10 Underrated Shows You Likely Skipped - But Can Binge In One Weekend

One of the best examples of a modern underrated gem, Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a terrific action dramedy that too many people slept on. Taking loose inspiration from the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie-led Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), the show reimagines the premise as two spies forced to act like a married couple for the sake of their cover.

Donald Glover and Maya Erskine are perfectly cast opposite one another, finding an easy rhythm that allows them to bounce off each other for comedic moments, action scenes, and dramatic beats. As cutting and empathetic an exploration of relationships as Atlanta (2016) is for modern society, Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a terrific one-season story, leaving just enough of a tease that you want to know more, but feel satisfied if this is all you get.

As a darkly humorous and deeply compelling murder mystery, it’s hard to put down Prime Video’s Deadloch once you start watching. Set in the small town of Deadloch in Tasmania, a prickly seasoned investigator and a committed local detective are forced to work together to investigate a murder.

The series has enough comedic elements to pair well with shows like Only Murders In The Building (2021) or Poker Face (2023), but it also has enough of a dark undercurrent to be a shocking, compelling crime drama. This is a murder mystery that’s hard not to binge, especially as you spend more time with the cast and develop a love for their unique little quirks. Deadloch recently returned for a second season, so now is the perfect time to burn your way through the first so that you can catch up with everything that’s been happening on the island since.

Trippy and bizarre in ways that never lose sight of the human core at the heart of the story, Undone is a wholly unique show that laid the groundwork for Prime Video’s other animated fare like The Legend of Vox Machina (2022) and Invincible (2021). The brainchild of BoJack Horseman (2014) creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg and writer Kate Purdy, Undone follows a young woman named Alma who, after gaining the ability to shift through different periods in her lifetime, helps her long-dead father investigate his death.

Filmed with a rotoscope style that adds vibrant color to the world without ever feeling disconnected from the very human performances of Rosa Salazar, Angelique Cabral, and Bob Odenkirk, Undone is a heady show that will likely frustrate audiences looking for easy answers or simple action. There are plenty of great series that scratch those itches, but the mesmerizing effect of Undone (and its relatively short length of two seasons) makes it an ideal binge watch for anyone who has been intrigued by the more thought-provoking films of Ingmar Bergman.

An animated anthology spin-off of The Boys (2019) that takes the grim superhero parody to even more ridiculous places, The Boys: Diabolical is an inventive show that uses the anthology setup to its full effect. Each episode is pretty short and incorporates a different animation team, leading to several different kinds of stories. Sometimes, the show leans into a wacky Tex Avery-style that can be surprisingly heartwarming. Other times, the animators behind Rick and Morty (2013) cut loose with their brand of high-brow/low-brow comedy.

The Boys: Diabolical highlights the versatility of animation, all while feeling perfectly attuned to the grim tone of the Prime Video hit. Similar to Secret Level (2024), The Boys: Diabolical highlights why animation fans love an anthology so much—and with The Boys nearing its finale, this is the perfect goofy show to watch in the build-up or aftermath.

LOL: Last One Laughing UK is one of the funniest shows on Prime Video and has been hiding in plain sight. A comedic play on Big Brother (2000), Last One Laughing focuses on a cast of comedians doing their best to maintain their composure while they try to make each other laugh.

Relentlessly silly and bolstering the false sense of competition that gradually becomes more real as the show goes on, Last One Laughing is a fun time that’s also incredibly easy to binge, thanks to its witty back-and-forths and relatively short season length. There are plenty of other seasons and nationalities that do their own version, but the UK version (especially the second one) delivers some of the biggest laughs you’ll have all year.

An underrated horror show that deserves as much attention as American Horror Story (2011), Them is a terrific approach to the same anthology concept. Two seasons have released so far, both of which tell charged stories about institutional racism told through the lens of horror. 

Similar to the work of Jordan Peele, like Get Out (2017), Them has a lot on its mind in terms of social commentary—but, sometimes, it just wants to scare you. Memorable in some very key ways, the second season takes everything that works about the first season’s period setting and amplifies it through the use of the Rodney King riot. Horror buffs aren’t going to want to sleep on this terrific series.

A powerful show that uses its legendary funny stars to deliver some shockingly effective emotional beats, Forever is a perfectly constructed one-season show that more people need to see. Saturday Night Live (1975) veterans Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen star as Oscar and June, a married couple who are stuck in a routine even when they move onto another plane of existence.

Exploring questions about morality in a similar vein to The Good Place (2016), Forever tackles it all with a dry sense of humor and an effective empathy that doesn’t let the tension between Rudolph and Armisen ever feel less than real. A slow-burn dramedy that feels reminiscent of the almost dreamlike quality of Away We Go (2009) at times, Forever’s sweet core and focused story make it an easy show to run through quickly.

A tense and emotionally raw police procedural, River is perfect for anyone looking for a tight thriller. Starring the always phenomenal Stellan Skarsgård, the show follows a London-based police inspector who is trying to examine multiple mysteries even as his grief over the recent death of his police partner continues to weigh on him.

Told across six episodes, River has a creepy edge that almost makes it feel like a horror show, only for it to pull back with a more grounded approach. The result is a series that can be disarming in some very effective ways, always catching the viewer by surprise with plot twists or emotional reveals. If you were a fan of heavy British dramas like Broadchurch (2013), you need to check out this underrated gem.

A terrific miniseries that uses the disconnected nature of its stories to tell vastly different tales, Small Axe is an anthology show created by Steve McQueen that is as good as any of his film work. Told across five short films connected as an anthology, each story focuses on different West Indian immigrants to London across the latter half of the 20th century.

Actors like Letitia Wright, Micheal Ward, John Boyega, Sheyi Cole, and Shaun Parkes headline each of the tales. Harrowing, heartbreaking, and occasionally awe-inspiring and hopeful, Small Axe is a powerful series of parables about power in society and how it falls to even disenfranchised or targeted people to confront the abuses of power.

Created and directed by Moonlight (2016) filmmaker Barry Jenkins, The Underground Railroad is a phenomenal reimagining of the abolitionist movement to sneak enslaved people from the southern states to freedom in the North. Brought to life with just a dash of magical realism that never undercuts the heartbreaking true stories that echo through history, The Underground Railroad is a phenomenal piece of work that explores weighty issues and heavy history with a deft touch.

Underseen by modern audiences despite receiving critical acclaim upon release, The Underground Railroad is an ideal show to check out if you’re looking for a well-constructed series that you can binge through.