In a television landscape overcrowded with ambitious storytelling, few shows have risen above the noise to earn both critical acclaim and Emmy recognition. From richly imagined worlds where power, identity, and survival collide in strikingly different ways, for example, to a modern mythological battleground where ancient gods clash with new beliefs, they push the boundaries of genre television, and that’s why we love them.
This weekend on Amazon Prime Video, indulge in three Emmy-nominated shows that are well worth the binge. Our top pick is a severely underrated dystopian thriller that infiltrated the small-screen scene smack-dab in the middle of the 2020 pandemic.
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Carnival Row
A neo-Victorian fantasy series blending grit, murder, and intrigue
Carnival Row, a three-time Primetime Emmy nominee, ran for two seasons before COVID-19 led to its cancellation. The thrilling series is set in an industrial, steampunk-inspired Victorian fantasy world filled with mythological immigrant creatures who are struggling to survive in a human-dominated society. Orlando Bloom (Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Cara Delevingne (Suicide Squad) star.
After their exotic homelands are invaded by the empires of man, a growing population of mythological creatures fight to survive as oppressed refugees. They are forbidden to live, love, or even fly with freedom, but they remain hopeful in the darkness. When a serial killer runs loose on Carnival Row, war-hardened investigator Rycroft Philostrate (Bloom) is the only person willing to stop the murders and maintain the fragile peace. However, when faerie refugee Vignette Stonemoss (Delevingne) arrives, Philo is forced to reckon with a past he’s long tried to forget.
If you’re a fan of fantasy shows with a solid foundation, a plethora of interesting characters, and fascinating worlds filled with grit, intrigue, and Jack the Ripper-style murder mysteries, Carnival Row is quite impressive. The period drama draws strong parallels to real-world issues like immigration, xenophobia, corruption, and class division, as well as political plotting and gritty detective work. It’s a great binge-watch with a conclusive ending.
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American Gods
A modern-day war between the old and new gods
The two-time Emmy-nominated fantasy-drama series American Gods is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman. When a broken, incarcerated man is unexpectedly released from prison early, he meets a strange man and soon becomes embroiled in a large-scale, otherworldly war.
Upon his release, Shadow Moon (The 100’s Ricky Whittle) roams a world he no longer understands. Left adrift by the tragic death of his wife, he takes a job as a bodyguard for the enigmatic Mr. Wednesday (Deadwood’s Ian McShane), a con man who knows more about Shadow than he lets on. It isn’t long before the ex-con discovers a hidden America where magic is real, and the old gods fear the rising power of new gods like Technology (Bruce Langley) and Media (The X-Files’ Gillian Anderson). In a grand plan to combat the threat, Mr. Wednesday attempts to unite the old gods to defend their existence and rebuild the influence they’ve lost, which leaves Shadow struggling to accept both this new world and his place in it.
Season one of the show is visually stunning—so mesmerizing, in fact, that it functions very well as a standalone experience. While later seasons suffered from behind-the-scenes turmoil, the bold adaptation is still worth watching. It is a story of the customs, history, and, of course, gods of the immigrants, slaves, and explorers who came to America, and it is indeed a very weird slow burn packed with moments of extreme violence, questions of faith, and warmly embraced absurdity.
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Snowpiercer
A frozen world, a perpetual train ride, and brutal class warfare
Snowpiercer is an extremely underrated dystopian thriller that premiered in May 2020 on TNT. It is based on both the 2013 film of the same name, directed by Bong Joon-ho (Parasite), and the 1982 French graphic novel Le Transperceneige. Jennifer Connelly (Requiem for a Dream), Sean Bean (Game of Thrones), and Daveed Diggs (The Boys) star.
The post-apocalyptic sci-fi drama is set seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland. As the remnants of humanity inhabit a perpetually moving, 1,001-car train that circles the globe, they must also deal with intense class warfare, social injustice, and political struggles among the passengers, who are rigidly divided by wealth and status. The narrative kicks off when a former detective from the impoverished end of the train is recruited to solve a murder in the upper-class cars, sparking a massive revolutionary uprising against the train’s authoritarian leadership.
The Emmy-nominated series is worth your time for several reasons. It expands upon the original film by delivering sprawling world-building, morally complex characters, and high-stakes political intrigue. It also features phenomenal performances, a gripping murder mystery that morphs into a web of class warfare and shifting power dynamics, and urgent social commentary that serves as an allegory for capitalism, climate change, and how societies function when resources are critically limited. You will be pleasantly surprised by how strong the series is.
Embrace the challenge
As stories that blend bold visuals with complex characters and timely themes, these Emmy-nominated shows don’t just entertain—they challenge us to see our own world reflected in their extraordinary ones. For more award-worthy watches on Prime Video, check out the platform’s June lineup.
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