When it comes to shows on Amazon Prime Video, stop adding things to your cart and start streaming. Our list includes hits like the addictive The Summer I Turned Pretty and The Boys‘ college-set spin-off Gen V, plus under-the-radar gems like the psychological thriller The Girlfriend. And new to this list is Hotel Costiera, the sun-kissed action drama starring Jesse Williams.
An important note about how this list was made: In order to keep the list as relevant as possible, we’re emphasizing recent releases, Prime Video originals, and critics’ favorites. But we’re also putting our own personal spin on the list, with underrated gems we’re recommending to our friends, classic favorites, and important selections that highlight diverse voices. We’ll be updating the list regularly. (Note: This list only includes shows that are available with a Prime Video subscription or for free; shows that can be bought on Amazon for an additional fee are not included.)
Last updated on Oct. 8; the most recent additions are at the top.
Hotel Costiera
For fans of: Blue Skies, saying “ciao” and doing a double air kiss
Number of seasons: 1
This breezy action drama stars Grey’s Anatomy veteran Jesse Williams as Daniel “DD” De Luca, a former Marine employed as a “problem solver” for the titular Amalfi Coast resort. When a girl goes missing, he brings in his ragtag team to find her. And he’s going to do it without taking his hands out of his pockets. Seriously, he has in hands in his pockets in almost every promo photo. It’s USA Network Blue Skies vibes with particularly beautiful scenery in this American/Italian co-production. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Gen V
For fans of: The Boys, dark comedy
Number of seasons: 2
Gen V scratches the itch of every The Boys fan waiting for the satirical drama’s next season. This gritty spin-off adapts Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic book arc “We Gotta Go Now,” following first-year supe Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) as she starts her first semester at Godolkin University — what she believes will be a bright new chapter of her life. There’s one major problem: God U is run by Vought University, and as usual the megacorporation is hiding a dark secret. Marie quickly realizes she has to drop her rose-tinted glasses to confront the evils on campus grounds. The second season pays tribute to star Chance Perdomo, who tragically died in a motorcycle accident before filming Season 2. –Kat Moon [Trailer | Review]
The Summer I Turned Pretty
For fans of: Summers on the beach, love triangles
Number of seasons: 3
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before creator Jenny Han stays comfortably in her lane with this series about teenage love, teenage love triangles, and teenage love summers. Lola Tung plays Belly, a young woman who heads out on a summer vacation to her family beach house, where she’s reunited with old friends and new potential boyfriends in the form of a friendly local and the eldest brother of her family friend. Things get complicated! A finale movie is in the works. -Allison Picurro [Trailer | Review]
The Girlfriend
For fans of: F-ed up family dynamics
Number of seasons: 1
It’s Alicent Hightower vs. Claire Underwood in this psychological thriller about class and obsession. Danny (Laurie Davidson) brings his new girlfriend, Cherry (Olivia Cooke), home to meet his mother, Laura (Robin Wright, who also directs three of six episodes). The women take an immediate dislike to each other, with Laura suspecting that Cherry is trying to drive a wedge between her and her son so she can take advantage of his money. This may or may not be true, as the show alternates back and forth between each woman’s point of view, showing the events from both perspectives. These are juicy parts for Wright and Cooke. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Upload
For fans of: The afterlife, but make it funny
Number of seasons: 4
Upload feels a little like the Greg Daniels take on The Good Place you never knew you wanted. The sci-fi comedy is set in a technologically advanced future in which humans can be uploaded into a virtual afterlife when they’re close to death. Robbie Amell stars as Nathan, a young app developer who dies in a self-driving car accident and whose consciousness ends up in the luxurious digital world known as Lakeview thanks to his shallow but wealthy girlfriend, Ingrid (Allegra Edwards). The series has a lot of fun taking jabs at our reliance on technology while imagining what the world of the future will look like, and Nathan’s budding relationship with Nora (Andy Allo), his “angel,” or more accurately, his customer service rep, is a real highlight. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]
