Chances are that if you have a package on your front porch right now, the same company that shipped it has some stellar televisual offerings to stream. That’s right. Prime Video has emerged as a tentpole streaming service filled with impressive original content, from true crime to cartoon superhero satires. The point is, there is plenty to enjoy in terms of shows on Amazon Prime Video. So to make things easier for you, here are the 25 best Amazon Prime Video original series right now.
Last updated on August 27, 2024.
TIE: 25. Sausage Party: Foodtopia
Year: 2024 –
Cast: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton
Genre: Comedy, Animated
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons: 1 (8 episodes)
Created By: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Ariel Shaffir, Kyle Hunter
Trailer: Watch here
The ridiculously popular R-rated animated movie from 2016 follows up with a spin off, in which the filthy jokes shall fly for a longer collective runtime. Naturally, Seth Rogen is sill forcing the leading Frank (a sausage) while the group of profane grocery items attempts to come together as a community. That should (not) go well, and Rogen will be joined again by former co-stars Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton, Michael Cera, and David Krumholtz. New characters will be portrayed by Sam Richardson, Will Forte, and more.
TIE: 25. Patriot
Year: 2015-2018
Cast: Michael Dorman, Kurtwood Smith, Michael Chemus, Kathleen Munroe, Aliette Opheim, Chris Conrad, and Debra Winger
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Black Comedy, Spy, Political Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1-2: 18 episodes
Created By: Steven Conrad
Trailer: Watch here
John is a terrible spy. He’s flighty, unlucky, and seems more interested in pursuing a folk music career. He’s also very good. When he wants to be. He also might be the right person for the job when the CIA needs to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear capabilities by sending a special operative to the exotic tundra of Milwaukee. That’s only one knot in a tangled plot of political ambitions, suitcases full of money, and tense border crossings, marking this irreverent (yet surprisingly dark) riff on spy work as unlike any other.
24. The Terminal List
Year: 2022 – present
Cast: Chris Pratt, Constance Wu, Taylor Kitsch
Genre: Action, Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1: 8 episodes
Created By: David DiGilio
Trailer: Watch here
Chris Pratt dons his action hero persona once more for this crime thriller about a Navy SEAL with a list of names and a lot of ass to kick. Pratt’s James Reece returns from a mission gone wrong with gaps in his memory and the rest of his team KIA. When he begins to question why, his family ends up dead too with him on the run, racing against the clock to uncover government conspiracies and betrayals closer to home that threaten his life and the ones of those he loves.
23. Outer Range
Year: 2022-present
Cast: Josh Brolin, Imogen Poots, Lili Taylor, Tom Pelphrey, Tamara Podemski, Lewis Pullman, Will Patton, and Kristen Connolly
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Neo Western, Mystery
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 2: 16 episodes
Created By: Brian Watkins
Trailer: Watch here
Royal Abbott has a lot on his plate. A mysterious drifter has shown up on his land, and there’s a super weird black void just hanging out in his pasture. In case you were wondering, the black void is where the sci-fi comes in. This is a lovely, strange gem of a show that ends (and has been cancelled) with a lingering mystery, but the adventure is still worth taking for Josh Brolin and Imogen Poots’ performances. Also, this show feels a bit like Twin Peaks and Yellowstone hatched a baby together.
22. The Devil’s Hour
Year: 2022-
Cast: Peter Capaldi, Jessica Raine
Genre: Suspense, drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1: 6 episodes
Created By: Tom Moran
Trailer: Watch here
A second season will arrive this fall for this underappreciated (at least in the U.S.) series starring Peter Capaldi as Gideon, who is stuck in a death loop (although he’s journaling the adventure) and Jessica Raine as Lucy, who cannot stop waking up at 3:33am every day. Also, murderous deeds are rampant, and hopefully, this show is only beginning because we need plenty more explanation.
21. Expats
Year: 2024
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Jack Huston, Ji-young Yoo, Ruby Ruiz
Genre: Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1: 6 episodes
Created By: Lulu Wang
Trailer: Watch here
Nicole Kidman simply won’t stop making TV shows, and that’s fine — viewers are the beneficiaries of this content wealth. This adaptation of Janice Y.K. Lee’s The Expatriates revolves around a diverse group of women whose lives begin to overlap following a chance encounter. Even for Kidman completists, a fair warning should be issued: the season ends with loose ends dangling despite being envisioned as a limited series.
