During this time of year, weekends are for two things: college football (Geaux Tigers) and streaming whatever is up next on my watch list. I won’t lie, though. Most of my weekends are spent consuming content, and I love it. How else am I going to bring you such awesome recommendations?
As you head into this weekend, don’t waste endless time scrolling for something to watch. Head over to Amazon Prime Video and get carried away in these three personally approved titles.
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Billy the Kid
If you’re up for an engrossing watch, you want to saddle up with the highly underrated series Billy the Kid. Now is the prime time to watch, because Season One leaves the streaming platform at the very end of the month. However, since it’s an MGM/Amazon Studios Original, you can find it on MGM+, too.
Also, the rugged Western romantic adventure is a product of the same brilliant mind that penned epic historical fiction hits Vikings and The Tudors, Michael Hirst.
Set in the 19th century in the Old American West, the series tells the life story of Billy the Kid, also known as William H. Bonney, through a fresh perspective. Our story traces his life from his humble Irish roots and early days as a cowboy and gunslinger on the American Frontier, to his pivotal role in the Lincoln County War and beyond. The Hirst-crafted series tends to paint a more truthful and detailed portrait of the legendary outlaw, presenting viewers with a brutally realistic re-enactment of the late 1800s while also weaving in a hefty amount of historical fiction. Our titular character is a sympathetic, lovable anti-hero layered with complexity, which offers a refreshing take contrasting with the myth of Bonney as a pure villain.
Billy the Kid starts as a slow-burn origin story and morphs into a historical epic full of drama and action that you’ll find yourself fully invested in and completely entertained by, thanks to its superb writing, quality acting, and gorgeous cinematography, as well as its authentic depiction of the harsh unfairness of life floating around during that time.
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Goliath
Before he was a stressed-out oil man down in Texas dealing with his hot-mess wife and daughter, Billy Bob Thornton was a washed-up ambulance chaser who was estranged from his ex-wife and daughter, and who spent more of his time in bars than in courtrooms. Make no mistake, though—he was really good at it.
Goliath follows disgraced attorney Billy McBride (Thornton) as he reluctantly agrees to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the massive law firm he helped create. There’s a dispute regarding the suicide of a military contractor employee. What motivates him to take this case is his desire to get revenge on his former firm, which is defending a defense contractor with super-deep pockets. He has an uncanny ability to sweet-talk people into doing what he wants, but don’t be fooled—that calm, drunken cynicism is masking a deepening well of shame and animosity. So, knowing this is his chance at redemption, Billy and his misfit team get to work, where they quickly uncover a vast and deadly conspiracy that lands them in a life-or-death trial against the ultimate foe.
The compelling legal drama is, at times, a solid gritty crime thriller, and it’s consistently full of twists and turns, exciting legal maneuvers, and morally ambiguous characters. It also features a top-notch lead performance from Billy Bob, to no surprise. If you enjoy watching combative courtroom scenes and testy depositions full of sassy verbal sparring, Goliath is a compelling choice for fans of the legal thriller genre.
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Friday Night Lights
It’s football season, and because I’m a product of the south, I cannot help but go here. It’s just in my blood.
One of the best TV dramas of the 21st century, Friday Night Lights is an intensely life-like depiction of small-town life that exists around one thing: high school football on Friday nights. The Peter Berg-directed sports drama is set in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas, where winning the state football championship is prized above all else, except being in church on Sundays. Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler, of Mayor of Kingstown) guides his team through pressure-filled seasons while dealing with struggles relating to his own family.
Friday Night Lights features serious commentary on the interactions between team members, current and former players, supporters and fans, coaching staff, and regular townsfolk by addressing many of the issues facing small-town America during that time. Many of those issues stand true today, 20 years later. The show was highly underrated when it aired and its propensity for deeply developed, complex characters wrapped up in some of the most engaging, realistic storylines was sorely overlooked. You’ll enjoy the strong ensemble cast here, which features the talents of Taylor Kitsch, Jesse Plemmons, Minka Kelly, Zach Gilford, Connie Britton, Michael B. Jordan, and Kingdom’s Matt Laura.
Fun Fact: While not an entirely true story, Friday Night Lights is inspired by H.G. Bissinger’s non-fiction book of the same name, mostly, about the real 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team in Odessa, Texas. There, high school football isn’t a rite of passage—it’s a central part of the town’s identity.
With so much quality entertainment to watch, your weekends are guaranteed to be full of entertainment. Don’t stop with just show selections, though. Enhance your viewing experience by exploring Prime Video’s cool features, like the X-Ray feature, which gives you contextual information on what you’re watching, and the ability to subscribe to other popular platforms through Amazon. Life’s better when you’re able to consume your viewing entertainment from one place!
- Subscription with ads
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Yes, via Prime membership or $9/month
- Simultaneous streams
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Stream hits like these and more on Prime Video.