Best superhero shows: 10 great TV series, from Watchmen to Batman

Watchmen
(Image credit: HBO)

We’re living in a golden age for depictions of superheroes and other comic book stories on TV. Plenty of small screen adaptations of popular characters have been made over the years, from early Superman serials through to Smallville in the '00s, but the variety of shows we can watch today is unprecedented. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of ten of the most unusual, most interesting and most entertaining superhero shows, with most entries on this list available to stream right now. 

We’ve tried to offer a variety of experiences, from prestige cable shows, to episodic network shows and even comedies. And don't worry: we've included animated shows, too. There's no way we were going to do this list without including the legendary Batman animated series, which is arguably still the best version of the character outside of the comics. 

Watchmen

(Image credit: HBO)

Watch it on: HBO (US), Amazon Prime Video to buy (UK)

When we first heard there would be an adaptation of Watchmen, we were dubious: attempts to milk further content from Alan Moore’s magnum opus have rarely gone well. Yet HBO’s Watchmen succeeds because it feels distinct and different from the original comics. A big part of that is how heavily it focuses on the themes of race and racism, most impressively when it delivers an origin story for the first of the Watchmen universe’s vigilantes, Hooded Justice. We ultimately chose it as the best TV show of 2019

Batman: The Animated Series

Watch it on: Blu-ray (US/UK)

The best time to watch superhero antics on TV is right now, but the second best time was the early 1990s, when the incredible Batman the Animated Series was on the air. It’s hard to overstate just how influential this portrayal of Batman is: it literally created Harley Quinn. If you ever wanted to explain Batman to someone, show them the intro sequence from this show, a fantastic minimalist introduction to the character in an beautiful art deco style. The remastered Blu-ray, released a couple of years ago, is the best way to enjoy it in 2020. 

The Umbrella Academy

(Image credit: Netflix)

Watch it on: Netflix

Like Doom Patrol, The Umbrella Academy is essentially an X-Men deconstruction, but this time it is focused on the idea of kid superheroes growing up, and realizing just how much their mentor and surrogate father messed them up. Based on a 2007 comic co-created by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way, it adds a much more modern take on the idea of a team of outcasts and weirdos. Umbrella Academy season 2 is coming later this year. 

The Boys

(Image credit: Amazon)

Watch it on: Amazon Prime

The Boys is essentially about superheroes existing in the real world, who are monetized by a big corporation. They behave as appallingly as they like – until they cross the wrong victims. This is an adaptation of the Gareth Ennis-created comic of the same name, though it sheds some of the source material's excesses for the better. Karl Urban's extremely fun cockney-or-is-it-Australian Billy Butcher, who hates 'supes', as he calls them, gives this show some real laughs. But it's not just blood and swearing that makes The Boys such a great adaptation: the relationship between Starlight, the newest superhero on the scene, and Hughie, who's among Billy's anti-Supes allies, is the heart of the show. The Boys season 2 will be released this year. 

Jessica Jones

(Image credit: Marvel / Netflix)

Watch it on: Netflix

Oh the Marvel Netflix-verse, we hardly knew ye. Starting in 2015, Marvel and Netflix collaborated on a series of noirish, “street level” prestige TV adaptations based around a series of New York heroes. Optimism was high, but quality was mixed (seriously, do not watch Iron Fist). Jessica Jones, especially the stellar first series, is the pick of the bunch, cleverly mixing feminist themes into a story about a mind controlling villain (David Tennant) and a hard drinking PI (Kristen Ritter) who is still traumatized by him. The series is worth watching for Ritter’s sardonic yet deeply human performance.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

(Image credit: The CW)

Watch it on: Netflix, The CW (US), Now TV/Sky (UK)

Look, hear us out, okay? The first season of Legends of Tomorrow is not good, and you should skip it, but somewhere near the start of season 2, the show – an ensemble made of the spare characters of the Arrowverse – threw out every rule except 'have fun'. This is a show in which Vikings once conquered America because a time traveling Furby told them to. It’s a show where a psychic gorilla tried to murder Barack Obama while saying, “It will be almost an honor to kill you”. Legends operates on pure 'why the hell not?'

Doom Patrol

(Image credit: DC/Warner Bros)

Watch it on: DC Universe (US), Starzplay (UK)

Loosely based on acclaimed comics writer Grant Morrison’s run of comics about the titular team, Doom Patrol is essentially a version of the X-Men which leans hard into the “freaks and outcasts” bit. Really hard. Every character’s powers have horrible downsides, like a man in a robot body who can’t feel anything (Brendan Fraser) or a woman with stretchy powers who struggles to hold herself together (April Bowlby). Like Legends, Doom Patrol lives on the weirder, more self aware end of the superhero spectrum, but where Legends is relatively family friendly, Doom Patrol really isn’t.

