What can you do in just 30 minutes? You could cook a decent pan fried chicken and veg, or run to your local, down 2 pints and run home again. I also have no doubts that, in the near future, you could order a trampoline from Amazon and have it delivered directly to your door.
But none of those are particularly useful if you're just looking for something to watch on a brief train journey. Thankfully, Amazon's streaming service also has some fine examples of shows that are tightly scripted and produced to run in 30 minutes or less.
So, here are three recommendations of what you can enjoy on Prime Video when you don't have much time.
Stan Against Evil
- Stars: John C. McGinley, Janet Varney, Deborah Baker Jr, Nate Mooney, David Koechner
- Written by: Dana Gould, Jessica Conrad
Take a slice of Evil Dead, add a touch of Supernatural, grab buckets of gore, and throw in one of the best and most underrated comedic actors of our generation. The end result is Stan Against Evil.
The idea is very simple – an ageing police sheriff is forced to team with an eager new colleague to defend a New England town against rampaging demons and monsters. But, when the old sheriff is played by the absolutely legendary John C. McGinley you know the show is going to be great.
It is campy, goofy, and lacks the huge budget that similar shows might have, yet it just works. The script is constantly laugh out loud funny, the action sequences look great, and the show is never afraid to lay it on thick with the gore and dismemberment.. something that it could quite easily have been sanitised for a wider audience.
Stan Against Evil is a show that never takes itself too seriously and yet delivers real heart and characters that,over time, you genuinely root for.
With only three seasons and episodes coming in at under 30 minutes apiece, this is the perfect little binge watch or something to cheer you up on a commute.
Undone
- Stars: Rosa Salazar, Bob Odenkirk, Siddharth Dhananjay, Angelique Cabral, Constance Marie
- Directed by: Hisko Hulsing
The first non-short television series to use rotoscope animation for every episode, Undone is quite unlike anything out there at the moment. It is visually unique and features a mind-expanding storyline that can be demanding, yet is ultimately rewarding.
When Alma Winograd Diaz (Rosa Salazar) is involved in a near fatal car accident she awakes to find her view of reality is altered – she has the ability to control time and dimension, while being guided by her dead father.
Undone is a beautiful journey that combines the real and mystical to deliver a powerful message regarding fixing past mistakes and healing trauma. The rotoscoping works perfectly in this instance and adds to the beauty of the work
There's a touch of Philip K. Dick about it, plus a hint of Terry Gilliam, a sprinkle of Allen, a nuance of Miyazaki, and no trace of Disney whatsoever.
All this in compact 30 minute episodes. Nice.
Homecoming
- Stars: Julia Roberts, Shea Whigham, Hong Chau, Bobby Carnavale, Stephen James, Janelle Monae, Chris Cooper, Sissy Spacek, Jeremy Allen White
- Directed by: Sam Esmail, Kyle Patrick Alvarez
We all love strange, intriguing drama. We grew up on a diet of Lost, Twin Peaks and The Twilight Zone, after all, and cut our teeth on shows like Black Mirror. Homecoming is very much in that realm.
It is an anthology series centred around the mysterious Geist Group – an unconventional wellness company with an equally unorthodox program: the Homecoming Initiative. The show presents a suitably twisty mystery produced to elite level, while combining beautiful cinematography, refined and nuanced by the direction of Mr Robot's Sam Esmail.
Confusing, intelligent, and engrossing despite its strange run time (30 minute episodes for a peak TV mystery thriller is largely unheard of), the show is wholly binge worthy.
But, why has it taken so long for Julia Roberts to move to television? She is, as always, amazing and her turn of phrase and effortless style comes through perfectly in a drama that can move at a glacial pace but still deliver chills and shocks.
