15 shows to watch instead of Game of Thrones

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Not sure what all the Game of Thrones hype is about? Then tune into these 15 other shows you can watch instead of Game of Thrones season 8.

Everyone is talking about the final season of Game of Thrones. Well, almost everyone. For those TV fans who aren’t watching—maybe you don’t get HBO or it’s just not your kind of series—there are plenty of other shows to hold your interest over the next two months.

There are more TV shows available now than ever before, from other premium cable programs to great broadcast shows and new series coming on streaming services. There are other shows with historical themes, other programs full of drama, and other series that are purely entertaining and just as worth talking about as who’s going to end up on the Iron Throne.

Here’s a look at more than a dozen other shows worth watching, and why you should be tuning into them instead of Game of Thrones.

Babou Ceesay as Pilgrim, Thom Ashley as Eli – Into the Badlands _ Season 3, Episode 14 – Photo Credit: Aidan Monaghan/AMC /

15. Into the Badlands

Viewers who want another drama set in a different period of time with plenty of action will want to check out the third (and final) season of Into the Badlands. AMC‘s series takes place hundreds of years after an apocalypse. The title refers to a dangerous territory that used to be the state of Oklahoma, where a feudal society has sprung up, making the show an intriguing mix of grim future with shades of the past.

In keeping with post-apocalyptic series, characters come and go through the show, which is led by Chinese film star Daniel Wu (who also serves as an executive producer). The current cast includes Orla Brady (Mistresses), Nick Frost, and Lorraine Toussaint (Law & Order, The Village). If you want to go back and watch the previous two seasons, you’ll see other stars like Oliver Stark (9-1-1) and Marton Csokas.

Into the Badlands has a rich mythology like Game of Thrones, and it’s just as beautifully filmed, too. There’s some amazing martial arts action that happens in every episode, unlike anything else that’s currently available on TV, and the characters are unique and just the right amount of mysterious (Sarah Beecham as The Widow is a particular standout). The show has flown under the radar since there’s really nothing else to compare it to, but that’s what makes it worth watching.

New episodes air Mondays at 10 p.m. on AMC.