Here are the best free movies and TV shows on Tubi

Tubi is the popular free ad-supported movie and TV streaming service that’s owned by Fox. The service has an almost absurd amount of films and TV series to stream on demand, again for the price of nothing at all. However, what are the best movies on Tubi? Furthermore, what are the best shows on Tubi?

We will attempt to sift through all of the many choices on the service to give you the best films and TV series you can currently watch on Tubi. We will note that there are a number of exclusive movies and shows on the service, but none of them rank well enough to be on either list, at least for now. You can check out Tubi at the link below;

Editor’s Note: We will update this list of the best movies on Tubi as more films and series are added and others are removed

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 2 hours 12 minutes
• Director: S.Craig Zahler
• Main cast: Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Richard Jenkins
• Genre: Western Horror
• Ratings: 7.1 – IMDB / 91% – Rotten Tomatoes

In the time of the old American West, a small-town sheriff, along with a group of gunslingers and others, head into a desolate region. The group’s goal is to rescue a group of hostages from a very violent Native American tribe. However, this tribe has a few horrifying differences that will lead into a very violent and unexpected end.

While it may start out as a fairly standard Western movie, this film then turns into something like a slasher horror film. We won’t spoil anything more of the plot, but the cast, lead by Kurt Russell, is excellent.

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes
• Director: Katsuhiro Ohtomo
• Main cast: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama
• Genre: Scifi Anime
• Ratings: 8.0 – IMDB / 91% – Rotten Tomatoes

Its a few decades since an atomic bomb was set off in the city of Tokyo. A new city, Neo Tokyo, was built on top of the old city’s ashes. It will soon become the setting for a powerful telekinetic human to manifest his powers, which could cause this new city to be destroyed.

Alone with Ghost In The Shell, this movie was one of the big reasons why Japanese anime became a more mainstream entertainment in the US. The movie is still amazing to watch, thanks to some great animation and art design, along with some very surreal looking sequences.

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 1 hour 43 minutes
• Director: Michael Lehmann
• Main cast: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty
• Genre: Dark Comedy
• Ratings: 7.2 – IMDB / 93% – Rotten Tomatoes

Veronica, a new student at the local high school, hangs out with the “Heathers”, the popular girls who are all named Heather. However, Veronica’s new boyfriend has plans for the Heathers, and they don’t include dating any of them.

Heathers was pretty controversial when it was first released. This dark comedy with themes of becoming popular at school, no matter what the cost, still resonates today. Some scenes, in light of more recent violent events at schools in the US, could be disturbing to some viewers.

• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes
• Director:  Tim Story
• Main cast: Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer
• Genre: Comedy
• Ratings: 6.3 – IMDB / 82% – Rotten Tomatoes

The owner of a popular barbershop in the south side of Chicago wants to sell it off as he doesn’t share the vision that his father had for the business. One day while working at the barbershop he finds what he thinks is a buyer for the establishment. However, he soon realizes that he may have made a big mistake.

This is a great crowd-pleasing comedy that also has some lessons to offer about family and legacy. Ice Cube is always great, but he’s particularly terrific as the conflicted owner of the barbershop.

• Rating: G
• Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes
• Director: Howard Hawks
• Main cast: John Wayne, Jorge Rivero, Jennifer O’Nei
• Genre: Western
• Ratings: 6.7 – IMDB / 70% – Rotten Tomatoes

During the US Civil War, a Union Army Colonel loses his best friend when they fail to protect a gold train from being raided by Confederate forces. Now that the war is over, the former Colonel has decided to go after the two Union traitors that helped the enemy rail the train.

This is the last movie directed by the legendary Howard Hawks, who directed Wayne in four previous films. This movie is a solid Western with a twist in the plot in the middle that makes it every more interesting.

• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes
• Director: Tyler Nilson, Michael Schwartz
• Main cast: Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, Zack Gottsagen
• Genre: Drama
• Ratings: 7.6 – IMDB / 95% – Rotten Tomatoes

Zak, a young man who has Down syndrome, decides to run away from his care facility. He encounters Tyler while on the road, and the two of them travel to North Carolina, where Zak wants to attend a pro wrestling school.

This movie has some vibes of Of Mice and Men, but thankfully it’s not nearly as tragic of a story. Indeed, this could be labeled as a feel good movie about growing up and finding your place in love, with some great performances by Shia LaBeouf as Tyler and Zack Gottsagen as Zak.

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes
• Director: Ryan Coogler
• Main cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz
• Genre: Drama
• Ratings: 7.5 – IMDB / 94% – Rotten Tomatoes

Oscar Grant was a young black man, recently released from prison in San Fransisco and who had a girlfriend and daughter. In 2008 on New Year’s Eve, he took the BART Train to attend some holiday festivities. Unfortunately, he encountered a series of events that would later turn into tragedy.

