8 Highly Bingeable TV Shows That Are Two Seasons Or Less

Nowadays, watching a television show can be a huge commitment — dozens upon dozens of hours, oftentimes taking weeks, if not months to get through.

Anytime I get through a particularly long treatises on the state of society as told by drugs and mob rule, I tend to look for shorter commitments. If you wanna get technical, you could call these your rebound shows. Here are a few of the best:

1. Hello Ladies (HBO)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0MOFZCsqMI&w=584&h=390]

Yesterday HBO announced they wouldn’t be picking up another season of Hello Ladies, the Stephen Merchant-created comedy about a single british dude looking for love in Los Angeles. If you’re a fan of cringe humor, this is a very quick, enjoyable watch with a lot more substance than one might expect. SNLer Kyle Mooney’s supporting role is undoubtedly a major boon — he basically plays the same character as he does in these videos, and it’s a real joy to watch.

Number of Episodes: 8 (1 season)

Episode Length: 30 min

Available On: HBO GO

2. Freaks And Geeks (NBC)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmCpmEQD0L4&w=584&h=390]

This is probably the 3,500,000th article on the internet touting the show Freaks and Geeks, so I’ll just say this — in the eyes of this particular barely credible internet writer, its James Franco’s second best performance behind Spring Breakers. It’s also arguably the best show on television in terms of combining real emotional hardship with believable and relatable uplifting plotlines. Great stuff.

Number of Episodes: 17 (1 Season)

Episode Length: 45 min

Available On: Netflix Instant

3. The LA Complex (CTV/The CW)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyr-hiR-KXM&w=584&h=390]

I stumbled across this on Christmas Eve, and the show ended up being on the highlights of my holidays. What may seem like nothing more than a brutally cliche take on 20-somethings managing love and careers is actually a very smart take with consistently bold and surprising choices. There are a few very powerful storylines, and some of these lesser known actors are real treasures.

Number Of Episodes: 19 (2 seasons)

Episode Length: 45 min

Available On: Netflix Instant

4. How To Make It In America (HBO)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAd4JXiFAfk&w=584&h=390]

This is a very specific show for a very specific time. Sometimes, I feel like if I didn’t watch it when I did (senior year of college), I wouldn’t’ve liked it close to as much as I did. Nonetheless, the show is largely responsible for things like the proliferation of the career-striving slang hashtag, and startups that are solely based on energy and cool jeans.

Number of Episodes: 16 (2 seasons)

Episode Length: 30 min

Available On: HBO GO

5. Angry Boys (ABC1, BBC Three, HBO)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdSUwV4ALbg&w=584&h=390]

Summer Heights High seemed too universal to put on this list, so we’ll go with another one of Chris Lilli’s twistedly hilarious creations — Angry Boys, similar to Summer Heights High, follows the lives of a select few characters, including a pair of teenage brothers (one of whom is deaf), mother-son duo exploring the world of professional skateboarding, an elderly woman serving as a guard at a juvenile detention facility, and a few more.

As per the Wikipedia page, the show “explores the issues faced by young males in the 21st century – their influences, their pressures, their dreams and ambitions.”

Personally, I feel the plotline and musical stylings of S.mouse — the L.A-based rapper who’s hit song is prominently featured above — merits his own series.

Number Of Episodes: 12 (1 Season)

Episode Length: 30 min

Available On: HBO GO

6. Enlightened (HBO)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBq_J08srVA&w=584&h=390]

I’ve only watched a few episodes of Enlightened (stopped watching it to pick up The Sopranos), but based on initial perceptions and the critic parade, this is one of the more intelligent shows out there.

Enlightened deals with a woman (Laura Dern), coming off a major and public nervous breakdown, trying to piece back together her professional and personal life following a stint at a  holistic treatment facility. The cast is very strong, with Luke Wilson playing Dern’s ex-husband and Mike White (series creator and School of Rock’s Ned Schneebly) as a new, interesting co-worker.

7. Undeclared (FOX)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yu2doDDm4k&w=584&h=390]

This is what Judd Apatow did after Freaks and Geeks, and the influence is clear. It’s got a number of actors who’ve since become pretty big deals (Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogan, Charlie Hunam, and is a basically Freaks and Geeks “college edition.”)

For a college show on network television in 2001, it’s remarkably strong and rather addicting.

Number Of Episodes: 17 (1 Season)

Episode Length: 22 min

Available On: Neflix Instant

8. Firefly (FOX)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch3X5WrhwGM&w=584&h=390]

The first week I moved into the apartment I currently live, my new roommates were all obsessed with the show Firefly. If you’ve ever had roommates obsessed with a television show that you weren’t watching, you’ll know that there is little point in your continued existence until you start watching that show.

Despite going the cheap “recommending via roommates” route, the Space Western known as Firefly has been on pretty much every “shows that got cancelled too soon!” list that I looked at in order to steal try and remember shows for this article. Firefly was also created by big-time Hollywood honcho Joss Wheedon. And despite the show’s premature cancellation, it led to very strong DVD sales (apparently, a thing), and even a movie based on the show. Not bad.

Number Of Episodes: 14 (1 Season)

Episode Length: 45 min

Available On: Netflix Instant