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39 best TV shows streaming on Prime Video

39 best TV shows streaming on Prime Video

Keep up with The Boys season four, binge recent favorites like Fallout, and more

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Clockwise from bottom left: The Summer I Turned Pretty (Photo: John Merrick/Prime Video), The Wheel Of Time (Photo: Jan Thijs/Prime Video), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Photo: David Lee/Prime Video), Expats (Photo: Prime Video), I’m A Virgo (Photo: Pete Lee/Prime Video)
Clockwise from bottom left: The Summer I Turned Pretty (Photo: John Merrick/Prime Video), The Wheel Of Time (Photo: Jan Thijs/Prime Video), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Photo: David Lee/Prime Video), Expats (Photo: Prime Video), I’m A Virgo (Photo: Pete Lee/Prime Video)
Graphic: Jimmy Hasse

Are you really making the most out of your Amazon Prime subscription? Sure, you’ve got paper towels and cat litter coming in like clockwork. But if you’re not regularly combing through the service’s streaming catalog, then you’re missing out on hundreds of hours of killer TV. Since getting into the original-content game, Prime Video has churned out some great series—award-winners such as Fleabag and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, recent faves like Fallout and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and lesser-known left-turns including Patriot. And that’s not counting all of the fine shows that debuted elsewhere, like the beloved comedy Catastrophe.

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This list is in alphabetical order. It was last updated on July 2, 2024. It will update monthly.  

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The Boys (Prime Video: 2019-)

The Boys (Prime Video: 2019-)

Stars: Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Laz Alonso, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Jessie T. Usher, Chace Crawford, Elisabeth Shue, Colby Minifie, Aya Cash, Claudia Doumit

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 3

Let’s be honest: If superpowers were real, then American capitalism would turn the people who have them into egomaniacal celebrities with god complexes faster than you can say, “So…is the city paying for that?” Based on Garth Ennis’ comics of the same, The Boys imagines a group of vigilantes intent on exposing so-called superheroes in a world where corporate overlords control them. It’s like Watchmen, only way more fun and, frankly, disgusting. Season four runs through July 18.

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Buffy The Vampire Slayer (The WB: 1997-2001, UPN: 2001-2003)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (The WB: 1997-2001, UPN: 2001-2003)

The cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Photo: Online USA (Getty Images)

Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Boreanaz, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Stewart Head

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 7

Our apologies to True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, and What We Do In The Shadows—but no vampiric TV show will ever be quite as iconic as Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Sure, creator Joss Whedon imploded his career. But that’s no reason to punish yourself or this stellar cast by writing off the show altogether. Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as the titular Buffy, a young woman who discovers she’s destined to seek and slay demons in the small town of Sunnyvale. At least, she’s got friends (and an ancient prophecy) backing her up.

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Catastrophe (Channel 4/Prime Video: 2015-2019)

Catastrophe (Channel 4/Prime Video: 2015-2019)

Catastrophe Season 1 - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Sharon Horgan, Rob Delaney, Carrie Fisher, Mark Bonnar, Sarah Niles, Tobias Menzies, Ashley Jensen, Frances Tomelty

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 4

Co-created by Horgan and Delaney, plot wise, Catastrophe pretty much lives up to its title. The biting British comedy follows Sharon and Rob, who go from strangers to unexpected parents-to-be after hooking up one night. The rom-com uses both characters’ deadpan humor and huge egos to its benefit, crafting a relationship that feels incredibly grounded despite their wild circumstances. The show also marks Fisher’s last TV role, and to no one’s surprise, she delivers a remarkable performance as Rob’s mother.

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Daisy Jones & The Six (Prime Video: 2023)

Daisy Jones & The Six (Prime Video: 2023)

Daisy Jones & the Six - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Riley Keough, Sam Claflin, Camila Morrone, Suki Waterhouse, Will Harrison, Josh Whitehouse

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

This buzzy miniseries, based on the beloved book by Taylor Jenkins Reid, charts the rise of the show’s titular band, a Fleetwood Mac-esque rock group in the 1970s. As Mary Kate Carr put it in her review: “As an adaptation, the series is a success, thanks to the competent work of creators Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and Neustadter’s co-showrunner Will Graham. Anything jettisoned from the source material is barely missed, and what’s brought to life exists even more vibrantly than on the page.”

