The 22 Best Shows on Prime Video Everyone Needs to Watch

The 22 Best Shows on Prime Video Everyone Needs to Watch
At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Amazon doesn’t just deliver your each and every online shopping purchase; it’s also there for your entertainment needs. Amazon’s Prime Video is one of the most affordable streaming services in Australia, and it’s home to some of the best shows as well.

Prime Video has racked up plenty of awards nominations over the years thanks to its hit original shows, all of which are well worth your time if you need something new to watch.

To help you narrow down your choices, we’ve gathered a list of the best shows on Prime Video in Australia.

The best TV shows on Prime Video Australia

The Peripheral

peripheral prime video october
Image: Amazon Studios

Chloe Grace Moretz stars in Prime Video’s latest sci-fi action series The Peripheral as Flynne, one of two siblings trying to pay for their mother’s medical bills by playtesting simulations. Recruited for a new beta test, Flynee is transported to London in 2099 and tasked with stealing information from something known as The Research Institute.


Carnival Row

carnival row prime video
Image: Prime Video

Carnival Row stars Hollywood superstars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevigne in a period fantasy drama with a side of mystery. In the series, humans and mythological creatures struggle to co-exist under the iron fist of man. Despite these dangers, a human investigator rekindles an affair with a faerie as he seeks to solve a string of gruesome murders.


Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

lord of the rings of power
Image: Prime Video

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power takes us all the way back to the Second Age, where the rings are still being forged and Sauron hasn’t yet taken over Middle-Earth. However, some evil is brewing, and we’ll follow the familiar faces of Galadriel and Elrond as well as a large cast of new characters as they try and fight the rising chaos.

Read our thoughts on the show here.


A League of Their Own

A League of Their Own – Best shows on Amazon Prime (Image: Amazon)

Stop what you’re doing and watch A League of Their Own immediately. Trust us on this one.

The Prime Video series is a reimagining of the classic 90s sports drama that brings a fresh and diverse perspective on the women who formed America’s first female baseball teams during the 1940s. It’s funny, the cast is incredible and it’s a delightful watch you won’t regret.


The Boys

best shows on amazon prime
The Boys – Best shows on Amazon Prime (Image: Amazon)

The world has a pretty idealised vision of superheroes thanks to years of comic books and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But what if Superman was really just an arsehole?

The Boys shows us a reality where superheroes exist only to serve as celebrities and corporate figureheads. The boys, led by Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher, set out to get vengeance on these corrupt superheroes and expose their dirty hidden secrets.

Who would’ve thought one of the most politically relevant TV shows today would be a raunchy, graphic comic book adaptation, but The Boys is living proof.


The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

marvelous mrs maisel amazon prime best
Image: Amazon Studios

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is one of the shows that got everyone talking about (and watching) Amazon Prime.

The series follows Miriam Maisel who discovers she has a secret knack for stand-up comedy. This newfound talent uproots her from her 1950s perfect housewife life and takes her on a journey through New York’s comedy scene.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has earned dozens of award nominations thanks to its whip-smart comedy paired with its poignant drama and a stunning performance from Rachel Brosnahan.


The Wilds

the wilds season 2
Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video. Image: Amazon Studios

If you’re looking for a teen drama that doesn’t feel so cringe then The Wilds is here for you.

The series plucks eight teenage girls from radically different walks of life and throws them into a survival situation on a deserted island for a Lord of the Flies-style social experiment.

The Wilds has mystery, drama and it poignantly explores a range of complex issues impacting young women these days.


Little Fires Everywhere

amazon prime little fires everywhere
Little Fires Everywhere – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video(Image: Amazon)

Fresh off the back of Big Little Lies, Reese Witherspoon chose to produce and star in yet another best-selling book adaptation – Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere.

The series stars Witherspoon alongside Kerry Washington as two mothers with very different backgrounds raising their children in an affluent Ohio neighbourhood.

Little Fires Everywhere ties issues of race, class and identity into a thrilling 8-episode drama that you won’t be able to stop watching.


Upload

upload amazon prime
Upload – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Amazon)

After being involved in a critical accident, one man chooses to upload his consciousness into a virtual afterlife before he dies. As he adapts to this new online world he starts to have suspicions about his untimely death.

Upload is a witty science-fiction comedy that shows the extreme extent to which technology shapes our lives (and will continue to do so in the future).


Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan

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Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Amazon)

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan has seen plenty of iterations over the years, from Harrison Ford to Chris Pine, but John Krasinski’s version is one of the best.

In this Amazon original, Jack Ryan is an up-and-coming CIA analyst who gets thrown into his first field mission and helps decipher a pattern of terrorist communications.


Invincible

amazon prime invincible
Invincible – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Amazon)

If you liked The Boys you’re probably going to like Invincible. It’s another bold and brutal comic adaptation that turns traditional superhero tropes on its head.