Butterfly
For fans of: Spy thrillers
Number of seasons: 1
Daniel Dae Kim — who usually shines in supporting roles — steps out front-and-center in this South Korea-set spy thriller. Kim plays a former private intelligence operative who faked his own death. When his daughter (Reina Hardesty), who has followed in his dangerous footsteps, comes to Seoul on a mission, he comes out of the shadows to try to get her to come with him — but she has some understandable anger that the father she thought was dead was actually just in hiding the whole time, leaving her alone. As they go on the run together, they have to work out their issues while fighting assassins who are after them. “Its action scenes are consistently compelling, its six fast-paced episodes fly by, and the cast is solid from top to bottom,” Keith Phipps writes in his review of the series. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Good Cop/Bad Cop
For fans of: Small-town procedurals, sibling rivalry
Number of seasons: 1
This light, fun dramedy is the kind of show that makes you say “I wish they made more shows like this.” Leighton Meester and Luke Cook star as sibling detectives forced to partner up by their father, the chief of police (Clancy Brown). They’re trying to solve a string of pharmacy robberies in their town, but their constant bickering adds a layer of difficulty. It’s a nice little show that runs on Meester and Cook’s charming chemistry. Interestingly, it was filmed in Australia, which stands in for the Pacific Northwest. It originally aired on The CW, and hasn’t been renewed for a second season yet, so if you want to help make sure it keeps going, stream it on Prime. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Ballard
For fans of: Bosch, rock solid cop shows
Number of seasons: 1
This Los Angeles-set crime drama is a spinoff of Bosch: Legacy, but you don’t need to be caught up on the Boschverse to enjoy it. Maggie Q stars as Det. Renee Ballard, a brilliant and dedicated investigator who gets demoted to cold cases due to department politics. Out of sight, out of mind, department brass thinks, with Ballard — who is dedicated to finding the truth, even when it’s inconvenient to people in power — down in a basement sorting through dusty files with a team of unpaid volunteers. But she very quickly finds evidence of a serial killer at large — and a conspiracy to keep it covered up. If you like unfussy crime dramas with good dialogue and acting, you’ll find Ballard highly satisfactory. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Countdown
For fans of: Broadcast dramas
Number of seasons: 1
Everything about this Prime original feels like something you’d find on CBS or NBC — or maybe TNT, since the language is a little spicier than what you’d hear on broadcast. Everyone in front of the camera (Supernatural‘s Jensen Ackles leads the cast) and behind it (Chicago Fire creator Derek Haas writes all 13 episodes) is someone you know from broadcast TV, and the premise and style are familiar from dozens of similar shows. It follows a team of talented but troublemaking cops and federal agents as they try to stop terrorists from launching a devastating attack on Los Angeles. It’s a straightforward, fast-paced action thriller that will remind you more than anything else of a less intense 24. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
The Chosen
For fans of: It’s not really for “fans;” it’s more like it’s for followers of Christ
Number of seasons: 5
The Chosen, a dramatic adaptation of the life of Jesus Christ, is the most successful independently produced TV show of all time. It’s produced totally independently, with some of its impressive budget coming from crowdfunding from fans. It’s an epic biblical series that gives religious people a Hollywood-quality interpretation of the Gospels in ongoing series form for the first time — but you don’t have to be religious to enjoy its fine performances and grand scale. Prime Video is the streaming home of its new fifth season, which culminates in the Last Supper, and has the previous four seasons as well. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
Overcompensating
For fans of: College comedy for the present moment
Number of seasons: 1
