TV LAND The Emmys have announced its nominations for the best shows on TV in the past year, and there are some serious contenders in every category.
Between all the nominations, that's a lot of hours to dedicate if you want to catch up and are behind on your TV watching. But if you want to stay in the conversation, you are in luck. This years leader in most nominations per network is Netflix, so you can watch some of the highlights right now if you're a subscriber.
Check out some of these now-streaming episodes of (potential) award-winning TV shows before the Emmys on Sept. 17.
"Black-ish": "Juneteenth"
Season 4, Episode 1
The fourth season of the popular show about a suburban family (who happens to be black) was awarded five nominations at this years Emmys.
Its standout episode features guest star Aloe Blacc and an attempt to write a catchy song celebrating the emancipation of slaves in order to make the holiday "Juneteenth" more commercial.
Stream on: Hulu
"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt": "Kimmy and the Beest!"
Season 4, Episode 5
The fourth season of the goofy show about a kidnapping victim turned fish-out-of-water adult in modern day New York City was nominated for Best Comedy.
Tituss Burgess, arguably the best part of the show, was nominated for his acting chops. If you don't have time to binge the whole season, watch the episode that earned him the nod, according to Gold Derby. The episode features Titus (his characters name as well as his real name) in the role of director, which he handles hilariously badly.
Stream on: Netflix
"Stranger Things": "Dig Dug"
Season 2, Episode 5
With multiple nominations, the '80s sci-fi hit is proving it is more than just an audience favorite.
The season two episode, "Will the Wise," is an excellent showing for all the main storylines, but the best of the bunch is the following episode, "Dig Dug."
When season two hero Steve Harrington finds himself pulled into being a babysitter with a baseball bat, it turns out hes quite good at it. Cue a years worth of memes and T-shirts.
Stream on: Netflix
"This Is Us": "The Car"
Season 2, Episode 15
Eight nominations were bestowed upon the golden child of family dramas the multi-generational, timeline-jumping "This Is Us."
The show has a few standout episodes from its second season, but The Car takes the cake. After the shocking and heartbreaking Superbowl episode, one character (and the actor who plays him) shine bright in the following episode through a series of flashbacks that show just how loved he is.
Stream on: Hulu
"The Good Place": "Team Cockroach"
Season 2, Episode 3
This show is fantastic, and the best episode of any show with an ensemble cast is the one where all the characters finally become a team, which is exactly what happens in this aptly named episode.
The humans come together with their immortal torturer and the android programmed to help them to escape the Bad Place once and for all. Hands in "Team Cockroach" on three!
Stream on: Netflix
"Brooklyn Nine-Nine": "The Box"
Season 5, Episode 14
This incredibly simple and hilarious episode of the canceled-then-saved workplace comedy earned Sterling K. Brown a guest star nomination for his role as an alleged killer who detective Jake Perralta (Andy Samberg) is trying to catch in a lie.
Their back-and-forth is tight as a tennis match and although its a bottle episode, theres nothing stuffy or claustrophobic about it.
Stream on: Hulu
Between all the nominations, that's a lot of hours to dedicate if you want to catch up and are behind on your TV watching. But if you want to stay in the conversation, you are in luck. This years leader in most nominations per network is Netflix, so you can watch some of the highlights right now if you're a subscriber.
Check out some of these now-streaming episodes of (potential) award-winning TV shows before the Emmys on Sept. 17.
"Black-ish": "Juneteenth"
Season 4, Episode 1
The fourth season of the popular show about a suburban family (who happens to be black) was awarded five nominations at this years Emmys.
Its standout episode features guest star Aloe Blacc and an attempt to write a catchy song celebrating the emancipation of slaves in order to make the holiday "Juneteenth" more commercial.
Stream on: Hulu
"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt": "Kimmy and the Beest!"
Season 4, Episode 5
The fourth season of the goofy show about a kidnapping victim turned fish-out-of-water adult in modern day New York City was nominated for Best Comedy.
Tituss Burgess, arguably the best part of the show, was nominated for his acting chops. If you don't have time to binge the whole season, watch the episode that earned him the nod, according to Gold Derby. The episode features Titus (his characters name as well as his real name) in the role of director, which he handles hilariously badly.
Stream on: Netflix
"Stranger Things": "Dig Dug"
Season 2, Episode 5
With multiple nominations, the '80s sci-fi hit is proving it is more than just an audience favorite.
The season two episode, "Will the Wise," is an excellent showing for all the main storylines, but the best of the bunch is the following episode, "Dig Dug."
When season two hero Steve Harrington finds himself pulled into being a babysitter with a baseball bat, it turns out hes quite good at it. Cue a years worth of memes and T-shirts.
Stream on: Netflix
"This Is Us": "The Car"
Season 2, Episode 15
Eight nominations were bestowed upon the golden child of family dramas the multi-generational, timeline-jumping "This Is Us."
The show has a few standout episodes from its second season, but The Car takes the cake. After the shocking and heartbreaking Superbowl episode, one character (and the actor who plays him) shine bright in the following episode through a series of flashbacks that show just how loved he is.
Stream on: Hulu
"The Good Place": "Team Cockroach"
Season 2, Episode 3
This show is fantastic, and the best episode of any show with an ensemble cast is the one where all the characters finally become a team, which is exactly what happens in this aptly named episode.
The humans come together with their immortal torturer and the android programmed to help them to escape the Bad Place once and for all. Hands in "Team Cockroach" on three!
Stream on: Netflix
"Brooklyn Nine-Nine": "The Box"
Season 5, Episode 14
This incredibly simple and hilarious episode of the canceled-then-saved workplace comedy earned Sterling K. Brown a guest star nomination for his role as an alleged killer who detective Jake Perralta (Andy Samberg) is trying to catch in a lie.
Their back-and-forth is tight as a tennis match and although its a bottle episode, theres nothing stuffy or claustrophobic about it.
Stream on: Hulu
