Try this: look up the most highly rated episodes on IMDB and watch only those. Missing the crummy episodes usually does not interfere with understanding the story arc. Often, I set a minimum IMDB score that I will watch, like 8.5 or 9.0 to capture only the best. This works well with series that:

- take a year or two to find their footing or

- have a large cast (some mediocre) that get their own story lines of no consequence occasionally or

- introduce cast members that don't make it or

- implode towards the final season.

I have done this for many series that are somewhat uneven:

- The Americans

- How I Met Your Mother

- Fringe

- Orphan Black

- Halt and Catch Fire

- House of Cards (watching the ratings allows you to miss all of season 6)

- Arrested Development

- Bojack Horseman

- Veep

- 30 Rock

- Jane the Virgin

- Black Mirror

- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

- Suits

- Six Feet Under

- La Femme Nikita

- The Blacklist

- Peaky Blinders

- The Romanoffs

- Ozark

- Westworld (sometimes dropping episodes does not matter)

- Succession

- Borgen

And all of these series have lots of strong episodes.

Series I would not do this with:

- The Bear

- Breaking Bad

- Money Heist

- The Serpent

- Fleabag

- Chernobyl

- The White Lotus