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Dead Ringers (Prime Video: 2023)

Dead Ringers (Prime Video: 2023)

Dead Ringers Limited Series Teaser

Stars: Rachel Weisz, Britne Oldford, Poppy Liu, Jennifer Ehle, Michael Chernus

Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

This miniseries, a female-centered riff on David Conenberg’s shocking 1998 film of the same name, stars Rachel Weisz as twin gynecologists. As David Cote put it in his positive review of the show: “Created by Alice Birch (Normal People), who ran an all-women writers’ room, Dead Ringers is chic, potty-mouthed, and unafraid to wallow in bodily fluids.”

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Downton Abbey (ITV: 2010-2015)

Downton Abbey (ITV: 2010-2015)

Stars: Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Joanne Forggatt, Phyllis Logan, Jessica Brown Findlay, Rob James-Collier, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 6

Created by Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey is synonymous with excellent historical drama for a reason. Set in early 20th-century England at a fictional estate in Yorkshire, this family epic follows the aristocratic Crawleys through the changing realities of a world ravaged by global conflict. Understated and slow, but never boring, Downton Abbey offers long-haul character development that remains some of the best the genre has ever witnessed on the small screen.

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Expats (Prime Video: 2024)

Expats (Prime Video: 2024)

Expats - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, Ji-young Yoo, Brian Tee, Tiana Gowen

Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

The Farewells Lulu Wang concocted this affecting dramatic miniseries, which centers on a group of expatriates residing in Hong Kong. As Saloni Gajjar put it in her positive review of the project: “The show does risk self-indulgence at times, especially with its luxurious pacing and the way it milks one horrendous incident in the lives of its leading trio for theatrical effect. Luckily, the expected bouts of melodrama are circumvented because Expats grounds itself in an unflinching reality, no matter how sad, shocking, or sublime.”

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Fairfax (Prime Video: 2021-)

Fairfax (Prime Video: 2021-)

Stars: Skyler Gisondo, Kiersey Clemons, Peter S. Kim, Jaboukie Young-White

Number of seasons included with subscription: 2

Fairfax isn’t the first adult animated series set in Los Angeles—BoJack Horseman comes to mind—and it won’t be the last. But this under-appreciated half-hour comedy’s tackling of hypebeast culture in a uniquely SoCal setting is worth trying on. When middle schooler Dale (voiced by Skyler Gisondo) moves across the country from Oregon, his new friends help him embark on a mission for coolness and clout that’s surprisingly endearing.

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Fallout (Prime Video: 2024-)

Fallout (Prime Video: 2024-)

Fallout - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Kyle MacLachlan, Moisés Arias, Xelia Mendes-Jones, Walton Goggins 

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

The post-apocalyptic video-game franchise finally made its way to the small screen this year, and we were pretty damn delighted with the results. As William Hughes put it in his recap of the season-one finale: “Whereas, say, The Last Of Us worked as an adaptation solely by strictly recreating its source material in a non-interactive form, this series opted instead for the more ambitious path: wrestling with the themes and ideas that power the Fallout universe without slavishly recreating them. It’s both heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny, genuinely moving and horrifically, gut-churningly violent.” Not so surprisingly, the series has been renewed for a second season.

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Fleabag (Prime Video: 2016-2019)

Fleabag (Prime Video: 2016-2019)

Stars: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sian Clifford, Andrew Scott, Bill Paterson, Brett Gelman, Olivia Colman, Angus Imrie

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 2

Based on Waller-Bridge’s one-woman show, British comedy Fleabag is equal parts acerbic and heart-wrenching. The first season is a comedic success, but the second season fully manages to sweep audiences off their feet with a love story from hell. Hot Priest wouldn’t approve of that phrasing, but come on, the romance was true emotional torture—in a great way. The show nabbed multiple Emmy wins in 2019, and remains one of the easiest binges on Prime.

