’ve been meaning to get around to? With the outdoors off-limits, now’s your chance.

And while devouring new content is fun there’s something to be said for being late to the party and enjoying these TV classics on their own terms, removed from any pressing cultural conversation. Plus, everyone loves that person who wants to talk about, say, the Fly episode in 2021, right?

Anthony Bourdain’s untimely death in 2018 casts Parts Unknown in a more poignant light.

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013-2018)
12 seasons, 104 episodes; SBS On Demand
Three years on from his troubling death, Bourdain’s charming Beat-spewing shtick hits a darker tone. But he’ll forever remain the ultimate travel buddy to share a plate of horse meatballs with. Watch it ahead of the upcoming documentary on his life, Roadrunner.

The Wire (2002-2008)
5 seasons, 60 episodes; Binge
Infamously snubbed by the Emmys during its entire run, David Simon’s sweeping look at Baltimore street crime, police corruption and media manipulation continues to be hailed as the “best television show full stop”.

Peep Show (2003-2015)
9 seasons, 54 episodes; ABC iView
Beauty and horror are two sides of the same coin, and that coin is the dysfunctional friendship of hopeless housemates Mark (David Mitchell) and Jez (Robert Webb). Not just hilarious, the British comedy has somehow gone on to spawn both the Oscar-winning career of Olivia Colman and the Emmy-winning Succession.

The Sopranos (1999-2007)
6 seasons, 86 episodes; Binge
The series that “made TV grow up”, according to Esquire â€" and, personally, made me a lifelong devotee at the altar of Michael Imperioli. The recent first-look at upcoming prequel film The Many Saints of Newark (starring James Gandolfini’s son Michael as young Tony Soprano) is excuse enough for a revisit.

Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-present)
10 seasons, 100 episodes; Binge
The fact that, over 20 years on, Larry David is still spinning minor personal annoyances into TV gold is a testament to his creative genius. 100 episodes and each one of them is pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Breaking Bad (2008-2013)
5 seasons, 62 episodes; Stan*
What’s left to say? Aaron Paul’s turn as Jesse Pinkman remains one of TV’s most astounding performances, and any number of episodes (Ozymandias, Face Off, and yes, Fly) should be hanging in art galleries.

Bryan Cranston as Walter White and Aaron paul as Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad.

Lost (2004-2010)
6 seasons, 121 episodes; Stan
A personal confession: the agonising discussion and endless theorising around Lost when it originally aired long put me off the series. “Smoke Monster this, purgatory that â€" ugh shut up, nerds,” I’d say, and watch The OC instead. But now, I’m ready. I hear that finale is really something...

Dawson’s Creek (1998-2003)
6 seasons, 128 episodes; 7Plus
Before 140-characters and emojis and mumble rap, teenage kids used to say things to each other like, “I am simply trying to establish a rapport with you based on humour” and “Knock it off, even Spielberg outgrew his Peter Pan Syndrome.” Thank you, progress.

How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)
9 seasons, 208 episodes; Netflix
Forget what you’ve heard. That finale is legen â€" wait for it â€" dary.

Mad Men (2007-2015)
7 seasons, 92 episodes; Amazon Prime Video
Oddly enough, Matthew Weiner’s golden age classic already had a streaming spike early in the pandemic, from viewers keen to delve into the soul-deadening underbelly of slick ’60s advertising. Between the “Freudian fever dream” that’s Don Draper to Peggy Olson’s righteous crusade, there’s a world to get lost in.

The Six Million Dollar Man (1973-1978)
5 seasons, 99 episodes; 9Now
Due to the current content boom, just being able to watch Lee Majors in this very ’70s, Marvel-esque, action concoction feels like a rare luxury. C’mon streaming, have you forgotten that TV existed before the ’00s?

Girls (2012-2017)
6 seasons, 62 episodes; Binge
Before he was winning standing ovations at Cannes as Hollywood’s most interesting leading man, Adam Driver was just Adam, Girls’ horribly narcissistic male nightmare. Removed from the polarising noise it copped during its run, Lena Dunham’s series remains hard-hitting and hilarious.

Spaced (1999-2001)
2 seasons, 14 episodes; Stan
A short binge but a great one. The cult hit that launched the careers of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright is a self-skewering love letter to pop culture â€" its DVD release famously featured a “homage-o-meter” explaining its endless film, TV and music references.

Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
7 seasons, 153 episodes; Netflix
With its pure and sweet Stars Hollow setting, Gilmore Girls might be the ultimate in escapist pandemic viewing. You can almost smell the pumpkin spice wafting through your TV screen.

Sex and the City (1998-2004)
6 seasons, 94 episodes; Binge
The subtle teasers for And Just Like That..., the upcoming Sex and the City spin-off series, may have you itching to revisit the original. Get your fill of Kim Cattrall’s ever outrageous Samantha before she’s violently written out of SATC lore for good.

The Secret Life of Us (2001-2005)
4 seasons, 86 episodes; Netflix
The revered noughties drama about 20-somethings in a St Kilda sharehouse is currently experiencing a second life on Netflix. Come for the glimpses of pre-Hollywood Joel Edgerton, stay for the raw storylines of young adult ennui.

From left to right, Evan (Samuel Johnson), Alex (Claudia Karvan) and Kelly (Deborah Mailman) in The Secret Life of Us. Credit:Network Ten

Degrassi Junior High (1987-1989)
3 seasons, 42 episodes; 9Now*
With the kids also stuck in lockdown, some educational viewing is essential and it might as well come from ’80s Canadians. For all its Zit Remedy antics, this series was heavy â€" teen pregnancy, teen HIV, teen suicide. And they used to show us this in primary school! Makes all the handwringing over HBO’s Euphoria seem ridiculous.

The West Wing (1999-2006)
7 seasons, 156 episodes; Stan
Aaron Sorkin’s intimate look at White House politics won the Emmy for outstanding drama series four times during its run, which is why your friends quote it endlessly even two decades on.

The Last Man on Earth (2015-2018)
4 seasons, 67 episodes; Disney+
It’s hard to believe that the most prophetic show on TV came from former SNL oddball Will Forte, but here we are. The cult sitcom is set in a dystopian 2022 where the world’s been ravished by a deadly virus. Unfortunately, there’s no closure, closure, closure.

Frasier (1993-2004)
11 seasons, 264 episodes; Stan
The highfalutin sitcom about radio psychiatrist Frasier Crane and his “tossed salad and scrambled eggs” is also getting the reboot treatment for new streamer Paramount+, with the character set to be “rich beyond his wildest dreams”, according to star Kelsey Grammar. Revisit poor Crane’s salad days in the original.

Chappelle’s Show (2003-2006)
2 seasons, 25 episodes; Netflix
Considering comedian Dave Chappelle’s groundbreaking sketch show is approaching its 20-year anniversary, it’s astounding how provocative it remains. I mean, his infamous black-white supremacist Clayton Bigsby appeared in the series’ very first episode.

Seinfeld (1989-1998)
9 seasons, 180 episodes; Stan
You might think you’ve already seen every bit of every Seinfeld episode just randomly on TV, but you’d be wrong. There are more timeless delights packed into this series than every other sitcom combined â€" like, say, George Costanza and his cane. It’s been too long since you thought about George Costanza and his cane.

The Muppet Show (1976-1981)
5 seasons, 120 episodes; Disney+
Because every bored kid (and their parents) needs Fozzie Bear in their lockdown life. Wocka, wocka!

*Stan and 9Now are owned by Nine, the owner of this masthead.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.

Robert Moran is a culture reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age

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