NOW has the smallest catalogue of any major service in Britain and the highest hit rate. Almost nothing on it is filler, which is the exact opposite of how Netflix works and the honest case for paying for it.
But there is something you need to establish before any list of recommendations is useful to you, because on NOW the answer to “what is best” depends entirely on which membership you hold — and the memberships do not overlap.
Which membership do you have?
This is not a detail. It determines whether half the recommendations below are available to you at all.
| Membership | Monthly | What you can actually watch |
|---|---|---|
| Entertainment | £7.99 | Sky Originals, and Sky Atlantic as it airs |
| Entertainment & HBO Max | £9.99 | The above plus HBO’s full back catalogue |
| Cinema | £9.99 | Films only. No series at all |
So if you are on Entertainment at £7.99 and you read a list recommending The Sopranos, you cannot watch it. That is HBO back catalogue, and it needs the other tier.
Every recommendation below is tagged accordingly. Our guide to watching Sky Atlantic without a Sky contract explains the channel-versus-catalogue distinction properly, and our guide to NOW UK prices covers every membership.
The HBO back catalogue (needs Entertainment & HBO Max, £9.99)
This is the two pounds that transforms the service — though there is now a cheaper way to get the same library, so read the next paragraph before you upgrade.
HBO Max has been a standalone UK service since 26 March 2026, and its Basic with Ads tier costs £4.99. That is the same library NOW delivers on its £9.99 membership. So if HBO is what you are here for and you do not want the Sky channels, subscribe to HBO Max direct and keep five pounds. If you held NOW Entertainment before March 2026 you were upgraded to the HBO Max tier free, so check your account first. Our guide to watching Sky Atlantic without a Sky contract compares all three routes.
The Sopranos
Still the argument-ender. A New Jersey mob boss goes to therapy, and six series of the best-written television anybody has made come out of it. If you have never watched it, this is the reason to take this membership.
The Wire
Five series about a city rather than a crime, each one taking apart a different institution. Famously slow to start and famously worth it. The third and fourth series are as good as television gets.
Chernobyl
Five episodes, no filler, and probably the most effective dramatisation of a real event ever made. Grim and unmissable in equal measure.
Band of Brothers
Ten episodes following one company through the war in Europe. Twenty-five years old and nothing since has improved on it.
Game of Thrones, and the rest of Westeros
All of it is here, including House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Whatever you think of the ending, the first four series are the reason prestige television looks the way it does now.
The Last of Us
The best adaptation of a video game anyone has managed, and you do not need to have played it. The third episode is the one people talk about and it earns the reputation.
Sky Originals (Entertainment, £7.99 — included)
Better than their reputation, and the reason to hold the cheaper membership. These are also genuinely British in a way almost nothing on Netflix is.
Gangs of London
The best action series made in Britain, with set pieces that would be creditable in a film. Extremely violent and unapologetic about it.
The Day of the Jackal
Eddie Redmayne as an assassin, and a thriller that actually works as a thriller — which is rarer on television than it should be.
Brassic
A comedy about a group of friends in a small Lancashire town, built around Joseph Gilgun. Warmer and funnier than the premise suggests, and it has quietly become one of the best British comedies of the decade. Our guide to where to watch British sitcoms covers the wider field.
Mary & George
Julianne Moore manoeuvring her son into the bed of James I. Historical drama played as a cold, funny power game, and nothing like the costume dramas it looks like.
Mr Bigstuff
Danny Dyer and Ryan Sampson as estranged brothers. Short, sharp and considerably more moving than anyone expected.
Sweetpea
Ella Purnell as an overlooked young woman who discovers a talent for violence. Nasty, funny and very well judged.
Under Salt Marsh
Kelly Reilly and Rafe Spall, six episodes, set in a fictional part of Wales. Reilly plays a detective who left the force to teach and then finds the body of one of her own students, investigating alongside her former partner. The strongest of the recent Sky crime dramas.
Patrick Melrose and The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Both limited series, both heavy going, both excellent. Patrick Melrose gives Benedict Cumberbatch his best television role.
The lighter end
A League of Their Own, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Saturday Night Live UK are all here, along with A Discovery of Witches if you want fantasy and Last King of the Cross if you want Australian crime.
What to watch first
Depending on what you came for.
- The Sopranos, if you have the HBO membership and have never seen it. Nothing else on this list is as good.
- Chernobyl, if you want something extraordinary in five hours rather than sixty.
- Gangs of London, if you want the best thing Sky itself has made.
- Brassic, if you want something to actually enjoy rather than admire.
- Under Salt Marsh, if you want the newest good thing.
Coming, with no dates yet
Sky has announced three worth knowing about, none with a confirmed date:
- Meantime — a comic crime thriller from Frankie Boyle and Neil Webster, adapted from Boyle’s first novel, starring James McAvoy.
- Possession — five parts, written and created by Karla Crome, following a young lawyer to Jamaica to challenge an inheritance claim.
- Heated Rivalry — two ice hockey players on opposing teams in a relationship they keep secret for years.
The honest limitations
- You will run out. This is a small catalogue. Working through the list above is a few months of viewing, not a few years, and then there is noticeably less. That is the trade for the hit rate.
- Standard definition without Boost. NOW’s standard streaming is SD on one device with adverts on demand. On a series like Gangs of London that is a real loss, and Boost costs £6 a month. Our guide to whether NOW Boost is worth the extra covers it.
- No reality, no documentary depth, nothing non-English. If that is what you want, this is the wrong service, as our comparison of Netflix and NOW sets out.
- Series arrive weekly on Sky Atlantic, which suits some people and not others.
All of which argues for treating NOW as something you take for a few months and then leave, rather than hold all year. Pay full price rather than the advertised offer if that is your plan, because the discounts carry six-month minimum terms, and our guide to cancelling NOW covers getting out properly.
Common questions
What is the best series on NOW?
The Sopranos, if you have the HBO Max membership. Gangs of London, if you are on plain Entertainment.
Is The Sopranos on NOW Entertainment?
No. HBO’s back catalogue needs the Entertainment & HBO Max membership at £9.99 rather than plain Entertainment at £7.99 — or an HBO Max subscription direct, from £4.99.
Does the Cinema membership include series?
No. Cinema is films only. You would need Entertainment as well.
Are Sky Originals any good?
Better than their reputation. Gangs of London, The Day of the Jackal, Brassic, Mary & George and Under Salt Marsh are all genuinely strong.
Will I run out of things to watch on NOW?
Yes, sooner than on Netflix. It is a small, well-curated catalogue rather than a deep one.
Do I need Boost to watch properly?
On a television, effectively yes. Without it you get standard definition on one device.
The short version
Check which membership you have first, because HBO’s back catalogue needs the £9.99 tier and plain Entertainment gets you Sky Originals only. If you have the HBO tier, watch The Sopranos. If you do not, watch Gangs of London, then Brassic, then Under Salt Marsh. Add Boost if you are on a television, and expect to run out within a few months — which is a reason to rotate rather than hold.
For the films, see our guide to the best films on NOW UK, and for the service itself, our complete guide to NOW and Sky UK.
