The best Amazon Prime original series right now
This article contains affiliate links; if you click such a link and make a purchase, Digital Trends and Yahoo Inc. may earn a commission.
Despite Amazon Prime Video‘s exceptional subscriber counts, its best original series often don’t get quite the same recognition as those from other streaming platforms. After being the first streaming platform to win an Emmy with Transparent, it has taken some time for Prime Video to be back in the good graces of critics. Fortunately, 2024 series Fallout earned 17 Emmy nominations and season 4 of The Boys also met its high expectations.
This month, Amazon diversifies its animation portfolio with a new original from Batman: The Animated Series creator Bruce Timm, who returns to Gotham City with Batman: Caped Crusader. Plus, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s raunchy animated feature, Sausage Party, gets an original spinoff, Sausage Party: Foodtopia. Read on for the best Amazon Prime Video original series available now.
We’ve also rounded up the best Netflix original series and the best Hulu original series if Prime Video doesn’t have the originals you’re looking for.
Batman: Caped Crusader (2024) [New]
Metacritic: 73%
Rated: TV-14
Seasons: 1
Genre: Animation, Crime, Action & Adventure
Cast: Hamish Linklater
Created by: Bruce Timm
Not long after Disney+ revived a beloved superhero show from the ’90s with X-Men ’97, Amazon offered up its own nostalgia trip with Bruce Timm’s Batman: Caped Crusader. Produced by JJ Abrams and Matt Reeves, this update largely serves as its own standalone Batman series, as the Caped Crusader takes on many of Gotham City’s classic villains, all while drawing the admiration (and ire) of the GCPD and City Hall.
Sausage Party: Foodtopia (2024) [New]
Metacritic: 54%
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Cast: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton
Created by: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Ariel Shaffir, Kyle Hunter
Picking up after the end of the 2016 film, Sausage Party: Foodtopia explores what happens after food has (spoiler alert) killed off all of humanity. Now, Frank and Barry the hot dogs (Seth Rogen and Michael Cera), Brenda the bun (Kristen Wiig), Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton), and Kareem Abdul Lavash (David Krumholtz) must work together to build a utopia after the revolution.
The Boys (2019)
Metacritic: 77%
IMDb: 8.7/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 4
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action & Adventure
Cast: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr
Created by: Eric Kripke
There are plenty of superhero movies and TV shows out there, but none of them are quite like The Boys, which might offer the darkest, most depraved and dysfunctional view of super-powered heroes and villains we’ve seen so far. Based on Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic book series of the same name, The Boys follows a group of non-powered vigilantes who take it upon themselves to mete out justice to super-powered heroes who abuse their abilities and take advantage of the trust the public has placed in them. As grim and shockingly violent as it is clever, the series also offers a powerful deconstruction of traditional superhero stories and presents a world in which superpowers, corporate greed, and media consolidation have bled together to create a particularly frightening form of corruption. The audience sees it all through the eyes of Hughie, an average guy who is brutally changed by a chance encounter with a superhero. The highly anticipated fourth season begins airing June 13, 2024, only on Prime Video.
Outer Range (2022)
Metacritic: 60%
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Genre: Western, Mystery
Cast: Josh Brolin, Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor
Created by: Brian Watkins
Ostensibly Amazon’s more sci-fi answer to the wildly popular Yellowstone, Outer Range follows Wyoming rancher Royal Abbott (Josh Brolin) and the many troubles facing his family. There’s a family member that’s gone missing and a rival family trying to buy the Abbotts out when a mysterious void suddenly appears on their land. Outer Range returned for a second season in May 2024.
The Outlaws (2021)
Metacritic: 75%
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 3
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Cast: Christopher Walken, Stephen Merchant, Darren Boyd
Created by: Stephen Merchant, Elgin James
A collaboration between the BBC and Amazon Studios, the hilarious crime comedy series The Outlaws created by Stephen Merchant first aired in the U.K. in October of 2021. Merchant stars alongside Christopher Walken as two of seven loser delinquents who are brought together to fulfill their “community payback” sentences for their various crimes and misdemeanors. Forced to clean up and rehabilitate a dilapidated community center in Bristol, the group discovers a bag of money hidden in the ceiling. Even though they can’t stand each other, they’re forced to come together when they learn that the money is the property of some gangsters who want it back. The Outlaws season 3 began airing May 31, 2024.