Benito Skinner is an online comedian who gained popularity on Instagram, TikTok, and the like, which, as an old person, means I had no chance of knowing who he is. But now I do! And you know what? He’s funny, and his new show is even funnier. The college comedy Overcompensating, a co-production between Prime Video and A24, stars Skinner as a closeted freshman faking his way through a whole new social scene with the help of fellow frosh Carmen (Wally Baram). It hits all the classic sex romp comedy tropes and updates them for today, but really shines with Skinner and Baram creating layered characters whose friendship you can really root for. It’s even good enough to make you ignore the hilarity of 30-year-old actors playing 18-year-old characters trying to get fake IDs. -Tim Surette [Trailer]
Reacher
For fans of: Huge dudes punching other dudes, detective work, grumpy one-liners
Number of seasons: 3
Reacher is a TV adaptation of author Lee Child’s paperback novels about Jack Reacher, a brolic former military policeman who wanders around the country using his brains and his brawn to solve crimes. He was previously played on the big screen by Tom Cruise, who is not built like TV’s Reacher Alan Ritchson, who is built like Arnold Schwarzenegger if he played in the NFL. He unravels mysteries using his savant-like investigative skills and unfiltered willingness to say whatever he’s thinking. And when he can’t talk his way to a solution, he sure can punch, shoot, and headbutt his way to one. It’s a lunchpail detective/action show that isn’t very ambitious but is a lot of fun, especially for fans of Amazon’s other dad-book adaptations Bosch and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. The Season 3 cast features Sonya Cassidy, Anthony Michael Hall, and 7-foot-2 Dutch bodybuilder Olivier Richters, a man built to fight Reacher. -Liam Mathews [Trailer | Review]
Invincible
For fans of: Fresh superhero stories that don’t stick with the tropes, family drama, cartoon violence
Number of seasons: 3
Invincible may be the name of Mark Grayson’s (Steven Yeun) provides his vocal talents to the titular character in this animated superhero drama. It comes from creator Robert Kirkman, who reunites with his old Walking Dead buddy Yeun for this adaptation of his comic of the same name. The voice cast also includes J.K. Simmons and Sandra Oh as Invincible/Mark Grayson’s disapproving parents. It’s a violent superhero coming-of-age drama that fans of The Boys should add to their queue. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]
The Rig
For fans of: Accents, climate horror, actors from Game of Thrones
Number of seasons: 2
Prime Video’s first Scottish production is this supernatural mystery about the crew of an ocean oil rig off the coast of Scotland who get stuck when the weather turns spooky. To find their way home, they must battle unnatural forces and each other. You’ll see familiar faces, too, thanks to stars Iain Glen (Game of Thrones‘ Ser Jorah Mormont), Emily Hampshire (12 Monkeys, Schitt’s Creek), Martin Compston (Line of Duty), and Owen Teale (Game of Thrones‘ Ser Allister Thorne). It’s got paranoia, tension, and a very clear message: climate change is real! –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Cross
For fans of: James Patterson, Criminal Minds, turtleneck sweaters
Number of seasons: 1
Aldis Hodge gets a much-deserved star-making role in this crime thriller series. Hodge plays Alex Cross, the brilliant Washington D.C. detective and criminal profiler created by bestselling author James Patterson, who’s trying to stop a serial killer before he claims his next victim. The mystery is so-so, but Hodge is magnetic. Amazon ordered a second season before the first even premiered. -Liam Mathews [Trailer | Review]
The Legend of Vox Machina
For fans of: Rollin’ 20-sided die, potty humor, Invincible
Number of seasons: 3
What started out as a streamed broadcast of Dungeons & Dragons played by a crew of voice actors and friends has naturally become a full-fledged animated series on Amazon. The Legend of Vox Machina is a scripted animated series from Critical Role, whose D&D Twitch streams became immensely popular and nearly broke Kickstarter when the troupe announced the animated project (it crushed the record for Kickstarter funding with $11.4 million in donations). The vulgar, beer-swigging seven-warrior-and-one-bear party remains intact as they’re hired to take down a monster ravaging the land, cursing, dropping trou’, and leaving a river of blood and viscera behind them. In Season 2, the group takes on a quartet of bad dragons and even goes up one’s butt. Yep. It’s humorous adult animation with some nudity and naughty words, but the sense of adventure is legit. -Tim Surette [Trailer]
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
For fans of: The Elvish language
Number of seasons: 2