The story follows the teenage son of Omni-Man, the world’s most powerful superhero, as he develops superpowers and uncovers the secrets behind his father’s legacy.

The original comic comes from the mind of Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) and has been translated into a bloody action-packed animated series. The all-star voice cast features Steven Yeun, JK Simmons, Sandra Oh and Gillian Jacobs, just to name a few.


Good Omens

good omens amazon prime
Good Omens – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Amazon)

Good Omens is another wild fantasy ride from the imaginative brain of Neil Gaiman.

The show follows angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and his demon frenemy Crowley (David Tennant) as they join forces to stop an impending armageddon.

If you’ve seen any of Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett’s prior work, you’ll know what to expect.


Fleabag

fleabag
Fleabag – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Amazon)

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a household name mainly thanks to Fleabag, the British comedy that she created and stars in.

Waller-Bridge plays Fleabag, a free-spirited, angry and confused young woman in London who frequently breaks the fourth wall to give us her hilarious commentary.

We could all use a laugh after these last couple of years and if you haven’t seen Fleabag yet it should go to the top of your list.


The Expanse

the expanse amazon prime video
The Expanse – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Amazon)

If you’re looking for an expansive sci-fi world to get lost in the The Expanse has it all in the name.

The TV show is set hundreds of years in the future where humans have colonised the solar system and tensions are rising between Earth and Mars. In the midst of this, a detective and starship captain work together to find a missing woman and uncover one of humanity’s greatest conspiracies.


Reacher

Best shows on Amazon
Reacher – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video. Credit: Amazon Studios

This series is fairly new to the scene, dropping in 2022, but Reacher is already turning heads. Boasting an 85 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the show is certainly one to add to your must-watch list.

Reacher is based on the books by Lee Child and follows the story of Jack Reacher – a former military police investigator who is falsely accused of murder.


A Very British Scandal 

a very british scandal amazon prime
A Very British Scandal – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Amazon)

If you’re missing Claire Foy in The Crown check out her latest TV series A Very British Scandal. 

The historical drama series explores the marriage between Margaret Campbell (played by Foy) and Ian Campbell (Paul Bettany), the 11th Duke of Argyll, which became a very public and scandalous legal case in the 1690s.


The Wheel of Time

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The Wheel of Time – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Amazon)

Fantasy fans had a field day when Amazon debuted the insanely popular television adaptation of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time. 

The series stars Rosamund Pike as Moiraine, a member of an all-female order of magic-wielders, who is on a quest to find the prophecised saviour known as the Dragon Reborn. In a small village, she finds five potential candidates and takes them on a journey across the land to discover their power.

Jordan’s series has 14 books and the series has already been renewed for season 2, so prepare to get invested.


Nine Perfect Strangers

streaming august australia nine perfect strangers
Nine Perfect Strangers – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Amazon Prime Video)

Liane Moriarty became a household name after her successful book Big Little Lies became an equally successful TV series. Nine Perfect Strangers attempts to replicate this by bringing another of Moriarty’s novels to the screen.

In Nine Perfect Strangers, a group of nine city-dwellers step off-grid to a luxurious health and wellness resort that is overseen by a mysterious resort director (played by Nicole Kidman) who uses unorthodox methods to heal them.


The Legend of Vox Machina

best shows amazon prime
The Legend of Vox Machina – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Amazon)

Critical Role fans absolutely must check out The Legend of Vox Machina, an animated series made by the same talented group.

The series follows a band of eight unlikely heroes who embark on a quest to save the fantasy realm of Exandria from magical forces. It essentially brings Critical Role’s D&D campaigns to animated life.


Paper Girls

paper girls
Paper Girls – Best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video (Image: Amazon)

Based on Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang’s hit comic series, Paper Girls follows four teen girls who are thrown from their average paper route in the 80s into the future where they must dodge warring time factions and come face to face with their future selves.

The show is perfect for Stranger Things fans and the young cast are all stars in the making.


Smallville

smallville prime video shows

If you need a show to save you, this one will do it. Smallville was the classic superhero TV show of the 2000s, giving us a window into teen Clark Kent’s life before he was Superman.

Smallville ran for ten seasons and brought a new teen spin onto plenty of Superman’s classic friends and foes including Lex Luthor, Green Arrow, Lois Lane and Lana Lang.


American Gods

american gods prime video shows
Image: Prime Video

If you’re looking to binge more of Neil Gaiman’s mind-boggling work after The Sandman and Good Omens, American Gods is the show for you.

The series is a crazy take on mythology, following a man named Shadow Moon is caught up in a war between the old Gods, like Odin and Loki, and the new gods, like Media and Technology.


You can sign up for Prime Video here and start watching all these great shows for just $6.99 a month.

This article has been updated since its original publish date.


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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