Fallout (2024)
Rated: TV-14
Seasons: 1
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Comedy, Action & Adventure
Cast: Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Walton Goggins
Created by: Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Graham Wagner
Based on the beloved video game series, Fallout stars Ella Purnell as Lucy, a young woman among the masses of people forced to vacate their underground bunkers and re-emerge into the post-apocalyptic, irradiated world their ancestors left 200 years ago. In this age, Los Angeles is an incredibly complex hellscape that’s both somewhat attractively strange and enormously violent.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024)
Metacritic: 77%
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Cast: Donald Glover, Maya Erskine
Created by: Donald Glover, Francesca Sloane
A reimagining of the 2005 movie of the same name, Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a bit steamier and grittier than the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie version. Strangers John and Jane (Donald Glover and Maya Erskine) are paired together by their espionage agency to pose as a married couple as they work an assignment. The new “couple” set some immediate ground rules, including no sex, but soon find that they have more in common than just a compatible set of super-spy skills.
Hazbin Hotel (2024)
Metacritic: 69%
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Cast: Erika Henningsen, Stephanie Beatriz, Alex Brightman
Created by: Vivienne Medrano
Hell is cripplingly overpopulated, and the only solutions appear to be extraordinarily violent ones. Hoping to find a nonviolent alternative for population reduction, Charlie (voiced by Erika Henningsen), the princess of Hell, opens up the Hazbin Hotel, an experimental rehabilitation hotel that aims to help a group of misfit demons earn a chance at redemption (and therefore, access to Heaven). Hazbin Hotel is an adult animated musical comedy from Vivienne Medrano (VivziePop).
Reacher (2022)
Metacritic: 68%
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Genre: Action & Adventure, Crime, Drama
Cast: Alan Ritchson, Malcolm Goodwin, Chris Webster
Created by: Nick Santora
Based on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels, this Prime Video series stars Alan Ritchson as the titular retired Military Police Officer. In the small town of Margrave, Georgia, he finds himself arrested for a murder he didn’t commit, falling down a rabbit hole of dirty cops, scheming politicians, and conspiratorial businessmen. And he’s gonna pull his way out.
Invincible (2021)
Metacritic: 73%
IMDb: 8.8/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Genre: Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Drama
Cast: Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, J.K. Simmons
From The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Invincible is the second Kirkman comic to get the TV treatment. The animated series centers on 17-year-old Mark Grayson, an ordinary high school guy except for the fact that his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet, Omni-Man. Like his father, Mark expects to develop his own powers, but they’re not quite coming in as seamlessly as he expected. But as he slowly comes to grip with what he can do, he embarks on his own journey, in which he discovers his father’s legacy is more complicated than it appears.
Gen V (2023)
Metacritic: 73%
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Drama
Cast: Jaz Sinclair, Chance Perdomo, Lizze Broadway
Created by: Evan Goldberg, Eric Kripke, Craig Rosenberg
The spinoff of Prime Video’s popular The Boys, Gen V delves into a hilarious subplot of the comics, bringing audiences to Godolkin University, the Vought International-run college for superheroes. Gifted students put their skills and morality to the test to compete for the university’s top ranking and a chance to join The Seven. But the school is riddled with dark secrets that continually make the students wonder what kind of heroes they want to become.
Upload (2020)
Metacritic: 68%
IMDb: 7.9/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 3
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Cast: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards
Created by: Greg Daniels
In a not-so-distant future, humans near death have the option to upload their consciousness to luxurious virtual reality afterlives. When Nathan (Robbie Amell) is in a car accident, he can choose to undergo a risky operation and risk real death or go to the Lakeview digital afterlife instead. He chooses the latter, where he meets Nora (Andy Allo), his still-alive customer service representative. As Nathan becomes acclimated to a personalized, customizable afterlife (loaded with ads and in-app purchases), Nora navigates the personal and financial struggles of her real world. The boundaries blur as the two characters build a relationship that spans planes.
