Best tv shows to watch on amazon prime

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The English, NYPD Blue, and more great titles you'll want to stream this month.

by Ken W. Hanley

BuzzFeed Contributor

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The holidays are upon us, so in between shopping for presents and setting up your respective holiday decorations around the home, there’s plenty of visual treats available to binge on Amazon Prime Video.

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Amazon Studios

Whether you love spy series, dramatic police procedurals, or out-of-this-world science fiction, Amazon Prime Video has you covered with plenty of serialized streaming options this month.

In addition to exciting new and returning series coming to the platform, Amazon has a wealth of classic and contemporary content deserving of your time and attention.

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Amazon Studios

So, if you're looking for a good laugh or desire to kick off your holidays in Middle Earth, Amazon Prime Video is your destination for some of the best entertainment in the streaming space throughout December.

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3 Arts Entertainment

New This Month:

1. Chuck (2007-12)

Warner Bros Entertainment / Collection Christophel / Alamy

Creators: Josh Schwartz & Chris Fedak

Cast: Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, and Adam Baldwin

Genre: Action/Comedy

Seasons: 5

Episodes: 91

Rating: TV-14

Before he donned the cape of Shazam!, Zachary Levi initially made a name for himself as the titular role of the fish-out-of-water action-comedy series, Chuck. A cult television series that survived by the skin of its teeth for five seasons, Chuck follows an mild-mannered computer whiz that unlocks a CIA software program embedding the US’s greatest secrets into his brain, forcing the agency to depend on him for their most dangerous spy missions. Co-starring Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, and Sarah Lancaster, Chuck was dependable for big laughs, engaging writing, and a cavalcade of fantastic guest stars, including Matthew Bomer, Rachel Bilson, Jordana Brewster, Linda Hamilton, and Carrie-Anne Moss. 

Watch it on Prime Video starting December 30. 

2. NYPD Blue (1993-2005)

TBM / United Archives GmbH/ Alamy Stock Photo

Creators: Steven Bochco & David Milch

Cast: Dennis Franz, David Caruso, Jimmy Smits, Kim Delaney, and Nicholas Turturro

Genre: Drama

Seasons: 12

Episodes: 261

Rating: TV-14

One of the longest-running crime dramas ever to hit television is making its way to Amazon Prime Video, offering more than 250 episodes of the groundbreaking series to audiences. Anchored by an iconic performance by Dennis Franz as Andy Sipowicz, NYPD Blue was a staple of primetime television for nearly 12 years as it examined the interpersonal and professional drama surrounding the fictional 15th Precinct in Manhattan. Further bolstered by the genius combination of Hill Street Blues creator Steven Bochco and Deadwood mastermind David Milch, a whole new generation of procedural fans will get to discover NYPD Blue for themselves beginning this month.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

3. Three Pines (2022—)

Prime Video

Creator: Emilia di Girolamo

Cast: Alfred Molina, Rossif Sutherland, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Tantoo Cardinal, and Clare Coulter

Genre: Drama

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 8

Rating: 16+

Announced in November 2022, Three Pines is Amazon’s latest mystery series starring Alfred Molina (Doc Oc of the Spider-Man franchise) as the beloved literary detective Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Adapted from Louise Penny’s highly-acclaimed novel Still Life, which introduced Gamache to the world, the eight-part series follows the extraordinarily perceptive sleuth as he attempts to solve a series of murders in an idyllic remote village in Canada’s Eastern Townships that evoke tragic secrets from his own past. Also starring Rossif Sutherland, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, and Tantoo Cardinal, anyone looking for a compelling mystery tale prior to Glass Onion’s Netflix debut closer to this Christmas can dig deep into Three Pines.

Watch it on Prime Video starting December 2. 

4. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (2018—)

Amazon Studios / Album / Alamy

Creators: Carlton Cuse & Graham Roland

Cast: John Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, Abbie Cornish, Ali Suliman, and Michael Kelly

Genre: Action

Seasons: 3

Episodes: 24

Rating: TV-MA

Perhaps the second most high-profile Amazon Prime Video series behind only The Rings of Power, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan returns for John Kasinski’s penultimate turn as the popular CIA analyst in the eight-episode third season. Though Michael Kelly and Wendell Pierce are also back for more spy games, a number of new faces will be joining Clancy’s “Ryanverse” this season, including Get Out’s Betty Gabriel, Game of Thrones’ James Cosmo, Ant-Man’s Michael Peña, and Tár’s Nina Hoss. While Season 2 proved divisive for Jack Ryan fans, Season 3 seems very promising as it finds Ryan wrongly implicated in a criminal conspiracy that puts him in the crosshairs of CIA agents and foreign assassins alike.

Watch it on Prime Video with Season 3 premiering on December 21. 

What to Watch:

5. American Horror Story (2011—)

FX Networks via YouTube

Creators: Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk

Cast: Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, and Macaulay Culkin

Genre: Horror

Seasons: 10 

Episodes: 114

Rating: TV-MA

While Prime Video currently has the first nine season's of the show, the most recent will soon be added to its ranks. The first double-header season in the history of Ryan Murphy’s controversial and chilling anthology series, American Horror Story: Double Feature kicks off with “Red Tide,” a Lovecraftian tale of the monstrous lengths one may go to in order to achieve fame and fortune in a seaside town filled with unusual and fiendish folk. Double Feature later concludes its run with an extraterrestrial story set in 1954 Albuquerque featuring cattle mutilation, presidential interference, and bloodthirsty alien-human newborns. While the format of the show is different, Double Feature brings back many of the series’ familiar faces, including Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Finn Wittrock, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, and Denis O’Hare, to name a few.

Watch on Prime Video. 

6. Animal Kingdom (2016-22)

WarnerMedia / The Hollywood Archive / PictureLux / Alamy

Creator: Jonathan Lisco

Cast: Ellen Barkin, Scott Speedman, Shawn Hatosy, Jake Weary, and Finn Cole

Genre: Drama

Seasons: 6

Episodes: 75

Rating: TV-MA

Adapted from the critically beloved 2010 Australian film of the same name from David Michôd, which in itself was inspired by the real Pettingill crime family, all six seasons of the explosive TNT original series will be available to binge on Prime Video beginning November 22. Starring Ellen Barkin (Sea of Love), Scott Speedman (Felicity), Shawn Hatosy (Southland), and Jake Weary (It Follows), Animal Kingdom follows the Codys, a criminal family operating out of Oceanside, California, that recently takes in their recently orphaned 17-year-old relative, “J” (Finn Cole). Falling under the influence of matriarch Janine “Smurf” Cody (Barkin), “J” must learn to adapt to the contentious and dangerous dynamics between his uncles while attempting to thrive in their illegal activities.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

7. The Boys (2019—)

Amazon Studios / Original Film / Point Grey Pictures / Sony Pictures/ Alamy

Creator: Eric Kripke

Cast: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, and Antony Starr

Genre: Science Fiction

Seasons: 3

Episodes: 24

Rating: 18+

This is one of Amazon’s most popular (and shockingly deranged) original series. There’s a good chance that you might be familiar with this NSFW adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic book even if you don’t actively watch the series, as its imagery and sequences have resulted in popular memes, viral videos, and even references from all areas of pop culture. With the third season airing last summer, the costume options, from Homelander to Starlight to Soldier Boy and everyone in between, should feel fresh this spooky season, though you might want to steer clear of dressing up as some of the series’ more “reprehensible” characters.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

8. Carnival Row (2019—)

Amazon Studios / Legedary Television / Stillking FIlms

Creators: René Echevarria and Travis Beacham

Cast: Orlando Bloom, Caroline Ford, and Cara Delevingne

Genre: Fantasy

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 8

Rating: 16+

From the imaginative minds behind The 4400 and Pacific Rim, Carnival Row mixes neo-noir inspirations and images with fantasy lore in its story of a detective solving murders occurring in a poor and oppressed urban community of mythological creatures. A quick binge (at least until the second season arrives at some point), the central romantic fae duo of Philo (Orlando Bloom) and Vignette (Cara Delevingne) is posited as a potential couple’s costume for those looking to blend steampunk and fantasy visages. But there are a number of additional possible costume options for the more resourceful viewers out there, including a wealthy faun (David Gyasi), a decrepit witch, and many others.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

9. Dexter (2006-13)

The Colleton Company / Showtime / Alamy

Creator: James Manos Jr.