Before they worked together on Creed and Black Panther, writer-director Ryan Coogler and actor Michael B. Jordan teamed up for this very dark drama based on real events. It can be hard to watch at times, but the movie is well-made and is well worth checking out.

• Rating: NR
• Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes
• Director: Sidney Lumet
• Main cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley
• Genre: Drama
• Ratings: 9.0 – IMDB / 100% – Rotten Tomatoes

A murder trial has entered its final stage as the 12 men on the jury are now placed in one room to decide the accused’s final fate. 11 of the men are inclined to vote guilty for the inner city young man that stands on trial, but the 12th juror won’t budge. He has doubts about this case, and that sets up a test of wills for all 12 men in the room.

You wouldn’t think that a movie that mostly takes place in one room would be tense and exciting to watch. However, that’s not the case here as Sidney Lumet directs a lineup of excellent actors. You will likely keep guessing what the ending of this courtroom drama might be to the very end.

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes
• Director: Dan Rush
• Main cast: Will Ferrell, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Rebecca Hall
• Genre: Drama
• Ratings: 6.4 – IMDB / 73% – Rotten Tomatoes

Nick Halsey is having a crappy day. He lost his job due to his alcoholism, and his wife has kicked him out of the house, along with all of his possessions. So Nick decides to hold an impromptu yard sale in front of his former home. He soon learns that maybe he can get his life back on track.

Will Ferrell gets a rare chance to play a (mostly) series character in this movie. Nick is a bit of a sad sack, but the movie shows that when he wants to literally lose everything, he finds that he may have gained something more important.

• Rating: NR
• Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes
• Director: Norman Jewison
• Main cast: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates
• Genre: Drama
• Ratings: 7.9 – IMDB / 95% – Rotten Tomatoes

A black Philadelphia cop travels to a small town in Mississippi. He’s soon arrested for the murder of one of its residents by the town’s white police chief, but he manages to show the chief he is innocent. The two decide to form an unlikely and sometimes contentious partnership to try to find the real murderer.

The winner of the 1967 Oscar for Best Picture, this movie tried to show that a white man could work with a black man, even in the deep South of the 1960s. It also has some great performances by Rod Steiger (also an Oscar winner for Best Actor for this role) and Sidney Poitier, who has one of the most quoted lines in all of movies (you will know it when you see it).

• Rating: TV-PG
• Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes
• Director: Yeon Sang-ho
• Main cast: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-mi, Ma Dong-seok
• Genre: Horror
• Ratings: 7.6 – IMDB / 94% – Rotten Tomatoes

In South Korea, a train takes off from Seoul to the city of Busan. Unfortunately for its passengers, the train is making its trip in the middle of a massive zombie apocalypse event. Can the train make it to Busan, and even if it does arrive, will there be anyone on board that’s alive?

In 2016, you would not think there would be anything new in the zombie movie genre. However, director Yeon Sang-ho managed to offer an action-packed tale of fast zombies assaulting a train and also combine it with some heart and emotion as well.

• Rating: R
• Runtime: 1 hour 21 minutes
• Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
• Main cast: Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, Joshua Leonard
• Genre: Horror
• Ratings: 6.5 – IMDB / 86% – Rotten Tomatoes

The movie reportedly was put together from the footage found in some woods, made by a trio of missing documentarians. They went into a Maryland forest to record video for a movie they were making about a local supernatural legend called the Blair Witch. As it turned out, this group made a very, very bad decision.

While not the first “found footage” movie, this film definitely kick-started that genre. It’s still effective today as the movie tries to make you believe that we are watching a real documentary, even using the real names of the actors for their respective characters. It remains a very terrifying movie to watch.

Ready to watch? You can find the movie right here on Tubi.

Best movies on Tubi – Honorable Mentions

There are so many movies on Tubi to stream, so we decided to give you a few more to check out that didn’t quite make our main list

• Fist of Fury – This is perhaps the best movie starring the late martial arts legend Bruce Lee. It includes some great fighting set pieces to enjoy.
• Boyhood – Writer and director Richard Linklater managed to pull off this movie about how a boy grows up from 6 to 18 years old, shot in segments over 11 years.
• Ghost in the Shell – Like Akira, this Japanese anime classic about a cyborg soldier who starts to doubt her own memories helped make anime a popular genre for Western audiences.
• Blue Valentine – This somewhat overlooked movie stars Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling. The movie switches back and forth in time as we see a couple’s life together, from the first meeting to the breakup of their marriage.
• Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room – This documentary does an excellent job showing the rise and fall of the Enron energy company in 2001.

Editor’s Note: We will update this list of the best shows on Tubi as more films and series are added and others are removed.

