Prime is About to Lose Apple’s Hit Sci-Fi Series (Despite its Chart Success)

Streaming platforms are increasingly learning that the best way to increase interest in their original movies and TV shows is to give up their USP and go back to a more traditional TV model. Premium services like Prime, Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+ are increasingly signing short-term licensing deals with their competitors, and taking even their top-tier shows to whole new audiences. That’s very much the case with Apple and Prime, who have worked together on a taster deal that has brought one of the former’s great shows to the latter. But not for long.

Apple’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is currently airing its second season, and in an inspired move that has paid off immediately, the mega brand gave Prime users a short-term opportunity to watch the first season as part of their subscription. As a mark of the Godzilla spinoff’s quality, it’s already a big hit on Prime, hitting the top 5 in the streaming chart (per FlixPatrol). But Prime subscribers only have a limited time to watch the 10 episodes, because they’re leaving the service at the end of the month. That’s just 10 days, so you have a day per episode to get binging. Entirely manageable.

Why You Need To Watch Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

I really can’t overstate how much you should watch Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 1 before its departure from Prime Video, particularly if you’re not an Apple subscriber. The show is a rare convergence of “prestige” television philosophy and a blockbuster creature franchise, where the treatment absolutely elevates the already strong material. While the broader Monsterverse films are increasingly dialing up the stakes with wild swings, Monarch chooses a more disciplined, less showy approach. But there’s no compromise on the production quality, or the level of talent involved. There’s a deeper focus on the impact on humans here, who often feel rather undernourished in the movies, and any opportunity to see Wyatt and Kurt Russell should be taken with enthusiasm.

Monarch weaves a story on both the 1950s timeline, establishing the origins of the Monarch organization with a 2015 “modern-day” mystery. Wyatt and Kurt Russell play the younger and older versions of Colonel Lee Shaw, in a way far more pleasing, and distinctly less chilling than any de-aging technology could manage. And they’re an excellent team to trust to deliver the high-concept science fiction in a tangibly human way. Monsters are all good, but human impact adds another dimension on TV.

The first season has an unfairly low Rotten Tomatoes score of 79%, which admittedly isn’t exactly low, but this is masterclass sci-fi television and that score should start with a 9. The performances deserve it, and the visual effects are indistinguishable from theatrical quality, ensuring that when the Titans do appear, they carry real emotional weight. For fans of the Monsterverse, this is essential viewing, but for anyone who loves sci-fi TV, there’s no excuse not to watch on Prime (if you have it).

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