Streamers have been the saviors for hundreds of our all-time favorite television programs, from the 1950s to shows being produced today. It’s amazing that we are able to watch all seasons of our childhood and adulthood classics. But there have been quite a few great shows that still aren’t available to stream for free. Enjoy touring our photo gallery featuring 30 shows we desperately wish were available to watch anytime we want.
Our gallery includes a mix of Emmy-winning comedies (“Empty Nest,” “Kate and Allie,” “Rhoda”) and dramas (“Chicago Hope,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “Kojak,” “L.A. Law,” “Lou Grant,” “Moonlighting,” “Northern Exposure”). Some of the shows on our list were extremely popular during their time, including “The Drew Carey Show,” “Dynasty,” “Home Improvement,” “Knot’s Landing,” “Laverne and Shirley,” “Mork and Mindy” and “Rhoda.” Others with pretty short lives but passionate fan bases: “Bosom Buddies,” “Millennium,” “Once and Again,” “Quantum Leap” and “WKRP in Cincinnati.”
Some of these series used a lot of popular music, and therefore have major issues with legal clearances (something solvable when companies have the desire). For others, we honestly have no idea why some smart programmer at Amazon, Crackle, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount, Peacock or Tubi refuses to buy the rights. In the case of all 30 shows featured in our gallery, no streamer currently offers them for free (although a few are available if purchased separately by episode or season).
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Amazing Stories
Image Credit: Universal and NBC Amazing Stories was an Emmy-winning anthology series from Steven Spielberg featuring episodes covering every genre from drama, comedy, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and even animation. The show aired 1985 to 1987 on NBC. Directors included Brad Bird, Joe Dante, Danny DeVito, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Martin Scorsese and Robert Zemeckis, who each helmed one episode along with dozens of other directors.
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Bosom Buddies
Image Credit: ABC and Paramount Bosom Buddies aired 1980-82 on ABC. The comedy series starred rising stars Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari as two young single advertising men without much money. They convince an all-womens apartment to let them stay there by dressing as women themselves.
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Chicago Hope
Image Credit: CBS and 20th Century Television Chicago Hope aired 1994 to 2000 on CBS. It was set in a Chicago medical center and was based on stories about the staff and patients. Top cast members included Mandy Patinkin (Emmy winner), Christine Lahti (Emmy winner), Hector Elizondo (Emmy winner), Adam Arkin (Emmy nominee), Mark Harmon, Rocky Carroll, Peter Berg, Vondie Curtis-Hall and Thomas Gibson.
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The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The plot has Drew Carey as working at a Cleveland department store with friends and co-workers. Other stars included Kathy Kinney, Diedrich Bader, Ryan Stiles, Craig Ferguson and Christa Miller.
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Dynasty
Image Credit: ABC and 20th Century Fox Dynasty was a flamboyant prime-time soap airing 1981 to 1990 and created by Aaron Spelling. It featured the fights and quarrells between the Carrington family and Colby family in Colorado. Stars included John Forsythe, Joan Collins, Linda Evans, Heather Lockler, Jack Coleman, Pamela Sue Martin, Emma Samms and Diahann Carroll.
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Empty Nest
Image Credit: Witt/Thomas/Harris and NBC Empty Nest aired 1988 to 1995 on NBC as a spin-off of The Golden Girls. It focused on a widowed doctor who has has two adult daughters move back in with him after failed marriages. The show starred Emmy winner Richard Mulligan, Kristy McNichol, Dinah Manoff, David Leisure and Park Overall.
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Home Improvement
Image Credit: Disney, ABC, Wild Dancer Home Improvement was one of the biggest hit comedies of the 1990s for ABC. It focused on Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, a television host also dealing with his wife and three sons. Stars were Emmy nominees Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson, plus Zachery Ty Bryan, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Taran Noah Smith, Richard Karn and Pamela Anderson.
