How to watch Watchmen in the UK, US and abroad for free
Your one-stop guide on how to watch the award-winning superhero TV series Watchmen for free anywhere in the world
Superhero drama series Watchmenwon three prestigious awards at the last year’s Primetime Emmy Awards. Apart from Outstanding Limited Series, Regina King won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series.
The series received a record 11 nominations at the prestigious award show, but despite doing really well globally, the showrunners have confirmed that there won’t be a second season.
Until recently you had to pay to watch Watchmen on Sky TV and Amazon Prime Video in the UK. However, you can now watch the show for free if you have Sky TV, or by signing up to Now TV’s Entertainment Pass, which costs £10/mth but comes with a 7-day free trial for new users.
Watchmen takes its cues from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s iconic DC Comics comic series, although showrunner Lindelof has pushed things a couple of decades after the end of the events of that story. It’s a sequel, but one that remixes and updates themes underpinning the original graphic novel.
The nine-episode series stars Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jovan Adepo, Louis Gossett Jr and Jean Smart – all of whom have received Emmy Award nominations in different categories, even though some of them only appear in a few episodes.
The series has also received praise for highlighting the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, which became a huge talking point following the George Floyd protests. If you’re looking to start with Watchmen, here’s how to watch it wherever you happen to live.
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Before you start with Watchmen: Buy the original comic
The TV show takes place after the events on the comic, and can sometimes be obtuse in its references to past events, so the best way to understand what is going on is to read the original. You’re in for a treat: this is largely regarded as one of the greatest graphic novels ever made. Not surprisingly, its Amazon rating reflects that with a 4.9-star rating with over 1,200 customer reviews.
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How to watch Watchmen for free in the UK: Now TV
Now TV is an online streaming service that lets you avail of specific Sky TV content (sports, films, TV series, etc.) via different passes that you can purchase at a monthly price. Unlike Sky TV contracts which usually involve a setup fee and a long-term commitment upfront, you can cancel your Now TV subscription at any time.
To watch Watchmen for free, you’ll need Now TV’s Entertainment Pass, which costs £9.99/mth after a seven-day free trial period for all new users. This pass gives you exclusive access to over 300 box sets that you can stream instantly on any device, including your PC, phone, tablet, Smart TV, Chromecast and gaming consoles.
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How to watch Watchmen in the UK: Sky TV
All HBO programming airs on Sky TV in the UK, and Watchmen was no exception – it premiered on Sky back in October 2019. However, the TV show then completed its run and went off the air. Thankfully, with Watchmen receiving so many nominations in different award categories, Sky has decided to resurrect the show on its platform.
Those who have Sky TV with Box Sets can immediately start downloading episodes of Watchmen to watch offline without paying any additional fee. Those who don’t will first need to subscribe to the service; long-term contracts start from £18/mth or £25/mth with Netflix included and most involve a one-time setup fee.
How to watch Watchmen in the UK: Amazon Prime Video
If you’re looking to buy and keep episodes of Watchmen, then your best option is Amazon Prime Video which – until recently – was the only way to watch the hit TV show. You can buy the entire season for £11.49, or individual episodes for £2.49. The former obviously works out to be much cheaper.
How to watch Watchmen in the US: HBO Max
HBO is the original network that Watchmen was created for, so it’s obviously the best place for anyone looking to watch the show from the start. HBO runs a US-only streaming service called HBO Max, so if you’re based in the US that’s your best option for jumping on the Watchmen bandwagon. Subscriptions start from $14.99/mth, but this can vary depending on the package you opt for.
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How to watch Watchmen elsewhere in the world: Other services and VPNs
Depending on where live, there may be other streaming services that have the show. In Australia, for example, you can watch it on Foxtel Now, whereas in Canada you’ll need to subscribe to Crave to get access to all nine episodes of the multi-Emmy-nominated show.
Another option – particularly if you’re living in a country where you can’t watch the show easily – is to use a good VPN service. Short for ‘virtual private network’, a VPN is a piece of software that will let you bypass geographic restrictions on your PC and mobile devices to access streaming service that you can’t otherwise watch.
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So, for example, you can watch HBO from the UK or Europe even though the service isn’t officially available in your country. Similarly, you can also use a VPN to access Now TV in the US or Australia to watch the show for free. While there are many VPNs in the market, you’ll need the very best in order to watch streaming services abroad. Thankfully, we’ve done the hard work for you and even given you our top-two VPN recommendations below.
ExpressVPN: The best and fastest VPN with highest streaming speeds, 24/7 customer service and a 30-day money-back guarantee. It’s the most secure among all the VPNs we’ve tested, although it isn’t the cheapest. Our readers get three months free if you choose the yearly plan, which gives you a massive saving of almost 50%.
CyberGhost VPN: With handy options specifically designed for accessing streaming services, CyberGhost might be one of the cheapest and simplest VPNs to use if you want to watch the likes of HBO abroad. You can use it on six devices at the same time and the service has a 45-day moneyback guarantee in case you’re unhappy with it.