The best free TV shows on YouTube (August 2024) | Digital Trends (2024)

Genre

Documentary, Reality

Stars

Sean C. Casey, Tim Samaras, Reed Timmer

Watch on YouTube

If Twisterstaught us one thing, it’s this: If you feel it, chase it. Head to Tornado Alley to follow the real-life men and women who pursue twisters inStorm Chasers. The early seasons focus on Dr. Joshua Wurman, a scientist who wants to improve tornado warning stems, and filmmaker Sean Casey, a documentarian looking to film inside the storm.

Both chasers use high-tech vehicles — Doppler on Wheels (DOW) and Tornado Intercept Vehicle (TIV) — in the field. The series gives viewers an inside look into the challenges facing storm chasers daily, including inconsistent weather patterns and powerful storms. One thing remains clear: timing is everything. It’s a race to reach the storm in this heart-pounding adventure series.

Genre

Reality

Stars

Christian Siriano, Nina Garcia, Brandon Maxwell

Created by

Eli Holzman

Watch on YouTube

“Make it work!” That iconic phrase has become associated with Project Runway, Bravo’s long-running fashion competition series. Project Runway recruits the best amateur stylists and designers to compete to win prize money for their fashion line and gain exposure in fashion magazines. The contestants are challenged to create clothing around the week’s theme in each episode.

Previous themes include edible food items, recyclable materials, and flowers. The outfits are modeled during a fashion show and judged by experts Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, and Michael Kors. Klum also co-hosted the series with Tim Gunn. Designers are eliminated in each episode, and the finalists make it to New York Fashion Week to showcase their collections. If you love fashion, then Project Runway is a must-watch.

Genre

Comedy, Drama, Reality

Stars

Criss Angel

Created by

Criss Angel

Watch on YouTube

Criss Angel is not your traditional magician. The illusionist believes in taking his tricks to the streets and shocking unsuspecting people at every corner. Criss Angel Mindfreak chronicles the magician’s dangerous feats of strength, toughness, and concentration. Angel is not afraid to put himself in harm’s way.

Angel’s bag of tricks includes levitating high above a street, being buried alive beneath the streets of Las Vegas, submerging himself in water for 33 hours, and locking himself in a crate with C4. The “Mindfreak” also cut himself in half, walked up the side of a building, and got flattened by a steamroller. Angel continues to defy the odds, turning the impossible into the possible.

Genre

Crime, Drama, Mystery

Stars

David Tennant, Olivia Colman, Julie Hesmondhalgh

Created by

Chris Chibnall

Watch on YouTube

Broadchurchis the best version of a murder mystery series — tense, suspenseful, and emotionally gripping. Broadchurch, a picturesque coastal town, becomes a crime scene when the body of 11-year-old Danny Latimer (Oskar McNamara) is found dead at the base of the cliffs. Detective Inspector Alec Hardy (Doctor Who‘s David Tennant), an out-of-town veteran with a complicated past, becomes the lead on the case, much to the dismay of local Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller (Wonka‘s Olivia Colman).

The two cops learn that Danny’s death occurred via strangulation, and the body’s position was altered to look like an accident. As Hardy and Miller progress with the investigation, the townspeople begin to unravel, as secrets come to the forefront of a once-peaceful town. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better crime drama thanBroadchurch.

Genre

Talk

Stars

Jerry Springer

Watch on YouTube

“Jerry!, Jerry!, Jerry!” Jerry Springer became one of the most controversial talk show hosts in America with The Jerry Springer Show. Beginning in the early 1990s, the daytime talk show became known for off-color commentary on a variety of issues, from illegitimate children and sexuality to divorce and infidelity. Springer embraced the trashiness of the program, introducing each episode as the “worst TV show of all time.”

The best episodes ofJerry Springer played like a car crash — so bad that you can’t look away. Morality aside, The Jerry Springer Showcould always make you laugh thanks to an eclectic group of characters at the center of each episode. The show is not for everyone, but if trash TV is your speciality, then you’ll love The Jerry Springer Show.