The Wheel of Time (2021)
Metacritic: 55%
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama, Action & Adventure
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Zoe Robins
Created by: Rafe Judkins
Once considered “unadaptable,” Amazon Prime Video has brought Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series to the small screen. In a mythical country, the world’s most powerful magicians believe the Dragon may have been reincarnated. Prophecy foretells that this individual will have the power to save the world or destroy it. Narrowing down her search to five young people, Aes Sedai Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) takes them on a journey to the Eye of the World to determine who is the Dragon, knowing full well most of them will not survive.
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (2023)
Metacritic: 67%
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Charlie Vickers
Created by: Sarah Lambert
Alycia Debnam-Carey and Sigourney Weaver star in this mysterious drama about young Alice Hart (Debnam-Carey), orphaned at age 9 by a house fire and raised by her grandmother. June (Weaver). on a flower farm. On the farm, there are secrets upon secrets, but it isn’t until Alice is older that she discovers a betrayal that will force her to face the demons of her past.
Harlan Coben's Shelter (2023)
Rated: TV-14
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama, Crime
Cast: Jaden Michael, Constance Zimmer, Didi Conn
Created by: Harlan Coben
Based on Harlan Coben’s bestselling Shelter novels, this original series follows Michael “Mickey” Bolitar (Jaden Michael) after the sudden death of his father forces him to uproot from New York City to resettle in suburban New Jersey. When another student mysteriously disappears, Mickey joins new friends Spoon (Adrian Greensmith) and Ema (Abby Corrigan) to discover the truth of what happened. But they soon find themselves embroiled in a web of mysteries and decades’ worth of deaths.
The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022)
Metacritic: 72%
IMDb: 6.8/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Genre: Drama
Cast: Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno
Created by: Gabrielle G. Stanton, Jenny Han
Based on Jenny Han’s YA novels, The Summer I Turned Pretty follows 16-year-old Belly (Lola Tung) on yet another family trip to their friends, the Fishers’, beach house. Most summers are fun, but plain and relatively uneventful. But this summer, 16-year-old Belly suddenly finds she’s drawn the attention of both Conrad Fisher (Christopher Briney) and the handsome Jeremiah (Gavin Casalengo). In her first summer of love, Belly will learn what turning pretty means for the rest of her life.
Good Omens (2019)
Metacritic: 66%
IMDb: 8.1/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Comedy, Drama
Cast: Michael Sheen, David Tennant, Sam Taylor Buck
Created by: Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
Amazon Studios co-produced this series, based on the fantasy novel of the same name by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, along with BBC Studios. The series follows an angel and a demon played by Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex) and David Tennant (Doctor Who), respectively, whose comfortable lives on Earth are threatened by the impending apocalypse. The pair must team up to prevent the ascension of the Antichrist and a war between heaven and hell. The show’s impressive cast is filled out by Jon Hamm, Michael McKean, Miranda Richardson, Adria Arjona, Nick Offerman, and Jack Whitehall. Like the book that inspired it, the series is packed with quirky, irreverent humor that filters both human history and biblical mythology through its clever lens.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017)
Metacritic: 80%
IMDb: 8.7/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 5
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Cast: Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Michael Zegen
Created by: Amy Sherman-Palladino
In 1958, New York City, Jewish housewife Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) finds out her husband — a businessman who does stand-up comedy on the side — is stealing his jokes from big-time comic Bob Newhart and, worse, having an affair. To cope with the upheaval, Midge begins to tell jokes of her own, and finds she has something of a knack for it. In the vein of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a comedy that doesn’t allow itself to be weighed down by its more serious moments, resulting in a joyous, fun tone. Similarly, the series tactfully handles issues of gender and religion in a period when people weren’t quite as enlightened or politically correct as (most) people are today. Brosnahan’s character work is outstanding, painting a picture of a woman who uses her pain to strengthen her resolve and bolster her act. The fifth and final season is now available on Prime Video.
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan (2018)
Metacritic: 64%
IMDb: 8/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 4
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, War & Politics
Cast: John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, John Hoogenakker
Created by: Carlton Cuse, Graham Roland
Tom Clancy’s fan-favorite hero, Jack Ryan, has the distinction of being played on the big screen by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine. However, it was John Krasinski’s take on the character that made Amazon’s Jack Ryan such a compelling show. Think of it as Jack Ryan Begins. This series follows Jack early in his career when he was simply an analyst for the CIA. Regardless, Jack’s ability to make connections and follow the money convinced the CIA to put him into the field long before he was truly ready for it.