Want to see what half a billion dollars looks like? Amazon’s most expensive bet since same-day delivery is this mega-budgeted series set in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy world during the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the popular trilogy. But hey, there are still dwarves, elves, and orcs, as well as details on the forging of the Rings of Power and Sauron’s rise — this is the deep lore of the franchise come to life for the very first time, and it’s thrilling to watch this reality play out in real detail. –Tim Surette [Trailer | Review]
Batman: Caped Crusader
For fans of: Batman, cartoons adults can enjoy
Number of seasons: 1
The original Batman: The Animated Series from the 1990s has stood the test of time simply by taking itself and its audience seriously — it was always a show for kids, but it was constructed in a way that would be palatable for adults as well. With Batman: Caped Crusader, Warner Bros. hopes to recapture that magic with a new Batman cartoon set in 1940s — and with Batman: TAS creator Bruce Timm in charge. Caped Crusader is a worthy successor to that classic series, particularly in how it shakes up the modern Batman mythos with a female Penguin and a Harley Quinn (who was created for TAS three decades ago) who deviates very nicely from the other recent movie and TV depictions. -Phil Owen [Trailer | Review]
Fallout
For fans of: Retrofuturism, apocalypses, dark humor, noseless ghouls
Number of seasons: 1
Bethesda Game Studios’ popular franchise follows in the footsteps of The Last of Us as game-to-TV adaptations that don’t totally suck. This one is executive produced by Westworld‘s Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy and stars Yellowjackets‘ Ella Purnell and Justified‘s Walton Goggins in a story of survival in a post-nuclear apocalypse, in a retrofuturistic, alternate Los Angeles full of mutants, mech suits, and opportunists. Fans of the games do not need to worry: The sly and dark sense of humor translates to the screen perfectly (as does the V.A.T.S. comical gore), so grab your Pip-Boy and hop in. –Tim Surette [Trailer | Review | Everything we know about Fallout Season 2 | More shows like Fallout]
Boat Story
For fans of: Fun British crime dramas, shows within shows, The Tourist
Number of seasons: 1
This British crime show features desperate people doing drug deals, extreme violence against any and all, and literal backstabbing among England’s worst, but what sets Boat Story apart from other shows of its kind is that it’s cheekier than a chipmunk. Written and directed by Harry and Jack Williams, the busy sibling duo behind The Missing and The Tourist, Boat Story is narrated like a fable and goes to extra lengths for gags as it tells the story of two strangers — played by Timeless‘ Paterson Joseph and Breeders‘ Daisy Haggard — who happen upon a massive stash of cocaine and decide to sell it for money. The problem is that the nose candy belonged to someone else, and they’re none too happy that they lost it. What ensues is a Snatch-like crime caper that smashes genres together into a fun-filled dark comedy. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
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Mr. & Mrs. Smith
For fans of: Atlanta, globe-trotting glamour, romantic angst
Number of seasons: 1
In the 2005 film Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt play a husband and wife who find out their spouse is actually an assassin for a covert agency, and they’re both assigned to kill each other. In the 2024 TV series Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Atlanta‘s Donald Glover and Pen15‘s Maya Erskine play assassins who find out that they’re husband and wife after being assigned to each other by a covert agency, and quickly start to fall for each other. So they’re kind of similar, yet not at all alike. The show feels more like a prequel to The Americans, infused with co-creator Glover’s laid-back vibe, spurts of brutal violence, and a love story that requires some “oh, just go with it” energy from the viewer. Excellent guest stars — including Parker Posey and Wagner Moura in an epic fourth episode — add to the incredible watchability. In her rave review for TV Guide, Lyvie Scott says the series is restrained, witty, and, yes, as sexy as the movie. –Tim Surette [Trailer | Review]
Jack Ryan
For fans of: America, bedside table books for your dad, buff John Krasinski
Number of seasons: 4
