Best TV shows on Amazon Prime

'TV Party'

NYC's wacko punk-era public-access cable show (1978-1982) is recalled in this documentary featuring David Bowie, George Clinton, Mick Jones and many more of the era's cool/cult stars. (Complete series of 60 "TV Party" episodes due on Blu-ray August from BRINKvision.)

'Catastrophe'

An Irish woman (Sharon Horgan) and American man (Rob Delaney) find themselves accidentally proceeding into parenthood in Amazon's original series, "Catastrophe." Three season currently available for streaming.

'American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story'

New docuseries charts the Playboy founder's trailblazing life through publishing, nightclubs, civil rights advocacy, more. 10 episodes. (Free first episode through Thursday at Playboy.com and Amazon.com.)

'Sneaky Pete'

Original drama series: Con man Giovanni Ribisi assumes the identity of his ex-cellmate to evade revenge-seeking gangster, with Marin Ireland, Margo Martindale, Peter Gerety. Ten episodes.

'Bosch'

Season 3: Titus Welliver's tough cop juggles investigations and raising his teen daughter (Madison Lintz, "The Walking Dead"). With Lance Reddick, Jamie Hector, Amy Aquino. 10 episodes.

'Thunderbirds Are Go'

Second season of current kids reboot has new adventures of International Rescue team in cutting-edge vehicles.

'Hand of God'

Ron Perlman and Dana Delany return for the drama's second and final season: His visions-plagued vigilante judge now faces trial for killing a cop.

'Z: The Beginning of Everything'

Christina Ricci stars as 1920s jazz baby (and F. Scott Fitzgerald wife and muse) Zelda Fitzgerald, moving through global circles of literature, high society and speak-easies. Fictionalized bioseries co-stars David Hoflin, David Strathairn. Ten episodes.

‘Goliath’

Billy Bob Thornton, William Hurt, Maria Bello, Sarah Wynter, Dwight Yoakam, Harold Perrineau appear in David E. Kelley's latest legal series, where a lawyer (Thornton) fights powerful corporate interests.

'Crisis in Six Scenes'

Woody Allen's half-hour series co-stars him with Miley Cyrus, Christine Ebersole, Joy Behar, Elaine May, Michael Rapaport.

'Veep'

It was a "Veep" sweep at the 2015 Primetime Emmy Awards -- one that came as no surprise to fans of the HBO political satire starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as vice president of the United States. Luckily for newcomers, Seasons 1 through 4 are available on Amazon Prime.

'Justified'

FX's series about a Kentucky U.S. Marshal with Wild West ways bringing criminals to justice is a favorite of Newsday's TV critic, Verne Gay, who calls it "tautly written, acted and directed, and deeply, completely pleasurable." All six seasons are on Amazon Prime.

'Orphan Black'

BBC America's cult hit has made a star out of Tatiana Maslany -- who plays all the clones on "Orphan Black" -- and with good reason: The show is brimming with a back story that's often muddled, but it's Maslany's dazzling characters who keep it grounded. Seasons 1 through 4 are on Amazon Prime.

'Vikings'

"Vikings": If your tastes tend to historic dramas on the high seas that are soaked in as much blood and gore as salt water (if that's possible), then here's your show. The History Channel's "Vikings" just got better and better; now you can watch the four seasons on Amazon Prime.

'Sons of Anarchy'

A drama full of adrenaline, "Sons of Anarchy" explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club's desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, Calif., remains exactly that -- charming.

'24'

Action thriller "24" follows Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), a Counter Terrorist Unit agent, as he tries to protect the United States from terrorist plots. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer as it is narrated in real-time.

'Hannibal'

"Hannibal": Hugh Dancy stars as Will Graham, a criminal profiler and serial killer hunter who is advised to visit Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) who, unbeknownst to Graham, is a serial killer himself.

'The Americans'

Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys star as Elizabeth and Philip Jennings in "The Americans," the FX period drama centered on the Cold War, and partially filmed on Long Island. The Jennings are Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple with their unsuspecting children and their neighbor, an FBI counterintelligence agent.

'Downton Abbey'

Award-winning period drama "Downton Abbey" depicts the lives of the Crawley family and their servants in the fictional country estate of Downton Abbey as history comes into play, affecting them as well as the British hierarchy.

'Transparent'

"Transparent," Amazon's original, award-winning dramedy, centers on the life of retired political science professor Mort Pfefferman (Jeffrey Tambor), as he finally decides to tell his ex-wife and children his life-long secret: He is transgender.