4 vintage shows from The CW will stream free on Pluto TV next month

Just like low-rise jeans, early-2000s nostalgia is so back. Pluto TV knows it, and the ad-supported streamer just announced that it’s adding four old favorite TV shows from the 2000s and 2010s to its free selection: Hart of Dixie, Arrow, The 100, and Everwood. They’ll all be free to stream on May 1 except for Everwood, which will land on the platform on June 1.

It’s part of Pluto TV’s big new move to invest in its younger audience’s interests — particularly Gen Z’s. The streamer directly references a recent NRG report that 72% of Gen Z prefers watching shows from the 2010s or 2000s, and these four additions will add over 400 episodes of already beloved content to Pluto TV’s free library. The platform is already stacked with other nostalgic titles like Fringe, Charmed, Psych, Malcolm in the Middle, and more.

Pluto TV is looking back in time for future success. Does that mean more oldies-but-goodies will find their home on the ad-supported streamer? If the other data is any indication, it could be an exciting yes.

Pluto TV is looking back to move forward

Tried and true classics never fail

The research is in: Gen Z doesn’t care if something is new if it’s bad. Because older shows have more than a few years under their belts, the reviews and opinions are in and generally well-known way before someone decides to watch them. The ratings are typically honest, too — so you know that while a show might be “good,” it could also be incredibly corny, feature poorly aged content, or even have a famously bad ending. In short, you know exactly what you’re getting into before you commit to walking down a five-season rabbit hole.

If that logic doesn’t convince you, Pluto TV also said the move was supported by the fact that its 18-34 year-old audience saw a 30% increase from January 2025 to January 2026, making it one of the biggest mouths to feed on the platform. The data says that young folks are craving the classics, and Pluto TV is ripe to become the hand that gives them out.

What are the new shows about?

Light-hearted fun to dark and desolate futures

Credit: The CW

Hart of Dixie is a rom-com drama about a New York City doctor who reluctantly moves to a small town in Alabama after her plans to become a heart surgeon fall apart. The show follows her culture shock, love triangles, and lessons learned that come with moving to a place so different from the only life she knew. Hart of Dixie aired from 2011 to 2015 and has four seasons with 76 episodes to watch.

Arrow is a different story — and one you might be familiar with from comics. Oliver Queen is Star City’s billionaire playboy turned vigilante after being stranded on an island for five years, and he’s on a mission to right wrongs, fight crime, and surely become a hero along the way — all armed with a bow and arrow. Arrow aired from 2012 to 2019 and has eight seasons to binge.

The 100 is a far cry from southern hospitality and archer vigilantes, though. Almost a century after nuclear war destroyed Earth as we know it, the remnants of humanity survived on The Ark, a space station that’s definitely seen better days. As the station secretly starts failing, 100 teenage delinquents are sent to the decimated surface to not just preserve air, but also as a test to see if survival is even possible. What they find out when they get there is that they aren’t the only people fighting for their lives. The 100 aired from 2014 to 2020 and has seven seasons with exactly 100 episodes to enjoy.

Finally, Everwood brings things back down to earth. After tragedy strikes the Brown family, a famous neurosurgeon picks up his two children and relocates to a small town in Colorado for a fresh start. Like Hart of Dixie, the medical mastermind must navigate the cultural differences that come with moving from a bustling urban environment to a vastly different way of life. Everwood aired from 2002 to 2006 and has four seasons with 89 episodes to watch.

These four additions are a pleasant surprise and an especially strategic move by Pluto TV. Having binged three of the four new shows myself at one point (Hart of Dixie and The 100 went platinum in my household), this feels like a smart bet.