After you’re done perusing the various things that are on sale on Amazon for the Fourth of July, you might decide to take advantage of one of the other things your subscription offers you. If you’re looking for something to watch over the holiday, then Amazon Prime Video is the perfect place to start.
We’ve selected five shows available on the streamer that all speak in different ways to what it means to be an American. Whatever your views are on America today, you’re sure to find something worth watching on this list. These are the five best Prime Video shows to watch on the Fourth of July weekend.
Need more recommendations for the holiday? Then read our guides to the best shows on Netflix, best shows on Hulu, best shows on Amazon Prime Video, and best shows on Disney+.
Reacher (2022-)
Based on the books of the same name, Reacher tells the story of a retired military police officer who finds himself accused of a murder he did not commit. The story winds its way from there, and Reacher is guaranteed to satisfy anyone who loves great action TV.
Alan Ritchson stars as the intimidating title character, and is seemingly the largest man to ever appear on camera as a leading man. The series is firmly living in the land of dad TV, but there’s nothing wrong with a reliable show in which a good cop uncovers corruption everywhere he turns, and busts some heads on his way to doing something about it.
You can watch Reacher on Prime Video.
Jack Ryan (2018-2023)
One of Prime Video’s biggest hits, Jack Ryan is adapted from the popular novels about a CIA analyst who keeps finding himself pulled into the field for one reason or another. While the plot here isn’t lifted beat for beat from the Tom Clancy novels, the same general tenor exists in both works. Jack Ryan is above all a spy series about a guy trying to help America solve some of its toughest challenges.
John Krasinski is reliably compelling as an analyst who becomes less and less in over his head as the show goes on, and Jack Ryan knows how to deliver exactly what you’re looking for.
You can watch Jack Ryan on Prime Video.
I’m a Virgo (2023)
One of the weirder series on Prime Video, but also deeply compelling, I’m a Virgo tells the surreal story of a 13-foot-tall Black man who escapes from the confines of his home to fully experience the world. At once an allegory about race and class and something entirely its own, I’m a Virgo chronicles its central character’s experience of a world in which many people see him as an alien.
Creator Boots Riley is one of the most innovative thinkers of his generation, and I’m a Virgo is a chronicle of American life that uses some strange but profound metaphors en route to its central idea.
You can watch I’m a Virgo on Prime Video.
The Underground Railroad (2021)
Stories of slavery are not uncommon in Hollywood, and some are incredibly potent. The Underground Railroad, one of the best series Prime has ever produced, is a twist on that familiar idea. The story follows the fantastical journey of one escaped slave as she winds her way toward freedom, but it imagines that the underground railroad was an actual train.
On her journey, she stops in various towns and comes to understand all the different forms that racial oppression can take in the United States. It’s a brilliant, often bleak watch, but one infused with the kind of humanity that director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) can’t help but imbue.
You can watch The Underground Railroad on Prime Video.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-2023)
The fictional story of a housewife who loses her husband and becomes a stand-up comedian as a result, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel offers a hilarious but also refreshingly American story. Thanks to an incredible central performance from Rachel Brosnahan (Superman), as well as a sharp supporting cast and incredible writing, Maisel is entertaining and often hilarious throughout its five-season run.
Along the way, we watch Maisel as she tries to chart her own path to mainstream success and finally, in the end, finds it.
You can watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Prime Video.
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