There are plenty of great shows to find onAmazon Prime Video, but these are ten series you probably haven’t heard of but are still a ten out of ten. Thebest of Amazon Prime Video’s originalsinclude titles likeThe Boys,Fleabag, andThe Expanse, but there are plenty of other lesser-known series worth checking out.
Amazon Prime Video is the home of plenty of unknown shows and hidden gems, some American productions but also a significant number of British productions. What they all have in common, though, is thatthey haven’t got in front of enough eyes, because if they did, they would be getting the kudos they deserve.
InThe Fall, Metropolitan Police Superintendent Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) is sent to Northern Ireland to aid in an unresolved murder case there. She and the other police officers realize they are dealing with a serial killer targeting young women in Belfast, and it becomes a race against time to stop him.
A slow-burning psychological thriller, The Fall is a sexy, smart, and cleverly crafted series that keeps up the momentum through all three seasons.
A slow-burning psychological thriller,The Fallis a sexy, smart, and cleverly crafted seriesthat keeps up themomentum through all three seasons. The criminal aspects of the show, particularly those regarding the psychology of the killer, feel particularly well-made and understood.
Amazon Prime Video’s first foray into subversive superhero parody territory,The Tickis one of thefew non-Marvel, non-DC comic characterscapable of supporting their own show. Based on Ben Edlund’s comic book character of the same name,The Tickis very respectful of its source material while injecting it with fresh energy.
Peter Serafinowicz stars as the titular “The Tick,” a blue-costumed superhero with super strength, nigh-invulnerability, and a mind that has been previously diagnosed as “insane”. It’s a hilarious series, thanks in large part to Serafinowicz’s performance, but there’s also plenty of charming heart and impressive action sequences to go along with the acting.
8Patriot (2015-2018)
Dark, Oddball, And Intriguing
The comedy-dramaPatriotis a dramatically underrated series. The show stars Michael Dorman as John Tavner, a troubled intelligence officer who is given a strange task: go undercover at a Milwaukee, WI, industrial piping firm in order to avert a nuclear war with Iran.
It’s a very smart and savvy series that takes time to buildbut makes sure it drops just enough breadcrumbs along the way to keep you interested. Along with its clever and intriguing story is a vein of quirky, dark humor that’s extremely effective and will have you laughing at the strangest things.
Foreveris a dramatically underrated fantasy drama starring Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph as Oscar and June Hoffman, a married couple who, after finding themselves stuck in a rut, decide to be spontaneous. This spontaneity leads to their deaths, and they soon learn the afterlife is not all it’s cracked up to be.
Armisen and Rudolph have funny and cute chemistry, but it’s Rudolph who is really doing some of her best work. She portrays the malaise that comes with modern life perfectly, and her quiet desperation is comic and somewhat shocking to see. It’s just the right amount of harrowing and absurd.
Undoneis an adult animated psychological comedy drama that premiered in 2019. Though there have been a fewshows in the same vein asUndone, none have gotten its particular brand of kaleidoscopic, experiential storytelling. The series stars Rosa Salazar as Alma Winograd-Diaz.
In the show, Alma is a Mexican-American woman who barely survives a near-fatal car crash.After the crash, Alma discovers that she can bend space and time, and uses her newfound powers to uncover the mystery surrounding her father’s death. It’s trippy and moving and will keep you thinking long after it ends.
Homecomingis an Amazon Prime original series based on the 2016 scripted podcast series of the same name. The series follows Heidi Bergman (Julia Roberts), a social worker at the Homecoming Transitional Support Center, which helps soldiers transition to civilian life. Four years later, she’s working as a waitress with no memory of her time at HTSC.
It’s likeSeverancebeforeSeverance, and Roberts is doing some of her most impressive work in recent years as the main character.
Heidi soon comes to realize that HTSC had a completely different mission than what she was led to believe, and she investigates the true purpose of the mysterious organization.It’s likeSeverancebeforeSeverance, and Roberts is doing some of her most impressive work in recent years as the main character.
Simply titledThe Durrellsin England,The Durells in Corfuis a comedy-drama loosely based on Gerald Durrell’s series of autobiographical books. The show begins in 1935 with the recently widowed Louisa Durrell (Keeley Hawes) announcing she and her children will be moving from England to a Greek Island.
Though it is far from modern in terms of things like plumbing and electricity, it is much cheaper, andthe beautiful locale provides much-needed peace and harmony for the troubled family. It’s an innocent and charming series that’s perfectly down to Earth with its humor and the realities of major life moves.
The British seriesCatastrophecame to Amazon in 2017 and follows Sharon (Sharon Horgan) and Rob (Rob Delaney), two strangers who have a fling when American Rob visits London on a business trip. A month later, Sharon learns she’s pregnant, and Rob decides he’s moving to London to marry her.
• Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney created and wrote the series, though they are not in a relationship in real life.
• Catastrophe has a 98% rating onRotten Tomatoes.
Sharon and Rob have some fantastic chemistry in the series, and it’s completely believable that someone like Rob would drop everything for someone like Sharon based entirely on how they treat one another.Catastropheis funny, heartwarming, and surprisingly relatable despite the hyper-specific subject matter.
Based on John le Carré’s 1993 novel of the same name,The Night Manageris a spy thriller series,featuring an all-star cast that includesTom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander, David Harewood, and Elizabeth Debicki. The series has alsoearned three Golden Globes and one Emmy during its run.
The series follows Jonathan Pine (Hiddleston), a night manager at a luxury hotel in Cairo, Egypt, and a former British soldier. He’s recruited by Angela Burr (Colman), a Foreign Office agent who needs someone to investigate illegal arms sales in the area, specifically in regard to one Richard “Dickie” Roper (Laurie).
sneaky pete
Cast
Sneaky Pete was created by Bryan Cranston and David Shore and stars Giovanni Ribisi, Shane McRae, Marin Ireland, and Libe Barer. The Drama and Crime series ran for three seasons between 2015 and 2019 and revolved around a convicted con man that now finds himself being hunted by a gangster now that’s he out of prison.
Sneaky Peteisa show about a con mannamed Marius Josipović (Giovanni Ribisi) who gets out of prison and takes on the identity of his former cellmate, Pete Murphy, to avoid the murderous gangsters who are after him for his many cons. Not having seen him for years, the Murphys welcome Marius into their home, no questions asked.
It’s an incredibly tense and suspenseful seriesfilled with the nagging worry that “Pete” is going to be discovered at any moment. It’s a tension that gets more effective the better a person Pete becomes, because you know it’s all going to fall away. Sadly,Amazon Prime VideocanceledSneaky Petebefore we got a satisfying conclusion.