Cast: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, and David Zayas

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Seasons: 8

Episodes: 96

Rating: TV-MA

Based on the lauded and lurid novel series from Jeff Lindsay, this delightfully demented Showtime series is about a Miami-based vigilante serial killer (Michael C. Hall) who must face his own dark nature. This is all of course while finding off the suspicions of others, including his co-workers at the Miami Metro Police Department, and the gruesome gallery of sadistic murderers on whom he preys. Though the series has been debated much over its hit-or-miss seasons and controversial ending (which was thankfully course-corrected in the follow-up limited series New Blood), Dexter’s horrific highlights make the bumpy and bloody journey one absolutely worth taking, especially the unforgettable “Trinity Killer” storyline elevated by a spectacular supporting turn from John Lithgow.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

10. The English (2022—)

BBC / Album / Alamy

Creator: Hugo Blick

Cast: Emily Blunt, Chaske Spencer, Stephen Rea, Ciarán Hinds, and Rafe Spall.

Genre: Western

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 6

Rating: TV-MA

Amazon’s most exciting new series in November 2022 is The English, a new Western drama headlined by Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place) and Chaske Spencer (Banshee). Written and directed by Hugo Blick (The Honourable Woman), The English follows an Englishwoman (Blunt) who arrives in America in 1890 to seek revenge against the man she believes is responsible for the death of her son. Eventually, she seeks the aid of an ex-cavalry scout (Spencer), with whom she bonds and learns that they may be connected by their pasts. 

Watch it on Prime Video. 

11. The Expanse (2015-21)

Syfy / Album / Alamy

Creators: Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby

Cast: Thomas Jane, Steven Strait, Cas Anvar, Dominique Tipper, and Wes Chatham

Genre: Science Fiction

Seasons: 6

Episodes: 62

Rating: TV-MA

Before there was Andor, a deep space noir series brought gravitas and mature themes to a large-scale science fiction universe in the form of The Expanse. Based on the Hugo Award-nominated novel series from Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, The Expanse initially unfolded its immersive tale of space-bound conspiracies and existential crises on the Syfy Channel before an untimely cancelation inspired Amazon Studios to practically double the critically acclaimed series’ tenure to provide the story and characters with a fitting ending. So, if you’re either looking for a post-Andor space mystery or a pre-Avatar trip to an adventure among the stars, The Expanse has you covered with all 62 episodes now streaming on Prime Video.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

12. The Fall (2013-16)

BBC / AJ Pics / Alamy

Creator: Allan Cubitt

Cast: Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, and John Lynch

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Seasons: 3

Episodes: 17

Rating: TV-MA

An intense cat-and-mouse thriller, The Fall pits a methodical serial killer (50 Shades of Grey's Jamie Dornan) against a hard-headed detective (The X-Files' Gillian Anderson) in Northern Ireland. The investigation and chase are complicated by various obstacles, from the former's web of lies to the latter's bureaucratic roadblocks. A series that is bolstered by the tour de force performances across the board, The Fall makes for a great horror offering for those who prefer their serial killer thrillers with more realism and less glorification. Nevertheless, the series is definitely harrowing at points, so those who may want spookier or lighter Halloween fare should proceed with caution.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

13. Good Omens (2019—)

BBC Studios / Amazon Studios / Alamy

Creator: Neil Gaiman

Cast: Michael Sheen, David Tennant, and Jon Hamm

Genre: Fantasy

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 6

Rating: 16+

From the wicked and wonderful mind of Neil Gaiman, who has found success on the small screen with Netflix’s adaptation of The Sandman and Starz’s jaw-dropping take on American Gods, Good Omens follows a protective, human-loving angel (Michael Sheen) and a fiendish demon (David Tennant) who must come together to prevent the emergence of the Antichrist. With a supporting cast that also includes Jon Hamm as the angel Gabriel, Adria Arjona as an occultist, Michael McKean as a modern witchfinder, and Mireille Enos as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the fantastical comedy series includes many fun and vibrant costumes that one could possibly achieve at home on a significantly lower budget.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

