Heroes on the home screen
This is part of a regular series of articles exploring the apps we couldn’t live without. Read them all here.
With the advent of digital media and streaming, we all now have access to more films, television shows and music than we could ever expect in one lifetime – and it’s now quite a challenge to keep track of what’s been watched and listened to , and what is worth queuing for next.
When it comes to following TV shows, I trust it Marathonfor which is available Android And iOS as well as the internet. It manages to tick all the boxes you want from an app like this: it’s simple to get started, easy to find your way around the user interface, and it has an extensive and up-to-date database.
You can get started with the app for free, and there’s a paid tier for $1.99 / £1.99 / AU$2.99 per month, which gives you access to additional customization features for your profile and tag support to organize lists and reviews. Your money also supports the future development of the app, of course.
Getting started with the Marathon app
The onboarding process is the same as most similar apps: you need to say something about what you’re interested in so that the app and its recommendations can be tailored to you. From the start, Marathon asked me about the streaming and TV services I signed up for, as well as some shows I’ve already watched.
Once that’s done, it’s time to record your viewing habits into the app, and Marathon somehow manages to make the process fun. You can tap through a series of checkboxes to log individual episodes, and the app has some nice, smooth animations to go with it. My recent ratings always stay at the top, and I can always see how far along I am in each of my different shows.
Tell Marathon what you’ve watched and check off shows as you go (Image credit: Future)
Marathon works really well as a way to keep track of your upcoming viewings and what you’ve seen in the past. You can see which episode you’re working on in each series – very useful for episodes that span multiple seasons and multiple years – and you can even mark shows as paused or abandoned. It’s another sign that the developers have thought of everything.
The profile tab lets you add a few details that other Marathon members can see (you can follow other users you’re interested in, just like social media). There are spots for your favorite shows, the ratings and reviews you’ve left, and any lists you’ve made. You can also check out some stats on how many views you’ve logged into Marathon.
Search, register and review programs
Perhaps the most obvious place to start when you’re actually in the Marathon app is the search box at the top. Once I find a show I’m watching, I get a beautifully presented overview page for it: there are details about what the show is about, when it first aired, who’s in the cast, and much more. You can even dive into individual episodes.
The app lets you leave reviews and ratings for both individual episodes and entire shows, and you can also see which platforms each show is streaming on. Tap Watchand you will get a program added to your list. You can then start recording your viewing moments from the Watchlist tab in the app, as described above.
List pages and profiles are all well presented (Image credit: Future)
The app covers a lot of ground, and yet it never feels overly cluttered or too busy. One of the biggest challenges for these types of apps is cramming in the maximum number of features and the maximum amount of information without everything getting out of hand – and that’s a challenge that Marathon handles very well.
I like the way you can add a whole bunch of television to the app and it doesn’t really break a sweat. Thanks to tools such as the filters and sorting options on your watchlist, you will never get lost in the app and everything is clearly divided between the different tabs. It’s the kind of app you can just jump in and start using without any hand holding.
Track future viewing in the Marathon app
Another area where Marathon really excels is in the way it handles everything that hasn’t aired yet: If I go to the watchlist page, I can see when future episodes are coming out and when new seasons are premiering. The app has now notified me several times about new episodes and seasons that I would otherwise only have found out about after they had been out for days or weeks.
I also make a lot of use of the Explore tab in the app. It couldn’t be easier to browse lists of shows that are proving popular with other users, new shows coming to specific streaming services, shows sorted by genre, and even curated lists based on themes (like workplace comedies).
You can also use the app to find new shows to watch (Image credit: Future)
There aren’t many tweaks here in the way of customization, but you do get a choice of a light or dark mode for the interface, and it’s possible to adjust some of the ways in which gestures work and which tabs in the app appear first. opened. Profile extras such as custom show posters come with an account upgrade.
One of the ways I can say I like Marathon is that I often dip into it, even if I don’t record what I watch – just to poke around and leave some reviews.
It’s a slick and intuitive second screen companion for my television viewing, and I hope it gets better and better over time, too.