Searching for a new show? These are the best on Amazon Prime Video

Last One Laughing

This relatively new (and hilarious) UK comedy competition has quickly climbed Amazon’s charts, and it’s easy to see why.

LOL: Last One Laughing UK hinges on one simple premise. Stick ten iconic British comedians in a room for six hours with one key rule – they’re not allowed to laugh. They get one warning yellow card if they slip up once, but two strikes means they’re out.  

The lineup includes Bob Mortimer, Daisy May Cooper, Joe Lycett, Judi Love, Rob Beckett, Sara Pascoe, Lou Sanders, Joe Wilkinson, Harriet Kemsley and Richard Ayoade, plus plenty more surprise guest stars designed to trip them up.

Amazon MGM Studios

Fallout

The best thing to air on Prime Video in 2024 is the adaptation of the gritty, post-apocalyptic Bethesda game series, Fallout.

This series follows three distinct characters: naive Vault Dweller Lucy, the impulsive yet stubborn Maximus who is training in the Brotherhood of Steel, and the jaded, ruthless outlaw, The Ghoul. Each of their stories interact over the course of the show, with their respective ‘quests’ often clashing.

With iconic retro music, bizarre mutant side characters and a whole lot of gore, this show has it all. And rest assured, you don’t need to have played the games to have a good time – fans will just get a lot of bonus easter eggs.

Amazon

Supernatural

If you’re on the search for a show that’ll keep you going for months on end, Supernatural should be on your list. It has 15 seasons, comprising of around twenty episodes per season at 45 minutes a piece – that’s a lot of demons and monsters to keep you entertained.

Supernatural starts by following two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, who try to track down their missing father who disappeared while working on the ‘family business’ – AKA, saving people and hunting things. However, it begins to evolve into something far greater.

Across the run, Sam and Dean grow their family (which doesn’t end in blood) with the awkward angel Castiel, the gruff family friend Bobby and many more faces. Some of the best episodes are the weirdest, including one where Sam gets stuck in groundhog day, and when the gang cross over into the world of Scooby-Doo, animation and all.

Jack Rowand/The CW/Warner Bros

The Boys

We know that superheroes are all the rage right now, but you’ve never seen them they way they are in The Boys. These are superheroes for the celebrity age, vain and cruel egotists who are actually the villains of the piece – while the titular Boys are the ragtag group of regular humans out to take them down.

Based on the comic books by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (but in fact far better than its source material), the show interweaves action and satire brilliantly. Just be warned: it’s dark, so go in prepared.

The show has just wrapped its fourth season, so keep an eye on the latest news from The Boys – and check out the spin-off Gen V for more nastiness.

Amazon

Good Omens

You’ll never know how much you wanted to see an angel and demon form a heartwarming bond across history until you see Good Omens. Michael Sheen and David Tennant (playing Aziraphale and Crowley respectively) capture the essence of their characters and embrace the eccentric world created by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman wholeheartedly.

This series has a dog that’s secretly a hellhound, the impending doom of Armageddon and more hairstyles than you can shake a stick at. If that doesn’t pique your interest, we don’t know what will.

Best of all? There’s a second season now available to stream, with a one final episode planned to round off the story.

Amazon

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Forget the original Brangelina version, because this Mr. & Mrs puts a complex spin on the narrative of two highly dangerous spies masquerading as a married couple.

‘John’ and ‘Jane’ give up their past lives for a luxurious house and a decent pay cheque. The catch? They must go on missions which often leave them fighting for their lives. Whilst gnarly at times, the show is surprisingly funny, and Donald Glover and Maya Erskine have chemistry that is off the charts.

Plus, you’ll also get a laugh out of the official episode descriptions on Prime.

The Office (US)

Anyone who’s had a desk job at some point in their life will be able to relate to The Office. Steve Carrell stars as Michael Scott, a regional manager of a paper distribution company who lacks most of the basic skills needed to lead other employees discussing day-to-day life in this mockumentary.

The main ensemble cast does change during its nine-season run, but the deadpan humour and absurd situations are consistent. It’s certainly a different take than the British version – but we’ll leave you to decide which style of humour goes down better.

Amazon

Fleabag

We’re not sure if there’s a show that breaks the fourth wall more than Fleabag. Phoebe Waller-Bridge both writes and stars as Fleabag, a middle-class woman who struggles with her career, her friends, her family, her love life… pretty much everything, to be honest.

It’s a bit like a much bleaker and darker version of Miranda, filled with self-deprecating humour that gets you through the miserable events that are dumped upon the characters of the show.

Freaks and Geeks

Almost every member of the Freaks and Geeks cast and crew has gone on to bigger things since – but few have done better.

Not many teen shows could boast having James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Jason Segel in their casts, while even smaller names like Linda Cardellini and Martin Starr are now instantly recognisable – and that’s before you mention that comedy giants Judd Apatow and Paul Feig created and wrote most of the show.

It follows the two titular social groups as they navigate a middle American high school in the ’70s, tackling the death of disco, gender identity, and all the usual high school crises along the way.

