Free Movies & TV Shows To Watch On Youtube (When You're Abroad)

Basically, this is my What to Watch on Youtube When You’re Abroad post! It’s all about free movies and TV shows that are available to watch on Youtube, even when you’re not in the US or the UK.

About This List

This is specifically for what’s available to watch on Youtube, as it’s easy to use, you don’t have to download anything special to watch it, and it’s available everywhere.

While Youtube has plenty of free movies and shows available with ads, those aren’t available outside of the US (and maybe the UK). This is a list of things that you can watch while abroad, without a VPN (for the most part).

As for content, I focused only on things that were originally made for broadcast TV or theaters (so no digital-first shows. That’ll be another post). For TV shows, I picked ones with complete seasons, or with a good amount of episodes available. There’s several one-off full episodes available but I don’t think it’s very exciting to just watch a bunch of pilot episodes, so I tried to find ones with at least 4 episodes available.

I’m also ONLY talking about OFFICIAL uploads from the creator/owner, or public domain uploads where they aren’t copyrighted, and not any of the dozens of pirated content uploads available online.

This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and buy something, I get a small percentage at no extra cost to you. Your support helps keep this blog running— thank you! Read full disclosure here.

Watch Tips

I use a Roku Stick to steam Youtube to whatever aparthotel TV I have. Highly recommend getting one if you plan on watching TV (even if it’s just Youtube) while traveling because it’s much easier to just sign into the Roku and have it ready to go wherever you are.

Some of these videos may not be available for watching in certain countries. I’m in Vietnam at the moment so I based what’s available based on that. The easiest way to fix this, and have access to everything, is by using a travel router with a VPN on it, and route the Roku through the travel router.

Okay, onto the list!

Classic Movies

His Girl Friday (1940)

A fast-paced screwball comedy about a sharp-witted newspaper editor who tries to win back his ex-wife, a star reporter, while both get caught up in a high-stakes political scandal. Starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Bellamy and directed by Howard Hawks. The copyright was never renewed and now it’s in the public domain, can you believe it? Lucky us!

More Columbia Pictures public domain movies:

Penny Serenade (1941) (also with Cary Grant)

The Little Princess (1939)

Based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Little Princess (1939) is a family drama about a young girl sent to a boarding school while her father serves in the military, who faces hardship when he goes missing in action, but maintains hope that he’ll return. Starring Shirley Temple, and her first technicolor movie!

Royal Wedding (1951)

A decent Fred Astaire movie, a musical comedy about a brother-sister dance duo who find love while performing in London during the Princess Elizabeth’s wedding celebrations. Surprisingly enough, it’s lost its copyright and is now in the public domain!

Other MGM romantic comedy movies in the public domain are:

The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952)

The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), starring Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, and Ava Gardner, is a drama based on Ernest Hemingway’s short story, about a writer reflecting on his life, loves, and regrets while suffering from a life-threatening injury during an African safari. It was one of the highest-grossing films of its year, and was nominated for two Oscars.

Other Movies

The Case Of The Whitechapel Vampire (2002)

A Sherlock Holmes movie (not based on the original books) produced by The Hallmark Channel and hosted by the Chicken Soup for the Soul TV Youtube channel. Wow! Starring Matt Frewer as Sherlock Holmes and Kenneth Welsh as Dr. Watson.

The Chicken Soup for the Soul TV Youtube account also has tons of other Hallmark movies, including a whole playlist of Christmas movies.

The Phantom of the Opera (Musical)

This was posted by The Shows Must Go On!, a Youtube project started by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s team during COVID lockdowns in 2020. They posted a full stage musical each week for a while, and then left this one up while the others were removed. It’s the 25th anniversary recording of Phantom of the Opera musical with Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess!

Sita Sings the Blues (2008)

An animated film that intertwines the ancient Indian epic of the Ramayana with a modern love story, set to the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw. Made entirely by one person, Nina Paley, and released into the public domain.

