By Jennifer McShane
10th May 2020
10th May 2020
Amazon Prime tends to get overlooked when it comes to streaming content, but in 2020, it has an array of offerings that are just as binge-worthy as any Netflix offering. Here are four particular series and films worth adding to your lists
Upload
From Emmy-Award winning writer Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation) comes Upload, a new sci-fi comedy series set in a technologically advanced future where hologram phones, 3D food printers and automated grocery stores are the norm. Most uniquely, humans can choose to be “uploaded” into a virtual afterlife when they find themselves near-death.
The series follows a young app developer, Nathan Brown (Robbie Amell), who winds up in the hospital following a self-driving car accident, needing to quickly decide his fate. After a rushed deliberation with his shallow girlfriend Ingrid (Allegra Edwards), he chooses to be uploaded to her family’s luxurious virtual afterlife, the Horizen company’s “Lakeview.” Once uploaded in Lakeview, Nathan meets his customer service “Angel” Nora Anthony (Andy Allo), who at first is his charismatic concierge and guide, but quickly becomes his friend and confidante, helping him navigate this new digital extension of life.
Arriving May 1st
Ted Bundy: Falling For A Killer
Not new but a must-watch.
The ‘hot serial killer’ narrative is one frequently associated with Ted Bundy. Indeed, male serial killers have continuously been glorified; Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer mugs appeared on Etsy, while made-for-entertainment portrayals of famous murders (committed by men to mostly women) started winning Emmys. Charles Manson was the same; perceived as this almost God-like figure at the time of his spate of sixties killings.
This time, Bundy’s ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Kendall and her daughter finally have a platform, along with the surviving female victims – a chance to speak out.
Amazon Prime’s five-part docuseries reframes Bundy’s crimes from a female perspective, and it makes for a fascinating watch. Kendall published a memoir in 1981, titled The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy, but hasn’t been public about her relationship with him – she called the police on Bundy before he became an official suspect for his crimes – until now.
Streaming now
The Last Narc
Featuring interviews with government and cartel insiders, the provocative four-part series follows the unfolding of events around the shocking political conspiracy of 1985 which involved the kidnapping and murder of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. By telling the story of a fallen hero, the men who killed him and the one man who risked it all to find out why, this docuseries reveals the bone-chilling truth about a conspiracy that stretches from the killing fields of Mexico to the halls of power in Washington, D.C.
The series follows agent Hector Berellez, lead of the investigation into Camarena’s murder, alongside the victim’s brave widow as well as three insiders of the well-known Guadalajara Cartel, who eventually became the informants that helped crack the most infamous murder of the War on Drugs.
Arriving May 15th
Pitch Perfect 2
Not an Amazon Original but one of the most underrated light-relief movies to come out in recent times. The sequel to the smash-hit takes place at the international a cappella tournament, where the Barden Bellas have to face-off with a very efficient and pneumatic German group. Rebel Wilson’s lines remain the best and why-oh-why isn’t Anna Kendrick a bigger megastar? This one also marked the directorial debut of actress and producer Elizabeth Banks who led the team as well as any before her. A must-watch.
May 19th
Homecoming Season 2
With a fresh new mystery and an exciting new star, Janelle Monáe, the second series finds her character awaking in a rowboat adrift a lake, with no memory of how she got there — or even who she is. Her ensuing search for identity will lead her into the heart of the Geist Group, the unconventional wellness company behind the Homecoming Initiative.
The second season finds Stephan James reprising his role as Walter Cruz, who is trying to build a new life following the traumas of war and the Homecoming Initiative, when he begins to realize that there’s an even more insidious version of the program underway – if only he can remember. Hong Chau returns as Audrey Temple, an anonymous underling at Geist who finds herself thrust into unexpected positions at the top of the corporate ladder. Joining the cast for season Two are Oscar-winner Chris Cooper as Leonard Geist, the company’s eccentric founder; and Emmy-winner Joan Cusack as Francine Bunda, an equally eccentric military woman.
Arriving May 22nd
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