Regardless of his lack of field experience, Jack grew into the role and personally took down a terrorist plot. Unfortunately, Jack’s personal life has suffered along the way. Thankfully, the series never disappoints when it comes to thrilling action scenes. Amazon has confirmed that a third season is on the way, which means Jack Ryan will be back in the near future.
Daisy Jones & the Six (2023)
Metacritic: 62%
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama
Cast: Riley Keough, Sam Claflin, Camila Morrone
Created by: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
A fictionalized tell-all about a rock band that abruptly called it quits, Daisy Jones & The Six is a creative examination of the real music and culture of the 1970s. In 1977, Daisy Jones & The Six — led by Daisy Jones (Riley Keough) and Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin) — had risen from obscurity to fame. They seemed poised for superstardom.
And then, after a sold-out show at Chicago’s Soldier Field, they disbanded. The limited series picks up decades later as the band members recount the true story of why it all fell apart.
The Power (2023)
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery, Drama
Cast: Toni Collette, Halle Bush, Ria Zmitrowicz
Created by: Naomi Alderman
Based on Naomi Alderman’s bestselling novel, The Power is a global thriller about a twist of nature. When teenage girls from London to Seattle and Nigeria to Eastern Europe suddenly gain the ability to electrocute people at will, the global balance of power is suddenly at risk. As teenage girls across the world harness this newfound ability and sense of agency, the entire world order comes into their crosshairs.
The Consultant (2023)
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Cast: Christoph Waltz, Aimee Carrero, Brittany O'Grady
Created by: Tony Basgallop
Christoph Waltz stars in the comedic thriller The Consultant based on Bentley Little’s novel of the same name. After an unspeakable tragedy at downtown Los Angeles games studio, CompWare, consultant Regus Patoff (Waltz) is brought in to lead the company back into the black. But the mysterious, eccentric Patoff takes charge in ways that feel provocative in the extreme.
The Peripheral (2022)
Metacritic: 57%
IMDb: 8.4/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama
Cast: Chlo? Grace Moretz, Gary Carr, Jack Reynor
Created by: Scott B. Smith
The lines of real life and virtual reality blend together in this adaptation of William Gibson’s sci-fi novel The Peripheral. Flynne Fisher (Chlo? Grace Moretz) leads a dull life in a small Appalachian town. Her one escape is her side hustle, playing advanced VR games for others.
Her skills earn her notoriety and soon, a company sends her a new video game system to test. But the strange system transports her to an incredibly lifelike, futuristic London that seems to tap into all of her dreams of finding a purpose, romance, and fame. But it also carries very real danger.
The Devil's Hour (2022)
Metacritic: 71%
IMDb: 7.8/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Mystery
Cast: Jessica Raine, Peter Capaldi, Nikesh Patel
Created by: Tom Moran
Peter Capaldi and Jessica Raine star in this six-part psychological thriller. Lucy (Raine) wakes up every night at 3:33 a.m., stirred by terrifying visions. When her name is inexplicably connected to a string of brutal murders, she meets the prime suspect, Gideon (Capaldi). But while there’s much Lucy can’t figure out about the murders, the answers slowly begin to take shape, and they’re all related to her strange visions.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
Metacritic: 71%
IMDb: 6.9/10
Rated: TV-14
Seasons: 1
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Drama
Cast: Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Morfydd Clark
Created by: John D. Payne, Patrick McKay
Despite a rocky release dominated by bigoted trolls and bots spamming review sites with terrible reviews, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has still drawn a massive following. The lesson, as always, is that trolls are idiots who are not to be trusted. Set millennia before the events of Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Rings of Power finds Middle-earth in a period of relative peace. One elf, however, senses that the evil of Morgoth has not disappeared for good. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) has dedicated her life to ensuring Morgoth and his lieutenant, Sauron, are eliminated for good. But as she discovers more and more clues that her concern was justified, the leaders of elves, dwarves, and men find themselves consumed by other matters, allowing evil to thrive in the shadows.
