What are the best shows on Amazon Prime? We've all had streaming paralysis. You're flicking through the dozens of hours of entertainment on offer, but you just can't work out where to find the best things to watch. This streaming service is run by the world’s biggest company, so it's packed with new movies and hours of TV. But sometimes, it's hard to find the hidden gems through all the noise. That's what we’re here for.
Fortunately for you, we've gone on a journey into the reaches of the Prime Video catalog, scrolling through all the best Amazon Prime movies and not-so-great pickings to find the very best TV shows on offer. So we've put together a list of 25 of the best shows out there, broken down by genre to suit whatever mood you're in when you settle down on the couch to enjoy an evening in front of the box.
So whether you're after the best action shows on Amazon Prime, the best-animated shows, great comedy, the best fantasy shows on Amazon Prime, or the best horror shows on the service, stay tuned.
For more, check out the best Amazon Prime horror movies, and the best shows on Netflix.
Pick of the month
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
Year: 2017-2023
Seasons: 5
Rachel Brosnahan is about to become an absolute megastar given her casting as Lois Lane in James Gunn's upcoming Superman movie. But to fans of the critically acclaimed comedy series The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, she's already one of the most impressive actors working in Hollywood today. Brosnahan plays Midge, whose entire life changes when her husband – a pretty terrible stand-up comic – leaves. Her previous life as a housewife is out of the window, but this allows her to discover that she has a talent for comedy.
Over the course of the next few decades, she rises up the ranks while trying to balance her newfound fame with her personal life. It's no surprise that Brosnahan was showered with awards for her remarkable performance in the series. Superman better watch out because he will have a very sharp-tongued Lois Lane at his side.
Best action shows on Amazon Prime
The Boys
Year: 2019 - Ongoing
Seasons: 4
Where do we start with The Boys? This show from Eric Kripke gave the superhero genre a joyously filthy and bloody kick up the butt. It's set in a world where superheroes are morally compromised figures, with their acts of heroism controlled by the whims of Vought – a company motivated by profit. The show follows a group of vigilantes trying to expose the "heroes" for what they really are.
This isn't a show for the faint-hearted, with genuinely shocking bloodshed and just about every other type of content you would want to be warned about in advance. But it's a viciously funny show, helped along by exceptional performances, including Antony Starr's truly chilling turn as Homelander. One thing's for certain. If you watch The Boys, you’ll never forget it. The Boys season 5 is also on its way, so now is a perfect time to dive in.
For more insights into this must-watch Prime series, read our The Boys season 4 review!
Reacher
Year: 2022 - Ongoing
Seasons: 2
Look, Tom Cruise just didn't cut it. As much fun as we had with Cruise's two movies as the US army man turned drifter and problem solver, his physical presence just didn't match the formidable fighter from prolific author Lee Child's series of books. Step forward, Alan Ritchson and his gargantuan arms.
In an era of tangled franchise storytelling and complex supernatural lore, there's a joy to a show that just focuses on a big dude beating the crap out of bad guys. Sometimes, simple is best. There's a third season of Reacher in the can for release next year, with a fourth already commissioned. It looks like Alan Ritchson won't be able to cancel his gym membership just yet, and it’s us who will benefit from that.
Vikings
Year: 2013 - 2020
Seasons: 6
A rough 'n' tumble period piece that's not a million miles away from Game of Thrones, Vikings serves up a similar amount of blood-drenched violence but none of the rampant nookie. Travis Fimmel leads the series as noted Norse figure Ragnar Lothbrok, a lowly farmer who becomes a respected warrior. That's after years of sailing the seas of Europe, of course, along with his wives and chums, in search of vulnerable countries to ransack.
The story itself is terrific, and along with its glorious production design, you’ll be drawn in and unable to stop yourself from one more episode. It's less concerned with the intricate political ties of the aforementioned HBO series yet does err heavily on the side of fantasy. A fair warning: US readers will have to buy the series to watch the hit, while UK-based fans can simply watch this show via their Prime Video subscription.
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan
Year: 2018 - 2023
Seasons: 4
John Krasinski isn't perhaps the most obvious action hero, but that didn’t stop him making four seasons worth of this show about a CIA analyst pulled into the dangers of the field. He's walking in the footsteps of some of Hollywood’s biggest names, with Ryan previously played on the big screen by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine. That's a hell of a roster.
The series took this version of Ryan into a selection of high-stakes environments, with the various seasons taking on the likes of Islamic extremism, political corruption in South America, and an attempt at bringing about nuclear warfare. This version of Ryan is portrayed as an everyman hero in the Bruce Willis mold, which suits Krasinski's style perfectly.
If you are after more top-quality thrills, read our list of the best action movies of all time.
