Honestly, if you search for an amazon 1999 tv series today, you’re going to get a lot of confusing results about Jeff Bezos’s early business strategies or maybe some random documentary about the rainforest. But there is a very specific, weirdly nostalgic piece of television history that fits this bill, and it isn't what most people think. We aren't talking about Prime Video—that didn't exist yet. We are talking about the syndicated action-adventure boom of the late nineties, specifically the show Peter Benchley's Amazon.
It premiered in 1999. It was gritty, sort of. It was also kind of campy in that way only 90s television could manage.
The show followed a group of crash survivors stranded in the Brazilian basin. Think Lost, but years before Lost became a cultural phenomenon. It had everything: mysterious tribes, strange supernatural undertones, and a cast led by C. Thomas Howell. If you grew up in the era of Xena and Hercules, this was likely part of your Saturday afternoon ritual.
Why Peter Benchley's Amazon 1999 TV Series was ahead of its time
Most people remember Peter Benchley for Jaws. He was the guy who made everyone terrified of the ocean. By 1999, he was looking inland. He created this show (along with Herbert Wright) to explore a different kind of "green hell."
The plot was simple enough. A commercial airliner goes down. The survivors have to deal with the "Chosen," a group of descendants from a 16th-century lost colony. It sounds like a typical B-movie setup. But the amazon 1999 tv series actually tried to do something complex with its world-building. It didn't just give us monsters; it gave us a clash of civilizations.
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The cast and the chemistry
C. Thomas Howell played Dr. Kennedy. He was the moral center, the guy trying to keep everyone from losing their minds. You also had Carol Alt as Karen Stack and Chris Martin as Jimmy Stack.
The chemistry was... okay. It wasn't The Sopranos. It wasn't even The West Wing, which also debuted in '99. But for a syndicated show filmed largely in South Africa (standing in for Brazil), it had a surprising amount of heart. The budget was clearly a struggle at times. You can see it in some of the sets. Yet, there’s an earnestness to the performances that makes it hold up better than most of its contemporaries.
What happened to the show?
It only lasted one season. Twenty-two episodes. That’s it.
The ending was a massive cliffhanger. Fans were left screaming at their CRT televisions because the show was canceled before the resolution could happen. It’s one of those "what could have been" stories of the television world. Alliance Atlantis and WIC Entertainment produced it, but the ratings just weren't there to sustain the high production costs of filming on location.
Why it didn't get a Season 2
Syndication was a brutal business in the late 90s. You were competing with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and X-Files reruns. If you didn't hit a massive number immediately, you were gone. Amazon suffered from inconsistent scheduling. In some cities, it aired at 2:00 AM. In others, it was a 4:00 PM Sunday slot.
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Basically, nobody could find it consistently.
The confusion with modern Amazon Prime Video
If you are a younger viewer, you might be looking for a show produced by Amazon that came out in 1999. That is a total dead end. Amazon was strictly a bookstore/everything store back then. They weren't making TV.
But there is a weird historical irony here. The amazon 1999 tv series is exactly the kind of "survivalist mystery" content that performs incredibly well on streaming services today. If this show were pitched to modern-day Amazon Studios, it would probably get a three-season order and a massive budget.
The actual legacy of the series
So, why does anyone still care about a canceled show from 27 years ago?
For one, it’s a time capsule. It represents the transition from "monster of the week" shows to serialized storytelling. You had to watch every episode to understand the overarching mystery of the "Chosen" and the "Lost City." This was a bridge between the old way of making TV and the new way.
Secondly, Peter Benchley’s name still carries weight. Even though he passed away in 2006, his fans still track down his lesser-known works. Amazon remains his most ambitious foray into television.
Where can you watch it now?
Finding it is a nightmare. It hasn't been officially licensed to major streaming platforms in years. You might find some grainy uploads on YouTube or old DVD sets on eBay from Germany (where the show had a surprisingly large following under the title Amazonas - Gefangene des Dschungels).
It’s a bit of a "lost" media artifact.
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Fact-checking the 1999 Amazon rumors
You might see some blogs claiming this show was a spin-off of something else. It wasn't. It was an original creation. You might also see people confusing it with the 1993 movie Amazonia or the various Tarzan series of the decade.
Don't fall for it. The 1999 series is its own beast. It featured:
- A very 90s synth-heavy soundtrack.
- Practical effects that were actually pretty decent for the time.
- A plotline involving a mysterious shaman played by Julianne Morris.
It was ambitious. Maybe too ambitious for its budget.
How to track down 90s syndicated gems
If this trip down memory lane has you wanting to find the amazon 1999 tv series or similar shows like The Lost World (also from 1999), there are a few ways to do it.
- Check the Archive: Sites like the Internet Archive sometimes have digital transfers of old VHS recordings.
- Import DVDs: Check international Amazon sites (ironically). The European releases often stayed in print longer than the North American ones.
- Fan Communities: There are still small boards and subreddits dedicated to "90s Syndicated Action TV." These folks are the keepers of the flame.
The show isn't a masterpiece. It won't change your life. But it is a fascinating look at what happened when 90s TV creators tried to do "prestige mystery" before the world was ready for it.
The amazon 1999 tv series serves as a reminder that the "Golden Age of Television" didn't just pop out of nowhere. It was built on the backs of weird, experimental, and often canceled shows that dared to have a plot longer than 42 minutes.
If you want to experience the 1999 series today, start by looking for the pilot episode, "The Chosen." It sets the stage perfectly. It gives you all the mood, the mystery, and the slightly dated special effects you could ever want. Just be prepared for the fact that you’ll never get the answers to the questions the finale poses. Some mysteries are just meant to stay lost in the jungle.