The 15 best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video in January 2026
From a brutal new reality show to BBC classics you've missed, these are the best series on Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video has some of the best TV shows on streaming, and these should be on your watch list in January.
Prime Video’s user interface has two problems. Firstly, its default set-up mixes shows and movies included in your Amazon subscription with stuff that’s only available with add-ons, like Shudder and Paramount Plus.
Secondly, much like when you’re trying to find the best shows on Netflix, it has a habit of pushing the same things in each carousel. Don’t worry: to mark the beginning of the New Year, we’ve taken a deep dive into its entire library and ranked the 15 best series on Amazon Prime Video.
The best Amazon Prime Video series
15. Beast Games
- Genre: Reality
- Year: 2025 – present
- Cast: MrBeast, Tyler Conklin, Sean Klitzner, Mack Hopkins
- Creator: MrBeast, Tyler Conklin, Sean Klitzner, Mack Hopkins
- Length: 1 season, 10 episodes (season 2 premieres on January 7)
What it’s about: In a new reality series from MrBeast, the world’s biggest content creator, 1,000 people compete in difficult, emotionally gruelling challenges as they try to win $5 million, the biggest prize in TV history.
Why to watch: Backing MrBeast’s infectious brainrot may seem like a surprise for this list. Alas, similar to Squid Game: The Challenge (just even more morally corrupt), this is spellbindingly horrible television; the nadir of reality-show desperation and backstabbing, and it is absolutely delicious.
According to Amazon, the second season will be “bigger, bolder, and more intense than ever”.
14. Steal
- Genre: Thriller
- Year: 2026 (premieres January 21)
- Cast: Sophie Turner, Archie Madekwe, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
- Creator: S.A. Nikias
- Length: 1 season, 6 episodes
What it’s about: A typical work day at a pension fund investment company, Lochmill Capital, is upended when a gang of violent thieves bursts in and forces Zara to execute their demands.
Why to watch: Sophie Turner was once one of the biggest stars on TV, thanks to Game of Thrones. Steal marks a long overdue lead role in the sort of show that anybody can watch: a nail-biting heist thriller. According to Amazon’s head of TV, it has “all the ingredients for a gripping, addictive, entertaining story for our global customers to enjoy”.
13. The Handmaid’s Tale
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2017 – 2025
- Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Ann Dowd
- Creator: Bruce Miller
- Length: 6 seasons, 66 episodes
What it’s about: In the Republic of Gilead, formerly known as the United States, fertility rates have collapsed. The series follows Offred, a Handmaid in the oppressive regime, as she tries to survive as a reproductive surrogate for a commander and his wife.
Why to watch: Though not as ubiquitously name-dropped as Black Mirror, The Handmaid’s Tale has become an undeniably frightening reference point in pop culture. That’s not just because of its premise: it’s an engrossing, potently conceived series with provocations that feel all too real.
12. Life on Mars
- Genre: Drama, Crime
- Year: 2006 – 2007
- Cast: John Simm, Philip Glenister, Liz White
- Creator: Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan, Ashley Pharoah
- Length: 2 seasons, 16 episodes
What it’s about: Sam Tyler, a police officer in 2006, wakes up after a car crash and realises he’s in 1973. As he tries to figure out why he’s been transported back in time, he works the same job under the command of Gene Hunt.
Why to watch: An imaginative, bracingly funny, and thrilling merge of timey-wimey fun and police procedurals, Life on Mars is an absolute must-watch (it’s even one of Stephen King’s favourite shows). It will have you hooked to the small screen, but it’s far from a saddening bore; in fact, you’ll want to relive it 10 times or more.
11. Reacher
- Genre: Action, Thriller
- Year: 2022 – present
- Cast: Alan Ritchson, Willa Fitzgerald, Malcolm Goodwin
- Creator: Nick Santora
- Length: 3 seasons, 24 episodes (renewed for season 4)
What it’s about: Jack Reacher, a veteran military police investigator and drifter, solves murders, uncovers criminal conspiracies, and punches people in the face.
Why to watch: Reacher is ‘dadcore’ TV: a show about a morally righteous action man in small-town America who lives out every average guy’s fantasy by beating up scumbags and criminals. That’s charming on its own, but each season has a compelling story that’s easy to follow – long may it continue.
10. The Summer I Turned Pretty
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2022 – present
- Cast: Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno
- Creator: Jenny Han
- Length: 3 seasons, 26 episodes (finale movie announced)
What it’s about: After finishing her junior year at college, Belly is excited to spend another summer with her soulmate, Jeremiah. However, when Conrad – who happens to be Jeremiah’s brother – comes back into her life, she has to decide who she truly loves.
Why to watch: The Summer I Turned Pretty is peak softcore steamy TV; a coming-of-age story that’s shamelessly (and seductively) melodramatic and romantic. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll want to debate choosing Team Jeremiah or Conrad.
9. Fallout
- Genre: Sci-fi, Action
- Year: 2024 – present
- Cast: Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins, Aaron Moten
- Creator: Graham Wagner, Geneva Robertson-Dworet
- Length: 2 seasons, 8 episodes (second season still airing)
What it’s about: Over 200 years after a nuclear apocalypse, three people end up on a collision course: Lucy, a Vault 33 resident who ventures into the real world for the first time; Maximus, a Brotherhood of Steel squire; and the Ghoul, a mutated gunslinger and bounty hunter.
Why to watch: Fallout is among the best video game adaptations ever made (yes, better than The Last of Us), because it’s fantastic on its own terms. It doesn’t pander, nor does it misstep in its expansion of the beloved franchise. It hones the dark iconography and analog-softened vibe of the games for an all-new experience.