20. Hanna
Year: 2019-2021
Cast: Esme Creed-Miles, Joel Kinnaman, Mireille Enos, Ray Liotta, Dermot Mulroney
Genre: Drama, action
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 3: 22 episodes
Created By: Davie Farr
Trailer: Watch here
Although this series didn’t reach the heights of Joe Wright’s 2011 fairy-tale-action blend, the mesmerizing Esme Creed-Miles held her own while navigating the world after being raised off the grid due to her very valuable status. However, she simply could not grow up in peace, so Hanna must pursue her own identity while dodging a CIA agent who starts to see her as a daughter figure. Although the show feels padded in place to draw out the narrative, the adrenaline and intrigue still raise during appropriate moments. Further, it’s breathtaking to behold the various Eastern European settings as Hanna seeks to put an end to the dastardly organization that created her.
19. I’m A Virgo
Year: 2023
Cast: Jharrel Jerome, Mike Epps, Carmen Ejogo, Walton Goggins, Brett Gray, Kara Young, Allius Barnes, and Olivia Washington
Genre: Comedy, Satire, Surrealist Wonderland Adventure
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 1 (7 episodes)
Created By: Boots Riley
Trailer: Watch here
Boots Riley should be given as much money to make whatever he wants in perpetuity. The overflowing imagination that delivered Sorry To Bother You has returned with a brain-shifting coming of age tale about fear, friends, and fast food burgers. Cootie (Jerome just crushing it again) is a 13-foot-tall teenager from Oakland who was raised in isolation by his aunt and uncle until some young activists discover him and give him a window into the larger world. With all Riley projects, this synopsis doesn’t do it justice, so you’ll need to use your own eyeballs on this one because it contains glorious multitudes.
18. Swarm
Year: 2023
Cast: Dominique Fishback, Chloe Bailey, Nirine S. Brown, Karen Rodriguez, Damson Idris, Rory Culkin, and Kate Lyn Sheil
Genre:Black Comedy, Psychological Horror, Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1: 7 episodes
Created By: Janine Nabers, Donald Glover
Trailer: Watch here
When does fandom turn into obsession? Janine Nabers and Donald Glover’s rabid satire goes for the throat with the story of a young woman who takes her love of a Beyonce-esque pop superstar well past what’s healthy. The result is a lot of blood and some legit bangers. It’s a pitch black series bathed often in neon with Dominique Fishback proving to be a force of nature who should immediately be given any role she asks for. She’s impossible to look away from, owning the horrorscape from beginning to end and giving Dre a humanity that might have otherwise been lost in favor of a mustache-twirler with no heart. She’s all heart, which means she needs a mop and access to great cleaning supplies to cover up everything she does in service to her pop queen.
17. Transparent
Year: 2014-2019
Cast: Jeffrey Tambor, Amy Landecker, Jay Duplass, Gaby Hoffmann, Judith Light, and Kathryn Hahn
Genre:Comedy, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-5: 41 episodes
Created By: Joey Soloway
Trailer: Watch here
Soloway’s Emmy-winning series was a stepping stone to the current era of trans and non-binary representation in film and television. It’s also a fantastic family dramedy. The catalyst for the show is Maura coming out to her three adult children as being trans, and while the series explores that in depth, it also delves into all sorts of topics in the wide weird world of being related, and Maura isn’t the only one seeking to live an authentic experience. It’s been at the center of its share of controversy, including the question of casting a straight cis man as a trans woman, but it’s still a fantastic, humane show that blossomed and grew over its 5 seasons, charting a path for more diversity in storytelling and, indirectly, acting representation.
16. The Wheel of Time
Year: 2021
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Madeleine Madden
Genre: Fantasy, Drama
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: 2 seasons, 16 episodes
Created By:
Trailer: Watch here
Based on a best-selling series of books, this high-fantasy adaptation charts a lot of ground in its first season. Set in a world where magic exists but only a select few can access it, the show follows a powerful woman named Moiraine (Rosamund Pike), who must guide five young men and women on a dangerous journey to save their world. It’s a less-complicated follow-along than something like The Rings of Power with a fantastic magical system and plenty of action to keep things interesting. And its second season promises even more adventure and intrigue as armies draw closer and characters split off in different directions in search of the Dark One.
