Steal and The Girlfriend throw a much-needed lifeline to Prime Video’s UK dramas – but can this template keep working?

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If you’ve spent any time looking at Prime Video, you might have realized something key is missing from it.

Even though the streaming service is in over 10 million UK homes and supported by a major global company, it’s consistently found it difficult to create British dramas that really stand out.

The question is: could that be about to change?

I’m really excited about a new thriller called ‘Steal’ that just came out! Sophie Turner is fantastic in it, and the whole thing is set and shot in London, which is always cool. The story centers around a woman named Zara, who works at an investment firm, and she gets caught up in a dangerous situation – basically, she’s forced to help with a robbery at gunpoint. Sounds intense!

This comes after “The Girlfriend,” a miniseries nominated for a Golden Globe just a few months prior, which told the story of a tense and obsessive rivalry between a mother and her son’s new love interest.

The two shows seem quite different at first, but a closer examination reveals some interesting similarities that may hint at the future direction of original content from Prime Video in the UK.

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As a film buff, I’ve noticed a really interesting parallel between two characters: Cherry from The Girlfriend and Zara from Steal. Both are young women who grew up in working-class families, and they share some tough backgrounds. It’s heartbreaking, but both have fathers who were either absent or abusive, and they also have complicated, often strained relationships with their mothers who seem really worn down by life.

They’re both unfairly ignored at work because of their social class, but they cleverly use this to their benefit when plotting revenge against men who seem beyond help – Daniel (Laurie Davidson) and Luke (Archie Madekwe).

Even though Cherry and Zara aren’t always ethical, it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for them as they struggle to succeed in a world that seems determined to hold them back.

Though The Girlfriend has a darker, more comedic tone than Steal, it follows a similar storyline and uses many of the same elements as Prime Video’s other recent British drama, Malice. Both shows are revenge thrillers focused on the wealthy and influential.

It’s quite ironic that this company is being targeted, considering its founder is one of the richest people on Earth – wealthier than all the wealthy characters in those three novels combined.

These shows don’t truly criticize the wealthy, unlike shows like Parasite or Succession. They feel more like easily digestible, glamorous entertainment – similar to what you’d find on a channel like Channel 5, but with the high production values of an Apple TV+ show.

Honestly, these mysteries aren’t going to change the world, and they’re not exactly aiming for the stars. But as a fan, I appreciate a good, solid thriller, and it’s encouraging to see Prime Video trying to boost their UK-made shows with dependable content like this, according to what I read in Ankler.

But can they comprise the entire strategy? That depends on what the platform is hoping to achieve.

Simple, reliable projects like these are likely to attract a good audience. They might even get noticed by award shows, similar to what happened with The Girlfriend, though it’s probably that recognition was more about honoring director and actress Robin Wright than the film itself.

Okay, so this drama was enjoyable enough, but let’s be real, it wasn’t a major awards contender. And honestly, it didn’t really generate the same buzz as other limited series like ‘Adolescence’ – which, famously, Prime Video decided not to pick up, and everyone was talking about that!

Ultimately, to really deliver compelling British drama, a streaming service can’t just drop a familiar British face into a generally good thriller – whether that’s David Tennant, Robert Turner, Martin Compston in ‘Fear’, or Jenna Coleman in ‘Wilderness’. It needs to go deeper than that.

Instead, streaming service leaders should look at what’s working in the US: a mix of popular, mainstream shows like Reacher, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and Bosch, alongside more unique and unconventional options like Mr & Mrs Smith, Overcompensating, or The Boys.

There’s growing hope that other British productions will also qualify for tax breaks, especially with projects like ‘Bait,’ a clever comedy-drama featuring Riz Ahmed as a James Bond hopeful, and the much-anticipated ‘Tomb Raider’ reboot starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge currently in development.

This new show represents a much-needed investment by the streaming service in British comedy, a genre it surprisingly ignored even after its early success co-producing ‘Fleabag’ with the BBC.

As a huge Phoebe Waller-Bridge fan, I’m really excited about her taking on Tomb Raider! It’s filming here in England with Sophie Turner as Lara Croft, and honestly, it feels like her take on a big action franchise – maybe a response to her stepping away from the Mr & Mrs Smith project with Donald Glover. I’m hoping it’ll have that same witty, clever energy she brings to everything she does.

I’m really wondering if these new moves will be enough to get people to switch from Netflix. It’s tough to say, because Netflix just seems to consistently launch popular shows from the UK, even if they aren’t always that good! It feels like they have a knack for it.

Even just getting people to pay attention to Prime Video’s UK-made shows would be a significant improvement over what they were achieving previously.

Don’t miss ‘Steal’! Add it to your watchlist on the TopMob: What to Watch app. Download the app today for daily TV suggestions, exclusive features, and more.

Authors

David CraigSenior Drama Writer

David Craig writes about TV and streaming dramas and comedies for TopMob. Before that, he was at Starburst Magazine, hosted the podcast ‘The Winter King’ for ITVX, and earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Sheffield.

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2026-01-22 21:05