Genre

Reality, Documentary

Stars

Mike Adamle

Created by

Johnny C. Ferraro, Dan Carr

Watch on YouTube

Before the days of MTV’s The Challengeand American Ninja Warrior, the best competition reality show on television wasAmerican Gladiators. In every episode, amateur athletes (“contenders”) would square off against the “gladiators,” an A-list group of warriors with elite size, strength, and speed. Men and women would try to best each gladiator in a series of notable events, from pyramid and tug-of-war to Swingshot and Hang Tough.

The final test was The Eliminator, a treacherous obstacle course that put amateurs to the ultimate test. Only one man and one woman stand tall at the end of each episode. American Gladiators was the perfect combination of athletic competition and reality show drama.

Genre

Reality

Stars

Gordon Ramsay, Christina Wilson, Marino Monferrato

Watch on YouTube

If you enter Hell’s Kitchen, be prepared to meet the devil, chef Gordon Ramsay. The reality series is a competition between talented chefs, with the winner becoming the head chef at one of Ramsay’s restaurants. If you thought this would be easy, think again. At the beginning of the series, Ramsay divides the chefs into two teams.

These teams then compete in a series of challenges at “Hell’s Kitchen,” one of Ramsay’s kitchens in Hollywood. The challenges range from prep work and taste tests to dish recreation and dinner services. Ramsay does not hold back, as he frequently screams and berates the contestants when they fail a task. Contestants will have to go to hell and back to win this show.

Genre

Drama

Stars

Julianna Margulies, Christine Baranski, Matt Czuchry

Created by

Michelle King, Robert King

Watch on YouTube

Emmy-winner Julianna Margulies headlinesThe Good Wifeis Alicia Florrick, the wife of Peter Florrick (Chris North), the State’s Attorney of Cook County (Chris North). Alicia’s life comes crashing down after Peter heads to prison for his involvement in a sex and political corruption scandal. The embossing scandal damages the Florrick family’s reputation.

More importantly, Alicia now must find a new source of income to support her family, having left the workforce to support her husband’s political aspirations. Alicia returns to work as a junior litigator for the law firm Stern, Lockhart & Gardner. Now at the bottom of the totem pole, Alicia must learn to balance her private and professional lives to succeed at the firm.

Genre

Animation, Action & Adventure

Stars

Paul Dobson, Sharon Alexander, Kathleen Barr

Created by

Gavin Blair, Philip Mitchell, Ian Pearson, John Grace

Watch on YouTube

Created in 1994,ReBoot is the first computer-animated television series in history. Yes, even before Pixar’sToy Story, Canadian network YTV was using computer animation to ask some probing questions about an emerging digital world. Bob is a guardian from the Super Computer.

He is tasked to defend the digital city of Mainframe from evil computer viruses that seek to control the city and infect the entire ‘net. He’s helped along the way by his friends Dot and Enzo and his dog Frisket. It pales in comparison to Toy Story, of course, butReBoot isa fascinating look at the dawn of the computer age.

Genre

Comedy

Stars

Cazzie David, Owen Thiele, Kristi Lauren

Created by

Cazzie David, Elisa Kalani

Watch on YouTube

If you’re looking for a show that will both entertain and make you cringe, Eighty-Sixed may be just the one for you. Cazzie David stars in and co-writes the show, unapologetically dubbed “Curb your Enthusiasm” for millennials. While that might be a bit of a stretch, the show unapologetically charges forward through both funny and embarrassing topics.

A series that mirrors this web series, with similar plot lines, characters, and events, is expected to debut on television. Producers will slightly adjust it for TV audiences; it will be called Half Empty, and Cazzie David will also serve as the primary writer. It’s an excellent show for viewers who don’t want to invest a lot of attention in each episode. It’s funny, subtle, and each episode will be short, which is perfect for the folks who like to binge-watch.

Genre

Family, Kids

Stars

Jeff Foxworthy

Created by

Mark Burnett, Barry Poznick, John Stevens

Watch on YouTube

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is a game show made for the entire family. Contestants have to answer 10 questions and one final bonus question to win. The questions are from elementary school textbooks, meaning adults should know the answers. However, you’ll be surprised how many contestants forget simple reading, writing, and arithmetic.

If a contestant needs help, they can turn to one of their classmates on the set. These classmates are brilliant elementary school kids who can provide air when a contestant uses a lifeline. If the contestant gets a question wrong or walks away from the game, they must look into the camera and declare that they are not smarter than a fifth grader.