In the days before streaming took off, Showtime was one of the most popular channels for scripted shows that were too edgy for broadcast TV. Now that we live in the era of “peak TV,” though, does Showtime still stand out? In this Showtime review, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Showtime in 2022.
Take note that this blog post is relevant to the version of Showtime in the United States. Pricing, shows available, & other details can vary by region.
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Showtime Basics, Showtime Review 2022
Like other TV outlets that started out as premium cable channels, there are a few different ways to get Showtime. Showtime offers content as both a cable channel and a standalone streaming service.
While this review will focus on the streaming service, the chart below breaks down each way to get Showtime:
| Ways to Get Showtime | Details |
|---|---|
| #1: Premium channel with cable or satellite | Watch live on air or through Showtime Anytime app |
| #2: Premium add-on to streaming services like YouTube TV, Hulu, or The Roku Channel | Watch within same app as your other streaming services |
| #3: Standalone streaming service | Watch live TV or on-demand content in the Showtime app & at Showtime.com |
Showtime vs Showtime Anytime
-The Showtime Anytime app is for cable, satellite, and live TV subscribers only.
-The app that just says “Showtime” is for the standalone subscription service.
Otherwise the content in them is virtually the same.
What's on Showtime?
Original TV Series
The biggest reason to get Showtime is their excellent lineup of original shows. Not since the era of Weeds and Dexter in the late 2000s have they produced so many buzzed-about programs.
In late 2021, Showtime brought back Dexter in the reboot series, Dexter: New Blood. They also released the popular thriller series Yellowjackets. It's a slow-burn mystery about a girl's soccer team that must survive in the wilderness after a plane crash.
In the months that followed, big releases on the platform have included Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber, The First Lady, and The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Returning favorites on Showtime include Billions, The Chi, and the reboot of The L Word, subtitled “Generation Q.”
Upcoming shows include a comedy series by Nathan Fielder (known for Comedy Central's Nathan for You). There's also TV adaptations based on American Gigolo, Let the Right One In, and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
As for their back library, it includes many fan favorites. You'll find Homeland, Californication, Episodes, Queer as Folk, Ray Donavan, Shameless, and United States of Tara.
Oddly enough, there are some notable omissions from their past lineups such as Weeds, Nurse Jackie, and The Big C. You'll still find plenty to watch without them, though.
Current highlights:
- Yellowjackets
- Dexter & Dexter: New Blood
- Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber
- The Man Who Fell to Earth
- The First Lady
- I Love That For You
- The Chi
- Billions
Movies
The selection of movies on Showtime is a bit more limited. You won't find the same type of selection here as on HBO Max or even Paramount+. Most of the films are smaller art-house fare, particularly from the studio A24.
With that said, if indie films are what you're after Showtime is a good place to find them. Several A24 movies are exclusive to Showtime, such as After Yang and The Green Knight.
When it comes to Kids & Family movies, they are few and far between. Among the few that are included are the Spy Kids movies and Mirror, Mirror.
- Zola
- Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
- C'mon C'mon
- Ghost
- Minari
- The Wolf of Wall Street
- Up in the Air
- Moonlight
Sports
Boxing and MMA matches are broadcast on Showtime. These fights stream both live and on-demand. There's also some Pay-Per-View matches that need a separate payment to watch live.
Besides that, there's various sports-related series and documentaries, mostly about boxing.
Talk Shows, News, & Politics
Comedian Ziwe Fumudoh brings a fresh take to the talk show format in her self-titled late-night show. As do Desus & Mero, whose talk show is on its fourth season.
The Emmy-award winning documentary series Vice brings a hard look at tough subjects. It came over from HBO in its seventh season. Meanwhile, The Circus presents a weekly look at our crazed political system.
After Hours
One surprising section on the Showtime app is their “After Hours” tab. Most of its selection is limited to documentaries with adult subject matter. Yet there are also a few soft-core adult films.
Premium cable networks once had a reputation for this type of content. Competitors like HBO have since moved away from it, though. That makes seeing this on a modern streaming app feel like a relic from the 90's.
