The Free & Legal To View Online Resource Thread: Where To See Your Favorite Shows

[Kromm]

If you know where and how to see a piece of TV online completely free and completely legally, then identify the show, the amount of the product online (at the time of your posting) any region specific information you are aware of, and of course a link.

-------

For example, 71 of 131 episodes of The Dog Whisperer are there, right up on Nat Geo Wild's YouTube channel, complete.  No idea if its region blocked or not, but it works in the US for sure.  - The Dog Whisperer on YouTube

[nyxy]

What a great thread! Thank you. YouTube is a treasure. It has a ton of BBC and Australian shows, for example, all of Inspector Morse, Season 7 of Monarch of the Glen (frustratingly missing from Netflix, which has the other 6 seasons) can be found there. 

[FinePoint]

This is a good idea for a thread. I will suggest Doc Martin. It says all 37 episodes are available free on Hulu (that's the free Hulu.com; you don't have to sign up and pay for Hulu Plus, apparently). Sorry, I don't know what regions can access it besides the US. Doc Martin on Hulu

Edited April 17, 2014 by FinePoint

[nyxy]

For fans of John Thaw (*Inspector Morse*):  Youtube rocks! I just found a ton of episodes for Kavanagh QC in which he plays the lead character. Good, satisfying, watchable TV- and so easy to find. 

[BellaLugosi]

Hulu has a bunch of older shows on there for free. Twilight Zone, for example. And another Serling show, Night Gallery. All episodes are available, I'm not sure if it's just US or what. 

[Rick Kitchen]

YouTube has TV shows at https://www.youtube.com/shows.%C2'> You can search for "free" shows there.

[Kromm]

All of the brilliant Moone Boy appears to be currently available (late May/early June 2014) on Hulu.... here:  http://www.hulu.com/moone-boy

 

Well worth watching.

[Kromm]

Someone asked about where The Rockford Files was airing on TV, and I couldn't find that, but it's worth noting that Seasons 1, 2 and 3 are all available on the free version of Hulu as I type this (early June 2014).  No clue on where to find the later seasons online (if at all).

 

http://www.hulu.com/the-rockford-files

[Kromm]

Also (because a similar question got asked in another area of the board... Wiseguy.  ALL seasons of it too!

 

http://www.hulu.com/wiseguy

[Abra Came]

I'm finally going to "cut the cable" this weekend.  There's so much content available for free, that I just can't justify the cable bills anymore.  I've got a new antenna, Netflix and a Chromecast dongle--hopefully, those will keep the family entertained.  And I'll pocket the $$$ savings every month.  I'll be trying out these links--thanks!

[ABay]

Please report on your cable cutting, @Abra Came.

 

I went cable-free a few years ago because Comcast, just the starter package with DVR, was over $100 where I live. I did keep Comcast as my ISP because I was happy with the service. I made a spreadsheet (stop staring!) of all the shows I regularly watched and how I could see them: Amazon Prime, network website, Hulu, Netflix. I also had a gizmo that allowed me to use my laptop as a DVR but the video quality was appalling, so I stopped that.

 

Eventually, I got Direct TV because I really love the convenience of the DVR and the flow of TV. Also, Direct TV's equivalent package was 1/3 the price of Comcast.

 

Now I'm the mood to explore options. Netflix is OK but it seems like all the movies I look up are only available on DVD and they don't have shows quickly enough, if at all. It's good for binge-watching other shows. Or it would be, if the connection didn't drop so often.

[Abra Came]

I had Time Warner cable & internet, but decided to dump TWC when Google Fiber came to town.  I paid a one-time fee to have it installed, but now I have free internet for the next seven (I think) years.  Google also offered a tv package, but it wasn't much of a price savings from TWC.  So once I decided to take Google's internet, it just seemed a good time to cut off TWC altogether.  We'd had a long love/hate relationship--and like all my exes, now they are dead to me!

 

No little kids in the house, just teens that are more interested in being online than in watching tv.  Also don't have a sports enthusiast, so nobody really protested dropping the cable.  I'll probably be the one who misses it most--but not so far!

