The start of a new month got you all, “What are the best shows and movies to watch on Amazon in July?” Us too. So we found out. This month is a whole lot better for Amazon than last month’s selection, with three new original series and a few streaming movie premieres coming to you over the next few weeks, and some of them even look good.
It’s a great month for women who kick ass, both literally and metaphorically. On the literal side, the second season of the Amazon Original series Hanna is July’s highlight and features Samantha Morton’s daughter, Esmé Creed-Miles, putting her fists into bad guys’ faces in thrilling fashion. On the metaphorical side, science gets its ass kicked by Marie Curie in Radioactive, a film detailing the chemist’s breakthroughs in radioactivity and the uphill battle she faced from a bunch of jerks with penises in the scientific community.
Our full picks are below, but here is the complete list of what’s new on Amazon Prime in July. We also have our picks for what to watch this month on Hulu and Netflix, as well as a list of everything coming to all three in July. If you’re looking for even more recommendations, click over to our Watch This Now! page.
The Best Shows and Movies on Amazon This Month
Hanna
Premieres: July 3
The first season of Hanna wasn’t at all bad, but it was too familiar as a retread of the superior artsy action film of the same name (which is now streaming on HBO/HBO Max and well worth a watch). In Season 2 of the series, Hanna finds itself without the boundaries of the original story and grows up as its own thing, following young Hanna as she infiltrates the secret government organization that trained her to be a supersoldier in order to rescue her friend from its brainwashing. Esmé Creed-Miles is awesome as Hanna, and Mireille Enos has carried Hanna’s frenemy Marissa Wiegler to new heights as that character changes a lot from the film. If you’re into young women snapping the femurs of armed men twice their size, Hanna‘s where it’s at.
Vivarium
Premieres: July 11
The dream of moving into a house in the suburbs and starting a family is a familiar one for Americans, until they actually do it, at which point they realize they’re trapped in a maze of houses made from kits and streets that just lead to more and more houses. That nightmare becomes a reality in this indie flick, in which a couple takes a look at a starter home and ends up stuck in the community for who knows how long. There’s a lot of Twilight Zone and sci-fi vibes going on here, as well as strong showings from stars Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots.
Absentia
Available: July 17
We know you stan Stana. The creepy crime thriller Absentia returns for its third season, with Stana Katic‘s Emily Byrne serving the final days of her suspension from the FBI and trying to be a good mom to her son, Flynn (Patrick McAuley), after the events of Season 2. But of course things don’t go back to normal, and Emily gets locked into another case that takes a toll on her personal life. One thing leads to another and BAM! She’s off to a place far from Boston with Special Agent Cal Isaac (Matthew Le Nevez) trying to learn how to lead a normal life again. We’re guessing it won’t be easy.
Radioactive
Available: July 24
If you have a book report on the life of Marie Curie due in late July, you’re in luck! This biopic detailing the life — both in the field of science and the field of love — of the pioneering scientist got mediocre reviews after it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, but critics all agree that Rosamund Pike plays a mean Curie. Rather than just be a stuffy British period piece, Radioactive plays up the female empowerment of Curie’s groundbreaking work with psychedelic visuals and mushroom clouds. That’s a whole lot more interesting than a textbook.
Jim Gaffigan: Pale Tourist
Premieres: July 24
There aren’t many “normal middle-aged guy” comedians out there better than Jim Gaffigan. Jim’s just a guy. He’s confused about what to do with his life, perplexed over his expanding waistline, nostalgic for the days when he could go out without being embarrassed. These specials were taken from his Pale Tourist global tour, in which he crafted stand-up sets for each country he visited (in this case, Spain and Canada). His self-deprecating comedy really hits home for normal middle-aged guys, so if you’re a normal middled-age guy, you should definitely watch this. But if you like wholesome adult comedy, then you should also watch this. In fact, if you are anybody, you should probably watch this.
Want to know what else is coming to Amazon? Here’s everything new on Amazon Prime Video in July.