Constantly rising prices, Ai generated content, great shows getting cancelled after a season or my favorite rewatches suddenly disappearing from the platform completely; modern streaming is not the joy I once thought it would be!
Besides making the change back to DVD (I will not rely on streaming services for my fall Gilmore Girls rewatch anymore!) I also decided to venture into a free, legal option for entertainment: YouTube.
Perhaps, like me, you have watched a sketchy upload of a movie on there before, but did you know there is totally legal TV on there as well? It turns out many companies are uploading old shows in full, on YouTube, for us to watch for free!
I have checked every show on this list to make sure that they are uploaded by the right holders, so you can be assured that nothing shady is going on with these uploads.
I normally only list things I have actually watched myself, but because these TV shows can be quite hard to find, I have decided to also share my watch list with you. I cannot vouch for the quality, but they are available legally and for free, so why not give them a look!
Want to save this list on Pinterest? Here is a picture!
Shows I've watched and loved
Taskmaster is a silly gameshow where comedians are given tricky tasks to do, to the best of their abilities. After which they are graded by Greg Davies. I'm normally not one for gameshows, but the tasks are always extremely entertaining and the relationships that are build in the group over the series make it a delightful show to watch!
Series 19 was a recent favorite of mine, especially fun for Americans, as American actor Jason Mantzoekas was a participant and truly gave the show a run for it's money. However, all series are available on YouTube and new series are uploaded as they air! It's a very fun show to watch along with friends or family, so if you can get them excited as well, jump on series 22, which starts airing on the 3rd of September 2026!
This is one of my favorite programs, so I was delighted when I realized a bunch of episodes of the UK, US and Australian versions are available on YouTube!
Each episode, a celebrity dives into the stories of their ancestors. Often, there is unconfirmed family lore in need of investigating or there are big holes in the knowledge the celebrity has of their ancestors.
I love it when they go and visit some small archive with a passionate archivist who has uncovered a juicy story. New episodes are uploaded regularly, so you won't be running out of episodes anytime soon!
The dramatic rescues, the rivalry (and friendship) between the lifeguards, some Australian humor and some of that 'watching people who are really good at their job' porn: I was obsessed when I first came across this show!
The first 9 seasons are available in full (and so is season 11 for some reason!) and the YouTube channel is filled with great compilations.
This channel is super active, and there have been some changes to the content the past couple of years, so I'm not sure how long this content will stay up for free or whether more free episodes will become available anytime soon. As always, I will update this blogpost if I know more!
My favorite Gordon Ramsey production ever: Gordon visits restaurants that are in danger of closing and tries to help them change, attempting to set them up for future success.
Of course, this is a reality show and the restaurants are cast based on the owners and/or staff being entertaining characters. And boy has this show cast some entertaining characters!
Where Bondi Rescue is competency porn, this show is more of a 'well at least I am not a stubborn owner of a dying restaurant serving dangerously disgusting food', situation. And it's just delicious to watch an exasperated Gordon Ramsey deal with the bad food and hilariously terrible environments of these mismanaged restaurants.
Already seen all the Kitchen Nightmares classics? Hotel Hell is also available on YouTube, where Gordon visits mismanaged hotels and does the same thing. And even though Kitchen Nightmares is my favorite, Hotel Hell has some fantastic episodes as well, so don't let the fact that it's a spin off stop you!
Fiction shows are a little less available on YouTube, so I was delighted when I saw this gem on there! Dance academy is a teen show (that is very watchable as an adult, I can confirm!) about a prestigious Australian school of dance and Tara Webster, a girl from the outback trying to make it there. The show is from 2010, but I feel it was ahead of it's time. It covers topics like trauma, eating disorders, belonging, dreams, religion, sexuality and relationships in ways you would not expect from a 2010 teenage drama! And add to that the joy of a very talented cast, the stunning setting of Sydney and beautiful ballet scenes: this show is worth your time.
Shows on my watchlist: Fiction
1. Peep show - British comedy with 9 seasons, about two dysfunctional friends sharing a flat in London. Starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb.
2. Degrassi: The Next Generation - Canadian teen, high school drama with 14 seasons available from 2001. Seasons of the original Degrassi shows are also available on the same channel!
3. H2O: Just add Water - Iconic Australian mermaid show with 3 seasons. The spin-off: Mako Mermaids is also available in full!
4. 6Teen - Iconic Canadian animated teen comedy with over 90 episodes on YouTube. This channel has more Canadian teen shows available!
5. The IT Crowd - British sitcom about an IT office. All four seasons are available!
6. The Bill - Classic British cop show, with over 2000 episodes (yes, that was not a typo. over 2000 full length episodes!). Season 21 is currently being uploaded. The show changes quite a bit over the years, so if you don't like a season, try starting a different one to see if you like that one better!
7. Moomin - A lovely animated show with wholesome spooky little trolls living in a beautiful valley. If you like slow and seasonal living, you'll love this one (I used to watch this one as a kid and am excited to watch it again!)
Shows on my watchlist: Non-Fiction
1. 48 hours - TV show covering crimes and court cases. Has 38 seasons on YouTube right now.
2. Time Team - British show about archeologists being challenged to find out as much as they can from a single area.
3. Bondi Vet / Coast to Coast / Vet On The Hill and more! - If you enjoy vet reality TV, this channel is the place to be! It has episodes from several different vet shows, mostly Australian!
4. Would I Lie To You - British panel show where comedians tell outlandish stories and the other team has to decide if it's true.
5. 8 Out of 10 Cats - British comedy panel show with Jimmy Carr
As always I will do my best to keep this list updated! If any of these shows become unavailable, please let me know in the comments and I will remove it! If you know of any other shows available legally on YouTube, please also let me know in the comments, I'd love to add more to this list!
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