This is the ultimate book for the Netflix and boxset generation, featuring all the greatest drama series ever broadcast as well as the weirdest game shows, controversial reality TV experiments and breathtaking nature documentaries. It is a must for anyone who wants to know why India's Ramayan is legendary, why Roots was groundbreaking, or what the ending of Lost was all about. Written by an international team of critics, authors, academics, producers and journalists, this book reviews TV series from more than 20 countries, highlights classic episodes to watch and also provides cast summaries and production details.

The explosion of streaming apps and new platforms has produced a deluge of new original programming; this curated guide aims to be the one-stop resource to help figure out what to watch next. The growing volume of new television shows being released paired with the exponential proliferation of new streaming services make it increasingly hard to figure out what to watch. This new guide, spearheaded by television authority Liane Bonin Starr and an international team of critics, is a timely and welcome aid in winnowing the “must see” from the “don’t bother.” It is a curated selection of the most important and groundbreaking shows from past decades and the best new and buzzworthy series created in the age of streaming. It covers a wide range of genres across the spectrum and across various streaming services, from beloved favorites and classics to more obscure yet acclaimed foreign programs that are worth discov-ering, such as moody Scandinavian police procedurals and K-dramas. Organized by moods and moments, it is easy to find something romantic for date night, a dramedy to enjoy with BFFs, or sitcoms to binge during your next quarantine.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LOOK FOR THE NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES • “Both an American tragedy and [Grisham’s] strongest legal thriller yet, all the more gripping because it happens to be true.”—Entertainment Weekly John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction: a true crime masterpiece that tells the story of small town justice gone terribly awry. In the Major League draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the state of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A’s, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory. Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa. In 1982, a twenty-one-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder. With no physical evidence, the prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row. If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you. Don’t miss Framed, John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction since The Innocent Man, co-authored with Centurion Ministries founder Jim McCloskey.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "An unusually lighthearted apocalyptic tale." Sam Terra is having a bad week. He lost Molly, the woman he secretly loves, when she vanished before his eyes at the exact same time that ten percent of the inhabitants of Earth disappeared. Naturally upset, Sam follows clues about the global vanishing with questionable help from his friends including a misanthropic co-worker and a childhood pal. When Molly reappears in the body of a man during a night of monster-laden devastation, Sam finally learns the truth. Not just about her, but about the planet Earth and the entire cosmos surrounding it. What we consider mundane reality, others consider a game . . . and not a very good one. The whole thing is about to be shut down.

This thesis argues that two current and prevalent television industry shifts--the plethora of reboots and revivals on network television, and forthcoming studio-owned streaming services--are the result of the popularity of past series with audiences on streaming services. I first argue for a focus on the specifics of the series themselves, over the greater trend as a whole in order to determine the validity of these shifts. Approaching each series with the questions "Why then?" and "Why now?" this thesis examines two series from NBC's famous Must-See TV programming block, Friends (1994-2004) and ER (1994-2009), that have reemerged in popularity with the target 18-49-year-old audience due to their availability on streaming platforms Netflix and Hulu respectively. Through the analysis of data from two audience surveys, one of viewers of Friends on Netflix and one of viewers of ER on Hulu, I argue that while nostalgia plays a significant role in their appeal, understanding how each series is engaged with by its viewers is critical in answering to the validity of the industry response to their popularity.

In Rotten Tomatoes' first TV-focused book, discover the best shows ever made. For the completist, The Ultimate Binge Guide is a challenge: a bingeable bucket list of all the shows you need to see before you die (or just to be super-informed at your next dinner party). For all readers, it's a fascinating look at the evolution of TV. The guide is broken down into several sections that speak to each series' place in TV history, including: Classics That Made the Molds (And Those That Broke Them):​ The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Get Smart, Cheers, Golden Girls, Happy Days... Tony, Walt, Don, and the Antiheroes We Loved and Hated​: Oz, Mad Men, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The Americans, Peaky Blinders, Ozark, The Shield, Boardwalk Empire, How To Get Away With Murder... Game-Changing Sitcoms and the Kings and Queens of Cringe: Insecure, Community, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Fleabag, Black-ish, Party Down, Veep, Catastrophe, Fresh Off the Boat, Tim and Eric, Schitt's Creek, Better Things, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Pen15, Freaks and Geeks, Broad City, Black Lady Sketch Show... Grown-Up Genre: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse, Supernatural, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Star Trek, Watchmen, The Witcher, Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, Westworld, Doctor Who... Mysteries and Mindf--ks: Twin Peaks, Lost, Sense8, Mr. Robot, Broadchurch, The Leftovers, Fargo, Top of the Lake, Killing Eve, Wilfred, True Detective, Hannibal, Mindhunter... Reality TV and Docuseries That Captured the Zeitgeist: The Last Dance, Making A Murderer, Cheer, Tiger King, Planet Earth, RuPaul's Drag Race, Wild Wild Country, Queer Eye, The Jinx, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown... In this punchy full-color guide, the editors of Rotten Tomatoes complement series write-ups with engaging infographics; fun sidebars (like a battle between the US and UK editions of The Office); and deep-dive essays on the streaming wars, superproducers to know, and the evolution of our collective viewing habits.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES With a career, a boyfriend, and a loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the reckless young woman who delivered a suitcase of drug money ten years before. But that past has caught up with her. Convicted and sentenced to fifteen months at the infamous federal correctional facility in Danbury, Connecticut, the well-heeled Smith College alumna is now inmate #11187–424—one of the millions of people who disappear “down the rabbit hole” of the American penal system. From her first strip search to her final release, Kerman learns to navigate this strange world with its strictly enforced codes of behavior and arbitrary rules. She meets women from all walks of life, who surprise her with small tokens of generosity, hard words of wisdom, and simple acts of acceptance. Heartbreaking, hilarious, and at times enraging, Kerman’s story offers a rare look into the lives of women in prison—why it is we lock so many away and what happens to them when they’re there. Praise for Orange Is the New Black “Fascinating . . . The true subject of this unforgettable book is female bonding and the ties that even bars can’t unbind.”—People (four stars) “I loved this book. It’s a story rich with humor, pathos, and redemption. What I did not expect from this memoir was the affection, compassion, and even reverence that Piper Kerman demonstrates for all the women she encountered while she was locked away in jail. I will never forget it.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love “This book is impossible to put down because [Kerman] could be you. Or your best friend. Or your daughter.”—Los Angeles Times “Moving . . . transcends the memoir genre’s usual self-centeredness to explore how human beings can always surprise you.”—USA Today “It’s a compelling awakening, and a harrowing one—both for the reader and for Kerman.”—Newsweek