I remember when AMC primarily showed classic movies way back when, but nowadays I know it best for creating instantly classic original series like Mad Men, The Walking Dead, and Breaking Bad. While I find the on-demand streaming service great for cord-cutting, I also recognize it’s essential for catching certain exclusive shows. When I wanted to check out what all the buzz was about with Kin, for instance, AMC+ was my only option.
In a hurry? Here’s the just-the-facts version if you need to make a quick decision:
- AMC+ regularly runs $8.99/mo, though you can get it as low as $6.99/mo from some providers, such as Sling TV, Xfinity, or Dish.
- A subscription includes early, ad-free access to AMC’s most popular current shows and back-seasons of many AMC classics.
- You also get all the movies and series of Sundance Now, IFC Films Unlimited, and Shudder, plus AMC+ Exclusives.
Bottom line: AMC+ is worth it if you like the content from any of its providers: AMC, Sundance TV, IFC, or Shudder. And there is likely to be a lot of crossover.
Table Of Contents
What Is AMC+?
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✔ Exclusive early access to new episodes | ❌ Missing some signature series |
| ✔ Almost universally-acclaimed content | ❌ Comparatively small library |
| ✔ Wide platform/device support | ❌ iOS app experience needs improvement |
AMC Networks owns AMC (of course), but also Sundance TV, IFC, WEtv, and the on-demand services ALLBLK and Shudder. Additionally, it owns US distributing rights for BBC America and BBC World News.
Stay with us here, it’s about to get a little confusing: Sundance TV has its own SVOD (that’s Subscription-based Video On-Demand service), Sundance Now. IFC has its own, IFC Films Unlimited. And so is Allblk.
AMC+ is AMC Networks’ flagship SVOD, combining shows and movies from AMC and BBC America with all the on-demand content from Sundance Now, IFC Films Unlimited, and Shudder, and then sprinkling in a generous helping of AMC+ originals not found anywhere else.
AMC takes great pride in carefully curating its collection. It’s going for quality over quantity, which is why the content library is smaller than, say, Netflix. In other words, there’s not as much there, but what is there is almost invariably worth your time.
Content
AMC+ provides exclusive access a week before airing to new episodes of current shows, such as the last season of The Walking Dead. But if you’re expecting to find all of AMC’s signature prestige series, you’ll be disappointed.
Due to licensing deals made way before AMC+ launched in 2020, several notable ones are missing. Breaking Bad, for example, is only on Netflix, and the sequel movie El Camino was Netflix-made. Early episodes of the original The Walking Dead are also only on Netflix.
But if you’re looking for a Don Draper fix, you’re in luck; all seven seasons of Mad Men are present and accounted for.
Note that some originals are co-productions between one or more services, so a series may be both AMC+ and Sundance Now, for example.
AMC+ Originals
What kind of original content that AMC+ provide? Some American productions, some British, some from elsewhere, a lot of partnerships — to sum up, top-notch writing, directing, and acting. Here’s a shortlist of some of the best.
- Kin: Drama in the Irish mafia. Kind of like Peaky Blinders, but Irish and set in the 1970s.
- Ragdoll: Three detectives try to solve a series of gruesome murders before more victims die.
- Firebite: Indigenous vampire hunters try to finish off the last colony of blood-suckers in the Australian outback.
- That Dirty Black Bag: Like Mad Max, but as a Western.
IFC Films Unlimited
Featuring independent film from distribution labels IFC Films, IFC Midnight, and Sundance Selects, this service’s eclectic collection is great for discovering non-mainstream gems. A few of the biggest from each studio:
- Boyhood: Filmed in real-time over 12 years, this movie charts the childhood of Mason from age 6 to age 18. written and directed by Richard Linklater of Slacker fame.
- In the Loop: Political operatives on both sides of the Pond try to prevent a British-American war in this darkly funny satire.
- Mary & Max: Mary, a lonely eight-year-old in Australia, strikes up a correspondence with Max, a forty-four-year-old man with Asperger’s in New York City, that leads to a twenty-year intercontinental friendship in this quirky animated tale.
- The Babadook: A boogeyman from a children’s book menaces a widow and her son in this horror allegory on grief, anxiety, and parenthood.
- Antichrist: Iconoclast Lars von Trier’s provocative and unsettling story of a man and woman who retreat to a secluded cabin to attempt to mend their marriage after the death of their young son.
