Action shows are the cure for a bad day, and now you can stream five of them without paying a cent. The list comes from a roundup of free options on Pluto TV, Tubi, and Roku, and it runs the full range from horror chainsaws to ninja battles to space explorers. The catch: none of these five require a subscription beyond what the streaming service itself demands.
Here is the lineup, ranked in the order the roundup presents them.
Ash vs Evil Dead
Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy put Ash Williams through the wringer, and Ash vs Evil Dead picks up 30 years later. Bruce Campbell returns as Ash, who must face Deadites again after accidentally unleashing a plague from the Book of the Dead. He gets help from sidekicks Pablo (Ray Santiago) and Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo), though Ash is initially reluctant to leave the quiet life behind.
The show keeps the Raimi brand of over-the-top action, with Ash attaching a chainsaw and double-barreled shotgun to his wrist stump to kill Deadites in style. The pacing is chaotic, and the practical effects deliver blood-soaked explosions and dismemberments. Between the fights, the show slows down to explore Ash’s survivor’s guilt and regret over not doing enough over the years.
Into the Badlands
Into the Badlands is a post-apocalyptic action drama from Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of Netflix’s Wednesday. Set 500 years in the future, it follows a society that has shunned firearms, leaving only melee and hand-to-hand combat allowed. The territory known as the Badlands experiences a power vacuum, exposing the corrupt hierarchy of a civilization that thrives on oppression.
Sunny (Daniel Wu) rescues a teenage boy named M.K. (Aramis Knight), who possesses a supernatural power with origins outside the Badlands. Gough and Millar took their inspiration from classic Hong Kong cinema and Wuxia films, producing action segments that are inventive and thoroughly rehearsed. The martial arts alone are compelling, but the show also benefits from a unique post-apocalyptic setting and a feudal-style hierarchical system that drives its worldbuilding.
Naruto
Naruto is a battle shonen about an orphaned child growing up in the Hidden Leaf village, treated like an outsider by almost everyone there. He spends his formative years causing mischief to attract attention and alleviate his loneliness. After joining Team Seven alongside Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, he gradually learns the nuances of becoming a ninja and the truth behind his lineage.
The show is chock-full of lighthearted comedy, especially in filler episodes, but it is also a love letter to action in animation. The fights are painstakingly choreographed, stunning, and dynamic, with everybody relying on ninja techniques known as jutsu that reveal their worldviews. Battle is a strategic psychological challenge, not just a test of skill and brute strength. Watching Naruto and his allies improve their physical prowess is immensely satisfying, especially within the context of their emotional growth in Naruto: Shippuden.
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a spin-off of the beloved Stargate SG-1, following the discovery of the legendary city of Atlantis. Major John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) and his military team use the Stargate to travel across distant planets, with Atlantis becoming a special point of interest. The show also stars a young Jason Momoa as Ronon Dex, who becomes an integral part of Sheppard’s crew.
Prior knowledge of the franchise isn’t necessary to enjoy this action-packed sci-fi series. The threats faced by the Atlantis crew are relentless, prompting everyone to rely on tactical strikes and on-the-fly solutions instead of traditional combat. The action feels high-stakes and fast-paced, with the crew encountering various alien civilizations, some of whom are hostile, like the Wraiths who feed on human life force.
Miami Vice
Miami Vice revolutionized television with its pastel-tinted visual aesthetic and music video-esque approach to kinetic violence. Detective sergeants James “Sonny” Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) run into corrupt officers and increasingly troubling cases in the 1980s. The initial seasons keep things lighthearted, but the stakes grow as the detectives face deeper trouble.
The show’s approach to violence is kinetic and stylized, and its pastel palette made it stand out in the sea of genre titles of its era. It remains a gripping police procedural that holds up as a cult classic.
“Miami Vice revolutionized television with its pastel-tinted visual aesthetic and music video-esque approach to kinetic violence.”
The Mix
The list is a curious one. It pairs cult classics like Ash vs Evil Dead and Stargate Atlantis with a surprise anime entry in Naruto, each praised for its own kind of kinetic excess. The roundup argues that all five retain the qualities that make action shows work: motivations that inform the action, excitement between quieter moments, and a willingness to push the limits of what action looks like on television.
The common thread is intensity. Whether it is Ash chaining a chainsaw to his stump, Sunny navigating the unforgiving world of the Badlands, or Naruto improving his physical prowess alongside his emotional growth, these shows find ways to make their action feel urgent without sacrificing character development.
The roundup also points out that the shows slow down when they need to. Ash vs Evil Dead explores his survivor’s guilt. Into the Badlands digs into the feudal hierarchy that shapes its world. Naruto balances its filler comedy with deep psychological challenges in its battles. These aren’t shows that coast on spectacle alone.
The Platforms
Pluto TV, Tubi, and Roku host these shows, and the roundup specifies which service carries each title. Ash vs Evil Dead is on Pluto TV and Roku. Into the Badlands is on Roku and Hoopla. Naruto is on Tubi and Roku. Stargate Atlantis is on Pluto TV. Miami Vice is on Tubi.
That means you need a subscription to one of those services, but the shows themselves are free to stream within it. The roundup frames this as a straightforward deal: pay the service fee once, and the action shows come with it.
What to Watch First
If you want horror, Ash vs Evil Dead delivers the chainsaw and shotgun action that made the Evil Dead movies famous. If you want martial arts, Into the Badlands offers inventive Wuxia-inspired choreography in a post-apocalyptic feudal setting. If you want animation, Naruto is a love letter to battle shonen with stunningly choreographed fights. If you want sci-fi, Stargate Atlantis brings the Stargate universe to a new city with tactical strikes against alien threats. And if you want a classic, Miami Vice remains a gripping police procedural with a distinctive visual style.
All five are available for free on Pluto TV, Tubi, or Roku, depending on which platform you subscribe to. The roundup notes that prior knowledge of Stargate SG-1 isn’t necessary to enjoy Atlantis, which stands on its own as an action-packed sci-fi series.
The list is a reminder that action shows don’t have to cost money to be exciting. The roundup’s own framing suggests that a good action show can turn anyone’s day around, and these five certainly fit the bill.
They are available for free, and they are ready to watch.
See the video the story is built around at Polygon.