Classic TV Shows

The Addams Family

The Amazon MGM Studios Youtube channel has 14 full episodes of The Addams Family 1964 TV show. They aren’t labeled by episode number so I’m not sure which seasons they’re from.

The Dick Van Dyke Show

5 full seasons through the Filmrise Television channel, which also has The Danny Thomas Show (11 seasons), That Girl (5 seasons), Dragnet (20 episodes), The Lone Ranger (17 episodes), Bonanza (20 episodes), The Rifleman (5 seasons), The Beverly Hillbillies (2 seasons) and several more modern TV shows like Heartland (15 seasons), Untold Stories of the ER (4 seasons) and Iron Chef (7 seasons).

Starsky & Hutch

Starsky & Hutch is a 1970s crime drama series about two street-smart detectives who tackle crime in a fictional California city, known for their close partnership and action-packed, often gritty, cases.

The official Classic TV Rewind Youtube channel has a selection of full episodes from various classic TV shows, though no full seasons. Besides Starsky & Hutch, they have episodes from The Flying Nun, Gidget, The New Gidget, The Facts of Life, What’s Happening, What’s Happening Now, Square Pegs, Benson, Silver Spoons, Viva Valdez, Hazel, Quark, Barney Miller, Family, Hart to Hart, Soap, T.J. Hooker, Palmerstown, U.S.A., The Partridge Family, and Tabitha.

The Three Stooges

I think technically these are short films, but anyway: the official Three Stooges Youtube channel has put up a bunch of compilations of episodes into 3 hours videos which seem to be available worldwide, or you can watch them in their original short 20-minute form if you’d prefer (though these versions have location restrictions). They also have the full-length movies from the 1960s, the New Three Stooges cartoon, and a documentary series called Hey Moe! Hey Dad! available.

Reality TV Shows

Border Security

Border Security is a reality TV series that follows customs and immigration officers as they inspect travelers and cargo at international borders, uncovering smuggling, illegal immigration, and other security breaches. The official Youtube channel has full episodes from Border Security: Australia seasons 1, 10 and 13, Border Security: Canada season 1, and Border Security: America season 1.

Couples Court

A “divorce court” reality TV show where couples present their “case” to two judges (who are married to each other), in the style of Judge Judy and all those other “court TV” shows. The official Couples Court Youtube channel has full episodes from seasons 1-3, over 100 episodes available. They are short, under 20 minutes, so just keep that in mind.

Kitchen Nightmares

A reality TV show about a professional chef who goes to failing restaurants to try and revive them into success. 153 episodes available on the official Kitchen Nightmares Youtube channel!

This Old House

A long-running home renovation show with very useful tips for fixing up your house. I find it fun to watch even though I don’t own a house, myself. The official This Old House Youtube channel has full episodes available for seasons 39 and 40, plus 52 full episodes of Ask This Old House.

True Crime & Mystery TV Shows

48 Hours

48 Hours is a true crime investigative TV series that focuses on in-depth reports of criminal cases, mysteries, and legal battles, often exploring them over the course of several episodes. There’s over 200 full episodes available on the official 48 Hours Youtube channel, and they’ve made compilation “marathon” videos of several hours long if you’d prefer loading those up.

FBI Files

The FBI Files is a true crime series that reenacts real FBI cases, showcasing how agents use forensic science, investigative techniques, and criminal profiling to solve major crimes. The official FBI Files Youtube channel has full episodes from seasons 1-7 available, over 85 episodes total, plus special marathon episodes.

Forensic Files

Forensic Files is a true crime documentary series that showcases how forensic science is used to solve crimes by analyzing evidence, uncovering the truth behind various criminal cases. This is on the Filmrise True Crime Youtube channel, which has 12 seasons of Forensic Files and another season called Forensic Files: The Lost Episodes. Not all episodes are available in all countries, but a good chunk of them are.

