The Best Amazon Prime TV Shows, from ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ to ‘Undone’ and ‘The Boys’

Wilson Chapman
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

A gigantic mega tech corporation like Amazon doesn’t generally have a ton of bad days, but in the streaming space, the company can’t seem to catch a break. The streamer clearly wants to be taken seriously as a TV giant, pouring money into expensive legacy IP shows and original properties alike. But those efforts to buy Prime’s way into critical prestige and popularity don’t always pay off.

Prime Video’s biggest shows, such as “The Rings of Power” and “Citadel,” have been greeted with audience apathy, critical failure, or both. Reports from behind the scenes at Amazon Studios have alleged creative frustration between artists and studio executives, with complaints of wishy washy leadership that doesn’t let series thrive.

More from IndieWire

The result of Prime Video’s ongoing struggles to define itself is an incredibly erratic library of original titles. While none of the big name streamers only focus on one singular thing, they all have something resembling identities. Max is for prestige HBO shows and Discovery+ nonsense; Apple TV+ hosts seemingly hundreds of limited series featuring big name stars; Hulu has the “FX on Hulu” label, and its own stream of fresh content aimed at young adults; Paramount+ is “Star Trek” and Taylor Sheridan central; Disney+ features kids shows and MCU/”Star Wars” spinoffs’ and Netflix tries to be everything for everyone all at once. But Prime Video doesn’t have a reputation for excelling at anything specific. Its shows feel like a grab bag of random works, as opposed to titles unified by theme or specifically suited to the platform.

But that doesn’t mean that Prime Video’s catalogue is bad, either; on the contrary, the streamer has hosted some of the greatest TV shows of the last several years. Look no further than Barry Jenkins’ “The Underground Railroad,” an absolute TV masterpiece (one that got unfortunately buried by Amazon). Other shows have had more luck making it into the public consciousness, like hit comedy “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” or ultra-violent superhero series “The Boys.” And, perhaps because of its lack of a brand identity, Prime Video hosts some intriguing experiments that are hard to imagine hitting other streamers, including animated oddity “Undone” or Boots Riley’s demented “I’m a Virgo.” So, as much as it makes sense for nobody to ever want to give Amazon credit, it is undeniable: they’re still capable of putting out a pretty great show or two.

A quick programming note: shows that are available via Amazon Freevee are not included in this list, if you’re wondering why quality programs like “Jury Duty” and “High School” are absent from the list. Read on for Amazon Prime Video’s best TV shows, listed alphabetically.

Best of IndieWire

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.