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Friday Night Lights (NBC: 2006-2011)

Friday Night Lights (NBC: 2006-2011)

Friday Night Lights Season 1 DVD Trailer

Stars: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Taylor Kitsch, Jesse Plemons, Aimee Teegarden, Gaius Charles, Adrianne Palicki, Michael B. Jordan

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 5

A series that transcended both high-school and sports shows (and seemed to be almost tailor-made for viewers who don’t particularly like those genres?), Friday Night Lights has a lot going for it: some charming young talent, a strong aesthetic thanks its three-camera-and-minimal-blocking setup, an authentic-feeling small-town backdrop, a very good score and soundtrack, and, as just about everyone who enjoys the show has commented, maybe the best married couple on TV in the form of Coach and Tami Taylor. Those locker-room speeches are pretty damn good, too.

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Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (Channel 4: 2004)

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (Channel 4: 2004)

Stars: Matthew Holness, Matt Berry, Richard Ayoade, Alice Lowe

Number of seasons included with subscription: 1 

“I’m one of the few people you’ll meet who’s written more books than they’ve read.” So says the titular star of this brilliant, hilarious one-season-and-done cult curiosity, in which a bad horror writer (Matthew Holness) looks back on his bad horror TV series from the ’80s, one that up until this fictional making-of doc had only aired in Peru. In his deep dive into the show, Erik Adams called it “the unlikely, six-episode intersection of such iconic Britcoms as The Office, The IT Crowd, and Father Ted—with bits of I’m Alan Partridge and Da Ali G Show thrown in for good measure.”

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Good Omens (Prime Video: 2019-)

Good Omens (Prime Video: 2019-)

Stars: Michael Sheen, David Tennant

Number of seasons included with subscription: 2

Created by Neil Gaiman—and adapted from his and Terry Pratchett’s beloved 1990 novel of the same name—Good Omens is a fantastical biblical farce that never lets up. When the Antichrist arrives on Earth, the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and the demon Crowley (David Tennant) band together to protect the semi-mortal lives they’ve come to know and love. Season two of the series dropped in 2023.

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House, M.D. (Fox: 2004-2012)

House, M.D. (Fox: 2004-2012)

Stars: Hugh Laurie, Robert Sean Leonard, Lisa Edelstein, Jesse Spencer, Omar Epps, Jennifer Morrison, Olivia Wilde, Peter Jacobson, Kal Penn

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 8

We’ll admit: Gregory House is a terrible doctor whose flippant mistreatment of patients was always unacceptable. We’ll also admit: He’s one of funniest medical providers in TV history (second only to 30 Rock’s Dr. Leo Spaceman). In this long-running hospital dramedy, Hugh Laurie stars as the titular House M.D., a smarmy diagnostician whose lack of bedside manner would lose him his license if he weren’t also a scientific genius. Come for the promise of the killer one-liners; stay because of the super soapy drama.

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I’m A Virgo (Prime Video: 2023-)

I’m A Virgo (Prime Video: 2023-)

I’m A Virgo - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Jharrel Jerome, Mike Epps, Carmen Ejogo, Walton Goggins, Brett Gray, Kara Young

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

Boots Riley (Sorry To Bother You) cooked up this wonderfully weird series, which follows a 13-foot-tall teen, Cootie (Jharrel Jerome), in Oakland. As Jenna Scherer put it in her review: “Riley’s brilliance is to create a fictional setting so over-the-top that it sneaks up on us how close it is to our own. It allows us to realize how outlandish our reality truly is—existence in an impossibly cruel, racist, classist system that is nonetheless marked by flashes of beauty and radical kindness from the very people it exploits.”

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Invincible (Prime Video: 2021-)

Invincible (Prime Video: 2021-)

Stars: Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, J.K. Simmons, Gillian Jacobs, Zazie Beetz, Walton Goggins, Jason Mantzoukas, Zachary Quinto

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 2

Invincible is a bloody good time. The adult-animated drama, based on comics of the same name, follows the transformation of teen Mark Grayson—whose father is Omni-Man—into a superhero. Here’s a bit from Saloni Gajjar’s review of the show’s second season, which wrapped up in April: “These episodes are jam-packed with the gory action Invincible specializes in, feature some big twists (not news for readers of Robert Kirkman’s source material, of course), and rely on Steven Yeun’s poignant performance to anchor it all.”

