(Photo by Amazon Prime Video)
The Best Amazon TV Shows and Movies
While The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel may be dominating TV awards now, the comedy is not the first of Amazon’s original shows to garner award attention. That honor goes to the groundbreaking and controversial Transparent, which will end in 2019 after five seasons.
The internet giant got into the original content business in 2013, when the first fan-voted “pilot season” began. Users were able to watch TV pilots and give feedback to the powers that be, and the highest-rated pilots would be turned into Amazon Prime Video series. That process yielded both hits (Bosch, renewed for a fifth season) and misses (Betas, canceled after one season).
The company ended that process in 2018, but each year continues to release a variety of comedies, dramas, international co-productions, and acquisitions (including its quick revival of the fan-favorite Syfy space drama The Expanse, which has yet to debut original episodes on Amazon).
We set out to list Amazon Prime Video’s best TV shows to binge-watch now and the best movies that are original to the streaming service. Below, find 45 titles that made the cut. To be included in our list of the best Amazon original movies and series, titles must be Fresh (60% or higher) and must have premiered for U.S. audiences on the streaming service, not in theaters.
Added 8/7: The Boys.
Synopsis: The Last Post is set during the social and political unrest of the mid-sixties, in the simmering heat of Aden,...
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Synopsis: In equal parts high-concept thriller and coming-of-age drama, HANNA follows the journey of an extraordinary young girl raised in the...
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Synopsis: In one tragic night, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Martin Jones's life is blown apart, and he is forced into...
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Synopsis: A group of fortysomething friends travel to Belize for a celebration that turns into a nightmare and puts their bond...
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Synopsis: Eerie tales of psychologically disturbing and paranormal true experiences are retold in this adaptation of the podcast of the same...
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Synopsis: A world-renowned martial arts expert and undercover agent for hire comes out of retirement after chance encounter with a long...
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Synopsis: A beautiful and talented southern belle becomes the original flapper, an icon of the Jazz Age in the 1920s....
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Synopsis: Fearless is a legal conspiracy thriller following human rights lawyer Emma Banville (McCrory), whose latest case will uncover a web...
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Synopsis: Set in the 1930s, the series follows the famous detective Poirot as he faces a serial killer known as ...
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Synopsis: Based on various writings from author Philip K. Dick, each of the 10 stand-alone episodes are set in a different...
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Synopsis: Set in 1969, a group of young women who work for a news program fight against sexual discrimination during an...
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Synopsis: The Roman Imperial Army invades Britannia, a land ruled by warrior women and powerful Druids....
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Synopsis: A dramatic thriller based on novelist Tom Clancy's CIA operative as he begins his career in the spy game....
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Synopsis: Thriller about a British-Pakistani who is coerced by a counterterrorism officer into informing....
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Synopsis: A comedy featuring John Goodman. Re-election battles, looming indictments, parties, their Party... these senators need a drink. And a new...
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Synopsis: Appleyard College becomes the epicenter for this mystery when three schoolgirls and a teacher go missing....
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Synopsis: An alternate version of life in the U.S. in the 1960s -- if Nazi Germany and Japan had won WWII....
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Synopsis: Directed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Joshua Rofé (Lost for Life), Lorena reveals the hidden truths in the notorious case of...
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Starring:
Synopsis: A down-and-out lawyer seeks redemption....
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Synopsis: A fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It's...
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Synopsis: In this comedy, the year is 2018 and the Apocalypse is set to descend upon humanity. An angel and demon...
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Synopsis: A brutal murder is investigated in a small Arctic town....
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Synopsis: The comic adventures of four Silicon Valley pals who are working on a mobile social-networking app....
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Synopsis: Set in Romania during the 1980's Cold War hysteria, two detectives investigate the murder of a colleague....
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Synopsis: Documentaries, poems, films and interviews based on content from The New Yorker....
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Synopsis: Based upon Anthony Trollope's novel, this lavish drama follows Dr Thomas Thorne, and his charming niece Mary as she discovers...
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Synopsis: A couple's relationship unravels as they obsess over a professor named Dick....
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#18
Adjusted Score: 79.384%
Critics Consensus: Led by dual mesmerizing performances from Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson and rounded out by a solidly stocked ensemble, this King Lear is a highly watchable adaptation.
Synopsis: The 80-year-old King Lear divides his kingdom among his daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, according to their affection for him....
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Synopsis: A period drama series adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's classic novel. Olivia Cooke is heroine Becky Sharp, who attempts to...
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Synopsis: An intelligence officer takes an undercover assignment in Iran, but PTSD spells, incompetency in the federal government and the challenges...
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Synopsis: Set in the 1950s, Miriam "Midge" Maisel is a content wife and mother whose perfect life takes a sudden turn...
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Synopsis: An assistant tennis pro tries to figure out his future while working at a country club in suburban New Jersey....
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Synopsis: The black sheep of the Argyll family resurfaces to deny accusations of killing the matriarch, which initiates the gang's hunt...
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Synopsis: Married couple June (Maya Rudolph) and Oscar (Fred Armisen) live a comfortable but predictable life in suburban Riverside, California. For...
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Synopsis: Exploring the world of classical music....
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Synopsis: In a world where superheroes have been real for decades, an underdog accountant with zero powers comes to realize his...
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Synopsis: After being released from prison, a con man hides from debtors by assuming his cellmate's identity and lands a job...
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Synopsis: In this dark comedy based on the life of Tig Nataro, a young woman returns to her hometown following the...
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Synopsis: A relentless Los Angeles homicide detective pursues the killer of a 13-year-old boy while standing trial himself on murder charges....
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Synopsis: Following the goings-on of a dysfunctional Los Angeles family....
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Synopsis: It is the late 1960s, homosexuality has only just been decriminalised, and Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal party,...
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Synopsis: A caseworker at a facility that treats soldiers returning from war interacts with veteran who is eager to return to...
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Synopsis: An unplanned pregnancy turns a weekend tryst into a serious commitment for a British woman and an American tourist....
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#2
Adjusted Score: 100.418%
Critics Consensus: Like the Grateful Dead's best music, this documentary justifies its expansive running time -- and offers audiences a Long Strange Trip that's well worth taking.
Synopsis: The 30-year odyssey of the Grateful Dead was the most unlikely success story in rock 'n' roll history. Famously averse...
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Synopsis: A hilarious and poignant window into the mind of a dry-witted, sexual, grief-riddled woman trying to make sense of the...
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