Sundance Now
Sundance Now draws from the storytelling spirit of the Sundance Film Festival, showcasing original series, American independent film, and world cinema. Check out these originals/exclusives:
- The Red Shadows: A police officer becomes obsessed with finding her younger sister who was kidnapped and presumed dead 25 years prior.
- Next of Kin: A London doctor uncovers sinister family secrets after her brother is murdered while doing overseas charity work.
- A Discovery of Witches: A historian (and witch) discovers a mysterious manuscript at Oxford University. She forms an alliance with a geneticist (and vampire) to investigate.
Shudder
Shudder is widely considered the best horror-centric streaming service around, so if you’re a fan of thrills, chills, slashers, or just plain psychological dread, check it out. It provides well-regarded originals which include Mayhem, Kandisha, Host, and The Power. See our full Shudder review for more information.
User Experience
Describing how it is to use AMC+ is a bit tricky since different platforms provide different experiences. We signed up for a free trial directly through AMC+’s website, but you can find more options, such as Amazon Prime Video, below.
Features
The interface through our browser was familiar, smooth, and well-laid-out. A left-side menu contains “For You” (the default start screen), “Explore,” “Live,” and “My Stuff” (favorites), plus settings.
“For You” has featured shows in large cycling panels across the top, with a “Continue Watching” row beneath it (if you’ve started watching anything). More rows included suggested titles based on popular shows (“For Fans of Better Call Saul“), award-winners, and so forth.
One row near the top, “Explore by Hub,” had circular tiles instead of square. It broke out the various contributing networks (AMC, Shudder, Sundance Now, BBC America, and IFC Films Unlimited) plus the Walking Dead universe.
The “Explore” tab was further broken down into Series, Movies, and Collections, with a prominent search bar across the top. Live” gave me a screenful of links to live feeds of AMC+, AMC, BBC America, IFC, Sundance TV, and The Walking Dead Channel.
Unfortunately, there was no guide or any way to tell what was on — a Western on AMC+ or a nature documentary with red pandas on BBC America. A title card across the top would be nice.
All the links were responsive, and we were able to move back and forth in the on-demand shows easily. A countdown to the next episode started during the current episode’s end credits. We did not see anywhere in the settings where we could turn off autoplay. There was no way to pause or start from the beginning for the live content.
The number of screens you can watch AMC+ on at one time depends on what platform you’re subscribed through. If you subscribe directly via AMC+, you can have up to 5 (which is pretty generous, 3 is the industry standard).
If you sign up through a live TV provider or another third party like Amazon TV Channels or The Roku Channel, you’re limited to their maximum simultaneous streams. There are no profiles, though, so keep that in mind before you tell your family to watch that awesome show and they mess up which episode you were on.
AMC+ does not support TV Everywhere, but it doesn’t really need to, since you can access the live channels right through the app or website.
Supported Devices
Supported devices also depend on how you subscribe. Here’s a breakdown:
Subscribed Through amcplus.com
You can always watch on your computer browser through the website, or through the AMC+ app on these mobile and TV streaming devices:
- iOS (iPhone, iPad)
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android mobile
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Roku
If you sign up through amcplus.com, you cannot access AMC+ through Sling TV, Apple TV Channels, Prime TV Channels, or The Roku Channel.
Subscribed Through Apple TV Channels, Amazon Prime Video Channels, or The Roku Channel
You can watch AMC+ on the Apple TV app, the Amazon Prime Video app, or The Roku Channel app, respectively. Note the difference between the Apple TV app (which contains the Channels, and services provided through Apple TV), and the Apple TV device (a set-top box for your TV). Similarly, the difference between the Roku (a set-top device) and the Roku Channels Store (like its App Store or Google Play Store), and The Roku Channel, and you can use whatever devices those services support.
Basically, if you subscribed through any site or app aside from amcplus.com, and are billed by anyone else besides amcplus.com, you should use the AMC+ app that has that service across the bottom.
The support.amcplus.com website has more visual aids.
Subscribed Through Your TV Provider
If you subscribe through Xfinity, DirecTV, Dish, Sling TV, or YouTube TV, you’ll access AMC+ through your TV provider’s app, or the guide provided by your set-top box (if your provider uses one).
Again, the devices supported are whatever’s supported by your TV provider. See our full rundown on devices for more information.