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Key And Peele (Comedy Central: 2012-2015)

Key And Peele (Comedy Central: 2012-2015)

Stars: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Ty Burrell, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Melanie Lynskey, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Eric Edelstein

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 5

Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key have been comedy work wives since MadTV, and they even show up together in the first season of Fargo. Their Emmy-winning Comedy Central sketch comedy remains an iconic gift. For five seasons, the duo covered societal topics with a myriad of skits with memorable characters, from Peele’s take on President Obama to Key’s angry teacher Mr. Garvey.

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A League of Their Own (Prime Video: 2022)

A League of Their Own (Prime Video: 2022)

A League of Their Own - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Abbi Jacobson, Chanté Adams, D’Arcy Carden, Roberta Colindrez, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Kelly McCormack, Priscilla Delgado, Nick Offerman

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

Can you remake something as beloved as A League Of Their Own without mucking it up? Apparently you can, as Will Graham and Abbi Jacobson’s reboot of the 1992 classic turned out to be fun (and funny) as hell, with a refreshingly wider scope to boot. As Jenna Scherer put it in her positive review of the first (and only) season: “Maybe most importantly for fans of the original movie, this League is also a good old-fashioned underdog sports drama, complete with training montages, rousing locker room speeches, and edge-of-your-seat home runs.”

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The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power (Prime Video: 2022-)

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power (Prime Video: 2022-)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – Main Teaser | Prime Video

Stars: Morfydd Clark, Lenny Henry, Sara Zwangobani, Dylan Smith, Markella Kavenagh, Robert Aramayo, Benjamin Walker, Ismael Cruz Córdova

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 1 

The most expensive show of all time made its debut in 2022, sweeping us into J. R. R. Tolkien’s Second Age of Middle-earth. As Matt Schimkowitz wrote in his recap of the premiere: “Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay’s interpretation of Tolkien’s world doesn’t merely fit neatly with the world Peter Jackson created in the early 2000s, but it also folds into a larger cultural story about Tolkien and what his work continues to inspire in people.” The show’s second season kicks off August 29.

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The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart (Prime Video: 2023)

The Lost Flowers Of Alice Hart (Prime Video: 2023)

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Alyla Browne, Asher Keddie, Leah Purcell, Frankie Adams, Alexander England

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

This sweeping, Australia-set miniseries stars Sigourney Weaver and Alycia Debnam-Carey as, respectively, the matriarch of a refuge for abused women and her granddaughter. And as Max Gao put it in his review of the adaptation: “The show largely succeeds as a powerful depiction of solidarity and sisterhood, showing what can happen when women are given the freedom to blossom together.”

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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video: 2017-2023)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video: 2017-2023)

Stars: Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Tony Shalhoub, Marin Hinkle, Michael Zegen, Kevin Pollak, Caroline Aaron, Luke Kirby, Jane Lynch

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 5

Amy Sherman-Palladino brings her colorful Gilmore Girls-esque writing, fast conversations, and sharp humor to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The show follows Midge Maisel, a 1960s housewife-turned-standup-comic. Brosnahan, Borstein, and Shalhoub deliver remarkable performances in this Emmy-winning series, which wrapped up its fifth and final season in 2023.

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The Mindy Project (FOX: 2012-2015; Hulu: 2015-2017)

The Mindy Project (FOX: 2012-2015; Hulu: 2015-2017)

Best of Mindy Lahiri - The Mindy Project

Stars: Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz, Chris Messina, Ed Weeks, Xosha Roquemore, Adam Pally, Beth Grant, Fortune Feimster, Garret Dillahunt

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 6

After writing for and starring in The Office for eight seasons, The Mindy Project marked Kaling’s first as a series creator. She plays Dr. Mindy Lahiri in this workplace comedy, which survived shifting from network to streaming, as well as a roster of cast changes. While it’s true that Danny Castellano’s character arc still hurts, at least we’ll always have the surprise Christmas dance he did for Mindy. TMP remains an overall hilarious sitcom (featuring several notable guest stars, from Bill Hader to Ana Ortiz to Timothy Olyphant). Kaling established herself distinctive comedic voice and as a leading lady during its six-season run, which also marked the first time a South Asian actor starred in their own primetime sitcom.

