Watchworthy

97 voters

Current TV Shows You Totally Lie About Watching To Sound Smart

Updated May 11, 2020 800 votes 97 voters 1.6k views24 items

List RulesVote up the shows you tell people you're watching, despite never having seen an episode.

While there's no accounting for taste, some people will judge you harshly for not watching the most pretentious current TV shows. Some find things like Twin Peaks downright boring. Some current shows you watch to seem smart have massive casts, making them hard to follow. Other current pretentious TV series tackle social issues in a manner some may find heavy handed. While these current TV shows you say you watch may rake in the awards, maybe they're just not for you.

What shows will you find on this list of TV shows you lie about watching? The Walking Dead has a massive cast of characters. Fom Jon Snow to Tyrion Lannister to Daenerys Targaryen, all these competing storylines may be hard to follow and leave you yawning. With everyone quoting Rick and Morty, non-watchers have to laugh along without getting the joke. Other good current TV series you lie about watching may include Archer, Stranger Things, and Dateline (or any news-type show, for that matter).

What's the worst current TV shows you feel compelled to say you watch? Give these examples a thumbs up and please add any cool TV shows you don't really like we may have missed.

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1
Black Mirror
Daniel Kaluuya, Toby Kebbell
42
17
Premiered: December 4, 2011
Genres: Science fiction, Drama, Anthology
Black Mirror (Netflix, 2011) is a British television anthology series created by Charlie Brooker. The show features speculative fiction with dark and sometimes satirical themes that examine modern... more
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2
Fargo
Chris Rock, Glynn Turman
29
11
Premiered: April 15, 2014
Genres: Crime drama
Fargo (FX, 2014) is an American black comedy drama anthology television series created by Noah Hawley, and inspired by the 1996 film. Various chronicles of deception, intrigue and wrong doings in and... more
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3
The Walking Dead
Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride
24
14
Premiered: October 31, 2010
Genres: Drama, Horror, Science fiction
The Walking Dead (AMC, 2010) is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series developed by Frank Darabont, based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard.... more
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4
20/20
Elizabeth Vargas, David Muir
23
15
Premiered: June 6, 1978
Genres: Newsmagazine
20/20 is an American television newsmagazine that has been broadcast on ABC since June 6, 1978. Created by ABC News executive Roone Arledge, the show was designed similarly to CBS's 60 Minutes in... more
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5
The Crown
Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies
26
20
Premiered: November 4, 2016
Genres: Drama
The Crown (Netflix, 2016) is an American-British biographical drama series created by Peter Morgan. A young Queen Elizabeth II's (Claire Foy) political rivalries and romances guide the events that... more
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6
The Handmaid's Tale
Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes
17
10
Premiered: April 26, 2017
Genres: Drama, Science fiction
The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu, 2017) is an American web television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood. In a dystopian future where women are brutally subjugated,... more
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7
The X-Files
Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny
17
11
Premiered: September 10, 1993
Genres: Drama, Science fiction
The X-Files (Fox, 1993) is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigating... more
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8
Archer
H. Jon Benjamin, Judy Greer
16
13
Premiered: January 14, 2010
Genres: Comedy, Action, Animated
Archer (FXX, 2009) is an American adult animated black spy sitcom created by Adam Reed. The adventures and mishaps of secret agent Sterling Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) and his colleagues, who are... more
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9
The Daily Show
Jon Stewart, Trevor Noah
15
16
Premiered: July 22, 1996
Genres: Talk, Comedy
The Daily Show (Comedy Central, 1999) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program. Described as a fake news program, the show draws its comedy and satire from recent news... more
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10
Stranger Things
Winona Ryder, David Harbour
23
26
Premiered: July 15, 2016
Genres: Drama, Science fiction, Horror, Thriller
Stranger Things (Netflix, 2016) is an American science fiction-horror web television series created by The Duffer Brothers. When a young boy (Noah Schnapp) disappears, his mother (Winona Ryder), a... more
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11
American Horror Story
Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton
12
14
Premiered: October 5, 2011
Genres: Horror, Drama, Thriller
American Horror Story (FX, 2011) is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. An anthology series centering on different characters and locations,... more
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12
Saturday Night Live
Kenan Thompson, Kate McKinnon
10
12
Premiered: October 11, 1975
Genres: Comedy
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 1975), also known as SNL, is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol. Hosted by a... more
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13
Better Call Saul
Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks
9
11
Premiered: February 8, 2015
Genres: Drama
Better Call Saul (AMC, 2015) is an American television drama series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, and a spinoff prequel of Breaking Bad. The trials and tribulations of kind hearted... more
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14
Jeopardy!
Mike Richards, Alex Trebek
19
26
Premiered: September 10, 1984
Genres: Game show
Jeopardy! is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show features a quiz competition in which contestants are presented with general knowledge clues in the form of answers, and... more
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15
Rick and Morty
Justin Roiland, Chris Parnell
10
14
Premiered: December 2, 2013
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Animated
Rick and Morty (Adult Swim, 2013) is an American adult animated science-fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon. Cynical mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his fretful, easily influenced... more
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16
Dateline NBC
Lester Holt, Ann Curry
6
9
Premiered: March 31, 1992
Genres: Newsmagazine, Mystery, Crime
Dateline NBC, or simply Dateline, is a weekly American television newsmagazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship news magazine, but now focuses... more
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17
Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Carl Sagan
16
24
Premiered: September 28, 1980
Genres: Docudrama, Science
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is a 2014 American science documentary television series. The show is a follow-up to the 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which was presented by Carl... more
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18
Narcos
Pedro Pascal, Arturo Castro
7
11
Premiered: August 28, 2015
Genres: Crime drama
Narcos (Netflix, 2015) is an American drama web-television series created by Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro. A chronicled look at the exploits of Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar... more
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19
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Cheryl Hines, Jeff Garlin
7
12
Premiered: October 15, 2000
Genres: Comedy
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American improvised comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. It has aired 80 episodes over eight seasons, the last of... more
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20
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
John Oliver, David Kaye
11
24
Premiered: 2014
Genres: Talk, Comedy
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO, 2014) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show takes a satirical look at... more
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21
Transparent
Jeffrey Tambor, Gaby Hoffmann
7
19
Premiered: September 26, 2014
Genres: Sitcom
Transparent (Amazon Video, 2014) is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jill Soloway. A Los Angeles family discovers that the person they knew as their father, Mort (Jeffrey... more
22
Legion
Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza
10
24
Premiered: February 8, 2017
Genres: Adventure, Science fiction, Drama
Legion (FX, 2017) is an American cable television series created by Noah Hawley, based on the Marvel Comics character. Diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age, David Haller (Dan Stevens)... more
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23
Twin Peaks
Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean
9
27
Premiered: April 8, 1990
Genres: Crime drama, Mystery
Twin Peaks (ABC, 1990) is an American mystery horror drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch and, despite being canceled after two seasons, sparked a cult following that... more
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24
The Man in the High Castle
Alexa Davalos, Joel de la Fuente
7
26
Premiered: January 15, 2015
Genres: Historical drama, Science fiction
The Man in the High Castle (Amazon Video, 2015) is an American dystopian alternative history television series created by Frank Spotnitz, based on the novel by Philip K. Dick. In an alternative... more
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