[Kromm]

Well that tells us you live in either Provo or Kansas City! (the only places Google Fiber exists yet)

[Just Here]

Someone asked about where The Rockford Files was airing on TV, and I couldn't find that, but it's worth noting that Seasons 1, 2 and 3 are all available on the free version of Hulu as I type this (early June 2014).  No clue on where to find the later seasons online (if at all).

 

http://www.hulu.com/the-rockford-files

 

Regarding The Rockford Files, it is on the schedule for MeTV (Wikipedia), which is available as a digital subchannel of a number of local over-the-air stations. [FYI, another free over-the-air subchannel that also shows older/classic TV series is Antenna TV (Wikipedia).]

 

Also, regarding CW shows:  The CW website (cwtv.com) generally has new episodes available for its original series at 3 a.m. ET the morning after the episodes air, rather than a week later at Hulu.

[BoogieBurns]

Also, regarding CW shows:  The CW website (cwtv.com) generally has new episodes available for its original series at 3 a.m. ET the morning after the episodes air, rather than a week later at Hulu.

 

CW adds so many commercials to their online content.

[Sandman87]

Some resources for anime fans. Much is available without a subscription:

 

Pretty much all of Funimation's shows are available on their website.

 

Crunchyroll started life as a "gray market" sharing site, but they went completely legit several years ago and are now partially owned by TV Tokyo. They have since cut distribution deals with a bunch of anime production houses. They also have manga and live action shows now.

 

Neon Alley is Viz Media's streaming & download site for their stuff.

 

Other sites, which I have not tried, are listed here.

[Kromm]

Most of the talent reality shows post the vast majority of their shows online, worldwide.  Usually broken up by performances, and not including banter (although often keeping judge comments), so it might actually be the better way to watch these shows.

 

Currently airing, for example, there's a new season of the UK's The X-Factor, famous for producing as many legitimate stars as American Idol: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheXFactorUK

 

Simon Cowell is actually very shrewd about his Reality Shows, even if the US X-Factor tanked, and tanked big.  Also pretty much 100% available:

 

Britain's Got Talent (back 2015 at some point):  https://www.youtube.com/user/BritainsGotTalent09

America's Got Talent (wrapping up its current season soon):  https://www.youtube.com/user/AmericasGotTalent

 

There's even a "Global" Got Talent Channel, with clips from all around the world:  https://www.youtube.com/user/gottalentglobal

 

The other big competitors usually post most of their show online too:

 

American Idol (off air till next Winter--Jan 15, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/user/americanidol

The Voice (US -- Sept 22 premiere):  https://www.youtube.com/user/NBCTheVoice

The Voice (UK -- back 2015 at some point): https://www.youtube.com/user/theVOICEuk (but far more content is on the BBC's own main YT channel)

The Voice (Australia -- back 2015 at some point):  https://www.youtube.com/user/TheVoiceAustralia

Edited September 1, 2014 by Kromm

[snippie]

Hello

We live in Australia and my wife is addicted to The Peoples Court. I don't enjoy it at all, but I'm trying to source more episodes for her to watch. She's pretty much seen allof the ones on YouTube. We have an XBMC media centre, so if anyone knows of any repos a doe sources where TPC episodes get uploaded to, let me know.

Tks.

P.s. Sorry our Prime Minister is such a dick

[Kromm]

Hello

We live in Australia and my wife is addicted to The Peoples Court. I don't enjoy it at all, but I'm trying to source more episodes for her to watch. She's pretty much seen allof the ones on YouTube. We have an XBMC media centre, so if anyone knows of any repos a doe sources where TPC episodes get uploaded to, let me know.

Tks.

P.s. Sorry our Prime Minister is such a dick

Has she tried Judge Judy to add some variety?  There have probably been no less than a dozen other random Judge shows besides People's Court, but Judy's has probably lasted the longest (almost 20 years I think).

And yeah.  Mr. Abbott is an embarrassment, isn't he?  Did you guys laugh overmuch at our burden/idiot, Dubya Bush?  If so, maybe this is karma.

