5 Of The Best Comedy Shows On Amazon Prime Right Now
Unlike most other streaming networks, it's easy for many people to justify paying for Amazon Prime Video because it's just one of several services provided by an overall Amazon Prime membership. So when budget-minded TV viewers limit themselves to just a few streamers, Amazon Prime Video will often make the cut. If you're one of the 200 million Amazon Prime subscribers around the world, you've got plenty of options when you want to watch movies or TV. Like much of its competition, Prime Video's library is a combination of content Amazon obtained the rights to stream as well as original movies and TV shows it produces itself. Some are even a little of both.
While big, epic shows like "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" and "The Boys" often grab the biggest headlines, Amazon also has several high-quality original comedy series, some of which were award-show darlings of their day. If you're an Amazon Prime subscriber and in the mood for some laughs, here are some of the best comedy shows on Prime Video right now. (Amazon Originals and shows Amazon helped to co-produce are unlikely to move to another streamer, while other properties it's licensed may move at some point.)
'Jury Duty'
One of the newest shows Amazon has added to its library is the innovative 2023 mockumentary sitcom "Jury Dury." "Jury Duty" is actually an Amazon Freevee original; Freevee is a standalone, ad-supported VOD service. However, Amazon Prime Video users can watch Freevee content as part of Amazon Prime Video and its interface, at no extra charge. "Jury Duty" has an extremely unusual premise: the show is ostensibly about a trial and the people it involves, but one juror, Ronald Gladden, isn't an actor but a solar contractor who doesn't know that everything around him is fake.
Gladden interacts with other jurors and the show's other characters, not knowing they're all actors playing roles. Notably, one juror is movie and TV star James Marsden ("X-Men," "Westworld"), who is playing a heightened version of himself. Each episode contains planned setpieces and semi-improvisation, combining workplace sitcom humor, a true crime courtroom narrative, and reality prank show tactics into a series unlike anything else on TV. The show, created by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, concluded its eight-episode first season in April 2023. Considering the buzz and good reviews it generated during and since that time, Amazon is likely to produce a second season at some point.
'Fleabag'
"Fleabag" only ran for two seasons consisting of 12 total episodes, but the show made its mark on television dramedy, and made a household name out of its star and creator, Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Waller-Bridge adapted the series in 2016 from her one-woman show about a young woman navigating family and romantic drama in contemporary London. The woman, known only as Fleabag, often breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the camera. "Fleabag" won numerous awards, including multiple Emmys and Golden Globe Awards, and is already considered a modern classic, if not one of the greatest comedies in television history.
Besides the strong performances of Waller-Bridge and other cast members (including Fiona Shaw, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Olivia Colman), the show resonated with critics and audiences thanks in part to its combination of laugh-out-loud jokes with devastating (though not melodramatic), tragic moments. The show also immediately inspired several memes, including ones based on a black dress Fleabag wears in one episode and the "hot priest" character played by Andrew Scott. The show was originally produced for BBC Three, but Amazon Studios co-produced it and you can find all 12 episodes on Amazon Prime Video.
'Mozart in the Jungle'
Amazon Prime Video's original series "Mozart in the Jungle" was one of streaming's earliest critical hits, winning the Golden Globe for Best Comedy in 2016. The comedy-drama, created by Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Alex Timbers, and Paul Weitz, ran for four seasons and ended in 2018. The show, which is based on a 2005 memoir by oboist Blair Tindall, who played with the New York Philharmonic and Broadway orchestras, stands out from many other series because of its focus on classical and orchestral music. It gives a look into an art and music scene that is not portrayed as much as Hollywood movie sets and other common TV show settings.
"Mozart in the Jungle" was lauded for, among other reasons, giving a lot of focus on women musicians and composers. The show starred musician Lola Kirke, as well as Gael García Bernal, Bernadette Peters, and Malcolm McDowell, with guest and recurring turns by actors including Wallace Shawn, John Hodgman, Jason Schwartzman, and Monica Bellucci. If you have an affinity for orchestral music, this comedy-drama will be right up your alley; if you don't, the show is a fun introduction to the world of brass and strings.
'Catastrophe'
"Catastrophe" isn't an Amazon Prime Video original series, or even co-produced by Amazon Studios, but it has streamed to American audiences on the app for several years, and is a must-watch for subscribers to the platform. The British single-cam sitcom originally aired on the U.K.'s Channel 4 network. The show was created and written by its two lead actors, Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney. Delaney is an American-born comic who has lived in London for several years and was one of the earliest comedians to use Twitter to build a fanbase. His "Catastrophe" character has several similarities with his real-life persona; both are recovering alcoholics raising a family after moving from the U.S. to England.
The show is a little more high-concept, however. The first season depicts how Sharon Horgan's character becomes pregnant after a one-week fling with Delaney's character, and how he relocates across the Atlantic to help with the baby. The following three seasons are more of a traditional family sitcom, but the show never loses the sharp, biting humor both Horgan and Delaney make an art form of. The series is one of the best TV depictions of contemporary married life, and definitely worth checking out.
'Kids in the Hall'
"Kids in the Hall" was a Canadian sketch series that ran for five seasons beginning in 1988, featuring the five comedic actors who comprised the troupe of the same name: Scott Thompson, Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCullough, and Mark McKinney. After the show, which was produced by "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels, wrapped up, all five stars went on to varying degrees of success in the film and television industry. In 2022, an eight-episode sixth season premiered on Amazon Prime Video, 27 years after the previous season had wrapped (in between were several reunions, including a TV miniseries and feature film). Notably, the series was the first to be produced by Amazon Prime Video Canada.
The new season of "Kids in the Hall" brought back all five original stars, as well as producer Lorne Michaels. Additionally, the season featured many notable guest stars, including Pete Davidson, Kenan Thompson, Will Forte, Fred Armisen, Tracee Ellis Ross, Eddie Izzard, Catherine O'Hara, and Mark Hamill. Along with new characters and sketches, Amazon's "Kids in the Hall" brought back several beloved fan-favorite characters from the original '80s and '90s run.