Amazon takes author Tom Clancy’s most famous character and digs into Jack Ryan’s origins with this political thriller starring John Krasinski as the titular CIA agent, who regularly mops up international conflicts with both brains and brawn. It isn’t trying to reinvent the genre so much as update it for today’s era, with expensive location shoots and top-tier action to draw over the so-so plot. But for easy Sunday night viewing, that’s exactly what you (and your dad) want. In Season 3, Jack goes on the run while uncovering a vast conspiracy about reuniting the Soviet Union, and in Season 4, the final season, he’s promoted to deputy director of the CIA and fighting threats both foreign and domestic. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
I’m a Virgo
For fans of: Boots Riley’s sense of surrealism, humongous children
Number of seasons: 1
Cosmic thinker, musician, activist, and film director Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You) tries his hand at television with this seven-episode coming-of-age series about a teenage boy growing up in Oakland. But since this is a Boots joint, you know there’s a fun wrinkle. This kid, played by When They See Us Emmy winner Jharrel Jerome, happens to be 13 feet tall. –Tim Surette [Trailer | Review]
Deadloch
For fans of: Murder mysteries, but darkly funny
Number of seasons: 1
Australian Kate-medians Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan crafted this darkly comedic series that combines the thrills and intensity of a murder mystery with the kerfuffles of an odd-couple pairing when a dead man turns up in a Tasmanian beach town and the local sergeant is forced to team up with an outside senior investigator. Like, what if Broadchurch were funny? –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Dead Ringers
For fans of: Rachel Weisz, Rachel Weisz, scenes of surgery
Number of seasons: 1
What’s better than one Rachel Weisz? That’s right, two Rachel Weiszes. Dead Ringers is a modern, gender-flipped take on David Cronenberg’s film of the same name, starring Weisz in the roles originally played by Jeremy Irons. She plays the toxically co-dependent twin gynecologists (what a collection of words) Elliot and Beverly Mantle, who, let’s say, aren’t afraid to violate the Hippocratic Oath in order to challenge misogyny in women’s health care. Consider us on board. –Allison Picurro [Trailer | Review]
Jury Duty
For fans of: The Office, The Rehearsal, James Marsden
Number of seasons: 1
What if a regular guy was dropped into an episode of The Office and didn’t know it? That’s partly the premise of this reality-sitcom hybrid in which one guy believes he’s on jury duty, but it’s all been faked and elaborately staged. What makes the show work is that it’s never mean and doesn’t set out to humiliate its mark, who ends the season as the hero and an example of human kindness. James Marsden co-stars as a ridiculously self-absorbed version of himself. Ignore the critics’ reviews; it’s funny and regular people love it. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Swarm
For fans of: Horror, dark comedy, being afraid of fandoms
Number of seasons: 1
Janine Nabers and Donald Glover’s newest series stars the excellent Dominique Fishback as an obsessed fan of a pop star who will go to extreme lengths to shut down the singer’s haters. Bloody, violent lengths! Swarm is going to divide the audience right down the middle, with many appreciating its tongue-in-cheek horror and statements on social media and pop culture, while others will wonder what the point of it all is. They’re kind of both right in this case. It’s a daring show that almost hits its mark, but comes close enough to make this list. Experimental TV! Gotta love it. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Daisy Jones & The Six
For fans of: Creative types, soapy drama, ’70s rock
Number of seasons: 1
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best-selling novel gets adapted in this miniseries about the best fictional 1970s rock ‘n’ roll band that never really was. Told via faux music documentary, it charts the band’s rise from obscurity to biggest band in the whole frickin’ world, and the reasons they broke up after just one album. Riley Keough stars as the manic pixie Daisy Jones and Sam Claflin stars as troubled songwriter Billy Dunne, the two creatives whose egos clashed but didn’t stop them from crushing on each other. –Tim Surette [Trailer | Review]
Harlem
For fans of: Female friendships, New Yawk City
Number of seasons: 2
In the great tradition of Sex and the City and Living Single, Harlem is a show about a group of four ladies navigating life in New York City. It was created by Tracy Oliver, who previously gave us Girls Trip and therefore really knows her way around Black female friendship, and it’s a fun, cozy series that’s very much all about the vibes, hinging on the easy chemistry and funny rapport of the main cast, which includes Meagan Good, Grace Byers, Shoniqua Shandai, and Jerrie Johnson. It deals with issues like gentrification, sexuality, and wealth, making them important elements of the main plot. Call it a hangout show with substance. –Allison Picurro [Trailer]