Citadel
Year: 2023 - Ongoing
Seasons: 1
Amazon Prime has a lengthy track record for making some of the most expensive shows of all time. Citadel – executive produced by Avengers: Endgame directors the Russo Brothers – slots into that arena. It’s a glossy, high-stakes spy thriller in which Richard Madden plays a former spy who is living a new, quiet life after his memory was wiped. Naturally, he gets drawn back into the world of espionage.
It’s certainly true that Citadel doesn't break much in the way of new ground in the world of spy stories. There’s a shadowy organization involved, of course, and some MacGuffin-like data that everyone wants, as well as a tale of shifting loyalties. Don't expect to get an intellectual workout from Citadel, but do expect a fun spectacle and plenty of attractive people running around in beautiful clothes. Sometimes, that's all you want from a big-budget thriller. There's a second season on the way, so there's no end in sight to the opulence.
For more information, read our Citadel review.
Best animated shows on Amazon Prime
Undone
Year: 2019 - 2022
Seasons: 2
Undone hails from Bojack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg, but citing that series in comparison does a disservice to the originality of this comedy-drama. The story follows Alma (Rosa Salazar) who can't find her place in the world. Drifting along as her younger sister is on the cusp of marriage, she finds herself thrown into an unexpected predicament following a car crash: she can jump through time. Her new gift allows her to commune with her deceased father, who requires her help in unraveling a mystery.
Undone is unlike anything else on television right now. Lifting themes from Lynch, such as trauma, and spinning them into a more coherent tale, the show also boasts ambitious animation work called rotoscoping. This technique involves artists and animators "drawing over" live-action footage. Not only does it lend Undone a dreamy visual, but it also meshes the story with the style as Alma's dips into different realities are beautifully rendered.
Invincible
Year: 2021 - Ongoing
Seasons: 2
Between The Boys and Invincible, Amazon Prime has worked hard to corner the market in superhero stories for adults. From The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, this series follows the son of the world's most powerful superhero: Omni-Man. When he begins to develop powers of his own – becoming the titular hero – he learns about his dad’s dark side.
This is a superhero show with major emotional heft, helped by the casting of Steven Yeun as Invincible and the inimitable JK Simmons as Omni-Man. It’s a good job, in that case, that we know there's at least two more seasons to go. Time to get invested in Invincible, especially as we wait for Invincible season 3 to head our way.
For more details on this amazing series, read our Invincible season 2, part 1 review.
The Legend of Vox Machina
Year: 2022 - Ongoing
Seasons: 3
Critical Role is the definition of a cult hit – a web series in which voice actors play Dungeons and Dragons with each other. The series became such a success that their first campaign turned into the source material for this animated show, which was largely funded by a Kickstarter pot for its first season. That shows just how much of a following Critical Role was able to bring to the table.
The Legend of Vox Machina now spans three seasons, taking the best of the chaotic original campaign while streamlining and focusing the narrative to work as a more traditional TV series. For nerds like us and fans of the RPG world, it’s an absolute treat.
If you love D&D and fantasy games, read our list of the best RPGs to play today.
Sausage Party: Foodtopia
Year: 2024 - Ongoing
Seasons: 1
I'm still not sure I've quite recovered from seeing the completely outrageous Sausage Party on the big screen in 2016. The next step for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg? Bring that food-based anarchy to the small screen and see what sort of culinary depravity they can get away with.
Foodtopia follows the aftermath of the film, which triggers an uprising in which food destroys humanity and becomes the dominant force on Earth. It might lack the shock factor that made the movie so remarkable, but Foodtopia shows there's plenty of juice left in the concept. There's a second season on the way, so get ready for the filthiest food puns and inappropriate visual comedy you can possibly imagine. Seriously, this makes the famously questionable anime Food Wars (aka one of the best anime series on Netflix) look tame. Keep your kids away.
Batman: Caped Crusader
Year: 2024 - Ongoing
Seasons: 1
Can the world handle yet another version of Batman? Well, it turns out that it can (and we aren't just saying that because we regularly rewatch all the best Batman movies). Thanks to Bruce Timm, who previously worked on the classic 1990s show Batman: The Animated Series, we now have this film noir-inspired take on the character. It follows a young version of Bruce Wayne, voiced by Hamish Linklater, as he gets to grips with his crime-fighting career in the corrupt Gotham City.
It’s a more mature and murky take on the character than we’ve seen in some versions, focusing on the psychological storytelling over the spectacle of big-screen Batman outings. If that sounds like every other recent Batman – and it might – the innovation of the noir setting helps to offset that, embracing the character’s occasional moniker as the “world’s greatest detective.”
Check out our Batman: Caped Crusader review for more information.
