Say, from the mid-seventies on back. DesertRoomie loves to doze off watching them. I have two streaming services but Netflix is pretty sparse* and Amazon wants you to rent them. I’m looking for something where the monthly fee allows you to watch.
*She was pretty heart-broken when it dropped The Dick Van Dyke Show.
You can get a lot of old TV shows on regular antenna TV. Most people know you can get the networks on an antenna, but now there are lots of sub-channels that have all kinds of content. A lot of the sub-channels will show old TV programs. There are many websites where you can enter your address and it will give you a listing of the antenna channels you might receive.
One of the common sub-channels is MeTV, which shows a lot of old TV content. They also have free streaming options. You can watch directly on their website: MeTV Videos
In addition to MeTV, there’s alsoAntenna TV, Cozi, Decades, and a bunch others. You’ll generally find them on subchannels you didn’t even know you had like X.2, X.5, etc.
I haven’t checked in a while, but you also used to be able to find a lot of them for free on the appropriate network’s website.
Hulu has several old TV shows, including Dick Van Dyke, Andy Griffith, and The Odd Couple.
A lot of their on demand shows actually come directly from Hulu, at least on my mobile app.
BTW, you should check out Tubi TV. They carry The Dick Van Dyke Show, as well as other classic comedies such as Green Acres, The Addams Family, and 3rd Rock From the Sun. All for free. 
That might be the way to go; the one-time purchase instead of the monthly fee is appealing. I didn’t think of it because it’s so-o-o last century. :smack:
Yeah, that’s true for a lot of people. We all got so used to cable that it’s easy to forget that TV is also broadcast over the air.
Here’s some general info about over-the-air tv. The networks will generally be in uncompressed HD and look great (often better than cable). The subchannels are in a lower resolution and will look somewhat or greatly grainy. Older shows are in the format for regular TV, so they can look stretched on a wide TV. You can usually change some settings so it shows them with the normal aspect ratio if you like. The OTA signals usually include a little bit of data which describes the schedule on that channel. Some TV’s will capture this and create a channel guide that allows you to see what’s on all the channels like what you have with cable. There’s nothing special about antennas that make them work with HD. If you have an old set of rabbit ears from long ago, those will still work.
As for the channels in my area, the older shows I commonly see are things like Columbo, Wonder Woman, Hogan’s Heroes, Charlie’s Angels, Rockford Files, Andy Griffith Show, 70’s games shows, old movies, etc. There are also older shows from cable networks like Intervention, American Greed, true crime shows, etc. Even if you have streaming, it can be nice to have when you just want to flip around and see what’s on.
MeTV is also carried on cable in your area. Go to MeTV’s website and enter your zip code. It’ll tell you what channels it’s on.
JustWatch is a handy website for determining where you can find a show online (legally), either streaming, for rent, or for purchase.
The OTA antenna arrived from Amazon yesterday and I set it up. No MeTV anywhere (Their site says it’s on 7.2 but this site lists no channel 7 at all. I’m guessing KAZT went bust and MeTV hasn’t gotten the word.
All the TV broadcasters have their tower atop South Mountain (a lot of work went into deciding that name), the tallest in the vicinity, some 17 miles away so for the most part the antenna works fine stuck to the wall. For some reason KPHO (5) is detected but doesn’t get off of the black when tuned to. KAET (8) isn’t even detected but since it broadcasts at 33kW instead of 1000 like everybody else, there’s no surprise there. That means no CBS or PBS. Mounting the antenna outside is not an option as there are no windows in that corner and I would have to drill through cinder block.
According to [antennaweb.org](https://antennaweb.org/Stations?Address=Mesa%2C Arizona 85203%2C United States&AntennaHeight=False&Latitude=33.43&Longitude=-111.87), KAZT has a translator, or rebroadcasting transmitter, KAZT-CD, on UHF channel 36. That’s only 16 miles from your location. I understand your reasoning for using a flat antenna, but the antennaweb site recommends using a multidirectional antenna, aka rabbit ears. Not the most attractive option, I know, but probably more functional.
Bumping this because of a channel called Heroes and Icons. It’s not a military-themed channel, despite its name. Instead, it carries shows such as Nash Bridges, Monk, and House, M. D. It also carries all five Star Trek series, one episode of each every weeknight. It’s an over-the-air subchannel, so it’s free. You just need an antenna to pick it up.
You can see some stuff on Youtube. For example Alfred Hitchcock Presents:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=alfred+hitchcock+presents
OTA is the way to go. Hulu’s UI is absolute trash.