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Mirzapur (Prime Video: 2018-)

Mirzapur (Prime Video: 2018-)

Stars: Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Rasika Dugal, Shweta Tripathi Sharma, Divyenndu, Vijay Varma, Vikrant Massey

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Number of seasons: 2

Think of Mirzapur as a rowdier Succession, with way more violence and entertaining Hindi-language crass words. Set in rural India, the drama follows an iron-fisted crime lord, Kaleen Bhaiyya (Tripathi), who wields immense political power in the small titular town. Multiple people vie for his inheritance, including his sinister heir and two of Kaleen’s new employees. Mirzapur is an intense and fast-paced thriller, one of many hailing from Prime Video India (Paatal Lok is another great option).

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Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video: 2024-)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video: 2024-)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith Season 1 - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Donald Glover, Maya Erskine

Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

Glover and Erskine make a winning team in this creative, thoughtful, fantastically soundtracked spin on the 2005 film, playing “husband and wife” spies for a secret organization. As Saloni Gajjar put it in her review: “Mr. & Mrs. Smith’s most appealing thrills aren’t found in its gun-toting action scenes, high-octane chases in stunning locales, or undercover sleuthing. No, the true adventure here lies in the dissection of a nuanced, somewhat cursed relationship.”

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Mr. Robot (USA Network: 2015-2019)

Mr. Robot (USA Network: 2015-2019)

Stars: Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Portia Doubleday, Carly Chaikin, Grace Gummer, Martin Wallström, Michael Cristofer

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Number of seasons: 4

Sam Esmail’s riveting thriller follows Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity hacker who struggles with clinical depression and dissociative identity disorder. He’s recruited by an anarchist who calls himself—you guessed it—Mr. Robot to destroy debt records of a giant conglomerate. Dennis Perkins noted in his review of the pilot: “It’s something of a backhanded compliment to say that Mr. Robot is entertainingly derivative. But it’s the show’s over-reliance on aping a handful of familiar predecessors that, in addition to a compelling lead, keeps its pilot episode zipping along.”

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Patriot (Prime Video: 2015-2018)

Patriot (Prime Video: 2015-2018)

Stars: Michael Dorman, Kurtwood Smith, Michael Chernus, Kathleen Munroe, Aliette Opheim, Chris Conrad, Terry O’Quinn, Debra Winger

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 2

For what is, on paper, a spy thriller, Patriot is weird—that’s high praise—as well as laugh-out-loud funny, occasionally sweet, and completely original. Michael Dorman stars as the show’s ever-in-existential-crises covert operator, and he leads a fantastic cast that includes Kurtwood Smith, Michael Chernus, Kathleen Munroe, Terry O’Quinn, Debra Winger, and Chris Conrad (the brother of show creator Steven Conrad, and maybe the show’s secret weapon). If you’re a music fan who likes the good stuff, you’re in luck: “Train Song” by Vashti Bunyan soundtracks the home-video intro in season one; there’s also a cover of a Bill Fay cut by Jeff Tweedy (like the Conrads, a Chicagoan); and the folky, Bill Callahan-esque originals Dorman’s character plays throughout the show are always amusing. Watch this show.

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The Power (Prime Video: 2023-)

The Power (Prime Video: 2023-)

The Power - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Toni Collette, Auliʻi Cravalho, John Leguizamo

Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

The streamer’s adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s bestselling book, about teen girls obtaining electrical—you guessed it—powers, boasts some thought-provoking world-building and neat special effects. As Meredith Hobbs Coons put it in her review: “One of the challenges of adapting a novel for the big or small screen is that the level of detail the original can accomplish is often hard to match, but the economy with which exposition is delivered in this show is impressive—and not just that: It’s resonant.”