Young Justice

(Image credit: DC Universe)

Watch it on: DC Universe (US), Amazon Prime to buy (UK)

Running for two seasons back in 2010, but unexpectedly resurrected last year, Young Justice depicted a huge ensemble version of the DC Universe from the perspective of its teen heroes. Co-creator Greg Weisman, who also made Gargoyles, specializes in 'kids show that is way more mature than you expect' and dutifully focuses in on human (and alien) drama and sophisticated enemy plots. The best little touch is its depiction of a Superman who kind of sucks at being a father figure, while Batman is surprisingly good at it.

The Tick

A press shot for the second season of The Tick

(Image credit: Amazon Prime Video)

Watch it on: Amazon Prime

There are lots of funny shows on this list (seriously, Legends of Tomorrow is ridiculous) but no outright parodies. Attempts to do comedy superhero shows often fall flat (remember Powerless? No one does). The Tick stands head and broad shoulders above such attempts, it’s actually been adapted three times, once as animation, twice as live action, with the most recent one, starring Peter Serafinowicz, ending last year, in which creator Ben Edlund takes a slightly darker and more serious look at the comedy character.

Legion

(Image credit: FX/Marvel)

Watch it on: Hulu (US), Amazon Prime to buy (UK)

We’ve described several shows in this list as “weird”, but most of them are weird in a wacky, goofy way, Legion is weird in a more serious, Lynchian way. It presents its narrative, the story of Professor X’s incredibly powerful, mentally ill son, in an often confusing and surreal manner. At times it is deliberately alienating. It's a “challenging” show to watch in a way no other show on this list really is. All the shows on this list are telling their stories in prose, but Legion attempts poetry.

Read more
A collage image showing pictures from X-Men 97, Squid Game season 2, and Fallout season 1
The 50 best shows of 2024: TechRadar's top TV picks of the year on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, Disney Plus, and more
Belle Gibson wearing red lipstick and smiling at the camera with a microphone in front of her in Apple Cider Vinegar.
Best Netflix shows: 54 great TV series to watch in February 2025
Michael Rabinavitch and another doctor look at something off-camera in The Pitt season 1
The best Max shows: 40 great series to stream in January 2025
Kristen Bell and Adam Brody on a couch looking at each other with a laptop in front of them
Disney Plus had two of the most-streamed shows of 2024 – here are the 3 I recommend watching on Netflix, Hulu and Prime Video
Several people clamber around a boat in the ocean while taking various measurements
The 48 best Disney Plus shows to stream in March 2025
Amelia and Jos in Vanity Fair.
The 41 best Prime Video shows to watch in March 2025
Latest in Entertainment
Trinity Rodman #2 of the Washington Spirit crosses the ball during a game between Bay FC and Washington Spirit at Audi Field on November 10, 2024 in Washington, DC.
National Women's Soccer League 2025: How to watch NWSL games live from anywhere
Irish boxer TJ Doheny receives an undercard bout, ahead of the WBO super welterweight world title fight in March, 2023
Ball vs Doheny live stream: how to watch the boxing from anywhere now, full undercard, start time, weigh-in results
Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United during the Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg match in February 2025
Liverpool vs Newcastle live stream: how to watch Carabao Cup final 2025 online, team news
The Russo brothers posing for a photograph and Herman carrying a Volkswagen camper van in The Electric State
'We're optimists': AI enthusiasts Joe and Anthony Russo defend its use in movies and TV shows, but admit there are 'very real dangers' around its application
Lando Norris driving around a bend during practice for the 2025 Australian Grand Prix
Australian Grand Prix 2025: How to watch this season’s first F1 race online from anywhere
A collage of Tom Holland's unmasked Spider-Man and Sadie Sink's Max in Stranger Things season 4
Marvel reportedly casts Stranger Things star Sadie Sink in Spider-Man 4, but I don't want her to tackle the roles she's rumored to play
Latest in Features
Disappointed by The Electric State? Here's 4 reasons you should watch Tales From the Loop on Prime Video
A computer file surrounded by red laser beams
Cover your tracks: the risk of sending unencrypted files
Close up of PS5 DualSense controller leaning on a PS5
5 reasons your PS5 needs a VPN
Anora sitting on Ivan's lap in a casino in her self-titled film, one of the best new Hulu movies in March 2025
5 new Prime Video movies with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes I think you should stream in March
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
With discounts of up to 95%, these are the biggest deals I've managed to find in the Steam Spring Sale
The cast of The Parenting
The Parenting is Max's #1 most-watched movie but it has frightening reviews – here are 3 better horror films with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes