The best TV shows on Netflix to curl up with this winter

(airs Sun at 9pm on PBS)
After what Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess might describe as an unsuitably long wait, this month America’s Abbeyheads are finally getting the chance to sink their talons into the third series of Julian Fellowes’s beloved historical soap opera. If you have yet to be introduced to the aristocratic Crawley family, their amazing costumes, and their retinue of servants both virtuous and conniving, now is the time to get hooked. Seasons available: 1

(airs Fri at 10pm on IFC)
Together, SNL’s Fred Armisen and Wild Flag’s Carrie Brownstein have turned hipster satire into a fine art. They’ve made us rethink the ways we obsess about cocktails, music festivals and artisanal everything, and forever redefined the word cacao. The third season hit the tube earlier this month, but you can’t really move forward until you’ve watched last year’s epic brunch episode. Seasons available: 1, 2

(airs Thu at 8pm on NBC)
You’ve come a long way, Liz Lemon. After seven years, Tina Fey’s absurdist backstage comedy is coming to a close on Jan 31. Follow the TGS crew on the winding road to personal and professional fulfillment via silly executions of terrible ideas. There are more than 100 episodes to get you through those cold nights when, as Liz would say, everything’s the worst. Seasons available: 1–6

(airs Thu at 9pm on NBC)
You know who we really miss? Michael Scott. Steve Carell’s painfully awkward but strangely lovable boss was a big reason why, in its heyday, this workplace sitcom was one of the best shows out there. Before the 200th and final episode airs May 9, flip back to pre-shark-jump Dunder Mifflin. You think those crazy Jim and Pam kids will ever make it work?
Seasons available: 1–8

(airs Thu at 10pm on FX starting Thu 17)
Skyfall what? When it comes to sheer superspy untouchability, James Bond’s got nothing on Sterling Archer. Last season, series creator Adam Reed took his gaggle of egocentric animated secret agents all the way to outer space. Check out the first two seasons for all the insane sexual escapades, joke-a-millisecond action and hard-drinking HR shenanigans you can handle. Seasons available: 1, 2

(airs Mon at 9pm on Logo starting Jan 28)
Most reality shows are terrible, but this stuff-strutting drag-queen competition rises above the rest thanks to…RuPaul, of course. She’s the fiercest fairy godmother–cum–harsh judge that a budding performer could ever hope for. After last fall’s all-star competition (is there anything Chad Michaels can’t do?), a new regular season is almost set to begin; in the meantime, catch all the campy, snipey fabulousness you missed. Seasons available: 2, 3

(airs this spring on AMC)
There were more than a few shockers that rounded out the game-changing fifth season of this midcentury-set masterpiece. If you long for the old days when Don’s past was a mystery, Betty’s last name was Draper, and Pete still had most of his hair, mix yourself an old-fashioned, settle in and start back at Sterling Cooper circa 1960. Seasons available: 1–4

(airs this summer on AMC)
Against all odds, a merciless drug kingpin has become America’s television sweetheart. Chalk it up to a combination of Vince Gilligan’s terrific writing and an arresting central performance from Bryan Cranston that this unlikely crime drama has become as addictive as, well, crystal meth. Watch the show from its (relatively) innocent beginnings in advance of the second half of the final season, which begins later this year. Seasons available: 1–4