The weekend is the best time to crack open a new show onNetflix, but where do you begin? Discovering a new show isn’t always easy, especially if you’re unlucky enough to be using Netflix’s latest redesigned interface.

Thankfully, you have someone who watches too much TV at your disposal—me! Here are three shows that are great to binge because you may start and finish them over a few days.

2018 - 2021

4

42

15 hours 22 minutes

Status

Ended

Glenn Howerton puts in a delightfully unhinged performance inIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, so it’s always nice to see him elsewhere. In the sitcomA.P. Biohe plays Jack, a Harvard philosophy professor who winds up in his Ohio hometown teaching biology at high school. The situation is far from his ideal, not helped by the fact that he’s living in his deceased mother’s home. Rather than teach the subject he’s there for, Jack decides to use his students to help him enact revenge on those he believes have wronged him.

I wasn’t totally sold onA.P. Biowhen I started, but everything clicked after a couple of episodes, especially as you get to see more of Jack’s students and colleagues (including Patton Oswalt as the well-meaning principal and Paula Pell as his hilarious secretary). Howerton can play this type of role with his eyes closed, but it’s hard to complain when he’s so good at it. The jokes are rapid and the short episodes make for a perfect binge.

The show has finished now and had the honor of being canceled twice—once after the second season, when it was then resurrected on Peacock, and again after the fourth. It’s a shame, especially because more people can discover it now that it’s on Netflix, but I’m grateful it lasted for four funny seasons.

2010 - present

15 (8 on Netflix)

144 (80 on Netflix)

10 hours 1 minute (collection 12)

Ongoing

The Great British Baking Show(known in its native country asThe Great British Bake Off) is an annual competition that brings together a group of amateur bakers to test their skills making cakes, bread, biscuits, and many other tasty delights. Their creations are judged by two professional bakers—currently Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith—who consider elements like taste, appearance, and how well the contestant stuck to the brief. Someone is eliminated each week until the final three remain.

Unlike many other reality competitions, the atmosphere on the show is positively charming. It’s held outdoors in a large tent, complete with gingham tablecloths and bunting, and the hosts wander around with encouragement and silly jokes. But the most important factor is that the contestants seem to genuinely get along. There is no backstabbing or scripted drama; it’s just a diverse group of people with a passion for baking, pulling off remarkable kitchen magic under time pressure. You wouldn’t think watching people knead dough or temper chocolate would be this fun, but it is.

The season numbering forThe Great British Baking Showis a little confusing. Netflix only has seasons 5 to 12 (which it calls collections), though technically season 5 was season 8 in the UK. The earlier seasons, following the UK’s numbering, are available onThe Roku Channel. It’s not much of an issue, though. Each season is standalone, with a fresh batch of bakers, so you may dive in wherever you like—a single season is ideal for a weekend binge, as you can see an entire competition from beginning to end.

2021

1

10

8 hours 59 minutes

Maidis essential viewing. It’s inspired by Stephanie Land’s memoir, with an extraordinary Margaret Qualley in the lead role. The show is about a young mother called Alex who is trying to do the best for her daughter—she leaves her abusive partner and takes a cleaning job to make ends meet. It’s raw and affecting without being melodramatic.

If you’ve seen Qualley in recent movies likeThe SubstanceandDrive-Away Dolls, you know how talented she is. She’s on sublime form here, with an unshowy performance that makes it easy to connect to Alex’s journey and root for her success. The rest of the cast are great too, served well by the nuanced writing, and it’s neat to see Qualley’s real mother, Andie MacDowell, play her fictional one.

Netflix has put out a lot of original series over the years and not all of them land. In my opinion, this ranks up there as one of its best. It was nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes and became one of the streamer’s most-watched shows when it debuted in 2021. Even if you tend to shy away from grounded dramas, I strongly recommend you check outMaid. It’ll stay with you long after you’ve finished watching.

Netflix

Stream all of these brilliant shows, along with plenty more licensed and original programming, with a monthly Netflix subscription.