Only one site can stand toe-to-toe with Netflix when it comes to binge-watching, and that site is YouTube. Need a pick-me-up? Want to laugh away your stress? Or just have some time to kill? Then YouTube may be the remedy.
These popular channels all have one thing in common: entertainment value. Some of them may not be your cup of tea, but we guarantee that you’ll end up loving at least one of them — maybe even several of them! Give them all at least one try. You won’t be disappointed.
Note: Just be careful that you don’t let the binge-watching get out of hand. YouTube can quickly become a massive time-waster if you let your guard down!
Epic Rap Battles of History
As far as binge-worthy entertainment goes, few channels are as consistent in both quality and delivery as Epic Rap Battles of History. Every single episode — each of which is only a few minutes long — is fresh, fun, and full of laugh-inducing lines.
For those who don’t know, Epic Rap Battles of History takes famous figures throughout history (or pop culture) and pits them against each other for a few rounds of verbal sparring. The lyrics are written from the point-of-view of each character, which is what makes it so entertaining.
Still confused? Just watch the Picasso vs. Bob Ross battle in the video above. If you love this — and millions of people do — then you should check out our list of the funniest Epic Rap Battles of History (as well as our updated list of five more).
5 Second Films
These films truly live up to their gimmick. Each video is nine seconds long (four seconds of intro, five seconds of content) and they’re all dense enough to pack a whopping punchline. Some are better than others, of course, but they’re all pretty good.
The thing about these 5 Second Films is that they’re individually so short that none of them are entirely satisfying — and that fuels the need to binge-watch several of them at once. It’s way too easy to lose half an hour with these.
Not sure where to begin? Start with our compilation of the funniest 5 Second Films to watch.
Zero Punctuation
If you’re a fan of PC games, then you can’t miss Zero Punctuation. A lot of video game reviewers have popped up on YouTube over the past few years, but Zero Punctuation was a pioneer — and still reigns as one of the funniest and most relevant of them all.
Zero Punctuation’s claim to fame is two-fold: its characteristic talk-without-taking-any-breaths approach to communication, and the snarky way in which the narrator criticizes various aspects of the games under review. It’s as entertaining as it is informative, which is why so many people love Zero Punctuation reviews.
Looking for a taste of what’s in store? Start with Zero Punctuation’s greatest hits. Each review is only a few minutes long, so the series is seriously worthy of being binged on.
Cinemassacre
Cinemassacre is actually the production channel for a handful of different gaming-related YouTube series — the most popular is the Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN), but the channel also has movie reviews and board game antics.
Like Zero Punctuation, the AVGN series is one about video game reviews, but with a twist: not only does it focus on games that are absolutely terrible, it ramps up the, “Oh my God, this pisses me off” factor as each review goes on.
It’s certainly not for everybody but the show has plenty of fans, and if you find that you do enjoy it, then there are over 100 episodes for you to binge on. With each episode being around 10 to 20 minutes, that’s a lot of potential binge-watching in your future.
Extra Credits
It’s one thing to play video games, but another thing to understand video games. There’s a lot that goes into the design of a game, and the Extra Credits channel tries to break things down in a way that the average gamer can grasp. But to be clear, Extra Credits isn’t always right.
Experienced game designers know that everything they say is overly simplified, that game design is a complicated field that often lacks clear-cut answers. However, as lightweight entertainment for gamers and amateur game developers, Extra Credits fits the bill well.
CinemaSins
“No movie is without sin. We exist mostly just to remind you of that.” It’s a simple concept, but when executed as brilliantly as this channel manages it, you get a wonderfully entertaining channel that ends up teaching you about characters, narratives, and tropes.
In each episode, CinemaSins takes a particular film and pokes fun at its various elements. Sometimes it deals with story inconsistencies, other times it emphasizes continuity goofs. Mostly it just makes wry commentary — but in all things, it’s lighthearted and silly.
Episodes are anywhere from three to 20 minutes long, so no matter how much time you have to kill, there’s something that will fit your schedule.
Songify This
Schmoyoho’s Songify This channel played a big part in establishing some well-known memes in the early 2010s. It’s possible that the world may have never known about the Double Rainbow Guy, Antoine Dodson, or Backin’ Up if it wasn’t for Schmoyoho.
Long story short, these guys take semi-popular Web clips and turn them into songs using auto-tune technology — and many of these songs are actually quite catchy (and, of course, silly).
Bad Lip Reading
Take any clip of someone talking — whether from a film, a TV show, or even a press conference — and dub it over with your own words, but in a way that still matches the lip movements of the clip. It’s harder to do than you might think, but when done well, can be hilarious.
Therefore, due to the difficulty, Bad Lip Reading videos can be hit or miss. However, if there’s a Bad Lip Reading for a movie or show you’ve already seen, there’s a good chance that it’ll be funny (because you know the original context). Regardless, these are great for binging.
Want to start with some good ones? Here are the best Bad Lip Reading videos that we’ve seen.
Slow Mo Guys
Explosive sequences are already exciting as they are, but when you slow them down by several orders of magnitude, they become exponentially more interesting. Don’t believe me? The Slow Mo Guys do nothing but slow down clips and have almost 7 million subscribers.
I know it sounds silly, but as the above video shows, it’s surprisingly entertaining. You think you’d get sick of it in just a few minutes or so, but it somehow sucks you in. Every new slow-motion video is yet another awe-inspiring bit of footage.
At the very least, check out these unbelievable super-slow-motion videos. Even if the Slow Mo Guys channel doesn’t blow your mind, these videos definitely will.
Which Channels Do You Binge-Watch?
There are hundreds of other popular YouTube channels that probably deserve a spot on this list, including those run by well-known creators such as Nigahiga, PewDiePie, and Freddie Wong.
Unfortunately, we had to pick the best of the best, or you would have got bored and stopped reading a while ago. However, we welcome you adding to this list with your own suggestions of popular YouTube channels worth binge-watching.
So tell us, which entertainment YouTube channels do you think are best for binge-watching? Any genre, any size — just let us know all about them in the comments below!
Image Credits:Watching Movie At Home by Andrey_Popov via Shutterstock