20 Original Prime Video TV Shows Worth Watching

Like Amazon itself, Prime Video can feel like the Wild West at times, with tons of TV shows and movies from all eras, and none of them carefully curated. There’s plenty out there and the selection can be a bit overwhelming. That being said, there’s gold if you’re willing to dig a bit, and the streamer has at least had its fair share of impressive original shows, though they sometimes get lost in the noise. Something like The Rings of Power , which has Amazon’s entire checkbook behind it, gets a lot of press (and that’s a good thing!), but it’s far from exhaustive.

These worthy shows, some of which have ended and some are ongoing, feature both the streamer’s original products and collaborative products (often from the UK), as well as one or two shows for which Prime Video is the distributor in North America.

Good Omens (2019–, two seasons)

Michael Sheen and David Tennant are delightful as respectively the hopelessly naive angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley, who have been wandering the Earth for millennia and determined not to let the eternal conflict between their two sides get in the way of their mismatched friendship. In the world of the series, from the 1990 novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, heaven and hell represent less good and evil than hardened bureaucracies who are more interested in scoring points from each other than doing something useful to anyone. either down here. He has a sly, quirky, sometimes goofy sense of humor, even as he asks serious questions about who should decide what is right and wrong. Each of the current two seasons has been presented as a separate one, and there is no word yet on whether there will be a third.

The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (2022–, second season expected)

All the talk about Rings of Power leading up to the show was the cost of the planned five seasons, which is expected to be in the region of a billion dollars. At this price point, it’s tempting to expect a fiasco, but the resulting series is actually quite good, mixing epic conflict with more mundane characters in a way reminiscent of Tolkien and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. The events of the series take place thousands of years before these tales. The series follows an ensemble cast led by Morfydd Clark as the elven outcast Galadriel and, on the other end of the spectrum, Markella Cavena as Nori, Harfoot (people we’ll come to know much later as hobbits). ) with a thirst for adventure, which becomes involved in the great struggle of the world, which is about to see the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the fall of the idyllic island kingdom of Numenor, and the last union of elves and people.

Underground Railroad (2021, mini-series)

The harrowing mini-series, based on the 2016 novel by Coulson Whitehead, mixes true story with fantasy (or at least a sense of magical realism) to make the title “Underground Railroad” literally rather than metaphorical. Tuso Mbedu plays Cora Randall and an enslaved Georgia woman making her way through the underground network, with each episode representing a different stop. Not only is the show, hosted by Moonlight ‘s Barry Jenkins, lush and often superbly filmed, it’s also incredibly reminiscent of the experience of someone like Cora – the show turns away from strict historical reality, disorienting us as viewers, and puts us in the head of a young woman. traveling through an unfamiliar and almost completely hostile America.

Their own league (2022–, final season expected)

Amazon’s stellar adaptation (and expansion) of the 1992 film feels like it came out at the wrong time: bills came in for streaming services that were all trying to outdo each other in terms of original content volume, so great shows like A League of Their Own get a chop. – at least this season will have another shortened season to sum it up. The show follows the formation in 1943 of the real-life Rockford Peaches, part of the then-new All-American Women’s Professional Baseball League. The show’s characters are fictional but are based on real and often overlooked stories of women in the sport, including queer and black women. He’s got a big heart, a sharp sense of humor, and great reviews… so enjoy while he’s around.

Space (2015–2022, six seasons)

A pickup from the SyFy channel after that network nearly went out of business with the original series, The Expanse started well and has only gotten better with each successive season. Starring Stephen Strait, Shore Aghdashloo and Dominic Tipper among a sizable ensemble cast, the show is set in a not-too-distant future in which we’ve spread across the solar system while pretty much taking all the usual political bullshit and conflict with it. . The rescue team stumbles upon an alien microorganism capable of destroying almost anything if humanity can stop fighting for leftovers long enough for it to matter. The series brings a sense of gritty realism to science fiction without completely sacrificing optimism, or at least the idea that well-intentioned people can make a difference.