Edited September 18, 2014 by Kromm

[Just Here]

I'm not sure how much longer these will be available*, but the CW (CWtv.com) has a few older series available: Birds of Prey (13 episodes), as well as Hellcats and Jack & Bobby (both 22 episodes).

 

*In the past, series such as Birds of Prey only tend to be available for a seasonal window (e.g. over the summer when most CW scripted shows are in repeats).

[Kromm]

I'm not sure how much longer these will be available*, but the CW (CWtv.com) has a few older series available: Birds of Prey (13 episodes), as well as Hellcats and Jack & Bobby (both 22 episodes).

 

*In the past, series such as Birds of Prey only tend to be available for a seasonal window (e.g. over the summer when most CW scripted shows are in repeats).

All great shows (even the soapy Hellcats, in an odd way).

Okay, if I'm being brutally honest... Birds of Prey wasn't ACTUALLY great.  It was just a show that SHOULD have been great.  But it's still interesting (moreso as a kind of pre-season prep for Gotham, which should be FAR better).

[amaranta]

Last year I fell in love with a little show called "Spy" cruising around on Hulu. http://www.hulu.com/spy

 

Darren Boyd is wonderful and there is a good supporting cast.  It's a British comedy (shown on Sky1 in the UK; Hulu only in the U.S.), 2 seasons, 17 episodes in total.  Description is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spy_%282011_TV_series%29

 

It's fun and silly.  Boyd has a wonderfully dry, deadpan style.  I think I preferred the shorter first season, only 6 episodes; but IMO it's all quite good.

[Almost 3000]

Bumping thread with a new addition http://www.crackle.com/. Crackle has original content, TV series and movies. Many of their shows have a limited run that expires like Hulu. I'm currently watching "Sequestered" an original show.

[Kromm]

A new discovery.  The great but little seen show from Paul F. Tompkins, "No You Shut Up!", featuring the Henson Alternative Miskreant Puppets, seems to be up totally legally, all 3 seasons with full episodes, on YouTube.

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/noyoushutupchannel

 

At first I thought it was one of those fake channels where people steal a show name to post illegal episodes, but it seems to be totally legit--the channel about page links to the show's actual real Twitter account, and it references Fusion and Tompkin's own channels, and I found a few outside media pages linking to stuff on the channel as well.

 

Which is good if it's there, because it seems to not be on Hulu at all.

Edited February 25, 2015 by Kromm

[Chaos Theory]

An Old Australian TV show.   Prisoners of Cellblock H  Episode 1  which leads all the way up to I think 692 on Youtube.

 

This was a precursor to Wentworth which is available on Netflix.  

Edited February 24, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Babalu]

An Old Australian TV show.   

 Episode 1  which leads all the way up to I think 692 on Youtube.

 

This was a precursor to Wentworth which is available on Netflix.

Thank you! Prisoner of Cellblock H was syndicated on a Twin Cities station many years ago, and I was completely addicted to it! 692 episodes is kind of daunting - I doubt I ever saw more than 10% - but I just watched the first one, and it was only slightly cheesier than I remember. I never knew about Wentworth, either. I may very well be watching these for years to come.

[Haleth]

Hey, question for premium channel viewers, something I've been wondering about.  Do cable services (I have Comcast) allow you to opt in and out of premium channels for short periods?  There are some shows that I'd be interested in watching but don't want to pay for the channel year round.  For example, I'd like to get Showtime to see Homeland, cancel when it's over, and repeat next year.  Do cable services prohibit selective viewing like this?  I could see it maybe being a problem if someone subscribes/unsubscribes several times a year, but signing up once a year for 8 weeks or so?  Does anyone do this?

[ABay]

I've thought about it but never done it. With Directv, you can upgrade (and presumably downgrade) instantly at their website so it would be easy if they don't prohibit repeated signing up and signing off premiums.

[kassygreene]

One of the streaming sites, and I think it is Hulu Plus, is adding Showtime for an extra monthly charge ($9.99 I think).  I don't know how easily cancelable or restartable it is, but it is another option.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Haleth:

 

I have Comcast/Infinity and I do this all the time. When I thought I might want to see some shows on, well, Showtime, I called and asked if they could add it.

