How to watch ‘Expats’: release date, streaming deals, and more

One of the most anticipated shows of 2024 just arrived on streaming. It stars Nicole Kidman, centers around a tragedy, and explores themes of motherhood, marriage, and sense of place. No, it’s not Season 3 of Big Little Lies. It’s called Expats, and it’s on Prime Video as of Jan. 26.

The six-part limited drama series directed by Lulu Wang (The Farewell) also stars Sarayu Blue, Ji-young Yoo, Brian Tee, and Jack Huston. Here’s everything you need to know to tune in.

What is Expats about?

Adapted from Janice Y.K. Lee’s 2016 novel The Expatriates, the series follows a group of three American women living in Hong Kong — played by Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, and Ji-young Yoo — whose lives are forever changed by a single tragedy.

Director Lulu Wang moves backward and forward in time to show the audience just how these three women are connected and how everything fell apart. As Mashable Entertainment Reporter Belen Edwards wrote in her review, “Everyone and everything in this series orbits around this one event, and the consequences — from blowout fights to affairs — are as varied as they are painful.”

Read Mashable’s full review of Expats.

Here’s a sneak peek into the limited series:

What streaming service is Expats on?

Expats is a Prime Video original series, which means you’ll need an Amazon Prime subscription or a Prime Video subscription in order to watch it. If you’re already a Prime member, you’re good to go. Just sign into your Amazon account and navigate to Prime Video to watch Expats online. You can also download the Prime Video app and sign in using your Prime login information. Not a Prime member? Keep reading to find out the best ways to sign up, save, and potentially watch Expats for free.

When do new episodes of Expats air?

The first two episodes of Expats are already available to stream on Prime Video. The rest will be released weekly every Friday, with the finale coming out Feb. 23.

Can I get Amazon Prime Video for free?

If you’re brand new to Amazon Prime or are returning after canceling your subscription in the past (a year ago or longer), we have some good news: a trial period will let you watch all of Expats for free. Don’t fall into that category? You can still score a discounted subscription if you’re a student (with access to a .edu address) or choose to subscribe to Prime Video only (not a full Prime subscription). Scroll to see the details below.

Mashable Deals

Free trials for streaming services are slowly disappearing, but Amazon is still going strong with its 30-day Prime membership trial. If you’re brand new to Prime or canceled your membership over a year ago, you can enjoy your first month of Prime at no cost. That includes access to Prime Video for 30 days — plenty of time to watch Expats if you time out your subscription correctly. If you want to avoid charges ($14.99 per month), be sure to cancel your subscription within that 30-day trial period.

Students can secure a free six-month trial via Prime Student, which includes access to Prime Video and all of the other perks at a discount. You’ll need a verifiable student email address to nab the deal. Once your free trial is up, you’ll only have to hisse half of the usual cost of Prime to keep your membership going — just $69 per year — so long as your student status is still active.

If you don’t qualify for either of the free trials above, you can still save some money by subscribing to Prime Video on its own (rather than a full Prime account). While a full Prime membership would cost you $14.99 per month, you can sign up for Prime Video alone for only $8.99 per month. It may not be as good as watching Expats for free, but saving $6 per month is definitely worth it. You can still cancel any time without commitment — just remember to cancel before the month is up if you don’t want to be charged for the following month. Amazon makes it a bit tricky to sign up for Prime Video on its own. Be sure to select “change” when signing up for a plan to see all options.

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