Unsolved Mysteries

Unsolved Mysteries is a documentary series that explores real-life cases of unsolved crimes, paranormal events, and unexplained phenomena, inviting viewers to help solve the mysteries. It was super popular in the 1980s and recently got a revival on Netflix (which I didn’t like as much). This is the official Unsolved Mysteries Youtube channel, hosted by Filmrise. They have 12 seasons of the show hosted by Robert Stack (my favorite!) and a further 8 seasons of the one hosted by Dennis Farina.

Travel TV Shows & Documentaries

BBC Travel Show

The official BBC Travel Show Youtube channel has 10 seasons of this travel journalism show available, from 2014 to 2024.

Japanology Plus

(Can’t be embedded. Link to playlist here.)

This is a fun documentary series about different aspects of Japanese life, created by NHK World, the international arm of NHK, Japan’s public broadcast service. The episodes are in English, with English subtitles for the spoken Japanese parts. There are 6 episodes available on Youtube, but there’s over 80 available on the official website.

The NHK World Youtube channel also has 48 episodes relating to Japanese trains, a travel series called Journeys in Japan, and a documentary about a Buddhist nun’s cooking.

Read more: Exploring Japan, all my posts about traveling Japan

Rick Steves’ Europe

The official Rick Steves Youtube channel has 12 full seasons of his TV show plus 10 specials, another 6 episode miniseries about art and 11 of his tour lectures.

Samantha Brown’s Places to Love

The official Samantha Brown Youtube channel has 23 episodes of Places to Love and they’re uploading more episodes every week!

Other TV Shows

60 Minutes

60 Minutes is a long-running news magazine show featuring investigative journalism, in-depth interviews, and feature stories covering a wide range of current events and societal issues. They’re known for interviewing politicians, royalty, celebrities, etc. The official 60 Minutes Youtube channel has over 150 full episodes available for viewing.

Home Shopping Network

Not sure how entertaining this actually is, but I was tickled pink to find a livestream of the Home Shopping Network. Anybody else put this on the background while working? They also have 1 hour segments clipped out; I recently watched Samantha Brown talk about her new luggage collection (well, why not?).

The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross

An instructional oil painting show, notable for being soothing to watch and listen to. The official Bob Ross Youtube channel has 31 seasons (404 episodes total!) available plus they do a regular livestream marathons as well.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is a comedy TV show where people make fun of bad movies. The official MST3K Youtube channel has full episodes available, plus does livestreamed marathons every day. They also show episodes from Cinematic Titanic, Rifftrax and The Film Crew, similar projects by former cast members.

Right now for October they’re also doing a livestream of Elvira’s Movie Macabre!

National Geographic (various)

The official NatGeo Youtube channel has hundreds of full episodes available, many of them standalone documentaries but some from their various TV series. Unfortunately they don’t organize their full episode uploads into individual playlists very well, but they do have one GIANT playlist with EVERY full episode available. Still, if you’re looking for documentaries focused on nature, science, culture, and exploration, then this is a good place to look.

Some TV show episodes available include: Gordon Ramsay Uncharted (good travel show focused on food history), bunch of Sharkfest episodes, Drain the Oceans, Lost Cities with Albert Lin, Lost Treasures of Egypt, America’s National Parks, To Catch a Smuggler, Hostile Planet.

NOVA (PBS)

NOVA is a long-running PBS documentary series that explores a wide range of scientific topics, from cutting-edge research and technology to historical scientific breakthroughs. The official NOVA PBS Youtube channel has several full-length episodes available, including quite a few that would interest travelers.

Tin Man (miniseries)

This is a 2007 miniseries reimagining of the Wizard of Oz, starring Zooey Deschanel, Alan Cumming, Richard Dreyfuss, and a bunch of other folks. The channel it’s posted on, Popcorn Flix, has a bunch of movies and other shows available as well, including Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island (2005 TV film with Patrick Stewart), Son of the Dragon (2006 miniseries with David Carradine), 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1997), and tons more if you’re in the US or have a VPN.