• Rating: TV-PG
• Seasons: 5
• Creator: Stephen J. Cannell, Frank Lupo
• Main cast: George Peppard, Mr. T, Dirk Benedict
• Genre: Action Comedy
• Ratings: 7.5 – IMDB / 64% – Rotten Tomatoes

Three members of a US Army special forces unit have been convicted of a crime they did not commit. The “A-Team” then escape from their prison and, with the help of a fourth secret member, use their unique skills to help anyone who wants to hire them.

This is pure 1980s action adventure fun. The cast of characters for the A-Team is colorful, from the mean BA, to the handsome Face, to the crazy but skilled pilot Mad Dog Murdock to finally the brains of the group, Hannible Smith. You also get to see some of the best stunts ever filmed for a TV show.

• Rating: TV-14
• Seasons: 15
• Creator: Paul Dowling
• Main cast: Peter Thomas
• Genre: Crime Reality show
• Ratings: 8.8 – IMDB / NR – Rotten Tomatoes

Crimes are solved by forensic science in each episode of this long running series. Episodes combine interviews with real forensic scientists with recreations of the cases that are featured.

This show started the whole “crimes solved by forensics” sub-genre, several years before the completely fictional series CSI launched. It remains an entertaining and fascinating watch and has inspired a ton of other similar shows.

The late, but still great, Bernie Mac was excellent in this different take on the family sitcom. His character, which uses his name, may be largely fictional, but Mac’s performance as a man suddenly thrust into caring for three children is still very entertaining to watch. Oh, and he breaks the fourth wall to talk directly to the audience frequently.

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 5
• Creator: Ann Biderman
• Main cast: Michael Cudlitz, Shawn Hatosy, Regina King
• Genre: Crime Drama
• Ratings: 8.5 – IMDB / 90% – Rotten Tomatoes

The lives of many different members of the Los Angeles Police Department are shown in this series. We see them not only on the street but in their personal lives as well.

This series was a mix of a police procedure and a character study of the featurered officers in the LAPD. It remains one of the best and most realistic looks at the lives of urban police officers on television.

• Rating: TV-14
• Seasons: 4
• Creator: Rockne S. O’Bannon
• Main cast: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe
• Genre: Sci-fi
• Ratings: 8.3 – IMDB / 83% – Rotten Tomatoes

John Crichton is an astronaut on board a one-man space ship in Earth orbit. Suddenly, he’s transported almost instantly via a rogue wormhole to a distant part of the galaxy. He soon encounters a living spaceship with a number of aliens fleeing from the oppressive Peacekeeper. John joins up with this ragtag crew, while also trying to find a way to get back to Earth.

This space-based sci-fi show proved you could make a successful series in that genre without having the words “Star Trek” in the title. From some beautifully designed aliens to some rather wild plotlines and great performances, this show is highly entertaining. Unfortunately, Tubi does not have the final mini-series, Farscape: The Peackeeper Wars. You can check that mini-series out on Freevee.

• Rating: TV-14
• Seasons: 13
• Creator:  Richard Levinson, William Link
• Main cast: Peter Falk
• Genre: Crime Drama
• Ratings: 8.3 – IMDB / 67% – Rotten Tomatoes

In the Los Angeles Police Department, Lr. Columbo is part of its homicide division. He frequently gets assigned to check out murder cases among the rich and famous in LA. The murderers think Columbo is a bumbling mess, but they soon realize that this detective is much smarter than he first appears.

Peter Falk found the role of his career, or anyone’s career for that matter, when he first signed up to play perhaps the greatest TV detective of all time. Each episode, we see the murder being committed in heavy detail, and its always fun to see Columbo figure it all out in the end. Tubi has both the original 1970s series as well as all of the more recent Columbo TV movies as well.

• Rating: TV-14
• Seasons: 2
• Creator:  Glen A Larson, Leslie Stevens
• Main cast: Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Felix Silla
• Genre: Sci-fi
• Ratings: 6.9 – IMDB / 71% – Rotten Tomatoes

William “Buck” Rogers is a 20th century astronaut on a one-man mission to deep space. He encounters a meteor storm that, for some reason, puts his ship and himself in a deep freeze. 504 years later, his craft is recovered, and Buck is revived in a future where Earth is just beginning to recover from a worldwide nuclear war.

While the show itself has lots of similarities to Star Wars in its visuals, it’s actually based on a character created way back in 1928. The show’s first season is a fun and light hearted action adventure. However, the series gets more Star Trek-like in its brief and final second season.