A League of Their Own (2022)
Metacritic: 70%
IMDb: 7.2/10
Rated: TV-14
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Chanté Adams, D'Arcy Carden
Created by: Abbi Jacobson, Will Graham
Abbi Jacobson (Broad City) created and stars in this adaptation of the classic baseball movie. The year is 1943, and Carson Shaw (Jacobson) arrives in Chicago, ready to try out for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Max Chapman (Chanté Adams), a Rockford local, is denied a chance to even try out for the Rockford Peaches due to being Black. Through their associations with the league, both women forge new paths and break down barriers by digging deep into the national pastime.
The Kids in the Hall (2022)
Metacritic: 83%
IMDb: 8.5/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald
Created by: Dave Foley, Mark McKinney, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Scott Thompson
The kids may be a bit older, but this revival of the iconic Canadian sketch comedy show still hits! Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson return with a ton of wacky new characters and beloved favorites. All of the sketches pack a revived satirical punch that the Kids in the Hall became known for.
Night Sky (2022)
Metacritic: 66%
IMDb: 7.5/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama
Cast: Sissy Spacek, J.K. Simmons, Cass Buggé
Created by: Holden Miller
In The Night Sky, Sissy Spacek and J.K. Simmons star as Irene and Franklin York, a retired couple who have a secret chamber buried in their backyard that leads to a mysterious, deserted planet. They’ve long safeguarded this secret, so when a young man named Jude (Chai Hansen) shows up on their property, they’re very protective of it. But soon, Jude leads them to discover far more about the chamber than they ever realized possible.
The Wilds (2020)
Metacritic: 72%
IMDb: 7.2/10
Rated: TV-14
Seasons: 2
Genre: Mystery, Drama
Cast: Sophia Ali, Shannon Berry, Jenna Clause
Created by: Sarah Streicher
The Wilds is almost like a Lord of the Flies for Gen Z. It follows a group of teen girls who must fight for survival after a plane crash strands them on a deserted island. The castaways begin maneuvering both with and against one another in a sort of sick recreation of existential high school. The young women learn more about one another and create bonds through the traumas they’ve endured and the secrets they hold. But there’s one common denominator that binds them above all: They’re not on this island by accident.
Undone (2019)
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Genre: Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Angelique Cabral, Constance Marie
Created by: Kate Purdy, Raphael Bob-Waksberg
Undone is a rarity among adult-oriented animated series, because it’s more of a drama and a thriller than a comedy. It also utilizes Rotoscoping animation to provide the series with mind-bending visuals. Rosa Salazar stars in the series as Alma, a directionless young woman who almost loses her life in a car crash. However, Alma soon discovers that the crash seemingly unlocked her ability to see her dead father, Jacob (Bob Odenkirk). According to Jacob, Alma has the ability to bend time and space to her will, and he wants her to go back in time to prevent his murder. While Alma can seemingly do everything that Jacob promised, the truth about her abilities and her sanity is still tantalizingly ambiguous. The second season, out now, provides more answers.
As We See It (2022)
Metacritic: 82%
IMDb: 8.2/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Rick Glassman, Sue Ann Pien, Albert Rutecki
Created by: Jason Katims
A unique dramedy about life on the autism spectrum, As We See It takes the common twentysomething learning how to adult premise and puts it on the spectrum. Roommates Jack, Violet, and Harrison are struggling to grasp their independence and become adult members of society, and society isn’t exactly making it easy. But with the help of their families, aides, and one another from time to time, they’ll find their way. Or at least try to.
Hanna (2019)
Metacritic: 62%
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 3
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama
Cast: Esme Creed-Miles, Mireille Enos, Dermot Mulroney
Created by: David Farr
Just over a decade ago, Hanna was a feature film that came and went. However, David Farr reinvented Hanna for Amazon Prime as a TV series starring Esme Creed-Miles in the title role. Young Hanna is the product of a CIA experiment to create super soldiers by splicing her DNA with genetic material from wolves. That made her everything the CIA hoped for and more. The Killing’s co-stars Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos were reunited in Hanna, but on opposite sides. Kinnaman plays Hannah’s adoptive father, Erik Heller, who went to great lengths to hide Hanna and raise her as his own. Enos portrays Marissa Wiegler, a CIA agent with an unhealthy obsession with Hannah herself.
