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These days, it seems like every entertainment company wants their own streaming service. Many streaming services are worth your hard-earned cash, but sometimes it's difficult to keep track of which ones have your favorite shows. Just look at Paramount Plus, which started as Paramount's answer to streaming platforms such as Netflix. You can watch plenty of shows released exclusively through Paramount Plus, including "Tulsa King" and "Star Trek: Lower Decks," as well as addictive miniseries you can binge over a weekend, such as "1883" and "Knuckles". But you can also binge plenty of series originally intended for other services that are (or later became) part of the Paramount family.

However, not every subsidiary of Paramount is available through Paramount Plus. In June 2026, Paramount Plus ate up BET and all its programs. But while Paramount owns Pluto TV, it remains its own separate free ad-supported service and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Read on to learn about some of the services and networks you can get through your Paramount Plus subscription.

The current lineup of Comedy Central shows on Paramount Plus is a mix of modern shows and beloved classics. You've got series like "Hot Cleveland" the "Beavis and Butt-Head" reboot, "Reno 911!" and "South Park." Not everything on the service is fictional, though. If you want to see news anchors making fun of current events, you can always catch up on the latest episode of "The Daily Show." However, Paramount Plus' catalog isn't perfect. If you want to watch criminally underrated Comedy Central shows such as Detroiters, you will need a Netflix subscription instead.

Comedy Central hit the airwaves in 1989, sort of. What we recognize today as Comedy Central is the chimeric remains of two rival channels: The Comedy Channel and HA! Comedy Central was originally a partnership between Time Warner and Viacom, and in 2003, Viacom purchased all ownership. By 2019, Viacom merged with CBS to form a new company that would later rebrand as the modern Paramount. This ownership gave Paramount all the reason it needed to put Comedy Central on Paramount Plus.

While MTV is shorthand for "Music Television," you won't find much music-related material on Paramount Plus. Instead, most shows the service brought over from MTV revolve around the channel's original programming. These include classics such as the original "Beavis and Butt-Head," "Daria," and "Jackass." However, music lovers can still watch plenty of MTV documentaries, such as "Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback" and "Ozzy: No Escape from Now." Paramount Plus' MTV section also has no shortage of reality TV. If you want to lose hope for humanity, you can always binge "Jersey Shore."

The story of how MTV came under the wing of Paramount's ownership echoes Comedy Central's tale. MTV began in 1981 as a channel devoted to music videos, but as time went on, it started airing original programs. Initially, Warner Amex owned MTV, but Warner slowly sold off shares of the channel to Viacom. While Paramount and Skydance turned off all MTV cable and satellite broadcasts earlier this year, the channel and its programming live on through YouTube TV and Paramount Plus.

Nickelodeon is essentially one of Paramount's flagship brands, so you can find no shortage of shows through the service. The Nickelodeon channel is full of beloved Nicktoons classics, including "SpongeBob SquarePants," "Avatar: The Last Airbender," and "Invader Zim." You can also watch many of Nickelodeon's beloved live action shows, including "iCarly" and "Henry Danger," as well as properties Nick purchased the rights to, such as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and "The Transformers."

While many people reading this article likely grew up watching Nickelodeon shows, few know the history of the channel. The origins of Nickelodeon can be traced back to 1979, back when the network was part of Warner. However, Nickelodeon didn't find its identity until 1991, when it started airing cartoons. While American Express bought part of Warner in 1979, the company sold its shares back in 1985, and Viacom bought out Nickelodeon the same year — along with MTV and VH-1.

Showtime isn't a part of Paramount Plus in the traditional sense. If you get the cheaper Paramount Plus Essential subscription plan, you only get "select Showtime series." This includes exclusive shows such as "Dexter," "The Tudors," and "Yellowjackets," the latter of which has near-perfect scores on Rotten Tomatoes. However, if you want access to all of Showtime's original series, including "Sleeper Cell" and "House of Lies," you will need to shell out for the more expensive Paramount Plus Premium plan. Also, if you don't want ads to interrupt your binging of shows available through Paramount Plus Essential, you will need that Paramount Plus Premium subscription.

Unlike other channels available through Paramount Plus, Showtime began under the Viacom banner. The network aired in 1976 as a competitor to HBO, so much so that one of HBO's primary distributors, the Teleprompter Corporation, bought half of Showtime in 1979. This 50% stake was later sold back to Viacom, and while Showtime briefly saw ownership under CBS, a merger eventually gave Showtime an old new owner: Viacom rebranded as Paramount.

Most people associate the Smithsonian name with a group of museums situated in Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian Institute houses an ever-growing collection of exhibits, from colossal ancient sea monsters to meteorite fragments. However, the institute also runs the eponymous Smithsonian Channel, which is itself a collection of educational programs. You can watch countless documentaries on the Smithsonian Channel through Paramount Plus, ranging from tours of Yellowstone Park to stories about the Pacific War. The Smithsonian Institute also runs a Smithsonian Channel through Pluto TV, although you don't get to choose what you watch there; it's just a livestream of whatever documentary the Smithsonian has on at the time.

The Smithsonian Channel isn't like other networks available through Paramount Plus. The service started in 2006 as a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institute and Showtime. Back then, the network was known as "Smithsonian On Demand," but it quickly rebranded to "the Smithsonian Channel" a year later. While the Smithsonian Channel had its own app and service, these were discontinued in 2020 and rolled into the larger Paramount Plus family.