With new shows coming to Amazon all the time, like this week’s I’m a Virgo, and popular shows running for multiple seasons (stayed tuned next week for the fourth and final season of Jack Ryan), a subscription to Amazon Prime gives you tons of access to great programming. The good news: you already have access with a base Amazon Prime subscription. The bad news: sifting through all the content can be challenging.
We’re here to help with this list of the best shows on Amazon Prime right now, filtered down to include only those shows that don’t require add-on channels.
Looking for something else? We’ve also rounded up the best shows on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, and the best movies on Disney+.
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I'm a Virgo2023 - The Grand Tour2016
American film director, producer, screenwriter, rapper, and communist activist Raymond “Boots” Riley (Sorry to Bother You) is behind this absurdist comedy about a 19-year-old Black man who stands 13 feet tall. Cootie is played by Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight, When They See Us), who actually stands about 5-feet, 8-inches The illusion of height is achieved through use of old-school camera tricks (think Will Ferrell in Elf), not CGI.
I’m a Virgo follows Cootie as he comes out of hiding for the first time to join a society he knows nothing about, with the support a new group of welcoming teenage friends. Meanwhile, there’s a vigilante superhero trying to make the city right by using brute force against minor criminals, and Cootie has attracted his attention. I’m a Virgo is worth a watch even just to see how they pull off the special effects without any use of CGI. But it’s also a unique coming-of-age story like no other that will have you laughing the whole way through.
You might recognize Orphan Black‘s Jordan Gavaris in this Canadian comedy in which he stars opposite Julia Stiles as a brother and stepsister fighting over their parents’ family cottage. While Justin (Gavaris) moved away for years, he decides to return home following a bad breakup to reconnect with the teenage daughter he gave up for adoption.
But when Justin heads to his family cottage, he discovers that his parents left the residence to his “evil” seemingly perfect stepsister, Maisy-May (Stiles). So begins a war between the siblings as Justin also tries to develop a meaningful relationship with his daughter, who yearns to be back in the city, while fighting his stepsister for the home he believes to be rightfully his. It’s a lighthearted and fun, strong entry from the North as Amazon’s first scripted Canadian original.
The town is called Deadloch in Tasmania, and the situation is that of the murder of a local man. Two detectives join forces to investigate, and they couldn’t be more different from one another. Dulcie (Kate Box) is the senior officer in town who had sworn off detective work due to mental health reasons until being drawn back into this case. She is joined for the investigation by Eddie (Madeleine Sami), who contradicts everything Dulcie has done up to the point, instantly setting up tension between the two.
Deadloch was created by the Australian comedy duo known as “the Kates,” Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan, who gained fame from their comedic cooking show The Katering Show. This series manages to combine both darkness and humor, and it’s a regular, entertaining whodunit for fans of the genre.
One of the most well-known, ultra-conservative families in America became the subject of controversy surrounding everything from politics to religion, the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP) they follow, to molestation allegations against eldest Duggar son Josh. The Duggars initially rose to fame on the TLC series 19 Kids and Counting, a wholesome series about the large, happy, growing family. Despite the controversy surrounding them, they returned for the spin-off Counting On. But Josh’s arrest on child pornography charges ended their TV careers when TLC cut ties with the family back in 2021.
Now, Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets delves into the dark secrets of the family, with explosive revelations made by Jill Duggar, Josh’s sister who alleges to be one of his victims. As the first time anyone from the Duggar family speaks out with their story (and against the IBLP teachings) in such a candid, open way, Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is a gripping docuseries you don’t want to miss. The docuseries doesn’t just focus on the Duggars, but looks at the IBLP teachings as a whole, with insight from several former members.
If you want to watch a star being born, stop what you’re doing and immerse yourself in Rachel Brosnahan’s work as Miriam “Midge” Maisel on the 1950s-set comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Midge is a housewife who pursues a career in stand-up comedy after her husband, Joe Maisel (Michael Zegen), unexpectedly leaves her.