15. Jack Ryan
Year: 2018-present
Cast: John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Abbie Cornish, Ali Suliman, Dina Shihabi, Noomi Rapace, and Michael Pena
Genre: Drama, Spy Thriller, Political Thriller, Action
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-3: 24 episodes
Created By: Carlton Cuse, Graham Roland
Trailer: Watch here
There have been many incarnations of Tom Clancy‘s Jack Ryan, the bookishly reluctant field operator who keeps having to solve who blew up what and who tried to assassinate whom. The Ryanverse is vast, as names like Ben Affleck and Chris Pine have taken on the role, and Krasinski has found a home in it, delivering a take on the character that should remind viewers that he was the boyishly handsome lead of The Office and in the running at one point to play Captain America. The thrills of the show put Ryan up against terrorist organizations, corrupt government officials, and a Soviet-obsessed plot to detonate a tactical nuke. The stakes are sky high, and Krasinksi carries off the character by not always keeping his cool.
14. The Man In The High Castle
Year: 2015 -2019
Cast: Alexa Davalos, Rufus Sewell, Rupert Evans
Genre: Sci-fi, Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 4: 40 episodes
Created By: Frank Spotnitz
Trailer: Watch here
Loosely based on Phillip K. Dick’s 1962 novel of the same name, The Man in the High Castle is set in an alternative, dystopian world where Germany won World War II. Basically, the East Coast is occupied by the Germans, and the West Coast is occupied by the Japanese, and there’s a no-man’s land in between. The series sees various characters working to form a resistance against their occupation by collecting “forbidden newsreels” that show the alternate history in which the Allies won the war in an effort to reveal a larger truth about how the world should be. A well-acted, tense, and often violent dystopian thriller with plenty of twists and turns to keep viewers guessing, it’s one of the original series that put Amazon on the map and it still holds up years later.
13. Dead Ringers
Year: 2023 –
Cast: Rachel Weisz, Rachel Weisz
Genre: Horror/Psychological Thriller
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 1 (6 episodes)
Created By: Alice Birch
Trailer: Watch here
Based upon the same-named David Cronenberg movie, this project delivers the same brand of body horror. Rachel Weisz stars (while subbing in for the Jeremy Irons counterpart of the film) as two twin gynecologists pretending to be god in a fertility clinic. The show puts a feminist twist on the iconic original story, and the one soul/two bodies concept grows increasingly fraught as the series wears on. Let’s just say that professional and personal interests collide, and make sure that you stick around for the credits.
12. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Year: 2017-present
Cast: Rachel Brosnahan, Alex Borstein, Michael Zegen, Marin Hinkle, Tony Shalhoub, Kevin Pollak, Caroline Aaron, Jane Lynch, Luke Kirby, and Stephanie Hsu
Genre: Period Comedy, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-4: 34 episodes
Created By: Amy Sherman-Palladino
Trailer: Watch here
After Gilmore Girls and Bunheads, Amy Sherman-Palladino set her sights on a fictional 1950s stand-up comic who dared to take the stage while being a woman. This winning show, perfect for everyone who listens to their podcasts at 1.5x speed, features unmatched wit and charm as Mrs. Midge Maisel deals with divorce, public indecency arrests, and some serious will-they-won’t-they tension with Lenny Bruce. It’s got the schlemiel and the schlimazel, and fans of Everything Everywhere All At Once who burn straight through the delightful first three seasons will be further delighted when Stephanie Hsu shows up in season 4.
11. Jury Duty (Freevee)
Year: 2023 –
Cast: James Marsden, Alan Barinholtz, Susan Berger, Todd Gregory
Genre: Comedy/Mockumentary
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: Season 1: 8 episodes)
Created By: Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky
Trailer: Watch here
James Marsden’s been cranking out projects like crazy lately (The Stand, Dead To Me, Party Down, Disenchanted, Westworld, Sonic the Hedgehog 2), but he still found time for this show about the perils of American jury duty. Actually, there’s only one real juror on the case, and the poor guy is surrounded by actors with a hefty dose on improv in this fake courtroom with a fake case. It’s like a less painful Nathan Fielder-stepchild series set in jury duty hell, and yes, we are awash in mockumentaries these days, but this one is worth putting on your watchlist.
