8 Quibi Shows Worth Watching

Now that Quibi — a specialized streaming service that serves up content in "quick bites" (ergo its name) — has launched, TVLine has skimmed many of the 20+ programs currently available and presents these quick blurbs about the eight that first jumped out at us as worth at least a nibble.

SURVIVE
(12 total 'chapters')

Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner stars in this stylish, propulsive thriller as a suicidal young woman who's forced to fight for her life after a harrowing plane crash along with a fellow survivor (played by 24: Legacy's Corey Hawkins). The phone dimensions are a bit limiting for a show of this scope, but the life-and-death drama eventually sinks its hooks deep into you thanks to a revelatory performance from Turner, who gets some great material to work with.

MEMORY HOLE
(8 episodes)

Will Arnett hosts this super-breezy look back at the ignominious pop culture moments that time forgot, with an aim to "make you re-forget them." For example, the first episodes revisit the most cringe-worthy rap video made by a sports team, the worst stadium show ever, and filmdom's most preposterous karate movie, all replete with fuzzy, VHS-quality video clips and peppered by Arnetts's zinger-filled, at-times caustic commentary. The true definition of non-caloric, Quibi-sized bites.

SHAPE OF PASTA
(8 episodes)

Who knew a show about carbs could not only make you hungry, but also emotional? As Los Angeles-based chef Evan Funke travels to remote Italian cities to learn about pasta shapes that may be forgotten when the older generation passes, the docuseries takes on an unintentional bittersweetness in light of the current state of the coronavirus-ravaged country. Funke's journey is a moving and enlightening tribute not just to pasta, but also to the people of Italy.

FLIPPED
(11 total 'chapters')

Will Forte and Kaitlin Olson are an absolute dream comedy duo, and it's a joy to watch them bounce off each other as a freshly fired husband and wife who reinvent themselves as house flippers and in an abandoned home stumble onto a huge stash of cash...  that a band of drug cartel baddies would like back, please. The story is just getting warmed up in the first three episodes screened for critics, but Forte and Olson are so funny together, we'd happily watch them just goof around with each other in 8-minute chunks.

MOST DANGEROUS GAME
(15 total 'chapters')

The idea of humans hunting other humans for sport has been a provocative one ever since Richard Connell's short story of the same name came out nearly a century ago. Here, the premise is given a sleek, modern-day sheen (the hunter, played by The Hunger Games' Liam Hemsworth, must tote a special cell phone that reveals his GPS coordinates for 15 seconds every hour), while two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz elevates the role of the veritable "gamemaker" to just the right level of frenemy.  

CHRISSY'S COURT
(12 episodes)

In this endearingly lightweight spin on the standard court show, an admittedly "unqualified" Chrissy Teigen (with her mom Pepper Thai as bailiff) presides over highly inconsequential legal disputes, e.g., "my boyfriend bought my friend the wrong sweatshirt for her birthday, and I want my half of the money back." The courtroom format is a perfect match for Quibi's quick-hit style, with one case per episode, and Teigen's goofy charm lends a playful vibe to the proceedings. Our verdict: worth a watch.

GAYME SHOW!
(8 episodes)

A physical manifestation of gay Twitter, this irreverent game show pits two straight guys against one another for the chance to be crowned "honorarily gay as f—k." Joined by rotating guest mentors, including the likes of Ilana Glazer, Joel Kim Booster and Nicole Byer, the straights compete in a series of ludicrous challenges — from guessing the "essence" of a celebrity to digging through gay artifacts while dressed like Laura Dern's character from Jurassic Park. And then there are challenges like "Notice Me, Father!" which finds the contestants performing at a faux dance recital in the hopes of impressing their disapproving father in the front row. It's an off-the-wall delight.

WHEN THE STREETLIGHTS GO ON
(10 total 'chapters')

With hints of Stand by Me and Veronica Mars, Streetlights' blend of slasher mystery and coming-of-age tale is both intriguing and well paced for the platform. Chosen Jacobs (Hawaii Five-0) plays Charlie, a boy who finds the bodies of a slain teen and her teacher-turned-lover (The Mindy Project's Mark Duplass). Though his town's been rocked by scandal, can Charlie help crack the case before the murderer strikes again? It's a whodunnit with a killer 90's soundtrack that's bound to keep you glued to your phone. Queen Latifah also stars, as the detective investigating the case.