So, you’re planning for some lazy days over the Labor Day weekend. Maybe you have a few activities on the schedule, but want to curl up on the couch at night and relax once you get back home. Perhaps you’re relaxing at the cabin or maybe even traveling and want something to entertain you for the car (passengers or rest stops only!), train, or plane ride. Whatever the case, we have you covered.
The 10 best shows to stream this Labor Day weekend come from all the top streaming services. So, no matter which one you subscribe to, there’s an option to consider. They include a mix of titles, from comedies to dramas and reality TV. There are old shows, new ones, and shows with new seasons you can catch up on or previous seasons to watch before an upcoming new one is released. Have a look and you’re sure to find something worth enjoying for your unofficial last weekend of summer.
Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new movies to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, best shows on Hulu, best shows on Amazon Prime Video, and best shows on Disney+.
Only Murders in the Building (2021-)
Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) are at it again in the fourth season of Only Murders in the Building. The whodunit mystery comedy-drama follows the trio of amateur sleuths as they turn their obsession with true crime into a real-life passion as podcast hosts after a murder occurs in their building. In an unfortunate twist of fate, someone dies in the building every season, allowing this hilarious show to continue on.
Despite apparently having the worst luck imaginable, the unlikely friends are kept busy with the cases. They insert themselves into the investigations, sometimes to clear their own names or ensure their own safety. The show features talented guest stars in every season, like Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep, and, in season 4, Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Molly Shannon. Only Murders in the Building is endearing, sweet, and generationally relevant for everyone from boomers to millennials.
Stream Only Murders in the Building on Hulu.
Bad Monkey (2024)
Garnering great reviews since it premiered its first two episodes on August 14, 2024, the black comedy crime drama Bad Monkey welcomes Vince Vaughn back to the small screen. He’s Andrew Yancy, a former police detective who, following an embarrassing event, has now been relegated to performing restaurant inspections. When a severed arm practically lands in his lap, however, Andrew believes he might be able to get back in the chief’s good graces if he can solve this case. What he uncovers, however, is a web of lies, secrets, and corruption.
Filmed in Florida and The Bahamas and hailing from Bill Lawrence, co-creator of Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso and Shrinking, Bad Monkey is a fun, exciting, and intriguing series to check out this weekend. You’ll only be able to watch the first four episodes, but Vaughn’s usual brand of fast-talking, sarcastic character with impeccable comedic timing, along with the talented supporting cast, will have you hooked.
Stream Bad Monkey on Apple TV+.
Love is Blind: UK (2024-)
If Love is Blind is one of your hidden guilty pleasures, you must check out Love is Blind: UK. One of many spinoffs of the reality dating series, this one is arguably the best and the closest to the tone and feel of season 1 of the original U.S. version. It follows the same format, with singles dating in pods where they are encouraged to form emotional connections without seeing what the other person looks like. If they feel they have connected in a meaningful way, they can propose, meet in person, then plan a wedding. There isn’t always a happy ending, however, since the decision to say “I do” or “I don’t” comes right down to the altar for many.
Love is Blind: UK will have you rooting for favorites, clenching your fists at villains, and enjoying every moment of the backwards love stories, some of which will make your jaw drop to the floor. Chances are you’ll power through all 11 episodes, plus the reunion that reveals where the couples are one year later, over the course of the weekend. The series has already been renewed for a second season.
Stream Love is Blind: UK on Netflix.
Industry (2020-)
Dreading getting back to the grind of work without the anticipation of the summer weather to head home to and enjoy at the end of the day? Be thankful that you aren’t a young graduate fighting for one of just a few positions in a prestigious investment bank in London. That’s the initial premise of Industry, which returned for a third season in early August.
Like Succession meets Billions with some Euphoria sprinkled in, Industry highlights the cutthroat business world and the lengths new generation of up-and-comers will go to succeed. The third season adds exciting new cast members, including Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) as Henry Muck, the CEO of a green energy tech company. After immersing yourself in the drama of this show, you’ll be happy to head back to reality and your own far less exciting job once the weekend is over.
Stream Industry on Max.
Welcome to Wrexham (2022-)
Decompress before the busy football season that will be monopolizing much of your TV time with some English football. Welcome to Wrexham follows the journeys of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney after they purchase and try to turn around the flailing Wrexham A.F.C. Welsh professional association football club. This wasn’t a PR stunt: the actor pair is putting their blood, sweat, and tears into the team, and it shows through this sports docuseries that follows their efforts.
The recipient of five Emmy nominations, Welcome to Wrexham is funny, emotional, and provides a unique behind-the-scenes look into the careers and personal lives of the players, coaches, and everyone involved. Like a real-life Ted Lasso, Reynolds and McElhenney are fish-out-of-water as sports team owners. But they have quickly find their voices and are going for glory.