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Homicide: Life on the Street
Image Credit: NBC Studios Homicide: Life on the Street was a gritty police detective series airing 1993 to 1999 on NBC. Executive producers were Barry Levinson, Paul Attanasio and Tom Fontana. Stars were Emmy winner Andre Braugher, Ned Beatty, Yaphet Kotto, Richard Belzer, Kyle Secor, Clark Johnson, Melissa Leo and Reed Diamond.
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Judging Amy
Image Credit: CBS Productions Judging Amy was a CBS legal show which also focused on family from 1999 to 2005. Emmy nominee Amy Brenneman starred as a judge, with Emmy winner Tyne Daly, Richard T. Jones and Jessica Tuck co-starring.
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Kate and Allie
Image Credit: CBS Kate and Allie was a CBS comedy from 1984 to 1989 about two divorced mothers living together with their combined three children. Emmy winner Jane Curtin starred with Emmy nominee Susan St. James, along with Allison Smith, Ari Meyers and Frederick Koehler.
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Knot’s Landing
Image Credit: CBS Worldwide Knot’s Landing was a spin-off of the prime-time soap “Dallas” and was one of the most grounded of all soaps. It focused on couples and neighbors in a coastal Californian suburb. The large evolving cast included Joan Van Ark, Michele Lee, Donna Mills, Ted Shackelford, Kevin Dobson, William Devane, Julie Harris and Nicollette Sheridan.
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Kojak
Image Credit: Universal Kojak starred Emmy winner Telly Savalas as a tough, bald, lollipop-loving New York City police lieutenant specializing in homicides. The CBS show aired 1973 to 1978 and also starred Kevin Dobson, Dan Frazer and George Savalas.
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L.A. Law
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox L.A. Law was a four-time Emmy winner for Best Drama Series, airing on NBC from 1986 to 1994. The Steven Bochco series was about an elite law firm in Los Angeles and starred Emmy winners Jimmy Smits, Richard Dysart and Larry Drake plus Emmy nominees Susan Dey, Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker, Susan Ruttan, Corbin Bernsen and Michele Green, plus Harry Hamlin and Blair Underwood.
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Laverne and Shirley
Image Credit: Paramount A spin-off from “Happy Days,” Laverne and Shirley was one of the biggest hits of the 1970s. Produced by Garry Marshall for ABC from 1976 to 1983, the comedy was about two brewery workers and roommates played by Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams.
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Lou Grant
Image Credit: MTM and 20th Century Fox Lou Grant was a two-time Emmy winner for Best Drama Series, airing from 1977 to 1982 on CBS. It was a critical favorite as a spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, starring Emmy winner Edward Asner as the city editor of a newspaper. The show also starred Emmy winner Nancy Marchand and Emmy nominees Linda Kelsey, Mason Adams and Robert Walden.
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Marcus Welby, M.D.
Image Credit: Universal Marcus Welby, M.D. was one of the biggest hits in ABC’s history, airing from 1969 to 1976. The medical show won for Best Drama Series plus its leading actor Robert Young and supporting actor James Brolin.
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Millennium
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Millennium was the mysterious spin-off from The X-Files which only lasted three seasons (1996-1999) on Fox. Lance Henriksen starred as a former FBI profiler who could look into minds with other cast including Megan Gallagher and Terry O’Quinn.
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The Mod Squad
Image Credit: Paramount and ABC The Mod Squad was the first major hit show for producer Aaron Spelling, airing 1968 to 1973 on ABC. It starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton and Clarence Williams III as three former juvenile delinquents who work as undercover police officers.
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Moonlighting
Image Credit: ABC Moonlighting was one of the most undefinable shows with elements of comedy, drama, musicals, slapstick and classic films all mixed into one series. Airing 1985 to 1989 on ABC, the show starred Emmy winner Bruce Willis and Emmy nominee Cybill Shepherd as a private detective duo.
