We’ve got another new streaming service to explore… and a fresh crop of TV shows to discover.
Yes, Paramount+ isn’t technically “new” — it’s just a rebrand of the existing CBS All Access service — but this past week’s relaunch did bring with it an expanded library of content from across the ViacomCBS universe, including CBS, MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and more. And once you get beyond the big names like Star Trek and SpongeBob, you’ll find there are lots of forgotten favorites tucked away inside that self-described “mountain of entertainment.”
We here at TVLine are rolling up our sleeves and doing a deep dive into the Paramount+ library to uncover more than two dozen hidden gems you can stream right now on the service. (Note: Some tempting offerings like MTV Unplugged and VH1’s Behind the Music only have a handful of episodes, so we left them off. Plus, we should add that the streamer is a treasure trove for Nicktoons fans, with everything from Ren & Stimpy and Rugrats to The Fairly OddParents and Invader Zim.)
Read on to see what delights await you in the far corners of the Paramount+ library, from retro reality shows to underappreciated comedies. And if you see something on the service we missed, hit the comments and tell us. (We’re all in this together.)
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Aeon Flux
Image Credit: Everett Collection This animated sci-fi stunner, following a female assassin through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, is a heady mix of graphic violence, sex and mind-bending plot twists. It began life as a short on Liquid Television — while we’re at it, why isn’t that on Paramount+? — and went on to get its own half-hour series before inspiring a 2005 Charlize Theron film that was, um, less well received.
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Another Period
Image Credit: Everett Collection Natasha Leggero and Riki Lindhome starred as the spoiled rotten Bellacourt sisters — think of them as Paris and Nicky, a century early — in this raucous comedy that plays like Downton Abbey, but for laughs. The cast is studded with stars, including a delightfully silly Jason Ritter as brainless brother Frederick and Christina Hendricks as servant Celine, aka “Chair.”
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Are You the One?
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV Compatibility gets put to the ultimate test in this wild MTV dating competition, which puts single men and women together with a twist: Each single has one “perfect match” among the others, and if they find them, they’ll split a million-dollar prize. Which will win out: lust or greed? Let’s find out!
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BrainDead
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Robert and Michelle King, of The Good Wife fame, brought this very weird, one-and-done political satire to life, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead starring as a congressional staffer who discovers that alien insects are infecting the brains of D.C. politicians. (No one else really notices, though.)
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Clone High
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV Before the announced HBO Max reboot hits, spend some time with teen Abe Lincoln, Gandhi and JFK on this animated cult favorite that only ran for one season on MTV — and sprang from the minds of future LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.
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Corporate
Image Credit: Courtesy of Comedy Central This pitch-black satire set in the lonely cubicles of a soulless corporation never got the attention it deserved during its three-season Comedy Central run, but anyone who’s toiled away at a thankless job will relate to the miserable slogging of corporate drones Matt and Jake. It’s like The Office, if everyone there were borderline suicidal.
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Daria
Image Credit: Everett Collection The dream of the ’90s is alive on Paramount+, with all five seasons of this animated MTV comedy available to stream whenever you need a fix of acidic teenage angst. Daria Morgendorffer started out as a Beavis and Butt-Head side character, but she carved out a quirky cultural niche all her own — and her sarcastic jabs still cut deep.
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Detroiters
Image Credit: Courtesy of Comedy Central Do you love Sam Richardson from Veep? How about Tim Robinson from I Think You Should Leave? Well, can we interest you in a funny, sunny comedy starring those two as lifelong pals who work together at a low-budget advertising agency in the Motor City? Good, because Paramount+ has all 20 episodes for your viewing pleasure.
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Diary
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV Whoa… this prime nugget of Y2K nostalgia takes us back to the halcyon days of TRL, with music superstars like the Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, Pink and Avril Lavigne letting cameras follow them around as they live their everyday (OK, totally glamorous) lives.
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Double Dare
Image Credit: Everett Collection All you ’80s kids are in for a treat, with a whopping 246 (!!) episodes of the classic Nickelodeon game show available to stream. If you wanted, you could watch host Marc Summers quiz kid contestants and put them through silly obstacles for five days straight… now that would be a physical challenge.
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Drawn Together
Image Credit: Everett Collection Cartoons meet reality TV in this crudely funny comedy that sticks a group of mismatched characters — including a superhero, a princess and a mischievous pig — in a house together, Big Brother-style.
