The 13 Best Amazon Prime Video Original Shows Worth Checking Out

Amazon Prime Video has dozens of original TV series in addition to the largest library of any streaming service. From The Boys to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to Reacher, there is a Prime Video original series you’ll want to binge.

Amazon launched Amazon Unbox in 2006, which evolved into the Prime Video streaming service. In 2015, Transparent became the first original series produced by Amazon Studios to win a major award: the Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. Since then, Amazon has launched some cutting-edge original series and even rescued the fan-favorite sci-fi show The Expanse to give it a satisfying sendoff.

Whether the following bingeable Prime Video shows have ended their runs or are ongoing, they are all worth checking out. How many have you binged?

The Boys

The Boys imagines a world where superheroes have become influential celebrities who abuse their superpowers instead of fighting for truth, justice, and the American way. Karl Urban stars as William “Billy” Butcher — the leader of the Boys and someone who distrusts “supes.” Antony Starr is menacing as Homelander — the most powerful and egomaniacal superhero on Earth.

Unlike most of the Marvel and DC superhero movies, The Boys is unapologetically designed for mature audiences and isn’t shy about depicting extreme gore and really out-there sexual content, including the Deep’s (Chace Crawford) romantic relationship with an octopus.

All four seasons of The Boys are available to binge on Prime Video with a fifth and final season arriving in 2026.

Them

Them is a horror anthology series à la American Horror Story that follows a different group of Black characters each season. Season one, titled Them: Covenant, follows an African-American family who moves to East Compton in 1953. Season two, titled Them: The Scare, is about a female LAPD detective investigating a murder case in Los Angeles in 1991.

For those who like some social consciousness and commentary mixed in with their horror stories, Them delivers more than just blood and jump scares. Watch until the end of season two to find out how the two seasons are connected even though they are set decades apart.

Reacher

The popular action-crime series Reacher is based on the book series by Lee Child. Alan Ritchson stars as drifter Jack Reacher — a former U.S. military policeman who is built like a refrigerator and winds up getting pulled back into covert operations along with his former team.

If you only know Ritchson as the hilarious, dumb-as-rocks, screaming football player from Blue Mountain State, it takes a moment to accept the fact that Reacher is both jacked and brilliant. Ritchson is also much closer to how the character is described in the books than Tom Cruise, who played the character in two big-screen movies.

Both action-packed seasons of Reacher are available on Prime Video with a third season in production.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set thousands of years before the events depicted in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel. The expensive-looking show depicts the Second Age of Middle-earth when Sauron began rising to power. Familiar, long-living characters such as the elves Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) appear on the series.

The most impressive aspect of this prequel series is how closely the special effects, costumes, makeup, sets, and music mirror Peter Jackson’s movie trilogy. If you loved The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies, this return to Middle-earth is a must-see event.

Amazon reportedly said that the first season of The Rings of Power was the most-watched original series in Prime Video history. Season two premieres on August 29, 2024.

Gen V

This The Boys spin-off is set at Godolkin University — a superhero-exclusive college where young adults train to become the next generation of “supes” with amazing powers.

Like The Boys, Gen V is decidedly aimed at mature audiences and features some R-rated special effects that will make even the most hardened viewer pick their jaw up from the floor. Chance Perdomo plays Andre Anderson, a student with the ability to manipulate metal at his will. Sadly, Perdomo lost his life in a motorcycle crash, so the green-lit second season will have to address his absence.

See season one of Gen V starring Anderson, Jaz Sinclair, Lizze Broadway, and Maddie Phillips on Prime Video.

Fallout

Fallout is based on the popular video game series of the same name. The post-apocalyptic sci-fi series follows a group of privileged Vault dwellers who emerge to the surface world 200 years after a nuclear war to discover a strange world of mutants and every-person-for-themselves anarchy.

Ella Purnell plays optimistic Vault dweller Lucy MacLean, who is shocked to find the surface world is a violent and hostile environment. The real star, however, is Walter Goggins as the Ghoul — a former Hollywood actor who mutated after the nuclear war and became a bounty hunter.

Season one of Fallout, which got renewed for a second season the same month it premiered, is available on Prime Video.

