We’ve compiled a list of only the best free and legal TV show sources currently out there. There are pros and cons to each, but there’s definitely something for everyone no matter what kind of show you might be looking to watch. Since it’s a totally free service with accessibility across multiple major platforms (including mobile with the free Crackle app), there are some commercials rolled into the programming. Regardless, Crackle is a great alternative that you can enjoy viewing on your computer or with one of its apps on your mobile device. All you need to do is create a free account to start watching. Select the TV tab in the top menu or search for a show title, then choose the episode you want and enjoy. You can also use filter options to browse through shows based on genre, alphabetical order, recently added, full episodes, clips, trailers and what’s coming soon. Tubi is totally free with a user account, which you can use to set up your watch queue or pick up where you left off from watching something previously. The platform tracks your viewing history so that it can learn about your preferences to make better suggestions for you. Browse through all your standard categories such as Action, Drama, Comedy, and others or take a look at some of the interesting categories like Cult Classics and Highly Rated on Rotten Tomatoes. With over 50,000 shows and movies available and more being added all the time, Tubi TV is quickly growing to become a TV favorite for internet users everywhere. Its TV show offering isn’t exactly huge, but it might be worth checking out if you’re looking for something different. Preroll ads will also play when you start watching, but you can start watching anything without having to sign up for a free account if you’re just looking to try it out quick. You can filter TV shows by genre or select the checkbox for Free TV only, which filters out all the paid content so all you see is what’s available to watch for free. As a nice bonus, you can also browse by Most Watched, Release Date and Recently Added to find hidden gems you might not be able to find otherwise. Some of the content is live and some of it isn’t. It’s a bit like RabbitTV Plus, except you don’t have to pay an annual fee to watch. It’s similar to traditional cable; you can check out what’s currently on without a goal in mind for what to watch. Although you won’t be able to catch hit network shows, you’ll be able to tune into many major networks’ news broadcasts and find familiar episodes of other relatively popular shows. Browse through genres or check out What’s New Tonight and Trending Shows. Select a show episode and use the checkbox options for Free, Purchase, Subscription, or TV Everywhere to find what you’re looking for. Selecting an episode will expand a summary and list of sources where you can watch it. Look for the tv_everywhere label, meaning it’s free to watch. You can use the right sidebar to browse by genre and the menu at the top to filter available shows by what’s available on several premium streaming services. Of course, if you’re looking for something to watch for free, you’ll want to select the Free filter. When you select a show, you’ll be shown a summary based on IMDb info along with several thumbnails of episodes that are available. Select any thumbnail to be taken to the specific episode listing. The major downside to using this site on the web is that there doesn’t appear to be a user account creation feature. So if you want to sign into an account to save videos, get new suggestions and pick up where you left off on what you were watching, you’re out of luck. In its Television section, you can browse through TV recordings that include shows, commercials and even government proceedings. Many of these pieces of content have hundreds of thousands of views. Content is organized into collections based on type. You can also use the filters on the left side to find shows by year, topic, collection, creator and language. Just search for a show title and see what comes up. For example, if you search Boy Meets World—an old ABC family sitcom from the 90s—several uploaded episodes from virtually every season will come up. On the other hand, if you search for Grey’s Anatomy—a more current and popular television drama—you’ll notice results will come up where you’ll have to pay a fee to stream it legally on YouTube. Some people get away with uploading popular TV show episodes for a certain time before they’re eventually reported or caught by YouTube. Depending on the timing and the show you’re looking for, you might be able to find something that actually shouldn’t be there due to copyright restrictions. Free channels include popular ones like BBC 1, Discovery, ITV, Dave, Five, History, Lifetime and many more. All you have to do to sign up is create an account with your email address, verify your account creation and start watching! Obviously, the big downside with this one is that it’s restricted to users in the UK. If you’re located somewhere else, like in the US, you can still create an account and sign in, but if you try to watch something, TVPlayer will first check to make sure you’re in the UK and will block access if you’re not. Given that so many people have discovered the many advantages of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), it’s possible that you could get around TVPlayer’s geographical restrictions if you tried. Having said that, more streaming services are seriously cracking down on the VPN trend (like Netflix for example, so don’t be surprised if TVPlayer doesn’t work with your VPN either! All of the networks below show some full episodes but also clips as well. Here are some of the popular TV networks out there that provide options for streaming their TV shows:
NBC: NBC does a great job of quickly posting and keeping their TV shows around so you have plenty of time to watch them. It’s even possible for you to catch up on an entire series right from their website. USA: Part of NBC, the USA Network brings you access to all of your favorite USA shows, including full episodes the day after they’ve aired. ABC: They have full-length videos of the latest episode of every show as well as video clips, highlights, and sneak peeks into all your favorite ABC shows. CBS: At CBS you can watch shows for free after they’ve aired on CBS. There are quite a few advertiser interruptions during the streaming video, but you’ll know when they’re coming because they are clearly marked on the screen. CW TV: Watch your favorite CW TV network shows — no subscription required. While you’re at it, you should also check out CW Seed. DisneyNOW: You can watch Disney channel movies at DisneyNOW. There’s a page that lists all the shows you can watch, plus some fun category pages. FOX: FOX posts free TV shows for you to watch one day after they’ve aired on TV but they remain locked so that you can watch them until eight days after they’ve aired. The CW: The day after the CW television shows air you’ll be able to watch them for free at their website. PBS: PBS has a ton of free TV episodes online including Masterpiece Theater, PBS NewsHour, and Frontline. MTV: MTV has full episodes of all your favorite MTV shows, including clips and after shows. Freeform (ABC Family): The day after the TV shows on Freeform air, they are put online so that you can enjoy them. A&E: Watch full episodes of shows like Bates Motel, Storage Wars, and Dog the Bounty Hunter.