10. Bosch
Year: 2014-2021
Cast: Titus Welliver, Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino, Lance Reddick, Annie Wersching, Sarah Clarke, Madison Lintz, Mimi Rogers, and Jeri Ryan
Genre: Police Procedural, Detective Noir, Drama
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-7: 68 episodes
Created By: Eric Overmyer
Trailer: Watch here
Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch is a staple of 1990s and early 2000s detective fiction. It’s actually bizarre that it took this long to get a TV series made from them, but Prime Video cracked the code by hiring Welliver to play the Vietnam veteran, LAPD detective with an appropriately dark backstory. They’re ideal noir stories that don’t forget that mystery fuels the engine, and there are enough episodes to fill a lost holiday weekend. Plus, there’s also Bosch: Legacy, which continues to tale, and, if you’re still hungry for more, Mickey Haller (aka The Lincoln Lawyer) is Bosch’s half-brother, so you can keep binging and keep it in the family.
9. Gen V
Year: 2023 –
Cast: Jaz Sinclair, Lizze Broadway, Chance Perdomo
Genre: Comedy, Action
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Season 1: 3 episodes
Created By: Evan Goldberg, Eric Kripke, Craig Rosenberg
Trailer: Watch here
We’re calling it now: Gen V has the power to become just as big as Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys. Literally — it’s a show filled with adolescent supes who’d rather rage, f*ck, and do drugs than learn how to wield their abilities for good. Jaz Sinclair plays Marie, a young woman whose very blood is lethal, and it’s through her we’re introduced to the students of Godolkin University — and the school’s sinister mystery that’s slowly leaving a trail of bodies in its wake.
8. Invincible
Year: 2021-present
Cast: Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, and J.K. Simmons
Genre: Superhero, Adult Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Robert Kirkman
Trailer: Watch here
Being a teenager can be super awkward, especially if your father is the most physically powerful being on the planet (and in the solar system, possibly) and zips in spandex saving people all the time. Based on Cory Walker, Ryan Ottley, and Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman’s comic book series, and buoyed by Steven Yeun‘s superpowered charm, the animated series, which was just renewed for a second season, is an absolute blast. It’s an optimistic Watchmen, carrying a difficult message about responsibility and burden laid on those with powers (as well the bloody consequences). It’s the perfect show when you’ve got an MCU or DCU hangover.
7. The English
Year: 2022
Cast: Emily Blunt, Chaske Spencer
Genre: Western
Rating: TV-MA
Seasons: 1 (6 episodes)
Created By: Hugo Blick
Trailer: Watch here
Emily Blunt can kick butt even in the most difficult of circumstances. In this case, she does so while saddled in an array of ridiculous dresses while traveling through the wild frontier alongside a former Pawnee scout, played by Chaske Spencer. As Cornelia and Eli, they make a well-matched team in this parable takes aim at destiny and power and how America can turn people inside out. Cartoonish villains abound, along with a final twist that fortunately isn’t a sucker punch, although it still hits hard and will leave you in contemplative mode after the final credits roll. It’s a masterful entry into a sea of recent Western efforts, and amazingly, this is also a tribute to the art of lighting. Boy, did we ever need that.
6. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Year: 2024-
Cast: Donald Glover, Maya Erskine, Paul Dano, Michaela Cool, Ron Perlman, Wagner Moura, Parker Posey
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Spy, Action
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1: 8 episodes
Created By: Francesca Sloane, Donald Glover
Trailer: Watch here
Do we really need this reimagining of the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie movie? Oh god yes. Watch the first few episodes, and you might agree that this effort was not wasted. Donald Glover and Maya Erskine pick up as assassins who happen to be paired together (and “married”), and you aren’t ready for the rollicking, madcap, action-packed set of missions that they must complete (or else?). Glover is incredible as always, but Erskine steps up to take control of the screen, and boy, their onscreen relationship is as much of an occupational risk as the assignments themselves.