The English
For fans of: Pulpy Westerns, revenge, baby bird skeletons
Number of seasons: 1
Emily Blunt stars as a British aristocrat — the titular English — who rides headfirst into the Wild West to avenge the death of her son and teams up with a Pawnee scout (Chaske Spencer) to survive the hostile lands polluted by murderers, opportunists, and criminals. In the hands of writer-director Hugo Blick, it’s a stylish and violent take on the genre, filling the lens with expansive vistas and gory corpses to remind you that while beautiful, the era was lawless. It’s definitely one of Prime Video’s best shows of 2022. –Tim Surette [Trailer | Review]
The Devil’s Hour
For fans of: Peter Capaldi as evil incarnate, guessing games
Number of seasons: 2
This six-episode psychological thriller with sprinkles of the paranormal is one of those tiny boxes containing millions of questions that waits until the last moments to have everything come crashing down. Former Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi plays a sinister prisoner who cryptically meets with a social worker (Jessica Raine) who can’t seem to stop waking up at 3:33 a.m. every morning with horrifying visions. Maybe it’s the incredibly creepy son she’s caring for who’s behind everything? Maybe it’s something even worse? The Devil’s Hour isn’t the best thriller of the year, but it will certainly do the trick. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Jungle
For fans of: Drill rap, cyberpunk crime, visuals
Number of seasons: 1
This British crime drama is set in the near-future and follows a few strangers who get into violent trouble. But the real draw is the heavy vibe, which uses drill and trap music, gritty and experimental visuals, a cyberpunk-lite setting, and rapped dialogue (!!!) for something truly unique. It’s like Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, except instead of Leo DiCaprio talking in Shakespearean English, it’s young gangsters are spittin’ fire. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
A League of Their Own
For fans of: Broad City, queer joy, crying in baseball
Number of seasons: 1
There’s no crying in baseball, but there are remakes in Hollywood, and this twist on Penny Marshall’s classic 1992 comedy is the right kind of remake. The show, created by Will Graham and Broad City‘s Abbi Jacobson (who also stars), starts with the same idea as the movie: It’s a fictionalized spin on the real-life World War II-era founding of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. But the series populates that world with all-new characters and pushes the story in new directions, spotlighting queer and Black baseball players in a way the movie did not. Add in an all-star cast — which also includes D’Arcy Carden, Chanté Adams, Kate Berlant, Roberta Colindrez, and Nick Offerman — and the bases are loaded. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer | Review]
Chloe
For fans of: Ingrid Goes West, but even darker
Number of seasons: 1
The six-part BBC psychological thriller follows a woman (The Crown‘s Erin Doherty) who is obsessed with her childhood friend’s seemingly perfect social media presence, but when her friend mysteriously dies, she develops a new alter ego to get into her obsession’s inner circle and find out what happened. You know what comes next; the jig gets very much up. -Tim Surette [Trailer]
The Boys
For fans of: Superheroes with a twist
Number of seasons: 4
The Boys is about superheroes, but not the Avengers kind. It would probably be more accurate to say that this show is about supervillains, or at least, villains who think they’re heroes. Let me explain: The Boys is set in a world where superheroes are revered as celebrities and work for a giant corporation, but outside of saving the world, most are abusing their powers and are pretty bad people. (I’m talking actual Nazi-level bad, in the case of a few characters.) Enter… the titular Boys, a group of vigilantes who have tasked themselves with bringing down the corrupt “heroes.” A lot of other things happen, but if you’re looking for something that really strives to break the mold Marvel and DC have created, The Boys is it. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]
Undone
For fans of: Masterful animation, metaphysical musings
Number of seasons: 2
