The 9 best Showtime series you can watch right now - Android

Showtime series may not get as much public recognition compared to series on HBO or Netflix. However, Showtime shows have consistently offered high-quality entertainment for many, many years. Showtime TV series have also received lots of Golden Globe and Emmy award nominations and wins. Let’s take a look at the best shows on Showtime that you can watch right now. plus a few honorable mentions. We even note a Showtime series that you can only currently watch on Netflix.

Read: Best Showtime movies

Where to watch Showtime shows

You can watch Showtime series the old fashioned way on your local cable or satellite provider. You can also watch directly via the Showtime streaming service. In order to access that service, you can sign up for a 7 day free trial at the link below. After the trial period ends, the service costs $10.99 a month.

Best Showtime series

1. Dexter

One of the first major Showtime TV shows is still among its best. Based loosely on the series of Dexter novels. Michael C Hall plays the title character, who to most everyone else on the show is a forensic technician for the Miami Police Department. In reality, Dexter is a serial killer, with a difference. His adoptive father recognized the darkness inside Dexter, and trained him to not attack innocent people, but other serial killers. This unique look inside the mind of a killer who wants to do good remains one of the best Showtime series.

2. Episodes

Another one of the best shows on Showtime is this very meta look at the making of a TV show. Two UK-based TV writers get the break of a lifetime; their British show is being remade in the US. However, their real trials start when they reach Hollywood and are forced by the network to accept a lead actor they don’t want. That lead actor: Matt LeBlanc, who is played by  . . . Matt LeBlanc. It’s a funny look at how show business is not all glamour, all the time. It also has a terrific over-the-top performance by LeBlanc who clearly had fun played an exaggerated version of himself.

3. Homeland

Another one of the great Showtime shows is Homeland. It’s made by some of the same people who previously wrote and produced for 24. Both shows deal with the US fighting terrorism, but 24 is much more of an action series. Homeland, however, tried its best to offer a more realistic and nuanced look at how terrorist groups work, and why they wish to attack the US.  Claire Danes got the role of her career playing CIA  Carrie Mathison, who not only has to deal with the bad guys but also her own problems with bipolar disorder.

4. Ray Donovan

Much like Dexter, this is another one of the classic Showtime TV shows that centers on an outsider character. Liev Schreiber perfectly plays the title character, who works for a law firm in Los Angeles, and later in the series in New York City. He’s not a lawyer, though; far from it. Ray Donovan is a “fixer”; a man who covertly cleans up the mess of the firm’s clients, who are usually rich and famous. This crime drama is dark and dirty as Ray Donovan has to do some questionable things for his employers. However, it still makes for one of the best Showtime series.

5. Shameless

Here’s a Showtime original series that’s a bit on the lighter side, but still highly adult in nature. The show, based on the UK series of the same name, focuses on the extended Gallagher family who live in Chicago. The father figure, played terrifically by William H. Macy, is always drunk and is usually useless, so his six kids have to hustle and sometime steal to survive. It’s not the ideal family unit, but it is funny to watch these characters as they get into all sorts of different situations.

6. Twin Peaks: The Return

The original Twin Peaks was one of the greatest TV