5 Prime Video shows I’m downloading on my phone before my next flight
When it comes to in-flight entertainment, there are two kinds of flyers—the ones who gamble on the random crud on the seat-back screen or the airplane Wi-Fi and those who download their entertainment the night before. Be the second kind. TV shows offer the ultimate flexibility when flying. You can watch a single episode between the drink cart and your nap, or binge a whole season on a long-haul flight—it’s your call.
For my next flight, I’ve got a handful of shows on Prime Video that will make excellent distractions in the air, including a Tom Hiddleston spy thriller I’ve gotten hooked on, some gorgeous animation shows, a noir Nicolas Cage, and a Canadian sketch comedy nobody else in my house wants to watch.
The Ghost in the Shell
The stunning reboot of a cyberpunk classic
Starting with the newest show on this list, The Ghost in the Shell premiered earlier this month on Prime Video, and it’s a genuine event for anime fans that I cannot wait to check out. Animated by the studio behind Dan Da Dan, this adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s original manga is said to restore story arcs other versions left out.
It follows the iconic Major Motoko Kusanagi and her Section 9 counter-cyberterrorism unit as they chase the hacker known as The Puppet Master and other threats through a stunningly vivid neon world. The ethereal music adds to the show’s vibe, too. New episodes arrive weekly, so you can’t binge them all yet—but downloading what’s available and being caught up for when I get home is reward enough.
The Ghost in the Shell
- Release Date
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July 7, 2026
- Network
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Fuji TV, Kansai TV, Tokai Television Broadcasting, Fukui TV, Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting, Iwate Menkoi Television, Sendai Television, SAGA TV, TNC, OHK, Ishikawa TV, Kochi Sun Sun Broadcasting, TV Shizuoka, Television Shin Hiroshima System, NST, NBS, Sakuranbo TV, TSK, Ehime Broadcasting, KTS, Fukushima TV, AKT, Toyama Television, TV Kumamoto, Okinawa Television Broadcasting, KTN
- Directors
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Mokochan, Lucien Dodge, Touma Kimura
The Night Manager (Season 2)
Tom Hiddleston’s suave spy gets a second act
I love me some spy thrills, and The Night Manager has been on my watch list for years in anticipation of a second season, and it finally dropped. A decade after Jonathan Pine (Hiddleston) infiltrated the corrupt world of arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie), Pine (now called Matthew Ellis) heads to Colombia to get close to Teddy Dos Santos (Diego Calva) to bring down a plot for political regime change.
Both seasons are there for download on Prime Video, and a third season is confirmed, so consider this your homework.
The Night Manager
- Release Date
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2016 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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BBC One
- Directors
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Susanne Bier, Georgi Banks-Davies
The Legend of Vox Machina (Season 4)
Critical Role’s band of misfit heroes reunite for round four
Prime’s foul-mouthed Dungeons & Dragons adaptation, The Legend of Vox Machina, is a runaway hit, with every one of its four seasons landing perfect 100% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. The new season (which dropped in June) picks up a year after the fall of the dragons of the Chroma Conclave, with Vox Machina scattered across Exandria until a long-slumbering evil rudely ends everyone’s nice time.
Thankfully, all episodes are available to binge (I always hated waiting for new ones), but the excellently brutal violence and nonstop swearing make Vox Machina a definite headphones’ situation.
Spider-Noir
Nicolas Cage breathes life into his animated Spider-Verse character
One of the unique and creative shows Prime Video has ever produced, Spider-Noir rips Nicolas Cage from just doing the voice for this enigmatic character from the animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and drops the actor into Depression-era New York as Ben Reilly, a grizzled private investigator who’s hung up the Spider mask in favor of a quieter life.
Of course, corruption, violence, and a beautiful woman drag him back in. All eight super-stylish episodes make for a tidy single-flight binge, and (here’s the unique and creative part) it streams in both “True-Hue Full Color” and “Authentic Black & White.” You choose.
The Kids in the Hall (2022)
Canadian sketch legends, exhumed and still weird
Sadly, the original seasons of The Kids in the Hall are not available to U.S. Prime Video subscribers currently, but its excellent 2022 revival is. The Kids are back, as Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson return after a 27-year gap, digging themselves out of their graves in the opening sketch.
And these eight brilliant episodes prove the Canuck sketch legends still got it, with refreshed recurring characters like the Headcrusher, Buddy Cole, Kathy and Cathy, and the Policemen, along with some new edgy material (and maybe some full-frontal male nudity). Chase it with The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks, a two-part documentary also on Prime, and you’ve got a full flight of head-crushing.
Fly right with these Prime Video picks
Wherever you’re headed, these downloadable Prime Video picks will make your flight go by in a jiffy. For more recommendations across every streaming service and what’s worth watching next, keep an eye on our streaming coverage at How-To Geek.
- Subscription with ads
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Yes, via Prime membership or $9/month
- Simultaneous streams
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3
- Live TV
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No
- Price
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Included with Amazon Prime subscription ($15/month or $139/year) or $9/month standalone
