Sometimes, you first look at a movie or TV show and believe it is beneath your refined tastes, so you swear you'll never watch it. But then people give a movie or show a chance, and now they can’t get enough of it.
Reddit user @Famous_Aspect_9374 asked people in this Reddit thread to share the movies and TV shows they thought they’d hate but ended up loving, and there were plenty of great recs.
1. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)."
What’s the movie about: After Doctor Strange casts a spell making everyone forget who Peter Parker was, Peter (Tom Holland) has to continue being the web-slinging protector, Spider-Man, all by himself.
2. "Bluey."
What’s the show about: A young Australian blue heeler dog named Bluey goes on fun adventures along with her parents, Bandit and Chili, and her younger sister, Bingo.
3. "Ted Lasso. I was REALLY unsure about it. I remembered the commercials where he was introduced, and that made me worry that the show would end up being like 'Cavemen' — a moderately cute commercial character getting exposed as just that. It is one of my top five, all-time sitcoms."
What’s the show about: A former American college football coach, Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), is hired to coach an English football team, A.F.C. Richmond.
4. "Andor. I was burnt out from Star Wars in general, and I didn't like Rogue One, so I had no interest in Andor as a character, but as we all know, the show is fantastic."
What’s the show about: The origin story of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and how he eventually came to be the loyal Rebel Alliance spy.
5. "Breaking Bad."
What’s the show about: A high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who, after being diagnosed with lung cancer, begins producing and selling meth with former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).
6. "Schitt’s Creek. I refused to watch it on principle for the longest time, but immensely enjoyed it when I finally broke down and started it."
What’s the show about: After losing their fortune due to company embezzlement, the Rose family is forced to move to a motel in the small fictional town of Schitt’s Creek.
7. "Severance. I was confused for far too many episodes, but it’s now one of my all-time favorite shows."
What’s the show about: The employees at Lumon Industries undergo a procedure called “severance,” which splits their memories between work and their personal life, creating two separate identities: the “innie” and the “outie.”
8. "Bob's Burgers. I had no interest for years, but after watching the first episode, I was hooked."
What’s the show about: The Belcher Family, consisting of Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise, while running a burger restaurant called “Bob’s Burgers” in New Jersey, go on all different kinds of wild adventures.
9. "The Queen’s Gambit."
What’s the show about: Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), a chess prodigy, rises to the top of the competitive, male-dominated world of chess while struggling with addiction.
10. "Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)."
What’s the movie about: An unhappy middle-aged housewife named Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates) befriends an elderly woman named Ninny Threadgoode (Jessica Tandy), who tells her the story of Idgie Threadgoode (Mary Stuart Masterson).
11. "Game of Thrones. Started watching it to pacify the girlfriend, and was watching it without her by Season 2.”
What’s the show about: Set in the fictional fantasy realm of Westeros, where multiple noble families fight for the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms or for their own freedom.
12. "One Piece. I was an avid hater for years until I finally gave it a real try."
What’s the show about: Self-proclaimed pirate Monkey D. Luffy sets sail with his Straw Hat Pirates crew across the Grand Line to find the “One Piece” and become the next King of the Pirates.
13. "Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). I thought the idea of a talking raccoon was really stupid and would be cringy. Now, I freaking love all the Guardians movies and the Christmas special. And I love Rocket.” "
What’s the movie about: After stealing a powerful, mysterious orb, space outlaw Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is forced to work with fellow criminals, Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel).
14. "The Lego Movie (2014)."
What’s the movie about: Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) is an ordinary LEGO minifigure who is believed to be “The Special,” a master builder destined to find the Piece of Resistance and use it to stop the superweapon known as the Kragle.
15. "New Girl. I thought it was going to be a show about a manic pixie dream girl living with three guys who lusted after her, because that was the way the trailers made it look. It was really a show about how men and women are equally neurotic but about completely different things, and I found it really charming when I finally watched it."
What’s the show about: Quirky elementary school teacher Jessica Day (Zooey Deschanel) finds herself moving into a loft with three men after discovering that her long-term boyfriend is cheating on her.
16. "The Housemaid (2025). I thought it was going to be a rip-off of the Korean film, but it was so good"
What’s the movie about: While on parole, Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney) is hired to become a live-in maid for the wealthy Winchester family, who are hiding a lot more than they let on.
17. "The Office. I dragged my feet on watching it for years, then binged nine seasons in like two weeks and weirdly felt homesick when it ended."
What’s the show about: The employees’ daily work lives at the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of The Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, led by their incompetent manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell).
18. "Supernatural."
What’s the show about: Brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) hunt down supernatural beings, such as demons, in search of the creature who killed their mother.
19. "War Machine (2026). I was expecting a generic military movie with a bit of sci-fi that glorifies the army. Instead, I got a movie with a hunting alien killing soldiers left and right. It was pretty entertaining."
What’s the movie about: A Staff Sergeant, identified as 81 (Alan Ritchson), encounters an extraterrestrial killing machine while on a training exercise.
20. "Silo. The previews made it look cheesy and stupid, but it's amazing!!"
What’s the show about: In a dystopian future where Earth has become uninhabitable, the remainder of humanity is forced to live in a massive underground silo spanning 144 levels.
21. "Galaxy Quest (1999). I thought they were making fun of science fiction fans, but it was very much a loving tribute."
What’s the movie about: The cast of a popular fictional television series, Galaxy Quest, accidentally becomes involved in a real interstellar conflict with aliens.
22. "The Sheep Detectives (2026). Not necessarily hate; I just didn't think I'd enjoy it. But I bloody loved it."
What’s the movie about: After their beloved shepherd, named George (Hugh Jackman), is poisoned to death, the sheep band together to solve his murder.
23. "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It just seemed like another cringeworthy American comedy to me, but boy, was I wrong. I loved it."
What’s the show about: A group of five morally corrupt friends co-own a struggling bar known as Paddy’s Pub in South Philadelphia.
24. "Deadpool (2016). I had seen a bunch of Marvel movies, but this one didn’t seem interesting for some reason. Now, it's one of my favorites."
What’s the movie about: After undergoing an experimental treatment that gives him mutant healing abilities that were supposed to "heal" his cancer — but leaves him with a scarred appearance — Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) hunts down the people who experimented on him and becomes the antihero Deadpool.
25. And finally, "Friends. I never watched it when it was on TV and wasn't ever planning to, until my wife showed it to me on DVD."
What’s the show about: A group of six friends living in New York goes through the everyday challenges of adulthood, from their careers to romantic relationships.

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