Rosa Salazar stars in this gorgeous rotoscoped drama as Alma, a woman from Texas who wakes up after a car accident and discovers she now possesses the ability to manipulate time — and communicate with her deceased father (Bob Odenkirk). He recruits her to use her newfound powers to try and prevent his death 20 years prior. Season 2, which came out in April 2022, expands the show’s (roto)scope as Alma teams up with her sister Becca (Angelique Cabral), who can enter other people’s memories, to figure out a secret their mother (Constance Marie) is hiding that could tear apart their family as they know it. With 16 addictive 22-minute episodes, Undone is a breathtaking visual feast that demands to be consumed in a single weekend. –Noelene Clark [Trailer]
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
For fans of: Pastiche, talking fast
Number of seasons: 5
If you’ve seen even one episode of Gilmore Girls, you’re already familiar with the Amy Sherman-Palladino style: women who talk fast in a way that both annoys and charms everyone they meet. That same sensibility is also present in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Sherman-Palladino’s comedy series about Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan), a 1950s housewife who begins moonlighting as a stand-up comedian to let off steam from the trials and tribulations of her daily life. The show follows her successes and her blunders as she traverses the world of comedy alongside her gruff manager, Susie (Alex Borstein), the ways she tries to keep her secret life hidden from her eccentric parents (Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle), and her complicated relationship with her ex-husband, Joel (Michael Zegen). It won a ton of Emmys. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]
The Expanse
For fans of: Spaaaaaace, complex political and social situations, Fedoras
Number of seasons: 6
You may have heard people calling The Expanse “one of the best sci-fi shows ever” and gosh darnit, they’re right. The series that Jeff Bezos reportedly personally saved from cancellation after Syfy axed it is a wonderfully complicated political thriller that just so happens to take place in space as Earth and Mars are on the brink of war and an alien somethingorother threatens all of humankind. Telling an intragalactic story from multiple planets and multiple points of view, The Expanse is Game of Thrones-level rich. Well, when Game of Thrones was good. Plus, Thomas Jane plays a detective with a dope hat. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Uprising
For fans of: Sobering looks at history, Steve McQueen
Number of seasons: 1
Following Small Axe, his impressive five-film suite of movies about West Indian immigrants in 1960s and 1980s England, director Steve McQueen turns his prolific lens to a trio of documentaries. Most noteworthy is the three-part docuseries Uprising, detailing the 1981 New Cross Fire, an act of arson on a birthday party that left thirteen young Black people dead. Speaking with survivors of the fire, McQueen paints an intimate picture of a country divided by racism and a community that was devastated by a heinous act. If you like that, you can check out the other two films that premiered alongside Uprising: Subnormal, about the educational scandal of the 1960s and ’70s that sent Black children to schools for “subnormal education,” and Black Power: A British Story of Resistance, which looks at the Black Power movement in England. As usual with McQueen’s work, all are excellent. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Bosch
For fans of: Troubled cops, the parts of L.A. that aren’t so nice, The Shield
Number of seasons: 7
Author Michael Connelly’s rough-around-the-edges cop Harry Bosch comes to the screen in one of Amazon’s most popular series, a prestige dad show about morality and cleaning up the scum of Los Angeles. Titus Welliver plays Bosch, a homicide detective who doesn’t always play well with authorities, but that might have something to with the fact that he’s always caught up in investigations against him dealing with police procedure. The police work is much more authentic than what you’re used to, which some might call slow, but it’s worth the watch for some gripping turns and its gritty atmosphere. The show goes on in the form of sequel series Bosch: Legacy, which is available via Freevee. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
Catastrophe
For fans of: Unlikely romantic connections, people being lovingly mean to each other
Number of seasons: 4
