Over the years, Mads Mikkelsen has gone from one of the most promising European stars to someone that is known for giving outstanding villainous performances in movies like Casino Royale, Doctor Strange, and most recently, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, making a name for himself as one of the best bad guy actors on the planet. But Mikkelsen’s great body of work isn’t solely found on the big screen. In fact, he was once the lead of the critically acclaimed TV show, Hannibal.
If you missed the series that followed the exquisitely evil Dr. Hannibal Lecter the first time around, fear not as the highly decorated series is just one of the TV shows streaming for free on Plex. And in honor of CinemaBlend’s ongoing partnership with the streaming service, we’re going to break down some of the best options available to you right now!
Hannibal
Airing on NBC from 2013 to 2015, Hannibal followed FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), an incredibly intelligent psychologist who attempted to get in the mind of serial killers by imagining himself committing the crimes in hopes it would help him eventually hunt and capture them before claiming more victims. Brought in to help the mentally-unstable profiler was Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen), who, despite being a brilliant psychiatrist, had his own issues and criminal urges, aka a taste for human flesh.
All three seasons of the Primetime Emmy Award-nominated psychological horror series are available to stream on Plex, which should make for the perfect binge show, especially if you have a nice Chianti to go with it.
The Fall
The British crime drama The Fall, which was on the air from 2013 to 2016, focused on the cat-and-mouse game played by sadistic serial killer Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan) and determined detective Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) on the streets and dark alleyways of the Northern Ireland city of Belfast. But the show, like the investigation at the center of its plot, was far more complicated than originally expected and focused on a man who was also a family man in addition to being a methodical serial killer.
All three seasons, which amounts to 17 episodes, of The Fall are currently available to stream for free on Plex.
21 Jump Street
Before it was turned into an incredibly funny buddy cop movie starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, 21 Jump Street was a successful crime series that ran from 1987 to 1991 on Fox and then later syndication. Much like the movies that would follow, this iconic ‘80s show followed a group of police officers, including Thomas Hanson (Johnny Depp), as they went undercover at various high schools to gather intel on everything from drug trafficking to abuse.
All five seasons (103 episodes in total) of 21 Jump Street are available right now on Plex.
Stream 21 Jump Street on Plex.
Grounded For Life
Airing on Fox and later The WB from 2001 to 2005, the sitcom Grounded for Life centered on Sean (Donal Logue) and Claudia Finnerty (Megyn Price), as they raise their three children in their Staten Island working class neighborhood while also trying to remain youthful and not let go of their wild ways. The series, which offered a unique storytelling technique where most of the events happened in flashbacks, also featured a cast that included Walt Finnerty and Kevin Corrigan.
All five seasons of the criminally underrated Grounded for Life are streaming for free right now on Plex, and are well worth the watch.
Stream Grounded for Life on Plex.
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
Over the course of the show’s nine-season run on the Travel Channel, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations went with the late celebrity chef, author, and free spirit as he wined and dined at locations around the world, and saw him dive head-first into the history and culture and iconic culinary dishes of each. From artistic black-and-white episodes in Rome filmed to honor the greats of Italian cinema to the low country of South Carolina, he did it all.
Although not every episode of the series is available to stream on Plex, you can check out seasons 5 through 8 for free, which should be more than enough to give a taste of the show’s greatness.
Stream Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on Plex.
Unsolved Mysteries
Now in its third iteration the long-running documentary series Unsolved Mysteries has dedicated nearly 600 episodes to various deadly encounters with dangerous criminals, supposed alien abductions, and run-ins with the supernatural. It is hard to find someone who hasn’t watched the show, isn’t familiar with it, or has never heard of the original host Robert Stack, who passed away in 2003.
Plex offers the first 12 seasons of the original show, aka the Robert Stack years, in all their glory. This amounts to more than 400 episodes detailing heinous cold cases and otherworldly tales that still terrify and mystify audiences decades later.
Stream Unsolved Mysteries on Plex.
Taboo
Released in 2017, the BBC One/FX historical drama series Taboo followed James Keziah Delaney (Tom Hardy), a mysterious man who returns to the early 19th-century London to attend his father’s funeral after spending the past decade-plus exploring the African continent. A major hit with audiences and critics alike, Taboo was quickly picked up for a second season following the conclusion of its first run. However, the next chapter never materialized.
In the event Taboo does return at some point in the future, now’s a good time to give the first (and for now, only) season a spin on Plex.
NewsRadio
From 1995 to 1999, NewsRadio welcomed NBC viewers into the wild and crazy world of the fictional radio station WNYX, aka New York City’s number-two news and talk destination on the AM airwaves. The fast-paced and witty cast, which included Dave Foley, Stephen Root, Phil Hartman, Maura Tierney, and Joe Rogan, found themselves in all kinds of situations and misadventures while bringing the news to the people.
If you want to catch a glimpse at one of the best sitcoms set at a radio station, you can watch the third and fourth seasons of NewsRadio on Plex.
Midsomer Murders
Perfect for fans of classic mystery shows, the British crime drama series Midsomer Murders, which is based on Caroline Graham’s Chief Inspector Barnaby, has spent more than 120 episodes following various detectives (first John Nettles’ DCI Tom Barnaby and then Neil Dudgeon’s DCI John Barnaby) as they attempt to solve homicide cases throughout an English county.
You can currently watch ten seasons of Midsomer Murders on Plex, which should be enough to give you a taste of this iconic British crime procedural.
Stream Midsomer Murders on Plex.
Police Story
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the crime anthology series Police Story spent six seasons with the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department as they got to the bottom of various crimes in the City of Angels.
Although the entire series isn’t available on Plex, you can watch three of the early seasons in their entirety, meaning you have 66 episodes at your fingertips.
Kitchen Nightmares
One of the most well-known food-centric reality shows in the history of TV, Kitchen Nightmares spent seven seasons following celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay as he did everything in his ability to save failing restaurants from being shut down, whether it meant revamping their menus, staff, or even management to get the job done.
You can currently watch the first six seasons of Ramsay cursing his way through dining rooms and kitchens of restaurants on Kitchen Nightmares on Plex.
Stream Kitchen Nightmares on Plex.
The Spoils Of Babylon
The 2014 comedy miniseries The Spoils of Babylon told the story of way-too-close adopted siblings Devon Morehouse (Tobey Maguire) and Cynthia Morehouse (Kristen Wiig) as they navigated life, love, war, success, failure, and just about everything else that came their way. Each of the show’s six episodes were bookended by comments by Eric Jonrosh (Will Ferrell), the author, producer, and director of the fictional series on which the series is based, with each entry getting more bizarre.
If you want to experience this off-the-wall comedy in all its glory, you can do so on Plex.
Stream The Spoils of Babylon on Plex.
Sanctuary
The Canadian sci-fi fantasy series Sanctuary spent four seasons telling the story of Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping), an extraordinarily talented medical researcher who dedicated her life to providing “abnormal” humans and animals refuge from a world that both feared and didn’t understand them.
Every episode of Sanctuary is available for free on Plex right now.
Not only are all of these TV shows streaming for free on Plex right now, there are scores of movies just waiting to be enjoyed as well.
On Plex, you can enjoy 50,000+ on demand titles plus over 250 channels of Live TV. Free and easy to use, the Plex app can find any movie or show you search for, no matter where it lives. The streaming universe is at your command – and you don’t have to lift a finger (well, maybe just to use the remote).