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: Jeffrey Boam, Carlton Cuse
• Main cast: Bruce Campbell, Julius Carry, Christian Clemenson
• Genre: Western/Sci-fi
• Ratings: 8.3 – IMDB / 92% – Rotten Tomatoes

In the late 19th century, bounty hunter Brisco County Jr. is hired by the railroad barons to find and arrest a gang of notorious train bandits. Brisco will soon learn there’s more to this ganf than meets the eye.

Most fans of Bruce Campbell think his Ash Williams character in the Evil Dead films is his best role. However, we think his role as Brisco County Jr in this short-lived pulp action Western is his finest character. He combined humor with a sharp head, and the show itself had a lot of sci-fi elements, including time travel and more. 

• Rating: TV-G
• Seasons: 2
• Creator: Tom Ruegger
• Main cast: Paul Rugg, David Kaufman, Joe Leahy
• Genre: Children’s animation
• Ratings: 7.5 – IMDB / 86% – Rotten Tomatoes

A geeky teenager gets sucked into his computer and enters cyberspace. He comes out of the computer as the superhero Freakazoid who uses his special powers to fight a number of wild enemies.

You may have never seen a children’s animated show quite like Freakazoid. The series, from some of the writers and directors behind Batman: The Animated Series and Animaniacs, is basically a parody of comic book superheroes. Freakazoid talks a mile a minute, moves just as fast, and frequently addresses the viewing audience directly. It’s a ton of fun for both kids and adults.

• Rating: PG-14
• Seasons: 2
• Creator: George Stone, Rocky Morton, Annabel Jankel
• Main cast: Matt Frewer, Amanda Pays, George Coe
• Genre: Sci-fi
• Ratings: 7.4 – IMDB / 92% – Rotten Tomatoes

On a future Earth where the television networks are the secret rulers of the planet, a renegade journalist Edison Carter, tries to expose the truth. When he gets injured in a parking lot, his mind is duplicated and uploaded to a computer. Now this AI, Max Headroom, assists Carter and his team in their rebel investigations.

A future where people are ruled by television? While that prediction didn’t quite work as foreseen in this show, you should still check it out for some interesting near future sci-fi storytelling. Matt Frewer is a great actor, both in human form and in his witty Max Headroom persona.

• Rating: TV-PG
• Seasons: 2
• Creator: Glen A Larson
• Main cast: Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict
• Genre: Sci-fi
• Ratings: 7.2 – IMDB / 88% – Rotten Tomatoes

In the deepest corners of the galaxy, the humans on 12 planets are nearly exterminated by the alien Cylons. A few survivors manage to get access to ships. They form a ragtag fleet led by the last major surviving military vessel, the Battlestar Galactica. Under constant threats of Cylon attacks, the fleets goes into deep space to find a long lost human colony on a planet called Earth.

While the 2003 revival of this show is highly acclaimed for good reason, the original series has its charms as well. The visual effects still hold up 45 years later, and there are some good action-adventure storylines as well.  You can bypass the second “season” of this show (also called Galactica 1980); it was clearly made in a rush for a cash grab.

• Rating: TV-PG
• Seasons: 1
• Creator:  Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo
• Main cast: John Wesley Shipp, Amanda Pays, Alex Désert
• Genre: Superhero
• Ratings: 7.1 – IMDB / 73% – Rotten Tomatoes

Barry Allen, a police forensic scientist in Central City, is hit by lightning in his lab while also covered in chemicals. The combination gives Allen the ability of super speed, and he decides to fight crime secretly as the superhero The Flash, with the help of a female scientist at STAR Labs.

Back when superhero shows were very rare, The Flash was a great show to watch. While it wasn’t all that faithful to the DC Comics character, it still offered some great storylines. Plus, we love the Flash suit (much better looking than the CW Flash outfit) and we get Mark Hamill in a couple of episodes as The Trickster, a crazy villain long before he voice The Joker in Batma: The Animated Series.

Best shows on Tubi – Honorable mentions

Once again, there are a bunch of shows on Tubi that we think you should stream that didn’t quite make our top list. Here are just a few of them:

• The Chosen – The life of Jesus Christ is shown in this highly successful drama series, made in part via a constant crowdfunding campaign.
• The Freak Brothers – This Tubi original animated series, based on the alternative comic book, features an all-star voice cast to tell the tale of two hippie brothers who go into suspended animation in the 1960 and come back to 2022.
• Heartland – Check out the first 14 seasons of this Canadian show about the lives of the family that runs a horse ranch.
• The Fall – This UK-based crime show, starring Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan, focuses on a serial killer who is attacking people in Belfast. Anderson’s character is a detective from London who is out to stop him.
• Wiseguy – This crime drama, about an undercover agent sent to infiltrate an organized crime family, was one of the first US shows to use serialized storylines, with a beginning, middle, and end, to great effect.

Those are our picks of some of the best movies and shows on Tubi. What are your favorites?

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