Goliath (2016)
Metacritic: 65%
IMDb: 8.1/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 4
Genre: Crime, Drama
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Nina Arianda, Tania Raymonde
Created by: David E. Kelley, Jonathan Shapiro
Billy Bob Thornton portrays hard-luck lawyer Billy McBride in this series that follows his path to redemption after leaving the powerful law firm he co-founded with a reclusive partner and hitting rock-bottom. Although it features an impressive supporting cast that includes William Hurt, Maria Bello, Olivia Thirlby, Molly Parker, and Mark Duplass, the series is led by Thornton’s performance as the former hot-shot attorney who now struggles against a legal system weighted against his clients instead of favoring them. The role won Thornton a Golden Globe Award as the year’s best actor in a drama series at the 2017 ceremony.
The Pursuit of Love (2021)
Metacritic: 76%
IMDb: 6.7/10
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama
Cast: Lily James, Emily Beecham, Andrew Scott
Created by: Emily Mortimer
Amazon channels its inner Downton Abbey in this romantic period drama that follows the friendship between cousins Linda (Lily James) and Fanny (Emily Beecham) as they yearn to escape from their isolated country home where they grew up to find love in the big city. This is not your typical Jane Austen story; it’s much steamier and a touch raunchy, but The Pursuit of Love‘s excellent cast and stylish sets will appeal to fans of classical English romance.
The Expanse (2015)
Metacritic: 72%
IMDb: 8.5/10
Rated: TV-14
Seasons: 6
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Cast: Steven Strait, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham
Created by: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby
Although The Expanse began as a Syfy original series, Amazon saved the show and renewed it for two additional seasons. That’s a tremendous gift for genre fans, because The Expanse has emerged as one of the best shows on TV. The series adapts the sci-fi novels of James S. A. Corey, which take place in the far future after humanity has colonized the solar system. Steven Strait’s James Holden and his fellow survivors stumble onto a conspiracy to use an alien Protomolecule to transform humanity into something new. Thomas Jane co-stars as Josephus Miller, a detective chasing the plot from another angle. But it’s often Shohreh Aghdashloo who steals the show as Chrisjen Avasarala, the only woman in Earth’s government who recognizes that the real threat may come from within.
The Underground Railroad (2021)
Metacritic: 92%
IMDb: 7.4/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama
Cast: Thuso Mbedu, Chase W. Dillon, Joel Edgerton
Created by: Barry Jenkins
The Underground Railroad may not be the series that you expect. It is a story about slavery in the pre-Civil War United States, but not the way that it actually happened. In this reality, the underground railroad is literally a railroad built underground to help escaped slaves find freedom outside of the southern states. Thuso Mbedu stars as Cora Randall, a woman who flees from slavery while trying to stay one step ahead of a slave catcher named Arnold Ridgeway (Joel Edgerton). Cora has to fight for both her life and her freedom, even though her triumph is far from certain.
Bosch (2015)
Metacritic: 71%
IMDb: 8.4/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 7
Genre: Mystery, Drama, Crime
Cast: Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino
Created by: Eric Overmyer
Bosch has the distinction of being the very first Amazon Prime Video original series. Now, the seventh season is wrapping up the story of Detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch (Titus Welliver). The series adapted Michael Connelly’s novels out of order, but the core of the show was loyal to the source material. Harry isn’t a dirty cop, but he has been known to bend the rules on occasion, as long as it leads to a just outcome. Regardless, even Harry’s best intentions can come back to haunt him. And he’s got plenty of enemies both within the police force and among Los Angeles’ criminal underworld.
Them (2021)
Metacritic: 57%
IMDb: 7.2/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Cast: Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Alison Pill
Created by: Little Marvin
No, it’s not a sequel to Jordan Peele’s Us, but this limited series does play with some similar themes. The anthology series explores terror in America, beginning in the first season in the 1950s. The story centers on a Black family who moves from North Carolina to an all-white Los Angeles neighborhood during The Great Migration. Believing they’ve left much of the racist terror behind them in the South, the family soon sees its idyllic home become ground zero for terror, both from the neighbors and from otherworldly forces.
