Weekly watchlists are useful precisely because they are short. Rather than presenting an endless catalogue, the best of them narrow the field to a handful of titles that reward the hours invested, and this week's selection leans toward Prime Video dramas with confident writing and ensembles that make ordinary scenes feel tense. The common thread is pacing. Each of these shows understands how to end an episode on a question rather than an answer, which is the oldest trick in serialised storytelling and still the most effective one. They also avoid the trap of confusing scale with substance. Big set pieces are fine, but a quiet exchange between two characters who both know more than they are saying can hold attention just as firmly. Viewers who sample one episode and find the hook convincing will usually finish the season. Those who do not should move on without guilt, because the point of a curated list is to save time rather than to create an obligation.
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For more recommendations, check out our list of the bestshowsandmovies on Prime Video.
1‘Wild Cards’ (2024–Present)
A Canadian police procedural series created byMichael Konyves,Wild Cardsfollows Cole Ellis, a detective demoted to patrol duty who is assigned to work with a spirited con artist, Max Mitchell, to solve cases. Cole’s by-the-book approach often clashes with Max’s street smarts and charisma, but they must find a way to work together and fight crime. The show starsGiacomo Gianniottias Cole andVanessa Morganas Max, who appear in all seasons, alongside rotating recurring and guest stars likeMartin Sheen,Jason Priestley, andTamara Taylor.
Wild Cardsfollows the classic police procedural format and features a new case every week with underlying storylines revolving around the protagonists’ romantic dynamic and family secrets. The series has earned acclaim for reprising the trend of lighthearted, breezycrime procedurals of the 2000s, making the best of "opposites attract" and "mismatched detectives" tropes that fans might love to revisit. Since its premiere, the series has proven quite popular, with the first season becoming CBC's highest-rated new series and the show earning a steady 100% on Rotten Tomatoes across three seasons.
A great detective is really just a personality with a method attached, which is why we keep remaking the same four of them. Here is yours, what it says about you, and the case for them being the best in the business.
You let people think you are not a threat and then you simply never go away. Columbo is the only major detective show that tells you who did it in the first ten minutes, because the pleasure was never the puzzle, it was watching a rich man slowly realise he is in trouble.
You are the most interesting person in the room and you know exactly how to use it. Rian Johnson built Blanc as a gentleman detective who is also an outsider everywhere he goes, which lets him be charming at people who would never otherwise talk to him.
Everybody tells you everything, and you have never once asked them to. Jessica Fletcher is a crime novelist from a small town in Maine who is so warm and so obviously trustworthy that suspects confess to her essentially as a social courtesy.
You expect to be lied to and you are almost never disappointed. Chandler wrote Marlowe as a man with a rigid private code in a city that has none, which is why he takes the case, solves it, gets nothing out of it and takes the next one.
2‘Longmire’ (2012–2017)
A neo-Western crime drama,Longmireis a series adaptation ofCraig Johnson’s mystery novel series featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire. The series focuses on the troubled ex-military law-enforcement officer who solves strange crimes in his community while dealing with the competing jurisdictional authority of the bordering native reservation and various other issues of contemporary Native American life.Robert Taylorstars as the titular character, withLou Diamond Phillips,Cassidy Freeman,Katee Sackhoff,Bailey Chase, andAdam Bartleyin main roles.
Longmiremay have become more or less forgotten since it ended, but during its six-season run, the Western drama was a major success with both critics and fans, fascinating its audience season after season with its interesting mysteries and unconventional detective. The series combines the best of two popular television genres, traditional Westerns and modern crime procedurals, creating a narrative that appeals to fans of either.Longmireis praiseworthy for its grounded writing, compelling acting, and atmospheric visuals, and is often ranked among thebest revisionist Western shows.
3‘Catastrophe’ (2015–2019)
Created, written by, and starringSharon HorganandRob Delaney,Catastropheis a British sitcom that follows Sharon, an Irish primary school teacher in London who meets Rob, an American advertising executive on a business trip to the city. After a week-long whirlwind romance, Rob returns home to Boston while Sharon discovers that she is pregnant with his child, unleashing utter chaos in their respective lives. Besides Horgan and Delaney as the main characters, the series also starsAshley Jensen,Mark Bonnar, andCarrie Fisherin her final television role.
Before the success and popularity ofBad Sisters,Catastrophewas Horgan’s most critically acclaimed work in television, earning her a BAFTA nomination for her performance. Raw, witty, and often brutally honest,Catastropheexcels in its sharp satire of the hard-hitting realities of modern parenting and marriage, finding its humor and heart in its flawed characters. Horgan and Delaney also earned BAFTA TV Awards and an Emmy nomination for their writing.
Catastrophe
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