Summer's not even over and you're already broke? You need some free TV — and I mean, as Our Lord Frank Zappa once said, absolutely free.
Enter Pluto TV. It's free, and it's fantastic — but beware: there are commercials (sorry, Frank). It's a "live" streaming service with hundreds of "channels," available through an app on streaming devices and smart TVs, or directly via plutotv.com. It even does on-demand!
Here are five Pluto TV channels worth checking out:
Funny AF (Channel 423)
Remember dead subscription comedy streamer Seeso? Funny AF is kinda like that — especially now that it's picked up the "lost" Seeso season of cult hit Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ (premiering Aug. 5). Pluto TV's comedy block (channels 411-445) also includes constant content from the Onion, Fail Army and Internet Gold, as well as a Cats 24/7 channel (meow).
Comedy Central (Channel 411)
The real gem in Pluto TV's comic cluster is the Comedy Central channel, which runs canceled network classics like Another Period, Drawn Together, Ugly Americans and others that stream nowhere else (except, well, at comedycentral.com). Comedy Central Stand-Up (415) is also loaded with rare sets from comics you forgot once stood up, like John Oliver.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Channel 385)
I've been a Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan for 20 years and I still haven't seen every episode; this 24/7 loop of 1989-99 originals is bliss. Sure, rando MST3K eps are scattered all over YouTube, but... convenience! Also: the MST3K channel runs alongside an offshoot RiffTrax channel (389), so there's no end to the cinematic snark.
Pluto TV Movies (Channel 54)
It's not all terrible flicks: The Pluto TV movie channels section (54-98) is like stumbling into the last VHS store on Earth. Dramas, comedies, indies, thrillers, documentaries, and more from the '40s through the '00s, with a quality-to-crap ratio that bests Netflix. The '80s Rewind channel (88) is especially rad, with obscurities like Joysticks leading into bona-fide hits like Heathers.
THC (Channel 591)
Not The Homemaker Channel — THC is all about weed, all the time (or maybe it just seems like it... what were we talking about?). This ceaseless stoner stream has the usual suspects (Cheech & Chong movies, cartoons, a lotta Doug Benson) and a few surprises (like Dope State, a hilarious mockumentary about the pot-shop biz), and it's all like... super-chill. ♦
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