Small Axe (2020)
IMDb: 7.9/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama
Created by: Steve McQueen
Small Axe isn’t your standard television fare. The series is actually a collection of films from Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen. The anthology series includes five original films set from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, telling personal stories from London’s West Indian community. These peoples’ lives have been forcefully shaped despite rampant racism and discrimination in their community, giving weight to the proverb that inspired the title: “If you are the big tree, we are the small axe.”
Flack (2019)
Metacritic: 58%
IMDb: 7.2/10
Seasons: 2
Genre: Drama
Created by: Oliver Lansley
Celebrity scandals are a way of life. But in Flack, they’re just another day at the office for Anna Paquin’s Robyn. She’s an American PR executive working in London. But if she thought that Hollywood scandals were out of control, then she hasn’t seen anything yet. While Robyn is exceptionally talented at getting her clients out of trouble, her personal life could use some serious help.
Tell Me Your Secrets (2021)
Metacritic: 55%
IMDb: 7.4/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama, Crime
Cast: Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater, Amy Brenneman
Created by: Harriet Warner
TNT’s loss is Amazon’s gain. While Tell Me Your Secrets was originally produced for cable, Amazon Prime has snagged the thrilling drama starring American Horror Story‘s fab Lily Rabe. This series explores the dangerous and enigmatic stories of three people. Rabe stars as Emma Hall, a woman who survived an encounter with a murderer. Hamish Linklater’s John Tyler may have once been a killer himself, but he’s trying to reclaim his soul. Finally, Amy Brenneman’s Mary Barlow is desperately searching for her missing daughter. How will their stories intersect? Watch to find out.
Tales from the Loop (2020)
Metacritic: 68%
IMDb: 7.4/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Jonathan Pryce, Ato Essandoh
Created by: Nathaniel Halpern
Simon St?lenhag’s Tales From the Loop narrative artbook was brought to television as a sci-fi anthology series that tells the stories of the people who live in Mercer, Ohio. Rebecca Hall stars as Loretta, a physicist who works at the Mercer Center for Experimental Physics, aka The Loop. It’s Loretta’s job to find ways to “make the impossible possible.” This affects the town above The Loop in profound and surprising ways as they rewrite the rules of reality as we know them.
Truth Seekers (2020)
IMDb: 7/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Samson Kayo
Created by: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Nat Saunders, James Serafinowicz
This eight-part supernatural comedy series is another feather in the cap for genre comedy specialists Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, The World’s End). The series follows a team of part-time paranormal investigators who work to uncover and film ghost sightings across the U.K., chronicling their adventures on a web channel. But as they stake out haunted churches and underground bunkers, what was once a hobby becomes increasingly haunting, terrifying, and even deadly as they stumble into a deep conspiracy.
Fleabag (2016)
Metacritic: 92%
IMDb: 8.7/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Cast: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sian Clifford, Olivia Colman
Created by: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
This British sitcom is created and written by star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who plays a young London woman who hurtles through life fueled by sex, jokes, awkward moments, and plenty of drama. The series was adapted from Waller-Bridge’s one-woman stage show and concluded its second and final season on Amazon in May of 2019. The winner of multiple TV awards and nominations over the course of its run, including a pair of Primetime Emmy Awards for Waller-Bridge and the series itself, Fleabag managed to top its widely praised first season with an even more critically acclaimed sophomore season that put it among the best-reviewed TV series of all time.
The Grand Tour (2016)
Metacritic: 8%
IMDb: 8.7/10
Rated: TV-14
Seasons: 4
Genre: Talk, Reality
Created by: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, Andy Wilman
If you liked Top Gear and you’ve never seen The Grand Tour … oh boy. The full crew — Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, and executive producer Andy Wilman — migrated to Amazon after Clarkson was booted from the BBC show following some untoward allegations, and it feels like they never left. The Grand Tour actually takes Top Gear to another level, with more extravagant production value and more ridiculous vehicles than ever before. As with its predecessor, Grand Tour expertly blends legitimate auto journalism with general buffoonery, as the hosts regularly take gleeful potshots at one another. The show travels across the world for numerous specialty episodes, including one involving charitable efforts in Mozambique and one in Dubai featuring sand buggies.
