I’ll be the first to admit that using a VPN has upped my streaming game – and that’s pretty essential, considering my job includes covering the big TV shows and blockbusters currently blowing up the internet.
They’re ideal for keeping your data safe online. Though, more gratifying for a media hound like me is how a VPN can help with streaming: routing my web connection through a variety of remote servers in different countries so I can enjoy worldwide content that would otherwise be off limits.
That means I can ride the pop culture tsunami – you know, those wonderfully tacky reality shows and hit sitcoms that everyone’s talking about – without any tedious delays, while also staying connected to the titles I’m most fond of if I happen to be away from home.
Oprah with Meghan and Harry
Two members of the British Royal Family spilling the tea to TV royalty in an exclusive interview about all the Buckingham Palace drama? That was one hoo-ha I had to be part of.
At the time I was social distancing in Berlin (it was 2021 at the height of the Covid pandemic). Regardless, by activating a VPN and using a United States server, I was able to tap into this CBS special hosted by media mogul Oprah Winfrey that had people talking on both sides of the Atlantic.
I caught it the moment it landed on the CBS website, as the disaffected royals – now living in America – burned bridges and dropped bombshell revelations about the monarchy and their ongoing family discord, including Prince Harry’s estrangement from his father.
The UK press was scandalized. Though millions tuned in, including me, to see what became, according to Vogue, one of 'The 10 Best Pop-Culture Moments of 2021'.
Abbott Elementary / It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
I’m a huge fan of these two comedies. So when I learned that Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia were going to converge in one ingenious crossover (Season 4’s Volunteers), I had to witness this TV alchemy.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t in North America at the time. Was it humanly possible I could wait up to six months to discover what happened to Abbott's principled educators when they met Paddy’s morally-bankrupt publicans?
“Oh, hell no,” as Melissa would say.
So I chose a VPN server in the US, and, at the click of a button, was able to access my Hulu subscription. And, as I devoured the latest episodes, I could breathe a sigh of relief as I discovered that, yes, Janine and Gregory were still loved up… despite 'Sweet' Dee’s shameless attempts at seduction.
Weapons
2025 was a phenomenal year for horror movies.
My personal favorite? Zach Creeger’s gruesome follow up to Barbarian, which got tongues wagging and left this viewer bowled over by its unhinged audacity.
Needless to say, as Halloween approached I was eager to rewatch this chilling mystery, following 17 schoolkids who simultaneously disappear at 2.17am, while introducing us to flame-haired villain Aunt Gladys (an Oscar-nominated Amy Madigan).
It was limited to PVOD services to rent or buy in a lot of places. But it was part of the HBO Max streaming service in countries like the US and Australia, despite only making its theatrical debut a few months before.
Connecting back home, my VPN enabled me to stream the five-star rated Weapons without paying any more money and, subsequently, I got my share of bonkers, nail-biting scares.
Glastonbury Festival
I’m not much of a festival-goer. I find glamping squalid. Still, there are rare occasions when I’d happily stand in the mud with the bucket hat-wearing throng at Worthy Farm.
One of those was when The 1975 gave their only performance of 2025, headlining Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage in the UK – an intoxicating set supercharged by the swagger of the band’s chain-smoking front man, Matt Healy.
I couldn’t be there in person. But almost as good? Watching the BBC’s extensive coverage on iPlayer, including live streams of the five main stages. Yet licensing restrictions leave even UK citizens abroad unable to log in to the service.
Using my VPN to assuage my FOMO, I dialled into a local server to watch Glastonbury Festival online, rocking out to The 1975’s bravura performance… and without the endless queuing and porta-potties!
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Almost overnight, Jacob Elordi was everywhere. He went from relative obscurity to Hollywood heartthrob status in 2023, after playing musical legend Elvis in Priscilla, burning up the screen in Saltburn, and later hosting SNL – a clear indication that he’d hit the big time.
I’d seen everything he’d done up till then, and The Narrow Road to the Deep North promised to be an incendiary drama this film fan couldn’t miss: another acting showcase coupled with director Justin Kurzel’s take on the Booker Prize-winning novel.
The hitch? The miniseries was on Amazon Prime Video in territories like Australasia, just not globally. Rather than sobbing myself to sleep, I hopped on my VPN and was able to access my region’s Amazon Prime catalogue. And voila! Another award-worthy Elordi performance.
Bowie: The Final Act
“Look up here, I’m in heaven,” David Bowie sang on his transcendent final album, Blackstar. After watching this, I was inclined to believe him – his influence more evident than ever.
A central part of UK programming commemorating the artist’s legacy on the 10th anniversary of his death, Bowie: The Final Act presented a more vulnerable side to the man born David Robert Jones, as, post-80s success, he navigates self-doubt and commercial failure, before dropping his magnum opus two days before his death.
It’s a deeply moving film, full of archive footage and celebrity interviews. Frustratingly, I couldn’t find it available anywhere except Channel 4 in the UK. With a good VPN, though, I was able to access the free-to-air platform, and quickly remembered just why I fell in love with Ziggy Stardust in the first place.
Love Island Australia
Wonderful weather, beautiful people… am I the only person that needs the Love Island franchise year-round, like someone with a serious vitamin D deficiency?
Unfortunately, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are left out in the cold every October, as All Stars and the UK and US iterations drop off the viewing schedules.
Thank the Love Gods, then, for Love Island Australia, which picks up the slack as Aussie spring begins. With plenty of hot bombshells and spicy, dramatic twists, there’s no shortage of drama.
However, if you’re not in the country, episodes can roll out days, even weeks, later – and personally, I can’t wait for another blast of aspirational Aussie energy.
So I simply connect to 9Now using a VPN server Down Under, and with butterflies in my stomach, gleefully anticipate that first Coupling Ceremony.
Is it legal to use a VPN for streaming?
Except in a few specific places (e.g. Iraq, Belarus, North Korea) VPN services are legal to use – including for streaming. Of course, that's no defense for using them to carry out illegal activity, however.
Although streaming with a VPN is generally legal, various platforms and broadcasters may have conditions in their Ts&Cs that specifically prohibits their use. Netflix is a good example. It means by using a VPN to access different global Netflix catalogs, you will violate its terms.
That said, there is very little evidence that Netflix has sought action or cancelled subscriptions of any users it suspects of using a VPN while watching the service.
So although it appears to be low risk, you should be aware of the dangers.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