14. Jean-Claude Van Johnson (2016-17)

Amazon Prime Video / Album / Alamy

Creator: Dave Callaham

Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Phylicia Rashad, and Moises Arias

Genre: Comedy

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 6

Rating: 16+

Starring ‘90s action legend Jean-Claude Van Damme as a fictionalized version of himself, having only been a Hollywood mega-star as a front for his covert spy operations, the Ridley Scott-produced Jean-Claude Van Johnson takes an absurdist look at filmmaking, ego, and the action genre, with hysterically outrageous parodies of action franchises like The Fast and the Furious. Elevated by Van Damme’s absolute game appearances to make fun of himself and the tropes of the genre that made him famous, Jean-Claude Van Johnson mines a lot of laughs from its fairly brief single season, especially from the faux film-within-a-series action take on Huckleberry Finn.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

15. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022—)

Amazon Studios / Alamy

Creators: J. D. Payne & Patrick McKay

Cast: Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, and Ismael Cruz Córdova

Genre: Fantasy

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 8

Rating: TV-14

The acclaimed Lord of the Rings streaming series arrived with a roar in September, offering the epic production value, mystical lore, and fantasy-driven action so often expected from the Lord of the Rings franchise. It also injects the narrative with the occasional edge absent from Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth movies. Though the episodes thus far have certainly taken the time to set the stage for everything to happen in the expanding world of the series, the final episodes of The Rings of Power’s first season are likely to bring excitement and action to the forefront while cementing that the series.  They also cement that  this is different beast entirely from the other popular adult-oriented fantasy programs on television.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

16. The Mindy Project (2012-17)

Universal Television / Album / Alamy

Creator: Mindy Kaling

Cast: Mindy Kaling, Chris Messina, Ed Weeks, Anna Camp, and Ike Barinholtz

Genre: Comedy

Seasons: 6

Episodes: 117

Rating: TV-14

Mindy Kaling has garnered headlines as of late for her series Never Have I Ever and The Sex Lives of College Girls as well as the impending adult-oriented Scooby-Doo spin-off Velma for HBO Max, but the show that cemented her as a television star, The Mindy Project, is coming to Amazon Prime Video in its entirety on November 15. Co-starring Chris Messina (Sharp Objects), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), and Ike Barinholtz (The Afterparty), The Mindy Project follows an obstetrician/gynecologist (Kaling) who attempts to balance her personal and professional lives in New York City while interacting with her quirky co-workers and effortlessly navigating the more cringeworthy moments life and love have to offer.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

17. The Night Manager (2016)

AMC Network / Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy

Creator: David Farr

Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Debicki, Hugh Laurie and Olivia Colman

Genre: Drama

Seasons: 1 

Episodes: 6

Rating: 18+

A critically acclaimed adaptation of John le Carré’s stellar 1993 spy novel, The Night Manager follows a former British soldier (Tom Hiddleston) working as a luxury hotel’s night manager who is recruited by a FCDO operative (Olivia Colman) who tasks him with befriending and infiltrating the inner circles of a known arms dealer (Hugh Laurie). Featuring an cast of heavy-hitter actors that also includes Elizabeth Debicki, Tom Hollander, Alistair Petrie and Tobias Menzies, this twisty, sexy and intense series mixes elegance with suspense to become an international small screen phenomenon and win two Primetime Emmy Awards, including one for series director Susanne Bier.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

18. The Peripheral (2022—)

Amazon Studios via YouTube

Creator: Scott Smith

Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Gary Carr, and Jack Reynor

Genre: Sci-Fi

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 8 

Rating: TV-PG

Based on the 2014 cyberpunk novel of the same name by William Gibson, this trippy sci-fi drama was created by Westworld producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy as well as visionary producer/director Vincenzo Natali. It follows the ambitious, but perpetually underestimated, Flynne Fisher (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her US Marine brother, Burton (Jack Reynor), who seemingly witness a murder during a security job set in what they believe to be cyberspace. Soon thereafter, the pair struggle to hold their fractured family together while trying to decipher if the alternate society in which they ventured could be connected to a dark future for their own universe.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