 

Also. when my parents came to visit last fall, and then my mom, this past January through April, I called to activate the Indian channels, so they could watch their Indian programs and soaps.

 

Never penalized or charged extra for doing so; I just paid the extra money it cost to add them. 

 

I wish I could have satellite television, but my apartment doesn't face in a southerly direction, and apparently that's what it has to do to get reception.

[Sandman87]

GHScorpiosRule - TV satellites need to be in geostationary orbit directly over the equator. In North America that means that one needs a dish facing in a southerly direction in order to receive their signals.

[Wax Lion]

The CW/Netflix deal ends soon and presumably the parties involved are renegotiating.

 

However, The CW's owners are making noise about creating a streaming service just for CW shows:

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/cbs-and-time-warner-are-working-to-create-a-cw-streaming-service-2016-1

 

This follows a NYT report (unfortunately the link I had is now dead) where the Warner CEO suggested he wanted to keep DC's shows off of streaming services for a few years so that people will watch on TV or on DVD.

 

And now, Hulu has all 8 episodes of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend online. While that makes sense as a way to promote the show, I think this is the first time Hulu has offered more than five current episodes of a CW show at a time. (IIRC, Hulu promoted Jane the Virgin last winter by making the first five episodes available then rotating later episodes in.) That might be another sign that CW plans on pulling away from Netflix since the five episode limit makes The CW's shows more valuable to Netflix (the more people who didn't get the chance to watch the show when it aired, the more people might want to watch it on Netflix).

 

http://www.vulture.com/2013/10/fx-turner-netflix-battle-for-tv-streaming-rights.html

[Cobalt Stargazer]

If anyone can answer this question, I'll give you a box - no, a case of virtual Thin Mints.

 

Why is Law & Order not streaming anywhere at all? I know its twenty seasons, and that'd be a lot of work, not to mention money, to make available other than on DVD, but not even ION airs more than season thirteen to the finale. I even checked Putlocker, which is a fairly extensive site, but no joy.

[Irlandesa]

I don't think anyone knows why L&O isn't streaming anywhere.  Seasons 1-8 were on Netflix for a while but aren't any longer.

 

As for older episodes of L&O, I think different channels air different seasons. I just looked on my channel guide and it looks like there are episodes from 12 of the 18 seasons scheduled in the upcoming weeks ranging from the first season to the last.  WE is showing episodes from Seasons 1 & 2.  WGN is scheduled to show episodes from S4.  TNT is showing episodes from later seasons as well as Season 5.  ION is doing the mid to late and Sundance a bit earlier. 

 

But it still should be streaming.

[Wax Lion]

I was going to wonder if L&O's streaming rights are in a similar spot as The Simpsons were a few years ago, where they had to wait for syndication deals to run out but if it was on Netflix, that can't be the case.

[Diane Mars]

Not sure it was a legal one.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Diane Mars

[33kaitykaity]

All three seasons of the original BBC House of Cards are available on YouTube.  They are well worth the watch.  The American Netflix series with Kevin Spacey can not hold a candle to Ian Richardson's fabulous villain.  

Edited March 14, 2016 by 33kaitykaity

[ABay]

Epix is not available on Direct TV, which I have, or Comcast, which is the other thing I could have, and I want to watch Berlin Station when it comes out. Epix says they have an app but even if you have Roku, it asks who your TV provider is. Am I going to have to scour YouTube when the show finally starts in the fall? This sucks.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

ABay, you might want to also try Netflix and Hulu, since sometimes they offer shows from premium networks. And thanks for the heads up, because I hadn't heard about this show until now, but now I have to figure out how to watch it as well because Michelle Forbes.

[Just Here]

The Hollywood Reporter: Hulu to end free streaming service, though some free series and films will be available through Yahoo's new service, Yahoo View (view.Yahoo.com), which will have Tumblr integration.