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Riches (Prime Video: 2022-)

Riches (Prime Video: 2022-)

Riches | Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Deborah Ayorinde, Hugh Quarshie, Sarah Niles, Brendan Coyle, Hermione Norris

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

With dashes of Succession, Industry, and Dynasty, this soapy British series from Abby Ajay follows folks vying for control of their family’s cosmetics empire. As Quinci LeGardye put it in her review: “We’ll check out any show that features estranged relatives going at it for chunks of the family fortune, be they Roys, Lyonses, Greenleafs, or Gemstones. Enter Prime Video’s Riches, a welcome addition to a popular sub-genre, with a cultural twist that gives the formula an exciting boost.”

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Small Axe (Prime Video: 2020)

Small Axe (Prime Video: 2020)

Stars: John Boyega, Michael Ward, Kadeem Ramsay, Letitia Wright, Malachi Kirby, Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Sheyi Cole, Naomi Ackie, Gary Beadle

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

Technically speaking, Small Axe is a film anthology—but we’d be remiss to not recommend all five of its installments as some of the best storytelling on Prime. Writer-director-producer-creator Steve McQueen helms this artfully intense set of stories about West Indian immigrants in London from the ’60s through ’80s. Passionately acted and stirringly specific, the collection offers a compelling look at identity, pride, resistance, and the seemingly endless fight for equality.

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The Summer I Turned Pretty (Prime Video: 2022-)

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Prime Video: 2022-)

The Summer I Turned Pretty - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Lola Tung, Jackie Chung, Rachel Blanchard, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman, Alfredo Narciso, Minnie Mills

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 2

We were pretty charmed by The Summer I Turned Pretty, Prime’s adaptation of a novel by Jenny Han (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before), when it debuted in 2022. And luckily for us, season two is even better. As Lauren Chval writes in her review of the latest batch of episodes, which came out in 2023: “This is so good that it makes the (already very strong) first season feel like a preamble we had to watch to get to what the show was meant to be. Did you enjoy the fun summer parties and wistful teenage longing set in a gorgeous New England beach house? Great! You’ll still get that, except now it’s intercut with the grief of losing someone you love and a healthy dose of heartbreak.”

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Transparent (Prime Video: 2014-2019)

Transparent (Prime Video: 2014-2019)

Stars: Jeffrey Tambor, Gaby Hoffmann, Jay Duplass, Amy Landecker, Judith Light, Kathryn Hahn

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 4, plus the film Transparent: Musicale Finale

One of the best L.A. shows, period—okay, so it mostly captures a very specific slice of that city, but still—Transparent follows the Pfeffermans as Maura (Jeffrey Tambor) comes out and her children and ex-wife cope with a string of complications. It’s an ambitious show, one that takes big swings—see it’s so-so musical-film sendoff—that mostly connect, creating a complex, modern dramatic tapestry about aging, identity, Jewishness, sex, abuse, and privilege—all heightened by some wonderful performances.

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The Underground Railroad (Prime Video: 2021)

The Underground Railroad (Prime Video: 2021)

Stars: Thuso Mbedu, Aaron Pierre, Chase W. Dillon, Joel Edgerton, William Jackson Harper, Amber Gray, Chukwudi Iwuji, Lily Rabe

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk) delivers a defining work of historical drama and magical realism in The Underground Railroad. Thuso Mbedu leads the cast as Cora Randall, an enslaved Black woman who, with the help of abolitionists, attempts to escape Georgia for a life of freedom in the North. It’s a searing, sensational adventure to behold. As Stephen Robinson wrote in his review for The A.V. Club: “The Underground Railroad isn’t an easy watch, but like Cora’s testimony, it’s a necessary step forward.”

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Undone (Prime Video: 2019-)

Undone (Prime Video: 2019-)

Undone – Season 2 Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Rosa Salazar, Angelique Cabral, Constance Marie, Siddharth Dhananjay, Daveed Diggs, Bob Odenkirk

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 2

Undone, the rotoscope-animated series from BoJack Horseman alums Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Kate Purdy, follows Alma Winograd-Diaz (Rosa Salazar), a young woman who wakes from a car accident to find she’s become unstuck in time and space. As Jenna Scherer put it in her review of Undone’s second season, the show is “a hallucinogenic family dramedy that’s made to be seen and experienced, an ouroboros devouring its own tail—and enjoying every bite.”

