8 Shows You Need To Binge-Watch This Summer
Fire up your streaming game!
Posted on Jun 3, 2025 | 02:00pm
Summer’s here – and you know what that means, right? A long, lazy stretch of time to enjoy great binge-watches. Need some suggestions to start you off? Whether you dig supernatural mysteries, reality TV, psychological thrillers, or K-dramas, we've got recommendations. Read on for a rundown of eight shows that demand your undivided attention this summer. (As an added bonus, you'll find all these shows in one place: Paramount+.) So, start reading – and streaming.
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What is it? This shocking show is about Maddie Nears (Peyton List), a young woman stuck in a kind of purgatory with no idea how she ended up there. In Season 1, Maddie awakens in a limbo state between life and death. Determined to find answers to how she’s ended up in these bizarre circumstances, she embarks on a crime-solving journey. However, she discovers that the closer she comes to the truth, the more secrets and lies she finds. Season 2 finds Maddie gradually coming to understand what’s happened to place her in the afterlife. She realizes, too, that she’ll need to unite her friends in the spectral world with her friends in the living world in order to reclaim her stolen existence.
Why you need to binge it: You’re going to find it tough not to. School Spirits combines compelling YA drama with supernatural elements – plus, a mystery you can’t help but try to crack. The result? A series tailor-made for binge-watching. All episodes are streaming now on Paramount+. And since we bet the jaw-dropping Season 2 finale is going to leave you wanting more, we'll note here that School Spirits has been renewed for a third season. A premiere date has not yet been announced.
STREAM NOW: School Spirits
Why you need to binge it: There is some serious fun going on here. To last on this show, the artists must understand the rules of every major tattoo style, as well as how to ink each style properly and legibly on every single body part. After all, applying a tattoo against a throat takes a very different technique than doing it on a knuckle. Plus, these contestants have half (or less) their usual inking time, and twice the pressure to pull out a quality tattoo. Make that a quality, permanent tattoo.
How to watch: All 16 seasons of Ink Master are streaming now on Paramount+. If you get hooked, you can also try Ink Master: Redemption, Ink Master: Angels, and Ink Master: Grudge Match; they're also all streaming on Paramount+.
STREAM NOW: Ink Master
Why you need to binge it: The Amazing Race is not your average competition show. Sure, it’s got contestants performing tasks in the hopes of winning the $1-million grand prize. But its globe-trotting nature sets it apart. Through the years, teams have practiced taekwondo moves in South Korea, arranged lotus flowers in Taiwan, and balanced beer steins for Oktoberfest in Germany. These segments immerse both the players and viewers in the traditions and history of their featured locales – a quality few reality shows can boast.
STREAM NOW: The Amazing Race
Why you need to binge it: Golden Globe® winner Michael C. Hall kills it in the title role. (Yes, we had to go there.) For viewers to root for a guy who's a liar, a master manipulator, and a serial killer, they need someone who has the ability to reveal the man behind the monster. In Hall's hands, Dexter Morgan shows flashes of vulnerability, heartache, and even love. This ain’t your average psychopath, and you won’t be able to take your eyes off him.
How to watch: All eight classic seasons of Dexter® are streaming now on Paramount+. And if you can’t get enough of America’s favorite cold-blooded killer, try the Limited Event Series Dexter®: New Blood, wherein Dexter (still played by Hall) attempts to live a quiet and homicide-free life under an assumed name in upstate New York – that is, until his son shows up. There's also Dexter®: Original Sin, a prequel series exploring the murderer’s formative years, and starring Patrick Gibson as the younger Dexter, with Hall as the voice of Young Dexter's inner monologue. All episodes of Dexter®: New Blood and Dexter®: Original Sin are now streaming on Paramount+ with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® plan.
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STREAM NOW: Dexter®
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What is it? Featuring the housemates from Jersey Shore – Deena Nicole Cortese, Paul “Pauly D” Delvecchio, Jenni “JWOWW” Farley, Vinny Guadagnino, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, for the uninitiated among you – Jersey Shore Family Vacation reunites the cast of that MTV pop-culture phenomenon in Miami Beach, for the getaway of a lifetime.
Why you need to binge it: It’s hard to look away from hot, inhibition-free people who love nothing more than to party and fight. Plus, the show boasts all the amenities of a swanky townhouse, and lots of grudges for the cast to rehash from their six seasons on Jersey Shore.
How to watch: The first seven seasons of Jersey Shore Family Vacation, along with all seasons of Jersey Shore, are streaming now Paramount+. Jersey Shore Family Vacation + Jersey Shore = a whole lot of Jersey-accented summer fun.