19. Psych (2006-14)

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Pacific Mountain Productions

Creator: Steve Franks

Cast: James Roday, Dulé Hill, and Maggie Lawson

Genre: Comedy

Seasons: 8

Episodes: 120

Rating: TV-PG

Anchored by deservedly star-making turns from James Roday Rodriguez and Dulé Hill, Psych follows Shawn Spencer (Roday Rodriguez), the son of a detective who utilizes heightened observational skills and an eidetic memory to convince his local police department that he has psychic abilities he can utilize to solve crimes alongside his clever best friend, Gus (Hill). A boon to the USA Network to its run that continues to thrive through direct-to-television/streaming films, Psych’s vocal and loyal audience has only grown over the years as the infectiously charming series and solid concept has endured via its frequent syndication and binge-watching.

Watch on Prime Video. 

20. Red Oaks (2015-17)

Eric Liebowitz/Amazon/Courtesy Everett Collection

Creators: Gregory Jacobs and Joe Gangemi

Cast: Craig Roberts, Jennifer Grey, Richard Kind, Paul Reiser and Gina Gershon

Genre: Comedy

Seasons: 3

Episodes: 26

Rating: 16+

A coming-of-age comedy series produced by David Gordon Green (Vice Principals) and Steven Soderbergh (Logan Lucky), Red Oaks is the story of David (Craig Roberts), a college student working as an assistant tennis pro at a Jewish country club in New Jersey during his summer break in 1985. Largely taking place in the club, the series examines David’s family interactions, friendships and love life as he weighs his next steps in the twilight of his adolescence. With a seriously impressive roster of filmmakers behind the camera, including Amy Heckerling (Clueless), Andrew Fleming (The Craft), Hal Hartley (Henry Fool) and Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin), Red Oaks has been criminally underseen in the ranks of Amazon’s original productions and feels all the more relevant nearly five years after its conclusion.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

21. Them (2021)

Amazon Studios / Hillman Grad / Sony Pictures Television / Alamy

Creator: Little Marvin

Cast: Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Alison Pill, and Ryan Kwanten

Genre: Horror

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 10

Rating: 18+

An original horror anthology series produced by Lena Waithe (The Chi), the first season of this terrifying (and likely traumatizing) Amazon original series followed a Black family who migrates from North Carolina to an all-white Los Angeles neighborhood in 1953. Facing shock and horror from both their neighbors and supernatural forces within their own home, Them has garnered many comparisons to American Horror Story, and with a directorial roster that includes Zola’s Janicza Bravo, X’s Ti West, and The Last Exorcism’s Daniel Stamm, the “Covenant” story arc is pulled off with a spotlight on the onscreen and subtextual carnage simultaneously.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

22. Todd and the Book of Pure Evil (2010-12)

Pure Evil Productions / Cinematic Collection / Alamy

Creators: Craig David Wallace, Charles Picco and Anthony Leo

Cast: Alex House, Billy Turnbull, Maggie Castle, Melanie Leishman, Chris Leavins and Jason Mewes

Genre: Horror / Comedy

Seasons: 2

Episodes: 26

Rating: 18+

Imagine if James Gunn and Sam Raimi teamed up to re-make Buffy the Vampire Slayer and you just might get Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, the Canadian cult classic comedy that has found a vocal following in recent years. The series follows four students at Crowley High: nerdy metalhead Todd (Alex House), his aloof best friend Curist (Billy Turnbull), their booksmart friend Hannah (Melanie Leishman) and the goth Jenny (Maggie Castle), who must stop various forces of evil that emerge when a cursed tome makes its way around the student body, offering to solve people’s problems in the most demonic way possible. Raunchy, gory and a hell of a lot of fun, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil is devilish enough to earn more than a few belly laughs from horror comedy fans looking to keep the Halloween spirit alive this month.

Watch it on Prime Video. 

We hope you love the shows and movies we recommend! Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of revenue or other compensation from the links on this page. Oh, and FYI: Platform, prices, and other availability details are accurate as of time of posting.

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