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Upload (Prime Video: 2020-)

Upload (Prime Video: 2020-)

Stars: Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Allegra Edwards, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, Owen Daniels, Paulo Costanzo, Josh Banday, Andrea Rosen

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 3

Greg Daniels takes on the afterlife in Upload. Robbie Amell stars as a deceased programmer living on in virtual heaven in a half-hour sci-fi comedy that combines the sobering scares of Black Mirror with the warm sensibilities of The Good Place. It’s a generally pleasant watch that still delivers the drama. Admittedly, this one takes a little while to get going, but the shorter second season hits a sweet spot you won’t want to miss. Season three dropped in 2023.

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Vanity Fair (Prime Video: 2018)

Vanity Fair (Prime Video: 2018)

Stars: Olivia Cooke, Claudia Jessie, Tom Bateman, Johnny Flynn, Charlie Rowe

Number of seasons included with subscription: 1

Vanity Fair is based on William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1848 novel of the same name, a read as inexplicably under-appreciated by modern audiences as its exquisite TV adaptation. Olivia Cooke stars as Becky Sharp, a firecracker wit whose scheming ways see her climb up (and slip down) the London social ladder in a delicious drama akin to Bridgerton. Fittingly, Claudia Jessie (a.k.a. Eloise Bridgerton) plays Becky’s best friend Amelia.

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A Very English Scandal (BBC One/Prime Video: 2018)

A Very English Scandal (BBC One/Prime Video: 2018)

Stars: Hugh Grant, Ben Whishaw, Alex Jennings, Patricia Hodge, Monica Dolan

Number of seasons included with subscription: 1 

This three-parter has a lot going for it despite its short runtime: Intoxicating direction by Stephen Frears (The Grifters, Philomena), an engaging true-life tabloid story—it follows Jeremy Thorpe (Hugh Grant), the leader of the Liberal Party who’s embroiled in a scandal when his former lover, Norman Scott (Ben Whishaw), accuses him of conspiracy to commit murder—and two commanding leading turns, one of which made our list of the best TV performances of 2018.

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Vikings (History: 2013-2020, Netflix/Prime Video: 2020)

Vikings (History: 2013-2020, Netflix/Prime Video: 2020)

Stars: Travis Fimmel, Katheryn Winnick, Clive Standen

Number of seasons included with subscription: 6

If you liked Robert Eggers’ The Northman, then you are going to love Vikings. Across six seasons, writer-creator Michael Hirst pulls liberally from Norse mythology to weave an engrossing tale of vengeance, honor, and destiny that’s as riveting as any episode of Game Of Thrones. When you’re not holding your breath between clashes of steel, you’ll fall into Vikings’ exuberant romanticism.

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The Wheel Of Time (Prime Video: 2021-)

The Wheel Of Time (Prime Video: 2021-)

The Wheel of Time Season 2 - Official Trailer | Prime Video

Stars: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Zoë Robins, Madeleine Madden, Josha Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford, Barney Harris

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Number of seasons included with subscription: 2

Based on Robert Jordan’s book series of the same name, The Wheel Of Time is a feminist-fantasy epic set in a world where only women have the power to wield magic. That might seem like a quirk, but it makes every part of this wondrous world richer and more intriguing for viewers who otherwise could’ve tired of the genre. Rosamund Pike, Zoë Robins, and Madeleine Madden are just some of the strong female leads in this tale of a hiding-in-plain-sight young hero destined to save Earth. The second season premiered in 2023.

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Workaholics (Comedy Central: 2011-2017)

Workaholics (Comedy Central: 2011-2017)

Stars: Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm

Number of seasons included with subscription: 7

Part The Office and part Party Down, this half-hour situational comedy follows a trio of dude friends who work at a telemarketing company by day and share a house in Rancho Cucamonga by night. Not all of the comedy here has aged, uh, gracefully, but the jokes that still work are doing some serious overtime.

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