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Mork and Mindy
Image Credit: Paramount and ABC Mork and Mindy was another spin-off from Happy Days but with a unique premise. Emmy nominee Robin Williams played Mork, an alien from Ork, who convinces Earthling Mindy (Pam Dawber) to let him live in her Boulder, Colorado apartment. The show went through several cast changes, including Jonathan Winters, Robert Donner, Tom Poston, Conrad Janis, Elizabeth Kerr, Jay Thomas and Gina Hecht.
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Northern Exposure
Image Credit: Universal and CBS Northern Exposure won an Emmy as Best Drama Series but could hardly be described as either a drama or comedy. The CBS program ran from 1990 to 1995 and starred Emmy nominee Rob Morrow as a newly-graduated doctor who must practice in Alaska since a small town paid for his tuition. Other cast members included Emmy nominees Janine Turner, Barry Corbin, John Cullum, John Corbett, Cynthia Geary and Peg Phillips
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Once and Again
Image Credit: Touchstone and ABC Once and Again was a family drama airing 1999 to 2002 on ABC. It starred Emmy winner Sela Ward and Billy Campbell as two divorced parents who strike up a romantic relationship. The show also starred Jeffrey Nordling, Julia Whelan, Evan Rachel Wood, Meredith Deane, Marin Hinkle and Shane West.
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Quantum Leap
Image Credit: Universal and NBC Quantum Leap was a sci-fi, fantasy and action series airing 1989 to 1993 on NBC. It starred Emmy nominee Scott Bakula as a time-jumping scientist leaping into other people’s bodies who is tasked with making rights out of wrongs, changing people’s lives forever. Emmy nominee Dean Stockwell starred as a military admiral who Sam can see as a hologram.
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Quincy, M.E.
Image Credit: Universal and NBC Quincy, M.E. starred Emmy nominee Jack Klugman as a Los Angeles medical examiner always questioning what seem to be easy-to-solve cases for the police. It aired 1976 to 1983 on NBC, co-starring Robert Ito, John S. Ragin, Garry Walberg and Val Bisoglio.
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Remington Steele
Image Credit: MTM and NBC Remington Steele was a comedic action-adventure series which aired 1982 to 1987 on NBC. Stephanie Zimbalist starred as the owner of a detective agency forced to bring in a handsome con man as a partner because hardly anyone will hire a female detective. The program also starred Emmy nominee Doris Roberts as their secretary.
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Rhoda
Image Credit: MTM and 20th Century Fox Rhoda was a very successful spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, airing 1974 to 1978 on CBS. Emmy winner Valerie Harper starred as the title character, the best friend of Mary who moved back home to New York City and then quickly got married. The series also starred Emmy winner Julie Kavner, Nancy Walker, Harold Gould and David Groh.
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SCTV and SCTV Network
Image Credit: NBC and CBC SCTV and SCTV Network were two of the funniest variety sketch comedy programs in TV history. They aired on NBC and in syndication from 1976 to 1983. Set at a fictional Canadian television station, the hilarious cast included John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short and Dave Thomas.
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Simon and Simon
Image Credit: Universal and CBS Simon and Simon was a fun detective series starring Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney as two brothers working in the San Diego area. A cousin to Magnum, P.I., the show aired 1981 to 1989 on CBS.
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Trapper John, M.D.
Image Credit: Trapper John, M.D. Needs to Stream Free Trapper John, M.D. was an unusual type of spin-off series. It was a medical drama featuring the same character from comedy series M*A*S*H but set three decades later and with a different actor. The show aired on CBS from 1979 to 1986 starring Pernell Roberts, Gregory Harrison, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Charles Siebert, Christopher Norris and Madge Sinclair.
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WKRP in Cincinnati
Image Credit: MTM and 20th Century Fox WKRP in Cincinnati was set at an Ohio radio station in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The cult favorite aired 1978 to 1982 on CBS, moving around the schedule frequently. It starred Emmy nominees Howard Hesseman and Loni Anderson, plus Frank Bonner, Gordon Jump, Tim Reid, Gary Sandy, Richard Sanders and Jan Smithers.