NBC

Fargo

Adapting one of the Coen Brothers’ finest films to TV was always doomed to be an act of folly until showrunner Noah Hawley came along and proved us wrong (so much so that he’s also been tasked with running the upcoming Alien show).

Adopting an anthology format, the series tracks a different bumbling-yet-tragic crime caper each season, united by a broad region (mostly around the Dakotas and Minnesota) and a few loose narrative ties, but separated by new casts and even time periods each go around. The likes of Martin Freeman, Ewan McGregor, and Patrick Wilson have stepped into major roles across the show, which somehow still finds new ways to surprise and impress even four seasons in.

FX

Tales from the Loop

Inspired by Swedish painter Simon Stålenhag, Tales from the Loop is an anthology series that explores a town dominated by a mysterious research facility.

Set in a timeless version of small town America with more than a little Scandi inspiration, the show is melancholic to the core, using its science fiction concepts sparingly to explore its characters’ inner lives rather than set up action set-pieces or light-hearted Stranger Things-style adventure.

With a cast including Rebecca Hall and Jonathan Pryce, soundtrack work from Philip Glass, and even counting Jodie Foster among its directors, the pedigree is hard to resist. Just remember to set your expectations for ‘moody Scandi drama’ rather than ‘rollicking sci-fi romp’.

Amazon

Veronica Mars

This early noughties teen noir was a cult hit that helped make Kristen Bell a star – and in fact the cast is packed with faces that would go on to become major names.

Bell is the titular Veronica, the teenaged daughter of a cop who operates as a private investigator in her own right. High school drama is integrated with higher-stakes murder mysteries, with a smart balance of episode-long cases and season-long investigations.

Right now Amazon Prime only has the show’s original three seasons, but you can also pay a few quid to rent the 2014 movie.

Warner Bros

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Lower Decks boldly goes where no Star Trek show has gone before: a goofy animated comedy in the vein of Rick and Morty.

As the name suggests, this new series takes a break from the bridge crew to follow a few red shirts instead. It’s very silly and surprisingly gory, but less nihilistic than its obvious inspiration – there’s still a lot of heart here, and a clear affection for classic Trek too.

Get the latest on the next season of Lower Decks.

Amazon

Truth Seekers

Nick Frost stars as an internet installation man cum ghost hunter & YouTuber in this surreal British comedy that also features Simon Pegg in a recurring role, and the brilliant Samson Kayo as Elton John. But not that Elton John.

It gets a little spooky at times, but not so much as to put off the horror-averse, but it’s mostly just unexpectedly funny, thanks in part to a dogged insistence to double down on even its dumbest jokes and carry them through.

The Man in the High Castle

Alternative history is always fascinating to think about, and no show has gone further into the subject than The Man in the High Castle, based on the popular Phillip K Dick novel. Imagining what would have happened if Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan had won WW2, we see the United States held in the iron fist of the axis powers.

Whilst the series starts out focusing on history and politics, it begins to dissolve more and more into the science fiction genre (and it’s no wonder, considering the author).

Amazon

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Amazon’s biggest production yet, this Lord of the Rings prequel is set in the same universe as Peter Jackson’s acclaimed films, but centuries beforehand as we follow the last war against Sauron.

That big budget means this is a typically lavish show, with plush props and expansive filming locations, but it’s got more going for it than mere budget. The optimistic tone of Jackson’s films returns, aided by a capable cast anchored by Morfydd Clark’s excellent Galadriel.

Amazon

Chuck

This is one of the great noughties network shows, pairing adventure-of-the-week shenanigans with some fun ongoing mysteries and character development.

Zachary Levi (now best known for Shazam) is the titular Chuck, a tech nerd who accidentally becomes a super spy, and from there the show remains exactly as silly as it sounds. Set your expectations correctly, and Chuck is a blast.

Warner Bros

Transparent

Star Jeffrey Tambor may have left the series in disgrace over harassment accusations, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying the series itself.

Transparent is a groundbreaking mainstream exploration of gender transition, which only gets more interesting as it veers to explore the intersections between gender, sexuality, and religion in broader respects. It’s also a lot more fun, and funny, than that might make it sound.

Amazon

The Handmaid’s Tale

Uplifting it isn’t, but The Handmaid’s Tale is perhaps essential television. This adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel takes the book as a starting point to weave its own ongoing story across three seasons so far.

Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss is the titular Handmaid, a house-servant in a version of the US where Christian values and outdated gender norms have been pushed to their limit in a nightmarish police state that exerts total control over who can love – and sleep with – whom. 

It’s unpleasant viewing, and may well challenge your views on gender dynamics, but it poses questions that all of us should be thinking about, now more than ever. And it’s damn compelling viewing to boot.

Amazon

Invincible

If you’re a fan of Castlevania, or any form of gory and more mature animation, then Amazon Prime’s Invincible should be on your list.

Mark Grayson is the teenage son of Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on the planet. However, when he develops his own superpowers, he discovers that there’s a lot of baggage that comes with it.

Season 3 of the superhero hit is now available to stream on Prime Video.

Amazon