Stream Welcome to Wrexham on Hulu.
Ted Lasso (2020-2023)
Speaking of Ted Lasso, with rumors swirling of a potential fourth season of the series that supposedly ended after three, it’s a good time to watch, or even rewatch, this hilarious, yet heart-warming sports comedy-drama. When the title character, played by co-creator Jason Sudeikis, is called in to coach a struggling English football team, he’s on top of the world. Little does he know, however, that his American college football antics only grabbed the attention of the team’s owner, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), because she wants to purposely tank the team to get back at her cheating ex-husband.
She thinks this American joke is the perfect man to do it. But when she and others meet Ted in person, they discover (eventually) that it’s near impossible not to love him; even the hard-nosed investigative reporter Trent Crimm from The Independent (James Lance) can’t bring himself to say anything bad about the perpetually positive man.
What makes Ted Lasso so rewatchable, however, is the way the show weaves so many other themes into its story, like toxic masculinity, mental health in sports, camaraderie, hope, trauma, forgiveness, and inspiration. It’s arguably one of the most feel-good shows of this generation, and who doesn’t want to enjoy feel-good entertainment on a long weekend?
Stream Ted Lasso on Apple TV+.
Pachinko (2022-)
A hidden gem, Pachinko’s first season premiered on Apple TV+ in March 2022, and the second season finally became available in late August of this year, with the first two episodes available to stream by Labor Day weekend. The drama, based on the novel of the same name by Min Jin Lee, tells the story of a Korean family through four generations, starting in 1915 and going all the way up to 1989. Kim Sunja (Youn Yuh-jung, Kim Min-ha as a young adult, and Yu-na as a childhood version) decides to pick up and leave her family in Korea, which is, at the time, under Japanese rule. But upon arrival in the Koreatown of Osaka, Japan, she is faced with discrimination at every turn.
With an almost perfect Rotten Tomatoes score for its first season and a perfect 100% (thus far) for season 2, Pachinko is arguably one of the best shows you haven’t watched yet. But be warned: The Ringer’s Alison Herman says the “tears will flow, and every one is earned.”
Stream Pachinko on Apple TV+.
WandaVision (2021)
With spinoff series Agatha All Along coming next month, this weekend is an ideal opportunity to refresh yourself on what happened in WandaVision, or maybe even watch it for the first time so you can follow the events of the new show more clearly. The miniseries, which was the first of now many Disney+ series within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), centers around Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) living in the suburbs and disguising their real identities.
WandaVision uniquely presents every episode in the style of a different decade of television. It pays homage to some of the most iconic sitcoms while also poking fun at common TV tropes. Unique and diverse with an overarching storyline that shares continuity with the films, WandaVision is a must-watch for MCU fans. What about die-hard fans who already watched it? Watch it again and relive the show’s brilliance.
Stream WandaVision on Disney+.
KAOS (2024)
Where Jeff Goldblum goes, chaos, or at least eccentricity, follows. Such is the case with KAOS, a British mythological dark comedy where the iconic actor plays Zeus, an all-powerful god. But even gods aren’t immune to insecurities, and when Zeus spots a wrinkle on his forehead, his massive ego and narcissistic personality convince him that the end of the world is nigh. He becomes increasingly paranoid and seeks out revenge on those he believes are out to get him.
On the other side of the story are three humans who discover that they are not only connected to one another through some cosmic force, but that there is a grand conspiracy involving the gods, and they’re at the center of it. If you’re a fan of Goldblum and his work, you’ll want to stream this one. All episodes of KAOS will be available in time for this weekend.
Stream KAOS on Netflix.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2023-)
Now that The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon is streaming on Netflix, fans of The Walking Dead, even those who abandoned the original show halfway through (or at least when it went through a dip in ratings around seasons seven and eight), are curious about the spin-off series. Is it possible to watch The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon without having finished the main show? The answer is yes.
The setting is completely different, with Daryl having made his way to Paris. There’s an entirely new cast, except for the bow and arrow toting, motorcycle riding dark and brooding survivor. There are even newly enhanced walkers. It’s much of the same from the original, but with an exciting The Last of Us-like twist to the plot in season 1.
It’s tough to avoid spoilers about the ending of season 1 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, along with what’s to come in season 2, since the series premiered a year ago. But if you have managed to do so, there’s a big reveal at the end that has fans excited for this upcoming second season. With just six episodes in the inaugural season, you can watch and decide if you want to tune into season 2 once it premieres on September 29, 2024. Spoiler alert: you probably will.
Stream The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon on Netflix.
