The streaming wars are officially in full swing and every major production company and network is scrambling to launch their own streamer in order to lock in their library of content, becoming the "exclusive" streaming home to a wide range of movies and TV shows.
AMC has gotten in on the action with AMC+. The service houses all of AMC's popular shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad, as well as movies and series from AMC-owned networks and streaming services like Shudder, Sundance Now, BBC America, IFC, and more. It's billed itself as the home for "niche streaming."
Portlandia
After being removed from Netflix in June, AMC+ is now the streaming home of IFC's Portlandia. The series, stars comedy geniuses Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen and centers around numerous small sketches each episode. Some sketches, like "Put a Bird On It," have gone down in pop culture history, and others, like the employees of the Women & Women First bookstore, returned for numerous episodes. The best part of Portlandia is that thanks to the small sketches, it's an easy show to flick on, even if viewers don't have much time.
Creepshow
In 1982, Stephen King and George A. Romero teamed up to create Creepshow - a horror/comedy anthology film that depicted five different horror short films. The movie was a hit with the horror community and later spawned two sequels. In 2019 Shudder resurrected the franchise turning it into an anthology series filled with lots of guts, gore, and campy humor.
Audiences and critics fell in love with the unique concept and the show has gone on to earn a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. it's since become known as Shudder's premier original series and has aired for three seasons, with a fourth season currently in the works.
Rectify
SundanceTV (then known as the Sundance Channel) hit it big in 2013 with Rectify, the channel's first-ever original program. The series centered around the life of Daniel Holden, who, after 19 years on Death Row, gets released thanks to new DNA evidence. The series focuses on his attempts to rebuild a life, and how Daniel is treated by his hometown upon his return. The show was heavily praised by critics during its four seasons and appeared on numerous Top 10 Lists throughout its run.
Gangs of London
Gangs of London is a British series that AMC+ has exclusive American streaming rights to. The show picks up after the murder of a notorious crime boss, sending a tidal wave of changes throughout London's gangs and mobs, who are all now clamoring to take over more territory. The UK premiere gained strong viewership numbers and heavy critical praise. Season 2 is currently in post-production and is set to stream in 2022. It's a sure bet for fans of British dramas and tension-filled crime series like The Sopranos.
A Discovery of Witches
A team effort between the UK network, SKY One, along with AMC, Shudder, and Sundance Now produced the hit series A Discovery of Witches. Centering around a closeted witch who discovers a cursed ancient document, the show is like an odd yet wonderful mix of True Blood and Doctor Who. The series is based on the 2011 novel of the same name that later spawned a trilogy. Season 2 premieres in both the US and UK in January of 2022.
Documentary Now!
After the success of Portlandia, Fred Armisen starred in another IFC comedy, this time alongside fellow SNL-alum, Bill Hader. In Documentary Now!, the two actors re-enact (slightly altered) famous documentaries and docuseries, both paying homage to them, while also mocking their unintended hilarity.
Throughout the show's run, the duo has parodied Grey Gardens, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Wild Wild Country, and more. A fourth season was ordered before the pandemic, but there's been no word yet about whether production has begun.
Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle
Jonestown: Terror in the Jungle was a Sundance exclusive docuseries that gave an in-depth look into one of the world's most horrific cults - the Peoples Temple. In 1978, almost 1,000 died by mass suicide and murder at the Jonestown compound in the jungles of Guyana. The docuseries does a deep dive into the events leading up to the disastrous day, the events of the mass suicide, and the lasting impacts Jonestown had on society. it's a powerful (though often terrifying) docuseries that's both hard to watch yet captivating.
True Crime Story
For fans of humorous news shows like Last Week With John Oliver and The Daily Show, Sundance's True Crime Story is a must-watch. Witty reporting and a sense of deadpan humor shake up the now explosively popular true crime genre, creating a new and unique viewing experience. At times funny, and at others shocking, True Crime Story reports the real stories behind bizarre killings and outlandish crimes. Its brazen and sardonic style makes the series a fun and bingeable guilty pleasure.
Cursed Films
A disproportionately large number of horror films have had notoriously difficult times while in production. In numerous instances, strange occurrences have happened, peculiar deaths (or near-death instances) have afflicted actors and crew members, and on-set disasters have caused a few select films to gain everlasting notoriety.
Shudder's docuseries, Cursed Films, dives into the stories of these fateful movies, examining the real instances, and looking at them from both the superstitious and skeptical positions. Season 1 featured movies like The Omen, Poltergeist, Twilight Zone: The Movie, and more. Season 2 has already been greenlit and fans speculate that it might focus on films like The Amityville Horror and Rosemary's Baby.
Riviera
For any fan wondering where actress Julia Stiles has been, the answer is that she's been busy starring in an insanely popular Irish thriller series since 2017. Riviera stars Stiles as Georgina Clios, an American art curator living in the French Riviera. After her husband's mysterious death, Georgina is thrown into a world of deceit and crime as she struggles to discover the circumstances of her husband's death. The show has been met with rave reviews and almost feels like a layered, mystery-filled Bond film. The series currently has three seasons, and talks have begun about filming a fourth.