After a drunken, impromptu, and mile-a-minute stand-up set that ends with Midge being arrested, hard-nosed venue employee Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein) takes Midge under her wing in hopes of molding a diamond in the rough. The show has won numerous well-deserved awards, solidifying its place among the best period comedy-dramas you can watch right now.
Nothing good ever happens at 3 a.m. If you have ever heard this saying, you know that the time between 3 and 4 a.m. is known as the “Devil’s Hour,” and this is precisely when Lucy (Jessica Raine of Call the Midwife) keeps waking up, night after night, following the same recurring nightmare. The event, in fact, has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. It doesn’t help that Lucy’s eight-year-old son appears to be lacking emotion and is socially withdrawn.
When Lucy becomes tied to a string of murders in town, she begins to question her own sanity and why so much darkness surrounds her. The British psychological thriller The Devil’s Hour also stars Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi as a reclusive, murderous nomad, and Nikesh Patel (Starstruck) as a detective named Ravi who is investigating the killings. This show is dark, ominous, and totally creepy.
Cancelled way too soon, it’s unbelievable to think back and realize that Freaks and Geeks only lasted a single season. But all 18 episodes are now available to stream. The Judd Apatow-produced teen comedy-drama stars a who’s who of the young comedy landscape who were, back then, relatively unknown actors. This includes Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Jason Segel. Designed to depict the monotony of teenage life, the ‘80s-set series, which originally aired from 1999-2000, follows Lindsay (Cardellini) and her brother Sam (John Francis Daley) who each have their own unique cliques in school: Lindsay’s are known as the “freaks” and Sam’s are the “geeks.”
Having developed a cult following long after its cancellation, Freaks and Geeks has been named by sources like Time, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, and Rolling Stone magazine as one of the best TV shows of all time, despite its short run.
A sleeper hit for Amazon one of 2023’s best comedies, Jury Duty is available through the streaming service’s Freevee channel, an ad-supported video-on-demand (VOD) option formerly known as IMDb TV. It’s worth sitting through the short ads, however, to enjoy the unique docu-comedy about those who end up called in for the most dreaded task: jury duty. But there’s a twist: the case isn’t actually real, and all but one person knows it.
Ronald Gladden stars as himself, a juror who happens to be the only one who doesn’t realize the trial is not actually real. James Marsden also stars as a parody of himself, an alternate juror, while the other jurors are up-and-coming actors with backgrounds in improv. Hailing from the producers of The Office, Jury Duty is not your typical workplace comedy. It’s a fun, semi-improvised series that critics have been mixed on, but fans seem to truly enjoy, giving it an almost perfect score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
Rachel Weisz takes on a dual role in this gender-reversed interpretation of the 1988 David Cronenberg psychological thriller of the same name. Playing the roles initially portrayed by Jeremy Irons, she’s a set of codependent twins named Elliot and Beverly who both work as gynecologists. They’re also unafraid to bend the rules in the name of delivering proper women’s health care.
The show is reportedly not for the faint of heart, with graphic depictions of childbirth and various medical procedures. But Dead Ringers combines hearty laughs with plenty of foul language, drugs, and debauchery. Elliot and Beverly are very different from one another, but both have the same goal: change the system, at any cost, in a way they think it should be done.
Check out the first four of the current six seasons of this riveting Showtime drama that follows Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis), a ruthless hedge fund manager in New York who continues to grow his wealthy portfolio, and increase the power that comes with it.
He doesn’t accomplish this on the up-and-up, though, and his sometimes illegal dealings have caught the attention of prosecutor Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti), who is intent on taking Axelrod down. With a mix of fiction and storylines that mirror real-life financial crimes, the series has been lauded for its fresh narrative each season and new character introductions that represent a who’s who of the A-list Hollywood scene.
Based on the Naomi Alderman novel of the same name, this British sci-fi drama takes place in a future world where teenage girls develop a strange power: they can electrocute others using nothing but their fingertips and sheer will. The mysterious power arrives without warning and becomes hereditary and unremovable. These young women feel the thrill of having a deadly power that can fend off attackers and effectively get them whatever they want. But when they discover that they can awaken the same power in older women, the world and its power dynamics change dramatically.