5. Good Omens
Year: 2019-present
Cast: Michael Sheen, David Tennant, Nick Offerman, Jon Hamm, Frances McDormand, Miranda Richardson, Michael McKean, Jack Whitehall, Adria Arjona, Benedict Cumberbatch, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
Genre: Fantasy Comedy, Satire
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1: 6 episodes
Created By: Neil Gaiman
Trailer: Watch here
There’s no doubt that adapting Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman‘s novel about the potential end times was a complex task of finding right bits of the sprawling, century-hopping narrative to focus in on. Fortunately, the series based on the best-selling novel had at least one ace up its sleeve: Gaiman. He probably knew a thing or two about the book. The result is a shaggy dog story led by David Tennant and Michael Sheen about an Antichrist baby swap, a sparring demon and angel (who should just make out already), and a witch trying to stave off the four horseman of the apocalypse alongside a nebbish descendant of a famous witchfinder. Also, Heaven is weirdly in the throes of late-stage capitalism, and it’s unclear whether the earth is worth saving.
4. Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power
Year: 2022-present
Cast: Morfydd Clark, Lenny Henry, Dylan Smith, Markella Kavenagh, Robert Aramayo, Benjamin Walker, Ismael Cruz Cordova, and Nazanin Boniadi
Genre: High Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Rating: TV-14
Runtime: Seasons 1: 8 episodes
Created By: J.D. Payne, Patrick McKay
Trailer: Watch here
Costing approximately eleventy billion dollars, this prequel to The Lord of the Rings franchise sought to bring its cinematic scope to your living room screen. By all accounts, they’ve done it, crafting jaw-dropping visions of Middle-earth as a playground for some familiar characters (who don’t seem to age a day!) as well as a large cast of new ones. It’s main focus is on the forging of the four rings of power coinciding with the rise of Sauron before he was just a floating flame eyeball, but interpersonal romance and conflict abounds between the elves, humans, Harfoots, and other fantastical beings.
3. Fleabag
Year: 2016-2019
Cast: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sian Clifford, Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman, Bill Paterson, Brett Gelman, and Jenny Rainsford
Genre: Black Comedy
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-2: 12 episodes
Created By: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Trailer: Watch here
Making a perfect episode of television is incredibly difficult. Making 12 perfect episodes in a row is near impossible, but Phoebe Waller-Bridge somehow managed it with her peerless chronicle of single desperation, sibling jealousy, and clear mental unwellness. She plays a young woman struggling with her family and dealing with the guilt over the death of her best friend. She’s also trying to date through her loneliness with people she’s dubbed Arsehole Guy and Bus Rodent. Clearly, she’s not making many good life choices, which is fantastically entertaining. She’s one of the pettiest characters in the pantheon, and the series is black comic genius.
2. Reacher
Year: 2022-present
Cast: Alan Ritchson, Willa Fitzgerald, Malcolm Goodwin, Maria Sten, Robert Patrick, Serinda Swan
Genre: Action, Drama, Comedy, Mystery
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-2: 16 episodes
Created By:
Trailer: Watch here
Good news for dads and possibly you, too. Lee Child’s bestselling novels came to more vivid life in this series (starring the 6’2″ Alan Ritchson) as opposed to the Tom Cruise movie, and Amazon was quick to greenlight a followup season, in which Reacher re-teams with three former colleagues, including Karla Dixon, Frances Neagley, and David O’Donnell. Together, they continue to dive into a high-stakes mystery full of betrayal and revelations, and lest you think that Reacher is all brains and no brain, well, think again. He’s loyal and fierce to defend those who fight against him, and he and the 110th will strike back with all possible force in this second round of episodes.
1. The Boys
Year: 2019-present
Cast: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Aya Cash, Jensen Ackles, Nathan Mitchell, and Elisabeth Shue
Genre: Superhero Satire, Black Comedy, Action, Adventure
Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: Seasons 1-3: 24 episodes
Created By: Eric Kripke
Trailer: Watch here
Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s angry satirical comic emerged from the George W. Bush era, but it remains fiercely topical, and the live-action adaptation is a smirking slap to the face that’s ideal for our time of complete superhero domination at the box office and on small screens everywhere. Sure, it’s a send-up of superheroes, but it also has a lot of deeply uncomfortable things to say about our current political and social situations, epitomized by the very stable genius of the jingoistic Homelander. That character will no doubt emerge as an icon of our age, but more than trenchant chomps at the system, the show is also absurdly fun. There’s nothing like making bold statements while having a ball.