Target Audiences
- The Walking Dead fans: One of the most popular shows in cable history, any diehard fans of the zombie drama tuning in for the final season can find out how it all ends a week earlier than the episode airs by watching on AMC+. Earlier access means fewer spoilers. Yay!
- Anglophiles: If you like BBC America, you’ll love AMC+. It provides lots more British collaborations and imports. Cheers!
- Cinephiles: If you are a serious lover of movies, particularly arthouse, international, festival, and independent films, then IFCFU and Sundance are made for you. Lots of opportunities for film — and filmmaker — discovery.
- Hulu + Live TV Subscribers: Hulu + Live TV does not carry AMC+ networks, so if you’re into any AMC series, or just like AMC’s kind of programming, AMC+ is the perfect supplement.
How To Get AMC+
Where can you find AMC+? Lots of places, it turns out:
- Direct from AMC Networks: Just head to amcplus.com and click the “Try 7 Days Free” button. Currently, you can subscribe for $6.99/mo if you get an annual subscription, or $8.99/mo if you would rather have the flexibility of monthly. As mentioned, to use the AMC+ app on any platform, you need to be subscribed through this site. Otherwise, you should use the app of the provider where you signed up.
- Sling TV: A live TV streaming service that lets you mix and match your own channels starting at $45.99/month. It offers AMC+ as an “Extra,” an add-on bundle of 3-10 channels, for just $7/mo, so you save a bit over subscribing directly without having to commit to a year at a time. Read more in our full Sling TV review.
- Amazon Prime Video Channels: This service now provides hundreds of a la carte premium add-ons, including AMC+ for $8.99/mo. You must be a Prime Video member in order to subscribe through Amazon.
- Apple TV Channels: Similar to Amazon Prime Video Channels, Apple TV Channels let you subscribe to a la carte services and premium channels through the Apple TV app, with AMC+ available for $8.99/mo.
- The Roku Channel: This is a great service, but it’s confusing since it is neither a channel nor exclusively for Roku devices. But we forgive it because it carries lots of free stuff, with some premium subscriptions available to those who are willing to pay, such as AMC+ for $8.99/mo.
- Xfinity and Dish: Comcast’s cable service and Dish Satellite also offer AMC+ as a $6.99/mo add-on.
Alternatives
AMC+ doesn’t have a monopoly on great original content, of course. Check out these other services with amazing content:
Acorn TV
This British-centric streaming service — also from AMC Networks — is considered one of the essentials for true fans of British TV and movies. Original series include Harry Wild, The Chelsea Detective, The Madame Blanc Mysteries, and Deadwater Fell.
Netflix
Netflix is widely considered the king of on-demand streaming, with its enormous library of movies and shows of all kinds and its universally-acclaimed original content. Notable series include BoJack Horseman, The Crown, Ozark, and The Queen’s Gambit.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is the on-demand streaming service that dares to only carry original programming. But it’s the only place to check out the buzz around shows like Severance, WeCrashed, For All Mankind, Ted Lasso, or the Oscar-sweeper CODA.
HBOMax
Constantly vying with Netflix for best original content, HBOMax has top-notch originals next to the latest blockbusters and classic favorite series like The Simpsons and Friends. Currently, hot picks are Tokyo Vice, The Flight Attendant, Our Flag Means Death, and Raised by Wolves.
Summary
If you’re the kind of person continually bored with network TV and always looking for something new and a little quirky to watch, then AMC+ could be just what the doctor ordered. From edgy drama to dry wit to hair-raising horror, it’s got a little bit of everything, for just about everyone. Check out their seven-day free trial today.
FAQs
Is AMC+ available with Prime Video?
AMC+ is available with Prime Video but you have to pay extra. It’s part of Amazon Prime Video Channels, which are premium channels or services that are offered as add-ons to your Amazon Prime Video account. It’s got your standard Starz and Showtime, channel-counterpart services like AMC+ and Discovery+, and even more specialty subscriptions like BritBox and MUBI. Prices vary, but they all have free trials.
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Her expertise stems from being an early adopter of various entertainment technologies, from mail-order Netflix to modern streaming platforms. Alanna's in-depth knowledge of Sling TV's modular service and her ability to cover diverse streaming content make her a key expert in navigating the complex landscape of modern streaming options, especially in sports and entertainment.
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