This raises the stakes considerably in The Power, which examines a matriarchal society and how tremendous power might corrupt, liberate, and change the course of the world. The Power stars Toni Collette, Auli’i Cravalho, and John Leguizamo. Ted Lasso’s Toheeb Jimoh also appears as Tunde, an aspiring journalist who becomes fascinated with covering the story.
In her first big television role since True Blood, Anna Paquin trades vampire blood for high heels as Robyn, a public relations executive from America navigating the industry in Britain. Despite her best efforts, however, her high-profile and high-maintenance clients keep getting themselves into ridiculous messes, leaving her (alongside her sassy colleagues) to pick up the pieces.
Ironically, while Robyn always knows just what to do to get her clients out of tough situations, her sharp wit translates to self-sabotage when it comes to her own personal life.
It’s like a more light-hearted version of Yellowjackets meets The Afterparty. When a group of women who attended an all-girls high school a decade prior come together again for a 10-year reunion, they wind up stuck at the school literally, and figuratively stuck in the past. A tidal wave hits causing the apocalypse, and the ladies must band together at the top of an island peak where their high school campus is located to try and survive.
The women, now grown, however, can’t help but revert to their adolescent selves. This forces them to deal with unresolved high school drama. A fun comedy, Class of ’07 will have you reliving your high school days and the friendships you made in an unbelievably absurd way.
Donald Glover is behind this horror thriller about a young woman named Dre (Dominique Fishback), who is obsessed with a pop star (that bears an eerie resemblance in look and style to Beyoncé). Dre isn’t just a member of The Swarm, the name coined for the pop star’s followers (once again, similar to Beyoncé’s “BeyHive” group of die-hard fans), she takes her obsession to dark and troubling levels.
Swarm also stars Chloe Bailey (Grown-ish), Damson Idris (Snowfall), Paris Jackson (American Horror Stories), pop singer Billie Eilish, and Rory Culkin (Under the Banner of Heaven). Interestingly, Swarm also counts Malia Obama, daughter of President Barack Obama, among its writers.
Hugh Grant stars in this three-part British comedy-drama that dramatizes the story of the political scandal that led to the end of Jeremy Thorpe’s career as leader of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for North Devon in the late 1970s.
The story, based on the book of the same name by John Preston, focuses on both the scandal, as well as Thorpe’s life and events dating back more than 15 years prior. Having received glowing reviews when the series first premiered back in 2018, it was even named one of The Guardian‘s 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.
While Daisy Jones & The Six is a fictional band created by author Taylor Jenkins Reid for her novel of the same name, the story is loosely inspired by Reid’s own experiences growing up watching the band Fleetwood Mac. The 10-episode miniseries is presented like a documentary, providing background interviews with the band members. Set in the ‘70s, the look and feel is that of the wild, hippie-centric world of music during that pivotal decade.
Follow Daisy Jones & The Six and their rise from unknown rock band to one of the biggest bands in the world, along with their subsequent downfall when the members shockingly decide to split at the height of their success. The series, which stars Riley Keough and Sam Claflin and hails from Reeese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine, shares parallels with many other popular rock bands of the ‘70s, ‘80s, and beyond that music lovers will enjoy dissecting.
Based on the Jack Carr novel of the same name, The Terminal List stars Chris Pratt as Reece, a military man who is ambushed while his platoon is on a mission. Following his return home and his struggles with severe PTSD from these events, Reece begins to question what he remembers and what his role might have been in what happened. Through his investigation, Reece realizes that there might be more at play. And there are people working against him, which puts both himself and his family in danger.
The action thriller also stars Taylor Kitsch, Constance Wu, Riley Keough, and Patrick Schwarzenegger. While it was met with mixed reviews, The Terminal List has been renewed for a second season.
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