May the future of the genre be cut by its sword.
8. Last One Laughing UK
- Genre: Comedy, Reality
- Year: 2023 – 2023
- Cast: Jimmy Carr
- Creator: Hitoshi Matsumoto
- Length: 1 season, 6 episodes (renewed for season 2)
What it’s about: Jimmy Carr gathers 10 of the UK’s funniest comedians and pits them against each other with one simple goal: either make them laugh… or try not to laugh.
Why to watch: Last One Laughing is predicated on a simple fact: it’s funny watching people do everything in their power not to smile, only to break and burst into laughter. Here, there’s the added bonus of it involving some of the best comedians in the country (and it’s coming back in 2026).
7. The Boys
- Genre: Superhero, Action
- Year: 2019 – present
- Cast: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty
- Creator: Eric Kripke
- Length: 4 seasons, 32 episodes (season 5 premiering in 2026)
What it’s about: After a superhero kills his girlfriend, Hughie teams up with Billy Butcher, the leader of a secret mercenary group dedicated to taking down Vought, a multi-billion-dollar company, and its “supe” empire.
Why to watch: In 2019, in the wake of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s unofficial death with Avengers: Endgame, The Boys emerged as an outrageous tonic in an oversaturated superhero world. It is frequently timely (amusingly and worryingly so), edgy, preposterously gruesome, and it’s armed with one of the scariest villains in TV history.
6. The X-Files
- Genre: Sci-fi, Thriller
- Year: 1993 – 2018
- Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson
- Creator: Chris Carter
- Length: 11 seasons, 218 episodes
What it’s about: Mulder and Scully, two newly partnered FBI agents, investigate the X-Files: unusual cold cases that often involve (alleged) paranormal phenomena.
Why to watch: The X-Files may seem like a mountain to climb (218 episodes, including two movies and the revival), but there are two things you should know. One, it’s one of the most influential TV shows of all time, and two, it boasts some of the freakiest stuff you’ll ever see on the small screen (“Home” is a particular highlight).
5. Clarkson’s Farm
- Genre: Reality
- Year: 2021 – present
- Cast: Jeremy Clarkson, Kaleb Cooper, Lisa Hogan
- Creator: Jeremy Clarkson
- Length: 4 seasons, 32 episodes
What it’s about: Trading fast cars for tractors, Clarkson’s Farm follows Jeremy Clarkson as he… well, tends to a farm in West Oxfordshire.
Why to watch: As popular as Top Gear was, Jeremy Clarkson isn’t for everyone; he can come across crass, outspoken, and a little smug. Yet, Clarkson’s Farm tops Amazon Prime’s streaming chart in the UK every time it airs a new season – and with good reason. In short, it’s entertaining, even lovely TV about a smart arse humbling himself for a good cause.
4. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Year: 2017 – 2023
- Cast: Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, Alex Borstein
- Creator: Amy Sherman-Palladino
- Length: 5 seasons, 43 episodes
What it’s about: Miriam “Midge” Maisel has everything she’s ever wanted: a perfect husband, two kids, and an elegant apartment in 1950s New York. But her life changes forever when she discovers a new talent: stand-up comedy.
Why to watch: The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is brilliant; a poignant, hilarious delight that’s proven to be the perfect star vehicle for the actress behind its titular comedian, Rachel Brosnahan. Then again, what else did we expect? It comes from Amy Sherman-Palladino, who created one of the most iconic, coziest shows about womanhood ever made, Gilmore Girls.
3. The Underground Railroad
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2021
- Cast: Thuso Mbedu, Chase W. Dillon, Joel Edgerton
- Creator: Barry Jenkins
- Length: 1 season, 10 episodes
What it’s about: After escaping a Georgia plantation, Cora discovers a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the southern soil. As she seeks freedom, she’s pursued by a notorious bounty hunter.
Why to watch: An epic, operatic, and heartbreaking series that stretches the confines of the small screen, The Underground Railroad is the most slept-on series on Amazon Prime. It wouldn’t be fair to call it underrated (it’s received near-universal acclaim from those who’ve seen it), but it should have been loudly and widely lauded. Rectify the universe’s error and watch it.
2. Invincible
- Genre: Animation, Superhero
- Year: 2021 – present
- Cast: Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, J.K. Simmons
- Creator: Robert Kirkman
- Length: 3 seasons, 25 episodes
What it’s about: Mark is the son of Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on Earth. After he wakes up with powers of his own, he takes on the mantle of Invincible, unaware of the responsibilities (and horrors) that await him.
Why to watch: Invincible felt like a new frontier from its first episode; a Pokémon-hued, violent, and entirely singular superhero adaptation with cosmic stakes that feel down-to-earth. It has a claim to the best show that’s currently airing; provocative, compulsively watchable TV that will only get better, should it complete the medium-defining comics.
1. Fleabag
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Year: 2016 – 2019
- Cast: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sian Clifford, Andrew Scott
- Creator: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
- Length: 2 seasons, 12 episodes
What it’s about: In the wake of a shocking tragedy, Fleabag – a single, witty, fourth-wall-breaking woman – tries to navigate awkward hookups, keeping up with her family, and the rest of daily life while dealing with grief.
Why to watch: Fleabag is the best comedy series of the past decade in every regard. Incisively funny, emotional, and affectingly wise, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s extraordinary performance (and writing) anchoring a show incapable of failure.
Read more: The best movies on Amazon Prime Video