Reacher (2022–, second season expected)

I’ve never read any of the Lee Childs Jack Reacher books that the show is based on, but I’ll take the word of the author’s many fans that Tom Cruise’s portrayal in the two-year-old films didn’t matter much. do with the character on the page. Alan Ritchson ( Titans ) scored much higher in this regard, playing Reacher with a more appropriately commanding physical presence. In season one, a former US Army military cop visits the rural town of Margrave, Georgia… where he is quickly arrested for murder. His attempts to clear his name reveal that he has become involved in a complex conspiracy involving the city’s highly corrupt police force, as well as dubious local businessmen and politicians.

The Amazing Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023, five seasons)

Maisel was one of Prime’s first and most raucous original series, a comedy-drama by Amy Sherman-Palladino (“Gilmore Girls”) about Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), a late 1950s New York housewife who discovers her talent stand. comedy. Inspired by the real life careers of comedians like Toty Fields and Joan Rivers, the show is both warm and funny, with great performances and dialogue; it also achieves something rare in that it’s a show about comedy that’s really funny.

The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019, four seasons)

Based on the novel by Philip K. Dick (whose work inspired Blade Runner , Total Recall , Minority Report , The Grim Scanner, and many others) , The Man in the High Castle is set in an alternate history in which The Axis Powers won World War II, and in which the United States split in half; Japan rules the west and Germany rules the east. However, the man in the high castle offers an alternative perspective in which the allies did win, with the potential to rally opposition to the Axis rulers. As the show progresses through four seasons, the parallels to our increasingly friendly authoritarian world make it one of the most relevant shows of recent years.

Paper Girls (2022, one season)

Even though Paper Girls ended tragically after just one season, Paper Girls is still more than worth it. Starting on the morning after Halloween in 1988, the show shows Erin, Tiff, Mac, and KJ on their regular delivery route when very, very strange things start to happen. The young cast is great and the story keeps surprising; The series also has more than just an adventure through time: it’s about confronting your own future at a difficult age, as well as considering your past and all the paths you never traveled.

Tales from the Loop (2022)

The name “Loop” is a facility in which experiments are carried out aimed at finding alternative dimensions for scientific progress. In the city that lives above the Loop, the remnants of failed experiments affect the city in ways no one could have imagined, setting the stage for this great-looking semi-anthology (it’s based on the concept art book by artist Simon Stålenhag and successfully ported due to the book’s striking appearance ). Found one device that allows you to stop time; the other forces you to swap bodies with any creature that is nearby. It’s funny to see the unfortunate results that come with tampering with experimental science, but these are all slow-burning, often meditative stories. Spectators who have been patient with the deliberate pace will be rewarded.

Outer Range (2022–, second season expected)

Westerns are popular now, as evidenced by the hugely popular Yellowstone series, but this series with Josh Brolin works a little differently: Wyoming ranger Royal Abbott (Brolin) tries to save his land and family, while a rival landowner threatens to take over . . This is nothing new until he discovers a mysterious black void in his land connected to a mysterious drifter. it was renewed for a second season.

Vanity Fair (2018, mini-series)

Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel, Dragon House) plays Becky Sharp in this controversial adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel. The author stars one of literature’s greatest bad girls, a woman who lies, cheats, and steals, and always with a smile—which is probably why Vanity Fair isn’t screened as often as novels featuring ladies of better repute. Cooke really draws attention, offering perhaps the best performance of Becky on television or in film.

The Boys (2019–, three seasons)

There is no doubt a lot about superheroes, but since there has never been a series like the Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson comic that this show is based on, there is nothing like The Boys . A very dark satire depicts a world in which superheroes are popular with the public, but whose powers don’t make them any better than the average jerk. When his girlfriend is brutally murdered by a superhero who doesn’t really care (collateral damage, you know), Wee Huey (Jack Quaid) is recruited by the title agency. Led by Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), the Boys keep an eye on the world’s superpowered people, putting them down when necessary and possible. A fourth season and a spin-off ( Gen V ) are on the way. An animated mini-series ( Diabolical ) was released in 2022.

