3 under-appreciated shows on Amazon Prime Video you really shouldn't ignore
Like many major platforms and broadcasters, Amazon's Prime Video has what seems to be unlimited resources but very little patience. As such it is home to a huge back catalogue of TV shows in varying stages of production... some complete and finished, some simply abandoned.
However, that doesn't mean that they are all stinkers. In fact, some are superb – just under-appreciated at the time and therefore sitting there waiting to be discovered once more.
Here are three shows on the streaming service that were either forgotten about or fell by the wayside, yet are a cracking watch even today.
The Night Manager
Imagine a show where you take some of the biggest UK talents, a wonderful story by one of the world's leading spy writers, and a series of beautiful locations around the world, yet within a year nobody even remembers it.
This was the fate that awaited The Night Manager. Originally a BBC production, this tale of intrigue, murder, corporate and political unease, and sexual tension is everything you could possibly want from a thriller. Gripping, well-paced and superbly cast, it's a fantastic show and worthy of its spot on Prime Video today.
Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and Hugh Laurie (House) are great as hero and villain respectively, and for the former it often feels like an elongated audition to be the next James Bond.
It's just a shame that, even with critical praise on its original showing, it almost disappeared without a trace. Thankfully, that wasn't completely the case and you can stream it now to find out what all the fuss was about.
Plus, even better news if that, after eight years in the wilderness, early production has started on an unexpected but very welcome second season.
Hunters
Nazis, Hitler, assassins, 70s disco and Al Pacino! That's not the tagline for Hunters but it perhaps should have been. It might have helped it gain the audience it deserved.
Following a group of World War II Holocaust survivors as they plot their revenge against Nazis who escaped after the war, this two season show is glorious in its production. It is beautifully filmed and genuinely riveting.
Add Al Pacino to the mix, in what must be a rare television appearance, and this show should have been a huge and memorable success. But, for some reason, be it a lack of promotion or just bad timing, Hunters found itself forgotten and pretty much ignored after its first season.
The show survived to a second season where it seemed the writers and producers had been given the instruction to wrap things up, but that was then it.
So why, with all this in mind, should you bother with Hunters? Well, it's simple really, it's really, really good. It looks great, has a spectacular cast and a really shocking, memorable storyline. It's a lot of fun too, and has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.
There will not be a third season so just enjoy what we got from Mr Pacino and his crew.
The thing about Stephen King is that you either love him or hate him – and there's a question mark over his consistency. For every It there is a Needful Things, for every The Shining there is a The Shining: the mini series. He is quite possibly the greatest modern day horror writer, iconic and prolific, but also not without his faults.
With this in mind and due to his huge impact all through the 90s, 2000s and 2010s, studios regularly fight each other for the rights to his novels and stories, often regardless of how popular they are.
11.22.63 is a prime example of this.
A what-if time travel story involving 60s America, the plot to kill JFK, and the idea of love outside of your own time, 11.22.63 was never one of King's huge successes – certainly not a household name like Misery, but this I feel works massively in its favour.
The adaptation is a great little show. You get a self-contained single season that's well-written, well-paced, and features a solid main performance from James Franco.
Do not expect time travel tropes, there are no fighting dinosaurs, no trips to ancient Egypt or glimpses of dystopian futures, but it oozes 60s cool and is an interesting watch now that it's on Prime Video.
