Paramount Plus (formerly known as CBS All Access) already has a large number of original TV series available only through ViacomCBS’s own streaming service. But which of the Paramount Plus exclusive shows are the best?
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Here’s a quick look at the exclusive Paramount Plus shows that we think are worth streaming right now. As you will see, while the service has a number of Star Trek-based shows, it also has a number of other TV series that are well worth your time.
Best exclusive Paramount Plus shows
Editor’s note: We will update this list as soon as more Paramount Plus shows the debut of this service.
The good fight
The Good Fight is a spin-off of the acclaimed CBS network series The Good Wife. It shows Christine Baranski, who again plays the lawyer Diane Lockhart. She believes she is about to retire, but finds out that her financial portfolio has almost disappeared due to a Ponzi-style scam. She is forced to go back to work in an African American company in Chicago. The series currently has four seasons to stream, and a fifth is slated for release later in 2020. It is perhaps the best of the Paramount Plus exclusive shows.
Star Trek: Below Deck
This is the best of the Star Trek-based Paramount Plus exclusive shows. This is a half-hour adult-themed animated comedy series set one year after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. The focus is on characters who are part of the support crew of the USS Cerritos, one of the smaller ships in Starfleet. The series, created by former Rick and Morty chief writer Mike McMahan, has completed its first season, and a second season is slated for August 2021. A third season is also in the works.
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The twilight zone
Rod Serling’s classic science fiction anthology series has been revived multiple times for both television and film, but this latest version gets extra points for snapping Jordan Peele. The writer and director of acclaimed horror films Get Out and Us acts as both executive producer and host. Like the classic series, the first season with 10 episodes offers parables about current events in a science fiction, fantasy or horror environment. There’s even a (sort of) remake of the acclaimed original episode Nightmare at 20,000 feet, with the remake’s title, Nightmare at 30,000 feet, taking us even higher. In a nice feature, you can also see the first season with 10 episodes in black and white, in a nice tip of the hat to the original series. The second season of The Twilight Zone is now also available for streaming.
Strange angel
One of the greatest early forces in jets and missile development in the United States was Jack Parsons, and Strange Angel is focused on his story. Played by Jack Reynor, the series shows how Parsons constructed some of the earliest high-performance jets and rockets in the 1930s and later founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. However, he was also an occultist who participated in sex magic rituals. You can stream both seasons of this strange show based on a true story on Paramount Plus.
Tell me a story
This strange show is hard to describe, but we’ll try anyway. It mixes elements of fairy tales like The Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood, but brings them to modern New York City. If you think this type of show is for you then it is here. You can now watch two seasons of the show.
No activity
This is one of the few Paramount Plus exclusive shows that is also a comedy. No Activity is about two cops who are out of a drug cartel on a lengthy game, and it also features some of the other low-end members on either side of that criminal activity. The show stars Tim Meadows and Patrick Brammall as the two cops, but there are guest appearances from actors like Will Ferrell, JK Simmons and Jessica Alba. You can now stream the three seasons of the show. A fourth season is currently available for streaming. In a twist, this season is going to be an animated show.
Why women kill
This exclusive Paramount Plus show is from Marc Cherry, the creator of Desperate Housewives. Like this show, Why Women Kill is a women-centric show, but the three main characters are each in different time periods. However, they are all linked by their desire to kill their unfaithful husbands. Ginnifer Goodin plays a housewife in 1963, while Lucy Liu plays a woman in 1984 who discovers that her husband is having a gay affair. Finally, a woman today in an “open” relationship, Kirby Howell-Baptiste finds that she and her husband are both attracted to the same woman. A second season is in the works.
The stand
Stephen King’s massive post-apocalypse novel has already been adapted as a TV miniseries for ABC, but Paramount Plus is home to this brand new adaptation. King himself wrote the ninth and final episode of the adaptation, an entirely new story set after the events of the original novel. James Marsden stars as Stu Redman, and Amber Heard also appears on Nadine Cross, with Whoopi Goldberg as mother Abagail.
That’s a look at the best Paramount Plus exclusive shows. We’ll update this post as more projects are announced.