YouTube is adding thousands of free ad-supported TV episodes for you to binge

That just sounds like regular TV, but okay

For many, YouTube was already the de facto destination for ad-supported free video content, and now, it's getting even more. In addition to its original, user-generated content and its selection of movies you can watch for free with ads, YouTube now has thousands of TV episodes you can watch without paying a dime.

In an announcement, the company revealed that viewers are now able to stream close to 4,000 TV episodes from a selection of (mostly pretty widely-available) series like Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen, classic Unsolved Mysteries, and Sanctuary. YouTube says the viewing experience includes "brand new streamlined navigation" and highly detailed banner art — and that many episodes in the service's library have 1080p video with 5.1 surround sound audio.

The model sounds a lot like regular over-the-air or cable TV — not to mention other streaming services that offer similar content in a similar way. But YouTube does have a large inventory offering over 1,500 movies from distributors like Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Disney, as well as those thousands of TV episodes, with the selection refreshing itself weekly as new releases come out. YouTube jumping into the free TV game means it can better compete with the growing popularity of services like Pluto TV or Sling TV, just as it's tried to do with TikTok competitor YouTube Shorts. If you want to give all the familiar free titles a look, just head over to YouTube and visit the Movies and shows section.