Amazon hit the Upfront stage Monday. The room was full of noise. They dropped a whole slate of original series, some debuting in 2026, others in 2027, a blur of dates and promises.
There was news for existing hits too. Aaron Paul joins Fallout for season 3. The Rings of Power finally has a season 3 premiere locked in. Good to know.
Then came the refreshers for projects already on the table. Live-action Voltron, the Delphi adaptation, The Greatest which is Muhammad Ali biopic business, Reacher’s Neagley, Clashing Through the Snow and their new Barbershop. Plugs went out for Carrie, that Arnold Schwarzenegger holiday thing, The Man with the Bag and Fourth Wing.
But the new stuff? That’s where the weirdness starts.
Want Brett Goldstein as an escort?
Yeah. He is playing a divorced dad who stumbles into Manhattan’s male escort scene in a new romantic comedy called Escorted. Goldstein called it “wholesome” involving condoms and co-parenting, noted he actually buys condoms on Amazon so it’s a full circle moment. A lot to unpack in one statement.
Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer play best friends who might also be spies? Or assassins? It depends on which secret you focus on. Ride or Die puts Spencer and Waddingham as Debbie and Judith. Judith has a big secret: she’s an international killer. Someone from her past comes calling, so off they run across Europe, doing spy stuff while figuring out how well they really know each other. It lands July 15 on Prime.
Then there is Sex Criminals. Imogen Poots and John Roberts (wait, it was Reynolds) star as Suze and Jon. They freeze time during sex. Obviously, they use this superpower to rob banks. It’s based on the comic by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdardsky, co-created by Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjani among others.
Rose Hill leans into romance novel structure. It adapts Elsie Silver’s bestsellers. You’ve got West Belmont, a rancher with baggage, and Ford Grant, a record label owner in love with West’s sister. There is also a country pop star named Skylara Stone who exists mostly to heat things up in this mountain town. Simple. Classic. Almost quaint compared to the rest.
Reality Retreat throws reality stars into a wellness sinkhole. Eleven contestants compete for what amounts to high stakes therapy vibes. Kenya Moore, Margaret Josephs, Kim Zolciak from the housewife circuits. Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jenn Tran from The Bachelorette. The Chrisley sisters. Christine Quinn, Tamar Braxton, Hilaria Baldwin too. Just put them in a spa and turn on the cameras.
Which of these do we actually have to watch?
The slate feels heavy on tropes. Heavy on star power. Amazon is clearly digging deep for 2026.
