This week’s batch of Staff Picks highlights more TV series available on popular streaming services, including Netflix and Hulu — as well as HBO, which is offering selections from its catalogue of premium content for free at play.hbogo.com. Not only is it free; no registration or login is required and many of the free HBO programs are also available to stream on Hulu.

Whether returning for a nostalgic run-through or (finally) getting a chance to find out what everyone was talking about, we hope some of these shows may provide a much-needed distraction for those of us complying with the governor’s stay-at-home order.

What do you think of our recommendations? Share your thoughts and some of your own home-entertainment suggestions to: aznews@newszap.com.

The Wire (2002-08)

Creator: David Simon
Series run: 60 episodes
Platform: HBO
Tomatometer 94%; IMDb 9.3/10

Created and mainly written by police reporter David Simon — who was formerly famous for his writing work on the TV cop drama Homicide: Life on the Streets — each of the five seasons of this series provides a different perspective on the war on drugs in Baltimore during the 1990s. Along with writing partner and former homicide detective Ed Burns, Simon explores organized crime and procedural police work, while explicating themes of law and order, surveillance, dysfunctional government, education, addiction, exploitation, politics and corruption to deploy a razor-sharp critique that is both compelling and entertaining. A dozen years later, many critics still argue this as the best TV drama series of all time. Key cast members include Dominic West (Chicago, 300), Wendell Pierce (Selma, Horrible Bosses), Sonja Sohn (Slam, Bringing Out the Dead), Clarke Peters (John Wick, Outland), Idris Elba (Star Trek Beyond, Thor: Ragnarok) and Michael Kenneth Williams (Boardwalk Empire, 12 Years a Slave), to name just a few.

The Sopranos (1999-2007)

Creator: David Chase
Series run: 86 episodes
Platform: HBO
Tomatometer 92%; IMDb 9.2/10

From the mind of David Chase — producer of such TV classics as The Rockford Files and Northern Exposure — comes this mob saga, which perpetually competes with the Wire for the title of best … show … ever. With a supporting cast list peppered with actors who also appeared in Goodfellas and the Godfather trilogy films, the first season gives ample homage to those classics. But the character and thematic development over the first season — easily viewed as one amazing 13-hour movie in its own right — gives way to a six-series run worth following to the bitter end. Key cast members include James Gandolfini (Enough Said, Killing Them Softly), Lorraine Bracco (Goodfellas, Medicine Man), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie, Sunshine State), Michael Imperioli (Goodfellas, The Lovely Bones), Steven Van Zandt (Lilyhammer, The Irishman) and Aida Turturro (Sleepers, Deep Blue Sea). Notable co-stars include Frank Vincent (Goodfellas, Casino), John Heard (Big, Home Alone), Joe Pantoliano (Momento, The Matrix) and Jerry Adler (Manhattan Murder Mystery, A Most Violent Year).

Barry (2018-)

Creators: Alec Berg, Bill Hader
Series run: 17 episodes
Platform: HBO
Tomatometer 99%; IMDb 8.3/10

The producer of TV mega-hits Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, Alex Berg, teamed up with SNL alum Bill Hader (Superbad, Trainwreck) to create this obsidian-dark comedic crime series about a depressed combat vet turned assassin-for-hire who gets all jazz-hands about work-shopping community theater … while hilarity and violence ensues. The show in its first two seasons garnered 30 Emmy nominations, winning two Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series statues for Hader and one Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series takeaway for Henry Winkler (Arrested Development, Happy Days). Notable co-stars and supporting cast members include Stephen Root (Office Space, King of the Hill), Sarah Goldberg (The Dark Knight Rises, The Report) and D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place, Broad City).

Broadchurch (2013-17)

Creator: Chris Chibnall
Series run: 24 episodes
Platform: Netflix
Tomatometer 92%; IMDb 8.4/10

A the corpse of a murdered boy found on the beach sets off a media frenzy in a rural English coastal town, as flawed but dedicated investigators endeavor to unravel a dark mystery in search of justice and redemption in this drama from writer-producer Chris Chibnall (Torchwood, Doctor Who). Award-winning actors David Tenant (Doctor Who, Harry Potter) and Olivia Colman (The Crown, The Lobster) anchor a talented cast, which includes Jodie Whittaker (Venus, Doctor Who), Andrew Buchan (Garrow’s Law, The ABC Murders) and Carolyn Pickles (Tess, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus).

Watership Down (2018)

Director: Noam Murro
Series run: 4 episodes
Platform: Netflix
Tomatometer 77%; IMDb 7.2/10

Based on the 1972 novel by Richard Adams (The Girl in the Swing, The Plague Dogs) and following the 1978 animated feature film and later TV series, this BBC-produced four-episode mini-series follows the travels and travails of a groups of anthropomorphized bunnies, who must find a new home after being displaced by construction crews and harried by myriad enemies. The animation features top-notch, beautiful production along with heavyweight-talent voice acting performances from James McAvoy (Filth, Atonement), Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies, Mad Max: Fury Road), Tom Wilkinson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind), Ben Kingsley (Ghandi, Schindler’s List), Olivia Colman (Peep Show, Hot Fuzz), Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who, The Thick of It) and John Boyega (Star Wars, Attack the Block), among others. 

Kitchen Nightmares (2007-14)

Creator: Daniel Kay
Series run: Seasons 1-6 available
Platform: Hulu
Tomatometer 63%; IMDb 7.4/10

Just one of Gordon Ramsay’s numerous properties, this reality series features the iconic TV chef as he visits failing family-run restaurants across America to offer advice, which is often questioned and rejected amidst increasing levels of drama and conflict. But despite the frequent chaos and cacophony, Ramsay transcends the insults and threatened fisticuffs to reveal a heartfelt passion for food service and a real desire to help families heal and succeed together.

M*A*S*H (1972-83)

Creator: Larry Gelbart
Series run: 251 episodes
Platform: Hulu
Tomatometer 93%; IMDb 8.4/10

Created by Golden Age icon Larry Gelbart (Tootsie, The Sid Caesar Show), this TV re-imagining of the classic 1970 Robert Altman (Gosford Park, Short Cuts) film follows the day-to-day grind and occasional adventures of a mobile army hospital unit during the Korean War. Among the highest-rated series in TV history, it was nominated for more than 100 Emmy awards and won 14 across its 11-season run. Key cast members include Alan Alda (Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Four Seasons), Loretta Swit (S.O.B., Whoops Apocalypse), Jamie Farr (The Cannonball Run, Scrooged), William Christopher (The Fortune Cookie, Team Knight Rider), Wayne Rogers (Cool Hand Luke, House Calls), McLean Stevenson (The Cat from Outer Space, The Doris Day Show), Larry Inville (Mannix, West from North Goes South), Gary Burghoff (Behind the Waterfall, Small Kill), Mike Farrell (Patch Adams, Supernatural), Harry Morgan (High Noon, Dragnet) and David Ogden Stiers (Mighty Aphrodite, Shadows and Fog).