Best fantasy shows on Amazon Prime
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Year: 2022 - Ongoing
Seasons: 2
Amazon Prime doesn't make its TV shows quietly. Certainly, it threw a bounty the size of Smaug's hoard at the team behind this prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Starring the terrific Morfydd Clark as a younger version of elven warrior Galadriel, it deals with the birth of the rings of power and the return of the evil Sauron.
The joy, though, of this series is in the way it expands Middle-earth and introduces us to whole new worlds and environments. The island kingdom of Númenor, in particular, is truly stunning. If you can keep up with the dozens of characters and myriad storylines, this is epic fantasy storytelling at its most epic and fantastical. The Rings of Power season 3 is also on its way, so it's a good idea to catch up now ahead of our return to Middle-earth.
If you want a deeper Tolkien dive, read our The Rings of Power season 2 review.
The Wheel of Time
Year: 2021 - Ongoing
Seasons: 2
Only the most hardcore fantasy fans will have made it through The Wheel of Time series in book form. Written by Robert Jordan, with the last three volumes completed by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan's death, the series spans more than 11,000 pages. That has given Amazon Prime plenty of material for this TV adaptation.
Rosamund Pike plays Moiraine Damodred, who is part of an order of powerful women looking for a mighty being known as the Dragon Reborn. That being is destined to save the world from a hideous evil. Obviously, there's a lot more to the plot than that, but the best way to experience it is to dive in and explore the richness of one of TV's boldest and most expansive fantasy worlds.
For more insights into this epic show, check out our The Wheel of Time season 2 review.
Good Omens
Year: 2019 - Ongoing
Seasons: 2
It’s always a good idea to cast Michael Sheen and David Tennant to play alongside each other. It’s even better when you can cast them as an angel and demon, respectively. That’s the central premise of Good Omens, which follows these unlikely supernatural pals as they team up to prevent the rise of the Antichrist. The second season introduced Jon Hamm as the Archangel Gabriel.
Really, this series is all about the chemistry between these two leads. It’s worth watching just to see two tremendous actors at the height of their powers, both in real life and in the fantasy world. A planned third season of the show paused production in September 2024, with a 90-minute special instead set to wrap up the story.
If you want more magical streaming recommendations, head over to our list of the best fantasy movies on Netflix.
My Lady Jane
Year: 2024
Seasons: 1
Judged by the name alone, My Lady Jane feels like the sort of thing we've seen before. It's a period drama based on the life of the Tudor figure Lady Jane Grey. However, this adaptation of a book by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows imagines an alternate history in which Lady Jane existed in a world also populated by humans who can transform into animals who have been driven out of society by the rest of the human race.
The word "romp" was invented for a show like this, which is just an absolute ton of fun from start to finish. Unfortunately, Amazon canceled it after just one season. However, there has been a huge campaign to revive it, which even George RR Martin supported, so we might not have heard the last of My Lady Jane. We can only hope.
Best sci-fi shows on Amazon Prime
The Peripheral
Year: 2022
Seasons: 1
The Peripheral is just one of the 2022 series that is impossible not to shout out whenever you get the chance. The sci-fi thriller came from the minds of Westworld creators Christopher Nolan and Lisa Joy and is still a marvel today.
Based on the 2014 novel of the same name by William Gibson, it centers on Flynne Fisher (played by Chloë Grace Moretz), who finds a connection to an alternate reality. However, what initially seems like an exciting new adventure also contains a dark secret about her own future. Critics called it "propulsive, imaginative, and visually dazzling." It's a fascinating series, has great performances, and shows us once again that sci-fi makes for great streaming content.
Fallout
Year: 2024 - Ongoing
Seasons: 1
For more than a decade, Hollywood had tried to get an adaptation of the Fallout video game franchise off the ground. Thanks to Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet’s TV series, it has finally made it. The show takes place 200 years after the planet has been devastated by nuclear war, with most survivors living in vaults. Ella Purnell plays one such survivor who ventures to the surface to search for her father, played by Kyle MacLachlan.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though, for an ensemble show that also includes Walton Goggins as a mutated bounty hunter known as The Ghoul. At a time when video game adaptations can go either way – The Last of Us is one of the best HBO Max shows in years, while the Borderlands movie was a stinker – Fallout stands head and shoulders above most of the competition. It’s no surprise that Fallout season 2 is on its way.
Read our Fallout season 1 review if you want to know more about this gem.
The Expanse
Year: 2015 - 2022
Seasons: 6
In the future, according to Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby’s series The Expanse and the novels on which it is based, humanity will have colonized the rest of the solar system. It’s a complex satire of power and capitalism, focusing on the tension and fragile peace across the system as a result of geopolitical turmoil and the potential for resources in these new worlds.
The Expanse isn’t for everyone. It’s very dense and complex in terms of both plot and characters. But for those who eat up this sort of high sci-fi – think Foundation and For All Mankind (aka two of the best shows on Apple TV)– The Expanse is a great addition to that genre. And with 62 episodes to get through, it will keep you going for at least a few weeks.