Trash (2016–2019, two seasons)

Fleabag isn’t an original Prime project per se, and isn’t even a collaborative product, but Amazon is the show’s US distributor and still labels it as such, so we’ll count that. There’s no brief synopsis here, but Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays the lead character (only known as Fleck) in a comedy-drama about a light-hearted, yet deeply angry, lonely woman living in London. Waller-Bridge has won individual Emmy Awards for Star, Creator, and Writer (all in the same year), while co-stars Sian Clifford, Olivia Coleman, Fiona Shaw, and Kristin Scott Thomas received well-deserved nominations.

The Dolores Roach Horror (2023–, one season)

Justine Machado (who was great in One Day at a Time ) stars in this completely unique horror comedy as the title’s Dolores, released from her 16-year prison sentence and back in her old neighborhood, now completely gentrified. The show opens with a Broadway show mirroring Dolores’ actions, with hints of Sweeney Todd , which pay off relatively quickly: she teams up with Luis (Alejandro Hernandez), the owner of a local diner; if you’re at all familiar with the Sondheim musical, you can guess where it’s headed. The bodies start to pile up, but the show doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s all about Dolores and the extremes a woman can go to trying to rebuild her life after a ridiculously long prison sentence for selling weed. . TBD about the renewal of the second season.

Wheel of Time (2021–, second season expected)

Effective fantasy storytelling, The Wheel of Time features five people taken from the secluded village of Moraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), by a powerful wizard who believes one of them is a reborn Dragon: a being that will either heal the world, or destroy him completely. The show has an epic scope while cleverly focusing on the very out of this world villagers, experiencing a lot of it at the same time as the audience. The show has been renewed for a second and third season, which is probably for the best – Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson’s series runs 15 books, so there are still plenty of stories to tell if Amazon’s money can hold up.

Lost Flowers Alice Hart (2023)

There is something old-fashioned, in a better way, about Lost Flowers (from the novel by Holly Ringland). The miniseries is a now rarely made melodrama, full of drama and family secrets, but without the lazy clichés and obvious twists that so often rule the genre. The story of a young woman (Alicia Debnam-Carey) who comes to live with her grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) after a difficult childhood, the Australian series is very atmospheric and compelling.

Consultant (2023– , one season)

It’s never quite clear if The Consultant is a comedy or a thriller, and that tension is both a strength and a weakness… but the show is weird enough and interesting enough to overcome any tone-setting issues. Host Christoph Waltz also plays a strong role here as an enigmatic consultant who shows up to clean up the mess at a mobile gaming company. Remember Severance , but it has less science fiction and more mysticism.

Devil’s Hour (2022 – , one season)

Jessica Raine ( Call the Midwife ) joins Peter Capaldi ( The Thick of It , Doctor Who ) in a slightly twisted but memorable series that uses just about every horror story imaginable and manages to justify things in two main roles. . Rain plays a social worker whose life is falling apart on almost every level: she takes care of her aging mother, her marriage falls apart, her son is withdrawn, and she wakes up at 3:33 sharp every morning. She is as convincing in this role as Capaldi is absolutely horrific, as a criminal connected to at least one murder who knows a lot more than he makes clear. It was renewed for a second and third season.

Kids in the Hall (2022 – , one season)

After a 27-year hiatus, Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson are back for an eight-episode revival of the classic Canadian sketch comedy show, joined by the likes of Kenan Thompson, Tracy Ellis Ross, Mark Hamill, Eddie Izzard and Katherine O’Hara. It’s not just that the new show is just as good (and just as weird) as the original – the core troupe are no longer wildly talented amateurs, but comedy professionals with years of experience. There’s probably more on the way.