Homecoming (2018)
Metacritic: 75%
IMDb: 7.5/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 2
Genre: Drama
Cast: Stephan James, Janelle Monáe, Chris Cooper
Created by: Sam Esmail, Micah Bloomberg, Eli Horowitz
Based on the podcast of the same name created by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg, Homecoming is a psychological thriller about a secret government program called Homecoming, a facility that helps soldiers transition back to civilian life. In season one, Julia Roberts stars as Heidi Bergman, a caseworker who left Homecoming to take care of her mother in the small town where she grew up. However, when the Department of Defense starts asking why she left, Heidi begins to realize the story she has been telling herself is completely different from what actually happened. As Homecoming bounces between timelines, we see just how deep the conspiracy between private enterprise and government brainwashing goes. Season two premiered in May of last year with a new cast centered around Janelle Monáe.
The Man in the High Castle (2015)
Metacritic: 73%
IMDb: 8/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 4
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama
Cast: Alexa Davalos, Joel de la Fuente, Jason O'Mara
Created by: Frank Spotnitz
What would have happened if the Axis powers emerged victorious from World War II? That’s the question posed by The Man In The High Castle, a dramatic, highly stylized adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1962 novel of the same name. Set in the early 1960s (novelly, it’s a dystopian past this time around), the Third Reich and the Japanese empire hold split control over the continental United States. When a dangerous propaganda film makes its way into the hands of revolutionary groups, a clandestine conflict begins over the truth of the war as an aging Adolf Hitler prepares to relinquish control of the Reich and several prominent party members vie for a chance at the throne. The pace is slow, but the acting, especially from Rufus Sewell (Victoria) as the icy Obergruppenführer John Smith, is worth your patience.
Mozart in the Jungle (2014)
Metacritic: 76%
IMDb: 8.1/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 4
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Cast: Gael García Bernal, Lola Kirke, Saffron Burrows
Created by: Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola, Alex Timbers
Gael García Bernal stars as an eccentric, wunderkind orchestra conductor in one of Amazon’s first originals, created by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Paul Weitz. Lola Kirke stars as an oboist and the conductor’s protégé. It’s neither a steamy, passionate drama nor a high-stakes thriller. Instead, Mozart in the Jungle is just a fun, low-key show about being human. There’s ambition, triumph, failure, connection, disconnection, and a slew of ordinary things, played out in the world of extraordinary musicians. Plus, Malcolm McDowell and Bernadette Peters are in it, so you know it’s fun.
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams (2017)
Metacritic: 68%
IMDb: 7.2/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 1
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama
Created by: Philip K. Dick, Ronald D. Moore, Michael Dinner
An anthology sci-fi series akin to Netflix’s Black Mirror, the first 10-episode season of Electric Dreams offers a set of stand-alone stories that filter humanity’s technological future through a dark, often unsettling lens. Each of the episodes is inspired by the works of prolific sci-fi author Philip K. Dick, whose stories previously served as source material for Blade Runner and Minority Report, among other acclaimed films. Although the series isn’t a fully original Amazon Studios production, Amazon Prime Video owns the U.S. rights to the series, which has a surprisingly well-known cast of familiar faces in front of the camera, and an equally impressive team behind it. Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) is one of several high-profile cast members to appear in episodes, along with Hidden Figures actress Janelle Monáe, Terrence Howard, Steve Buscemi, and Anna Paquin.
Red Oaks (2014)
Metacritic: 70%
IMDb: 7.9/10
Rated: TV-MA
Seasons: 3
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Craig Roberts, Alexandra Socha, Paul Reiser
Created by: David Gordon Green
Red Oaks is a surprisingly fun ode to classic 1980s coming-of-age comedies that doesn’t lean on lazy callbacks or costume gags, instead crafting a genuinely affecting tale of love, loss, and growth. College kid David Myers (Craig Roberts) signs on to work at an upstate New York country club in the summer, where he works as a tennis instructor under the charming Nash (Ennis Esmer, always stealing scenes). David inconveniently finds himself falling for the beautiful daughter of the club president (Paul Reiser, of course) while navigating his parents’ messy relationship, and a relationship of his own. The series doles out hilarity and wholesomeness in equal measure, with excellent comic acting by both known commodities (Richard Kind, ’80s icon Jennifer Grey as the parents) and diamonds in the rough (Oliver Cooper). The first season is the best, but it’s all worth your time.