 

From the Yahoo press release:

Quote

Featuring content from Hulu, this Fall, Yahoo View will be the best place to watch the last five episodes of ABC, NBC, FOX (8 days after original broadcast) and other network sitcoms, day-after clips, and full seasons of anime and Korean drama. Viewers can also go beyond the episode in a community-watching experience and browse photos and GIFs from the passionate Tumblr fandom. The new site features a “beyond the episode” section that can visually block the enhanced content that might reveal spoilers about the current video playing, and picture-in-picture so viewers can continue to watch while browsing to other content without leaving the screen.

[Kromm]

So Hulu is now a brand name that someone else (Yahoo) is basically using.  Weird.

[Rick Kitchen]

No, the shows that were available on Hulu's free tier are now available on Yahoo! View.

[kassygreene]

And the interface on Yahoo! View is most unimpressive.

[Kromm]

5 hours ago, Rick Kitchen said:

No, the shows that were available on Hulu's free tier are now available on Yahoo! View.

Look a bit further. That's true, but at the same time there is the branding I spoke of.

 

And operating inside the actual play windows, the coding appears to totally be Hulus. How do I know this? If I have an Ad blocker on the message to complain about that are the exact same ones (worded, positioned, fonted and controled identically) I've seen from Hulu for years. The duration and count down system on the ads are the same. The controls (and things you get under the options--for example the exact choices under how you can set up and modify the captioning) are exactly the same. It is Hulu. Just streaming off a server now that's controlled by Yahoo.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Kromm

[ethalfrida]

I cannot find where to watch SEason 4 of The Americans. It is listed with FX and FXNow but there are no options to play. It will show on Amazon Prime for 3 dollars per episode but I already pay the cable people so it's not such a deal at that price. Anyone have any suggestions?

[legaleagle53]

On 8/8/2016 at 5:29 PM, Just Here said:

The Hollywood Reporter: Hulu to end free streaming service, though some free series and films will be available through Yahoo's new service, Yahoo View (view.Yahoo.com), which will have Tumblr integration.

 

From the Yahoo press release:

What's the point, if I still have to wait a week after the broadcast air date to watch? ABC has the same one-week requirement if I can't authenticate through a cable provider (and I can't, because I don't have cable).

At least with Hulu, I only have to wait 24 hours.

[GaT]

I don't know if this counts as "free", but after living in our house for a year, we just discovered that we have Netflix through Comcast OnDemand. We never saw it advertised, & it wasn't listed as one of our services so we had no idea. Anyway, I found out just in time to start watching The Crown.

[Popples]

3 hours ago, GaT said:

I don't know if this counts as "free", but after living in our house for a year, we just discovered that we have Netflix through Comcast OnDemand. We never saw it advertised, & it wasn't listed as one of our services so we had no idea. Anyway, I found out just in time to start watching The Crown.

They just announced it yesterday. From the article, it looks like they'll add the Netflix subscription charge to your Comcast bill if you aren't already subscribed to Netflix.

Edited November 5, 2016 by Popples
Fixed the second link

[GaT]

44 minutes ago, Popples said:

They just announced it yesterday. From the article, it looks like they'll add the Netflix subscription charge to your Comcast bill if you aren't already subscribed to Netflix.

Interesting, I know it was listed in their Beta section until yesterday, so I guess that's when they made it official. We already have a Netflix subscription, so it looks like it won't cost us more than it already does, but it definitely isn't "free"

[Just Here]

For those without cable/satellite or even OTA, here's how to watch Tuesday's general election results coverage, via Variety (2016 Presidential Election Results Live: How to Watch Online).  Most simulcasts starts at 7 p.m. Eastern, but some outlets, such as CNN (4 p.m.) are providing earlier online coverage.

 

A summary of the major networks/channels' offerings:

• ABC - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ABCNews/
• CBS - CBSN: Online - http://www.cbsnews.com/live/ - and apps
• NBC - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nbcnews
• PBS - YouTube: http://youtube.com/pbsnewshour
• CNN - CNN.com and apps, running from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. (apparently "no pay-TV authentication required," per article)