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Guy Code and Girl Code
Image Credit: MTV screenshot These sister shows take a simple concept — comedians give out life advice to teen boys and girls via talking-head segments — and somehow spin it into addictively entertaining TV. It helps that the cast is filled with stars on the rise like Pete Davidson, Awkwafina, Nicole Byer, Charlamagne Tha God and Desus and Mero.
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Jericho
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS You don’t have to send peanuts through the mail to enjoy this fondly remembered post-apocalyptic drama, starring Skeet Ulrich as a resident of a small Kansas town that survived a devastating series of nuclear blasts.
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Kroll Show
Image Credit: Courtesy of Comedy Central Nick Kroll’s full comedy arsenal is on display in this wickedly hilarious sketch series, which took aim at nearly all forms of TV. Highlights include Kroll and Jenny Slate as brain-dead publicists in the fake reality show PubLIZity and Kroll and John Mulaney debuting their “Oh, Hello” characters as aging Jewish pranksters Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland.
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Life Unexpected
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW One of The CW’s unsung heroes, this sweet dramedy in the spirit of Gilmore Girls and Everwood starred Britt Robertson as a foster teen who tracks down her birth parents, played by Kristoffer Polaha and Shiri Appleby. You know, back before every CW show had to have a superhero or a murder mystery.
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Made
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV MTV’s long-running makeover show is invigorating and inspirational, with teens who want to pursue a passion getting paired up with a coach and put through a rigorous crash course over the course of a few weeks. (Unfortunately, Paramount+ only has Season 12 for some reason, but we’ll take it.)
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Next
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV Travel back to the innocent days of Myspace and flip phones with this crazy (and yeah, kinda harsh) dating show: Single guys and girls choose from a bus full of suitors, and if they’re not feeling it, all they have to say is “Next!” and a new option steps right in to replace the rejected.
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Real Husbands of Hollywood
Image Credit: Everett Collection Kevin Hart headlined this fun blend of Real Housewives-esque reality TV spoof and Curb Your Enthusiasm-style heightened comedy, with Hart trying (and failing) to make it big in Tinseltown. A cavalcade of A-list guest stars gave it their blessing, too, from Chris Rock to Mariah Carey.
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Review
Image Credit: Everett Collection We don’t hesitate to hand a full five stars to this truly inspired oddball gem, with an excellent Andy Daly playing “life reviewer” Forrest MacNeil, who studiously reviews life experiences like making a sex tape and quitting your job on a five-star scale. (The “Pancakes, Divorce, Pancakes” episode is a stone-cold classic.)
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The Sarah Silverman Program
Image Credit: Courtesy of Comedy Central Silverman’s distinctively strange sense of humor is in full bloom in this surreal, silly comedy, which saw a fictionalized Sarah flail her way through life alongside her disapproving sister Laura and pals Brian and Steven. Silverman even earned an Emmy nomination for best lead actress in a comedy!
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The State
Image Credit: Everett Collection Fans of goofy sketch comedy in the vein of The Kids in the Hall should, no, must check out this ’90s MTV cult classic, with an ensemble packed with future stars, from Michael Ian Black and Ken Marino to the Reno 911! trio of Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant and Kerri Kenney-Silver.
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Strangers With Candy
Image Credit: Everett Collection Amy Sedaris delivers an all-time great comedic performance as Jerri Blank, a 46-year-old former “boozer, user and loser” who cleans up her act and starts over fresh as a high school freshman. Need more convincing? How about Stephen Colbert co-starring as tightly wound history teacher Chuck Noblet?
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Ugly Americans
Image Credit: Everett Collection This supernatural animated comedy kind of fell through the cracks during its original Comedy Central run, but it’s worth a second look: It centers on a human social worker who has to contend with a zombie roommate, a demonic girlfriend and a wizard co-worker, among other otherworldly encounters.
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Wonder Showzen
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV2 Put the kids to bed before dialing this one up: A riotously funny skewering of kids’ programming, Showzen used puppets and real children to teach some seriously twisted lessons through a very adult lens. (Cartoon titles include “Don’t Mock Gimps” and “Segregation Works!”) It’s hard to believe any of this was even allowed to air in the first place… so enjoy while you still can!
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