It wouldn't be surprising if this gets put on the chopping block eventually (…perhaps for the best?).
Live TV
If you want to watch Showtime live, you have two options in the app. They are Showtime East & Showtime West (same content, different time zones).
Original series premiere on-demand the morning of their “live” air date. Thus you can actually watch them earlier than the live feed.
Sports matches, on the other hand, go on-demand 24-36 hours later. That seems to be the only real reason to watch the live channel.
How Much is Showtime?
Standard Memberships
- A standard Showtime subscription is $10.99/month or $99/year, after the 30 day free trial.
Savings Alert!
Showtime sometimes offers discounts. Check out current offers by clicking here or go to our Deals page.
The Showtime Bundle
Showtime offers a bundle subscription together with Paramount+. With this subscription, you'll save up to 28% off.
- Paramount+ Essential Plan (includes ads) with Showtime is $11.99/month or $119.99/year after a seven day free trial. Sign up for this bundle here.
- Paramount+ Premium Plan (removes ads & gives you live local CBS station) with Showtime, is $14.99/month or $149.99/year, after a seven day free trial. Sign up for this bundle here.
For more on Paramount+, check out the Shall I Stream It review here.
Showtime App Review
Fast Facts:
| Streaming quality | Maxes out in 4K (1440p) or HD (1080p) |
| Simultaneous streams | 3 |
| Offline downloads | Yes ✅ |
| Live Channels? | Yes ✅ |
| Create Separate Profiles | No 🚫 |
| Commercials | No 🚫 |
| Parental Controls | Yes ✅ |
Cycling through the menus in the Showtime app doesn't seem quite as polished as some other streaming apps. Despite this, I didn't have any issues with video playback on either my Apple TV 4K or Amazon Firestick.
One thing to note- the Showtime app doesn't have algorithms that give you recommended content. To find movies and shows to watch you will need to click through the lists yourself.
It may come down to personal preference, but I actually like this over something like Netflix's flawed “machine learning.” Discoveries are organic, like digging through a bin of DVDs.
You also have the ability to create a watchlist of titles to view at a later time.
One frustrating element, though, is there is no way to create separate profiles for different users. This means everyone must share the same watchlist. And if you want to block content with parental controls? There's no separate profile for kids so you must manually revert the controls back when you want to watch Dexter later.
Still, the Showtime app makes for a simple, streamlined experience to view their TV shows and movies.
Showtime is available on the following devices:
- Amazon Fire TV & Fire TV Stick, Fire tablets 2014 & later
- Android- LeEco TV, NVIDIA SHIELD, SONY BRAVIA, Hisense TV, Xiaomi MiBox
- Android phones & tablets (7.0+)
- Apple TV 3rd gen & up
- Apple iPhone 4S or higher (iOS 13+), iPod Touch 5 & up (iOS13+), iPad 2 & up (iOS 13+), iPad Mini (iOS 13+)
- Chromecast
- Cox Contour Stream Player
- Facebook Portal TV
- LG Smart TV (w/ webOS)
- Mac computers w/ MacOSX 10.10 or later
- Oculus- Go, Quest
- Playstation 4 & 5
- Roku- Streaming devices 2nd gen & up, Roku TV
- Samsung Smart TVs
- Windows computers w/ Windows 10 or later
- Xbox One/ Xbox Series X/S
- Xfinity Flex
Showtime Review 2022 Final Thoughts
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| -Compelling lineup of Originals -No commercials -Bundle option w/ Paramount+ -Generous trial period -Boxing & MMA fighting for sports fans | -Limited Family/Kids section -No option for profiles -After Hours section could be off-putting for some -Missing some older Showtime series |
Showtime has spent much of the past year releasing quality show after quality show. In doing so, they have re-positioned themselves as a hub for some of the most compelling television out there.
This may very well be the Showtime renaissance. The Showtime-aissance.
With their 30 day trial period, frequent promotions, and bundle option you’ll be able to bingewatch to your heart's content before you ever have to pay full price.
Click the button below and try it out for 30 days free!