STREAM NOW: Jersey Shore Family Vacation
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Why you need to binge it: It’s not every show that offers up foes so magnetic – or good guys so complex. The Criminal Minds franchise focuses on the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), an elite team of profilers who investigate the evilest of crimes and capture the most sinister of wrongdoers. And while the BAU-ers are experts at what they do, they're also human, and we get to see the toll that their job takes on their families, their friends and each other. Nobody in this show is a cookie-cutter baddie or superhero. It’s this gray area that’ll keep you watching … and watching, and watching.
How to watch: All episodes of Criminal Minds, from all 15 seasons of Criminal Minds, to all three seasons of Criminal Minds: Evolution, are streaming now on Paramount+. That's more than 300 episodes – and counting. The newest season of Criminal Minds: Evolution is underway right now, with new episodes dropping weekly on Fridays through the season finale, exclusively on Paramount+.
STREAM NOW: Criminal Minds
Why you need to binge it: In the course of this show’s first 26 seasons, we've seen a self-thrown funeral, Houseguests discovering they're siblings, and a contestant forced to live half her life as a robot (trust us: it makes sense in context). And this is just the tip of the Big Brother 'berg. We ask you: Is it truly summer at all if you don’t make it a Big Brother summer?
How to watch: All 900-plus episodes of Big Brother are streaming now on Paramount+. Dive in now, and then get ready for even more Zingbot action. The latest new season of Big Brother – that's Season 27, for those keeping count – is scheduled to premiere Thursday, July 10. New episodes air on CBS, and stream on Paramount+. Catch the live feeds all season long via Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
STREAM NOW: Big Brother
Why you need to binge it: Hooked on K-dramas? Get a kick out of Mean Girls-esque commentaries on social maneuvering? Thrive on survival thrillers? Pyramid Game is all that. To the students of Baekyeon, a slip in popularity doesn’t just mean a bout of getting teased – it means utter torment.
How to watch: All 10 episodes of Pyramid Game are streaming now, exclusively on Paramount+.
STREAM NOW: Pyramid Game
Get Started
1. School Spirits
Why you need to binge it: You’re going to find it tough not to. School Spirits combines compelling YA drama with supernatural elements – plus, a mystery you can’t help but try to crack. The result? A series tailor-made for binge-watching. All episodes are streaming now on Paramount+. And since we bet the jaw-dropping Season 2 finale is going to leave you wanting more, we'll note here that School Spirits has been renewed for a third season. A premiere date has not yet been announced.
STREAM NOW: School Spirits
2. Ink Master
What is it? Ink Master finds tattoo artists putting their skills and experience to the test week after week. Through epic challenges, and under intense pressure, the contestants battle it out in front of a panel of judges until only one artist remains: the winner of $250,000 and the title of Ink Master.Why you need to binge it: There is some serious fun going on here. To last on this show, the artists must understand the rules of every major tattoo style, as well as how to ink each style properly and legibly on every single body part. After all, applying a tattoo against a throat takes a very different technique than doing it on a knuckle. Plus, these contestants have half (or less) their usual inking time, and twice the pressure to pull out a quality tattoo. Make that a quality, permanent tattoo.
How to watch: All 16 seasons of Ink Master are streaming now on Paramount+. If you get hooked, you can also try Ink Master: Redemption, Ink Master: Angels, and Ink Master: Grudge Match; they're also all streaming on Paramount+.
STREAM NOW: Ink Master
3. The Amazing Race
What is it? Now in its 37th season, this Emmy® -winning, CBS Original reality-competition series – one in which teams of two embark on a race around the globe – is an institution. And every single season is streaming now on Paramount+.Why you need to binge it: The Amazing Race is not your average competition show. Sure, it’s got contestants performing tasks in the hopes of winning the $1-million grand prize. But its globe-trotting nature sets it apart. Through the years, teams have practiced taekwondo moves in South Korea, arranged lotus flowers in Taiwan, and balanced beer steins for Oktoberfest in Germany. These segments immerse both the players and viewers in the traditions and history of their featured locales – a quality few reality shows can boast.
STREAM NOW: The Amazing Race
4. Dexter®
What is it? It's about time you watch! Dexter®, about a killer with a moral code, is the addictive show that launched a franchise, including the upcoming new series, Dexter®: Resurrection, set to premiere Friday, July 11, on Paramount+ with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® plan.Why you need to binge it: Golden Globe® winner Michael C. Hall kills it in the title role. (Yes, we had to go there.) For viewers to root for a guy who's a liar, a master manipulator, and a serial killer, they need someone who has the ability to reveal the man behind the monster. In Hall's hands, Dexter Morgan shows flashes of vulnerability, heartache, and even love. This ain’t your average psychopath, and you won’t be able to take your eyes off him.
