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Paramount Plus price, shows, free trial, movies and what you need to know

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Paramount Plus replaces CBS All Access and adds a lot more content

Paramount Plus
(Image credit: Paramount Plus)

Paramount Plus is still young, and still trying to find reasons to make us give it a chance. The new streaming service replaces CBS All Access and adds a lot of content on top, though the ads for Paramount Plus don't mention its predecessor at all. Check out our hands-on Paramount Plus review to see our first impressions on the service.

Interestingly, the biggest recent story about Paramount Plus is what it had — and then lost. The Oprah interview with Harry and Meghan streamed live on the service, via CBS, but didn't show up for video-on-demand. To which we say "Shame, Paramount Plus! Shame!" How do you let the biggest live TV event since February's Super Bowl slip through your fingers?

Paramount Plus' future, though, holds its other keys to success. Titles eventually coming to Paramount Plus are based on a lot of familiar faces, including a Frasier revival starring Kelsey Grammer, a new series set in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, and an iCarly revival. 

Why is that happening? Well, it's safe to assume that the folks in charge at ViacomCBS don't think the name CBS All Access is grandiose enough — or that simply adding a lot of content to CBS All Access would garner the same attention that rebranding it will. 

This confusion is similar to what happened with HBO Max, where it was arriving alongside HBO Go and the now defunct HBO Now. Paramount Plus will try to use this larger library to compete with the other Pluses in the neighborhood (Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, Discovery Plus). And don't forget Peacock, which got WWE content added recently.

Here's everything you need to know about Paramount Plus, including pricing, shows, movies and discounts. 

Paramount Plus price and discounts

Paramount Plus costs less than CBS All Access, but not at first. So, while there will be a $4.99 per month tier, it's just not available yet. To see it for yourself, you'll need to get one of the Paramount Plus apps.

Instead, you'll still see the original CBS All Access pricing, starting with the entry-level $5.99 per month Paramount Plus price. There is also be a $9.99 per month ad-free package, though that does not cut ads out of live broadcasts. Both will include local CBS affiliates for more than 200 markets across the country, plus other live TV channels and NFL games. Check out the Paramount Plus website to sign up.

Now, there's just the normal 15% off savings for annual packages, with $59 and $99 per year pricing. 

Paramount Plus apps and devices

Unlike a lot of recent streaming services, Paramount Plus debuted everywhere at the same time. So that means you can watch Paramount Plus on Roku easily, unlike what early HBO Max subscribers faced. Here are the download links for all the Paramount Plus apps

Paramount Plus free trial

Currently, there is only a 7-day free trial at sign-up — the 1-month free trial has expired.

Paramount Plus release date

The newly christened streaming service launched in the U.S. and Latin America on March 4. Paramount Plus arrived in Nordic countries on March 25 and will get to Australia in mid-2021. Canada saw the service rebranding on March 4, but not get the expanded content until later this year. 

We don't know the specific time of the service's launch, as Paramount has not announced it yet. Oh, and as for how to watch Paramount Plus? The CBS All Access app will be converted to a Paramount Plus app at launch. 

But why would you subscribe?

Paramount Plus shows

While Paramount Plus is going to deliver new shows that are revivals and sequels to known properties — Frasier, iCarly and the like — we don't have release dates for those programs. In terms of what's available now, Paramount Plus is getting some exclusives from CBS's leftovers, as Evil and SEAL Team are leaving the network and going to be on Paramount Plus.

You shouldn't lose anything from CBS All Access, so expect Star Trek: Picard, The Good Fight and more. The Offer, an original series based on the behind-the-scenes process of producing The Godfather, is on the table. A Halo TV series is also coming to Paramount Plus. 

There's also a new Criminal Minds revival coming to Paramount Plus. No word if Paramount Plus will pluck the Criminal Minds series from Netflix.

The other marquee Paramount Plus shows announced include 6666 (a Yellowstone spinoff), a reboot of Behind the Music, and a revival of the comedy series The Game.

Paramount Plus will incorporate more of the ViacomCBS portfolio's live news and sports content, collecting shows and movies from both CBS, BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and the Paramount Network.

Paramount Plus movies

Paramount Plus movies will include a lot of the studio's theatrical films going right to the streaming service after theaters. Those include Top Gun: Maverick, A Quiet Place 2 and Mission: Impossible 7.

The first big movie to hit Paramount Plus is The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run, which arrived at launch on March 4. Later, expect films based on Workaholics and Beavis & Butt-head. Paranormal Activity and Pet Sematary will also get Paramount Plus Original movies.

Also, expect a vault of 2,000+ classic films, such as The Godfather trilogy, iconic films like Friday the 13th, Rosemary's Baby and Airplane. 

Paramount Plus commercial

A true squad assembled on the fictious Mount Paramount, to promote the streaming service launch in a big Super Bowl commercial. That means you've got everybody from Patrick Stewart to Dora the Explorer, from Stephen Colbert to Beavis and Butt-Head. Even Spongebob Squarepants and Jeff Probst showed up.