Upload

The sci-fi comedy series Upload is set in the year 2033 when humans with sufficient funds have the opportunity to upload their consciousnesses to a virtual afterlife of their choosing. Robbie Amell stars as Nathan Brown, a deceased computer programmer who is uploaded to a digital afterlife at Lakeview.

Upload gets a lot of comic mileage out of imagining how humans will inevitably monetize and commercialize a virtual afterlife if technology eventually makes such a thing possible. Andy Allo shines as Nora Antony, Nathan’s afterlife handler, who falls in love with him even though she still breathes actual air.

All three seasons of Upload are available on Prime Video with a fourth and final season in the works.

Sausage Party: Foodtopia

The very adult animated series Sausage Party: Foodtopia serves as a sequel to the R-rated animated movie Sausage Party about various supermarket foods that come to life. Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, David Krumholtz, and Edward Norton all reprise their voice roles from the raunchy movie.

If you laughed when Rogen voiced a hot dog and Wiig voiced his hot dog bun love interest in Sausage Party, then you’ll be on board for this series as the anthropomorphic food items struggle to create a safe haven known as Foodtopia. Don’t let all of the googly eyes fool you — episode six pushes the limit as Rogen’s hot dog, Frank Frankfurter, has a shockingly graphic romp with a human.

Season one of Sausage Party: Foodtopia is available on Prime Video with a second season already in development.

Carnival Row

The fantasy series Carnival Row is about mythological beings such as faeries, witches, and fauns whom humans force to live as refugees in designated areas. Orlando Bloom plays Inspector Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate — a half-fae who passes as human.

This steampunk spectacle created by René Echevarria and Travis Beacham didn’t get the attention it deserved upon release, but the effects, costumes, and sets are wildly inventive. Also, David Gyasi is riveting to watch as a wealthy faun who is still shunned by society due to his appearance.

Both seasons of Carnival Row are available to binge on Prime Video.

Batman: Caped Crusader

The animated series Batman: Caped Crusader draws inspiration from Batman comics from the 1940s to 1960s. The series follows Bruce Wayne (voice of Hamish Linklater) during his early days as the Dark Knight in Gotham City.

Batman: Caped Crusader has a noir feel and is aimed more at older viewers willing to explore the darker themes and psychological aspects of the Batman character. Catwoman, Penguin, Two-Face, and other familiar Gotham City characters make appearances on the series.

All 10 episodes of the first season of Batman: Caped Crusader are available on Prime Video.

The Expanse

The sci-fi series The Expanse originated on Syfy before getting picked up by Prime Video for its three final seasons. Set in the distant future after humans have colonized the Solar System, The Expanse focuses on dueling factions of Earth dwellers, Martians, and Belters who grapple with sociopolitical and existential crises brought upon by the discovery of a powerful alien technology.

The Expanse explores how humans deal with the discovery of extraterrestrial technology and, more importantly, how separating humans into different social classes doesn’t work any better beyond Earth’s orbit. Shohreh Aghdashloo is arresting as Chrisjen Avasarala — the tough-talking UN Secretary-General who just wants some kind of order in the Solar System.

All six seasons of The Expanse are on Prime Video.

The Wheel of Time

The Wheel of Time is based upon the fantasy book series created by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. Rosamund Pike stars as Moiraine — a member of a powerful all-female group known as Aes Sedai who lives in a world where only certain women are allowed to access magic.

If you can get through the first season filled with character introductions and backstory, the better-received second season dives deeper into the characters’ motivations and will interest fans of the books as well as those in need of a fantasy fix while they wait for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to return.

Both seasons of The Wheel of Time are available on Prime Video with a third season in the works.

Flack

Flack stars Anna Paquin as an American PR maven living in London who is more adept at solving the crises of her high-profile clients than handling her own personal life. The British dramedy series premiered on Pop in the United States before moving to Prime Video for season two.

If you miss Paquin from True Blood, she nails her role here as an unapologetic publicist who knows how to play the game and manipulate the press for her clients’ benefit. Sophie Okonedo slays as Paquin’s steely boss and the head of the Mills Paulson PR firm.

Both seasons of Flack are available on Prime Video.