Co-creators and co-writers Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan star, respectively, as the affable American Rob and the sardonic, disillusioned Irish Sharon, two single people who find themselves falling into a relationship after a short fling in London leaves Sharon pregnant. Catastrophe is the kind of show that celebrates the joys and frustrations of unexpected romance, telling us that love isn’t easy, but worth having if you can find it. If all that wasn’t enough, the late, great Carrie Fisher makes recurring appearances as Rob’s eccentric, judgmental mother. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]
Fleabag
For fans of: People trying their best, rule-breaking priests, watching Olivia Colman be rude
Number of seasons: 2
Created by, written by, and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the show centers around the everyday life of the titular Fleabag (Waller-Bridge), and the ways in which she fails upwards romantically, professionally, and in her familial relationships. In its first season, it’s an incredibly funny show that’s also about the pain of hidden trauma, but it’s in its second season where Fleabag confidently figures out exactly what it wants to say. As Fleabag begins to explore her strange, fleeting connection with Andrew Scott’s (Hot) Priest, repairs her complicated bond with her uptight sister Claire (Sian Clifford), and struggles to figure out the kind of person she wants to be, the show shines. By the time those two words heard ’round the world are uttered in the series finale — “It’ll pass”; if you know, you know — it’s abundantly clear that Fleabag has earned its cathartic, triumphant ending. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]
The Man in the High Castle
For fans of: Historical fiction, dystopian universes
Number of seasons: 4
Based on the Philip K. Dick novel, the drama imagines a universe in which the Nazis won World War II. Picking up 20 years after the war, the United States is now divided into two states: Germany controls the east and Japan controls the west, while the Rocky Mountain states are a lawless neutral zone. When films and newsreels created by a mysterious figure, appropriately called the Man in the High Castle, that show Germany and Japan losing the war, people who have accepted their fate begin to rebel against the world they’re stuck in. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]
One Mississippi
For fans of: Tig Notaro, late in life coming-of-age stories
Number of seasons: 2
Comedian Tig Notaro stars as a version of herself in this fictionalized account of the period in her life directly after her mother died. While recovering from her own brush with cancer, she moves back to her Mississippi hometown to live with her brother and step-father, reminiscing and learning about her past. This show really highlights Notaro’s strengths as both an actor and a storyteller, and it’s also one of those little hidden gems that will probably make you wonder, “Where has this been all my life?” -Allison Picurro [Trailer]
Patriot
For fans of: The Coen Brothers, cinematography, comedic violence
Number of seasons: 2
My best piece of advice: Stop everything and watch Patriot now. Steven Conrad’s bizarre spy series stars For All Mankind‘s Michael Dorman as an aspiring folk singer dragged into espionage by his father, forcing him to go undercover as an employee at a pipe-manufacturer in Milwaukee. Yeah, that sounds weird, and it is, charmingly, and bolstered by artsy cinematography, colorful characters, and comedy so dark you might be ashamed to laugh. It’s one of Amazon’s hidden treasures. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
The Underground Railroad
For fans of: Alternative histories, Barry Jenkins’ magical touch
Number of seasons: 1
Barry Jenkins made his first big foray into TV with this miniseries based on the Colson Whitehead novel about an alternate reality that imagines the Underground Railroad as an actual railroad with trains, conductors, and engineers. Cora (Thuso Mbedu), an enslaved woman, boards the train in effort to secure her freedom, all while being pursued by a vicious slave owner (Joel Edgerton). William Jackson Harper and Lily Rabe co-star. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]
ZeroZeroZero
For fans of: Crime dramas, virtual vacations
Number of seasons: 1
ZeroZeroZero is a sprawling crime drama in every sense, following the life cycle of cocaine from production in Mexico to transport by an American shipping company to sale by the mafia in Italy. Of course, problems with the shipment arise, leading to infighting among syndicates and, yep, murder. Come for the crime, stay for the gorgeous on-location shots. –Tim Surette [Trailer]
