Every time I get to the end of a year and see all the 'best shows' lists, I reflect on all the fantastic TV series I've missed due to not signing up for loads of streaming shows. After all, saving money is a little bit more important than keeping on top of every new episode that's released all year.
However you don't need to follow my lead because there are loads of streaming service free trials about, which let you sign up for a limited amount of time (usually 7 days or a month) without paying.
If you've got some time off work for Christmas, it's the perfect time I catch up on loads of the amazing shows from 2024 you may have missed, and streaming service free trials will let you do so without any cost. You can binge through shows to your heart's content without the bill.
To help you find some of the free trials and shows to jump on, I've listed four streaming services that offer trial periods, and highlighted new series that landed this year which you should stream.
Paramount Plus
Hulu
1. Apple TV Plus
Apple TV Plus is arguably the best paid streaming service for free streaming, because it runs an array of Apple TV Plus free trials which you can jump on year-round. Anyone can get a 7-day one but if you're a customer to a variety of other services, you can enjoy much, much more without paying.
That's a good thing too because it's had a bumper year of TV shows, so 7 days might not be enough time to watch them all.
My favorite series of the year, Bad Monkey, is one show I'd highlight, but it's had plenty more that we've enjoyed at What to Watch. I've personally seen and enjoyed Sugar, Constellation and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (which ended in 2024, so I'm counting it) and others on team have liked Masters of the Air, The New Look and the latest season of Slow Horses.
Not every series of Apple TV Plus is worth watching but its ratio of stinkers to thinkers is much better than other streaming services!
2. Prime Video
You can access Prime Video if you're a subscriber to Amazon Prime, and this all-encompassing subscription service offers a month-long free trial for people who haven't signed up before. If you've already gotten the free trial for next-day shipping or Amazon Music you're out of luck, but if you've somehow never used Amazon's services before, you're in luck.
That's good because Amazon has been quite prolific this year, not just for shows but for movies too, though this article is just about the former. One such show that the streamer gained, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, is in my top-10 list for the year.
There's been loads more on the platform that I didn't enjoy or see but others have raved about: Fallout, The Rings of Power season 2, The Boys season 4, both Citadel spin-offs and the Australian version of The Office. Plus if you're not interested in 2024's shows, it has the best library of box-set series and movies out of the four services here.
3. Paramount Plus
I haven't seen as much from Paramount Plus' big shows this year, but from what other What to Watch team members say, it's had a stellar time.
Paramount Plus offers a 7-day free trial to all new subscribers, but you can also double-up on that trial. You see, Paramount Plus is available as a channel on Prime Video and that has a separate 7-day free trial too, if you have Prime Video that is (and more on that above!).
Seven days isn't much time to see all of Paramount Plus' new shows and movies, so for the purposes of this article let's stick to the former.
Paramount Plus is Taylor Sheridan land (he's a star TV producer with loads of hit shows under his belt). This year alone we've seen Landman, Lioness season 2 and the latest batch of episodes from Yellowstone season 5 (which aren't on Paramount in the US, but are everywhere else). There's also been the latest season of Frasier, Sexy Beast, the Sonic spin-off Knuckles and loads of documentaries.
4. Hulu
My second favorite show of the year was Shogun which is streaming on Hulu, as well as loads of other TV series which people have raved about all year.
Hulu offers a free trial that varies between 30 days and 7 days depending on when you sign up, and at the time of writing it's for a month.
Of all the streaming services, Hulu is one of the most readily recognizable for streaming TV due to its big library. We've seen lots of returning shows in 2024 like Only Murders in the Building, The Bear , Reasonable Doubt and Futurama but it's seen some big new hits this year with The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, How to Die Alone and Say Nothing.
