Too tired to surf for great shows? A rundown of the streaming landscape for entertainment

Not only are all the shows original content, but I am yet to find a single example of skimping when it comes to budget

There was a time, so very long ago, when you would arrive home from a long day’s work and just turn on the television to see what was on. Then came home video, and DVD. If you weren’t interested in what the channels were providing, you could fall back on one of your old favourites. Then, over a decade ago, the landscape of television was changed forever.

Now, you can spend hours sitting in front of the screen, scrolling with your remote, unable to decide which film or TV show deserves this precious allotment of your free time. Eventually, you give up and move on. Maybe you’ll try again tomorrow. And honestly, who could blame you? No one wants to spend their free time trawling through the metric ton of content available, only to end up being disappointed.

Sometimes you’ve even got to decide what streaming service you’re going to search. Do you log in to Netflix? Sure, Netflix is the tried-and-true variable (it’s been streaming for 15 years after all), but there’s a reason it has picked up a reputation for saying “yes” to everything. It sometimes seems like Netflix is so intent on keeping as many subscribers as possible, that it will green-light anything. It has produced some incredible shows. Bojack Horseman, Money Heist, Squid Game, and The Haunting of Hill House come to mind.

But for every win, it has about three losses that get quietly forgotten about. However, Netflix is not only home to its own productions. Its biggest strength (along with the fact it was the first streaming service to become a household name) is its seemingly endless supply of content. Granted, it has some duds, but you’d be hard pressed to find nothing that grips you.

At $12.99–$24.99 per month, a Netflix subscription is certainly on the high end of the spectrum. It’s a factor which may cause eyes to wander towards its competitors.

Speaking of which, New Zealand’s own streaming service, Neon, an offspring of Sky, doesn’t look too shabby in the right light. With no productions of its own, Neon seems to mostly borrow from US networks such as HBO and AMC. Neon has got all the “you’ve-got-to-watch-this” shows, from Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, to Euphoria and Silicon Valley. While you’ll rarely find a dud on Neon, its price of $15.99 per month may still be a bit high for some.

Disney+, while being late to the game, surprised no one when it amassed a colossal number of subscribers in its first weeks. The release of the first live-action Star Wars show The Mandalorian certainly helped. And while it started off as a bit of a nostalgia machine, Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, means Disney+ service now has something for everyone, whether you want to rewatch The Simpsons for the hundredth time, or try out the all new How I Met Your Father.

Taking that into account, along with its onslaught of Marvel shows such as Wandavision and Moon Knight, its continued forays into the realm of Star Wars with shows such as The Book of Boba Fett and Kenobi, and its phenomenal original creations (the Taika Waititi-produced Reservation Dogs springs to mind), I’d say that Disney+ is well worth the $12.99 per month.

Much like Netflix, Prime Video is a mix of content, both original and sourced from elsewhere and, just like Netflix, the content varies wildly in the “hit or miss”. Its original content tends to air on the “hit” side for the most part. From motoring enthusiasts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May’s globetrotting adventures in The Grand Tour and their own individual shows, to the Kiwi-led The Boys where Antony Starr plays a crazed celebrity superhero and Karl Urban the man trying to bring him down. However, Prime Video’s biggest hit is surely still to come, with its new show Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiering this September. While the range of content is similar to Netflix, the price isn’t, coming in at $8 per month.

When I heard about the announcement of AppleTV+, I assumed the service would be similar to AppleMusic. Simply a paid-subscription version of the films and TV shows available on iTunes, but with a slightly smaller library. Boy, was I surprised. Not only are all the shows original content, but I am yet to find a single example of skimping when it comes to budget.

So far, they all look fantastic. And you wouldn’t believe the variety, from the hilariously heart-warming Ted Lasso and the thrilling alternate history sci-fi For All Mankind, all the way to the 19th-century coming-ofage comedy Dickenson and two (yes, two) cartoons based on the classic Peanuts comic strip. Honestly, I’m surprised it’s only $8.99 per month.

If you’re after something a bit more niche, Acorn TV is home to one of the largest selections of mystery shows. This includes the earliest episodes of Morse and Midsomer Murders to the latest season of Queens of Mystery. It’s got a strong British vibe and has one of the lowest prices for a streaming service, $6.99 a month.

I would be remiss to leave out TVNZ OnDemand. There was a time it was simply known as the place where you could catch up on any recent episodes of Shortland Street you’d missed out on, but I switched it on a few months back and barely recognised it. It now provides a wide range of content from all around the world, with thrilling BBC dramas such as Vigil and Killing Eve alongside hit US comedies Young Sheldon and Superstore. But certainly, one of its strongest elements, is the New Zealand content that can’t be seen anywhere else. And it’s completely free – although you do have to endure the occasional ad break.

With TV viewing becoming a much more personalised experience (there aren’t many shows these days that everyone in the office gathers in the kitchenette to discuss), it makes sense to choose not only the show that’s right for you, but the streaming service that’s most likely to give you the next show that’s right for you. And the next. And the next...

Nat Dolan is an Auckland actor and movie enthusiast