How to watch: All eight classic seasons of Dexter® are streaming now on Paramount+. And if you can’t get enough of America’s favorite cold-blooded killer, try the Limited Event Series Dexter®: New Blood, wherein Dexter (still played by Hall) attempts to live a quiet and homicide-free life under an assumed name in upstate New York – that is, until his son shows up. There's also Dexter®: Original Sin, a prequel series exploring the murderer’s formative years, and starring Patrick Gibson as the younger Dexter, with Hall as the voice of Young Dexter's inner monologue. All episodes of Dexter®: New Blood and Dexter®: Original Sin are now streaming on Paramount+ with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® plan.
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STREAM NOW: Dexter®
5. Jersey Shore Family Vacation
Why you need to binge it: It’s hard to look away from hot, inhibition-free people who love nothing more than to party and fight. Plus, the show boasts all the amenities of a swanky townhouse, and lots of grudges for the cast to rehash from their six seasons on Jersey Shore.
How to watch: The first seven seasons of Jersey Shore Family Vacation, along with all seasons of Jersey Shore, are streaming now Paramount+. Jersey Shore Family Vacation + Jersey Shore = a whole lot of Jersey-accented summer fun.
STREAM NOW: Jersey Shore Family Vacation
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6. Criminal Minds: Evolution
What is it? From the original Criminal Minds to Criminal Minds: Evolution, this is a drama franchise with staying power, that’s what.Why you need to binge it: It’s not every show that offers up foes so magnetic – or good guys so complex. The Criminal Minds franchise focuses on the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), an elite team of profilers who investigate the evilest of crimes and capture the most sinister of wrongdoers. And while the BAU-ers are experts at what they do, they're also human, and we get to see the toll that their job takes on their families, their friends and each other. Nobody in this show is a cookie-cutter baddie or superhero. It’s this gray area that’ll keep you watching … and watching, and watching.
How to watch: All episodes of Criminal Minds, from all 15 seasons of Criminal Minds, to all three seasons of Criminal Minds: Evolution, are streaming now on Paramount+. That's more than 300 episodes – and counting. The newest season of Criminal Minds: Evolution is underway right now, with new episodes dropping weekly on Fridays through the season finale, exclusively on Paramount+.
STREAM NOW: Criminal Minds
7. Big Brother
What is it? This compulsively watchable CBS Original is a reality-competition institution that needs no introduction, but just in case … Hosted since its 2000 premiere by Julie Chen Moonves, Big Brother places a group of people into a house, wherein their every move is recorded 24 hours a day. Isolated from the outside world, the Houseguests bond, bicker, and compete in challenges against one another. Each week, they vote to evict a player from the house. One by one, Houseguests are sent packing until a single contestant is left standing – the winner of the $750,000 grand prize.Why you need to binge it: In the course of this show’s first 26 seasons, we've seen a self-thrown funeral, Houseguests discovering they're siblings, and a contestant forced to live half her life as a robot (trust us: it makes sense in context). And this is just the tip of the Big Brother 'berg. We ask you: Is it truly summer at all if you don’t make it a Big Brother summer?
How to watch: All 900-plus episodes of Big Brother are streaming now on Paramount+. Dive in now, and then get ready for even more Zingbot action. The latest new season of Big Brother – that's Season 27, for those keeping count – is scheduled to premiere Thursday, July 10. New episodes air on CBS, and stream on Paramount+. Catch the live feeds all season long via Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
STREAM NOW: Big Brother
8. Pyramid Game
What is it? Set in South Korea, this Paramount+ original series is a psychological thriller about high schoolers. Between keeping up with her studies, dealing with bullies, and fighting for popularity, Seong Su-ji (Kim Ji-yeon) sees life at Baekyeon Girls’ High School as a game of survival. When she's introduced to a ranking system that chooses – then punishes – class outcasts, she must decide whether to accept her status, and its violent fallout, or lead an uprising against … the Pyramid Game.Why you need to binge it: Hooked on K-dramas? Get a kick out of Mean Girls-esque commentaries on social maneuvering? Thrive on survival thrillers? Pyramid Game is all that. To the students of Baekyeon, a slip in popularity doesn’t just mean a bout of getting teased – it means utter torment.
How to watch: All 10 episodes of Pyramid Game are streaming now, exclusively on Paramount+.
STREAM NOW: Pyramid Game