With a specialty in dramas and sci-fi, CBS All Access has produced several hit originals over the years. Besides the popular Star Trek spinoffs, the service is particularly known for its gripping crime dramas and sensational thrillers. The lineup of CBS All Access originals also includes a few comedies and docuseries, but it doesn’t have any kids’ content. And you won’t find any original movies either.
In this post, we give you an in-depth look at the kind of CBS All Access originals you can get with the service. This should help you decide if it’s a good option for you.
How to watch CBS All Access original content
CBS All Access makes it pretty easy to find original content with an uncomplicated interface that’s easy to navigate. It arranges all the menu options at the top of the screen, where you can navigate between live TV, movies, shows, and TV schedule. You can also find a dropdown menu for “Brands,” which lets you filter content from popular channels like BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Smithsonian Channel.
To watch CBS All Access originals, click on the “Shows” tab to view all the shows available on the service. Below the top menu bar, you’ll find a category bar that allows you to filter shows based on genre or popularity or arrange them in alphabetical order.
So you can find shows in categories such as classics, comedies, daytime, docuseries, dramas, late night, news, originals, primetime, reality, specials, and sports. Or you can even choose to display only Star Trek shows.
Select the “Originals” option to display all the CBS All Access originals available to watch right now. Then choose the show you want to watch and start streaming.
The navigation and layout are consistent across all devices. And you can watch CBS All Access from the following devices:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android phones and tablets
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- iPhones and iPads
- LG Smart TVs
- PlayStation 4
- Roku players
- Samsung Smart TVs
- VIZIO TVs
- Xbox One and Xbox Series X
- Xfinity
Full list of CBS All Access original shows
The list of CBS All Access originals isn’t too expansive, but each title stands out in its own genre with brilliant storytelling and exceptional production. As of December 2020, you can watch the following originals on CBS All Access:
- Coyote
- Interrogation
- No Activity
- One Dollar
- Star Trek: Discovery
- Star Trek: Lower Decks
- Star Trek: Picard
- Star Trek: Short Treks
- Strange Angel
- Tell Me a Story
- Texas 6
- That Animal Rescue Show
- The Good Fight
- The Stand
- The Thomas John Experience
- The Twilight Zone
- Tooning Out The News
- Why Women Kill
Best CBS All Access original shows
CBS All Access consistently produces high-quality originals, so you can’t go wrong no matter which title you choose to watch. This also makes it a little challenging to decide on the best ones. But to help you narrow down your options, we made our top picks based on popularity and Rotten Tomatoes scores.
Check out the best CBS All Access originals as of December 2020:
One Dollar (2018)
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 95%
- Genre: Mystery & suspense
- Number of seasons:1
- Featured actors: John Carroll Lynch, Kirrilee Berger, Nathaniel Martello-White
Set in a small rust-belt town, this murder mystery follows the path of a one-dollar bill as it changes hands. One Dollarshows how the people who come in contact with the dollar bill are connected to a multiple murder case, with each episode showcasing the deep class and cultural divides in modern America.
The Good Fight (2017)
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 78%
- Genre: Drama
- Number of seasons: 4
- Featured actors: Christine Baranski, Cush Jumbo, Rose Leslie
A spinoff of The Good Wife, this legal drama follows the story of Diane Lockhart as she attempts to start afresh after a financial scam destroys her career and the reputation of her goddaughter. When she joins her former employee at a new firm, they make waves when they take on police brutality cases in Illinois.
Why Women Kill (2019)
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 67%
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 94%
- Genre: Drama
- Number of seasons: 2
- Featured actors: Ginnifer Goodwin, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Lucy Liu
Set across multiple time periods in the same house, this dark comedy chronicles the lives of three women living starkly different lifestyles but having one thing in common – an unfaithful spouse. The series follows the stories of a ‘60s housewife, an ‘80s socialite, a lawyer in 2019, and how they deal with the infidelity in their own ways.
No Activity (2017)
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 86%
- Genre: Comedy
- Number of seasons: 1
- Featured actors: Amy Sedaris, Patrick Brammall, Tim Meadows
No Activity follows the misadventures of different characters connected to a major drug cartel bust. The cop comedy features multiple pairs of characters, including criminals, dispatch workers, low-ranking detectives, and Mexican tunnel-diggers as they each deal with personal and professional frustrations.
Star Trek: Picard (2020)
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 56%
- Genre: Science fiction & fantasy
- Number of seasons: 1
- Featured actors: Alison Pill, Evan Evagora, Patrick Stewart
Set in the late 24th Century, Star Trek: Picard follows Jean-Luc Picard as he sets off on a new adventure 14 years after retiring from Starfleet. The series starts off with Picard enjoying retirement, living a tranquil life on his vineyard. But a mysterious woman seeks him out, needing help and possibly having some connections to his past.
Strange Angel (2018)
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: 71%
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 72%
- Genre: Science fiction & fantasy
- Number of seasons: 2
- Featured actors: Bella Heathcote, Jack Reynor, Rupert Friend
Inspired by the real-life story of Jack Parsons, this historical drama chronicles the life of a blue-collar worker in 1930s Los Angeles as his brilliance and ambition leads him to the discovery of American rocketry. Strange Angel depicts Parsons’ entanglement with magic rituals and the occult as he pursues inconceivable endeavors.