Upload
Year: 2020 - Ongoing
Seasons: 3
Sci-fi is often a bit miserable, so it's refreshing to see a show like Upload – put together by The US Office creator Greg Daniels – embrace the comedy that exists within a premise like this. The show takes place around a decade in the future in a world where recently deceased people can be "uploaded" to an afterlife of their choosing, such as the super-posh Lakeview. Robbie Amell plays a prematurely killed man who may well have actually been murdered.
Yes, this is a Black Mirror-esque setup. But there's a wit and a charm to the piece that makes it work, even as the plot complexity ramps up. If you want your sci-fi to feel human above all else, then Upload is a great choice. There's a fourth season on the way, which will wrap up the overarching story.
For more space stories, check out our list of the best sci-fi movies of all time.
Tales from the Loop
Year: 2020
Seasons: 1
A local town of people in Ohio lives above "The Loop," a machine built to unlock and explore the mysteries of the universe. The Loop makes the impossible possible, and each episode looks at the life of one of those it affects.
Inspired by the famed paintings of Simon Stalenhag, this sci-fi anthology explores the lives of those who live above The Loop in compelling and thoughtful ways. Stalehnhag has built a cult following due to his depictions of imaginative alternate realities, and this unconventional narrative pairs beautifully with his work. The stories are interconnected, and the cast – including Rebecca Hall, Jonathan Pryce, and Paul Schneider – are great.
Best horror shows on Amazon Prime
The Devil's Hour
Year: 2022 - Ongoing
Seasons: 2
Peter Capaldi is always an intense presence on screen, whether he's spitting expletives as The Thick of It's vicious spin doctor Malcolm Tucker or acting almost entirely with his eyebrows in Doctor Who. He plays a criminal with the ability to "remember" the future in this exceedingly dark supernatural thriller. Jessica Raine plays a social worker who is awakened each night at the "devil’s hour" – 3:33 am.
These supernatural elements feed into the search for a killer, and, across the two seasons, these two very different people are drawn together by their unique relationships with time and reality. It's chilling, grubby, and very watchable stuff.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Year: 2021
Seasons: 1
Teen slashers are always good fun, and this small screen spin on the 1990s cult classic movie had a lot in its favor. For starters, it featured Madison Iseman – star of the recent Jumanji movies – in the lead role. Plotwise, we’re back where we were in the original film, following a group of friends who are stalked by a killer a year after they cover up a car accident.
The performances of the young cast are fun and there’s a nice edge to the violent sequences. It’s far from perfect, and it's easy to understand why it didn’t get a second season, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a fun binge-watch for horror fans.
Love a good slasher? Read our list of the best horror movies of all time.
Harlan Coben's Shelter
Year: 2023
Seasons: 1
Harlan Coben is modern literature's king of the mystery, with this year's Fool Me Once proving to be a monster hit for Netflix. But in 2023, his 2011 book Shelter made it to the small screen. It might not strictly be a horror show, but it has the sort of darkness that horror fans can't help but love. There's a massive, spooky mansion, for example.
A high school student, played by Jaden Michael, becomes embroiled in the disappearance of a fellow student at his new school. Soon, he's not only investigating that missing person's case, but discovering that there might be more to his father's death as well.
Dark/Web
Year: 2019
Seasons: 1
Anthology stories have been a part of the horror landscape forever, and this series deploys a dose of Black Mirror into that format. There’s an overarching story about the disappearance of a cyber analyst examining the dangers of the internet in the near future, but this provides the backdrop for a series of creepy stories about the intersection between tech and humanity.
As with any anthology, there’s a huge variance in quality with the stories in Dark/Web. But for fans of internet-based horror, including the likes of Host and Unfriended, there’s plenty here to get stuck into in search of scares.
Dead Ringers
Year: 2023
Seasons: 1
Nothing is more scary than your mind. Rachel Weisz stars in this contemporary reimagining of David Cronenberg's psychological thriller Dead Ringers. She plays dual roles in the series as twin gynecologists, Beverly and Elliott (roles played by Jeremy Irons in the original 1988 movie).
The two identical women truly share everything, including a desire to challenge the antiquated practices in women's healthcare, even if that involves pushing the boundaries of medical ethics. The limited series' supporting cast includes Jennifer Ehle, Hacks' Poppy Liu, and Severance's Michael Chernus. Sure, it's not traditionally scary, but there are plenty of unnerving bits in this show that will scratch your horror itch.
For more streaming picks, head over to our list of the best shows on Hulu and the best shows on Disney Plus. Or, for future watches, we also have a handy guide on all the upcoming TV shows heading our way.
