Apple TV doesn’t need the “Plus” in its name for me to say something nice about the streamer’s library. I could just let the 89 Emmy nominations Apple received this year do the talking. None of these noms are for the platform’s hits like Severance and Ted Lasso, which says a lot about the quality of programming you might be missing out on.
Apple relies heavily on organic discovery and word of mouth for its titles to take off, so it’s not necessarily that you’re not paying attention. You haven’t seen commercials or marketing campaigns for shows like Widow’s Bay, because that’s just not how Apple rolls.
It’s an interesting way of putting movies and TV shows out into the world — and it has made Apple TV feel a lot more like a secret club you’ve been let into.
To help you on your journey, I’ve compiled the list below of the best shows Apple TV has to offer. I’ll be updating this list regularly, so please check back for additions. I also put together a separate list of Apple TV’s best sci-fi TV shows. So check that out when you’re done here.
Learn more: Apple TV Overview: Small Library but the Quality Is High-Notch
Cape Scare
Cape Scare, from show creator Nick Antosca and executive producers Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, differs quite a bit from the 1991 and 1962 classics, but honors both of them, as well as the original novel, The Executioners. It’s a modern-day noir that ramps up the tension and violence and keeps the stakes high throughout every episode. Javier Bardem’s Emmy-worthy performance as Max Cady, which somehow outdoes Robert De Niro’s, outshines everything else and is reason alone to watch.
Criminal Record
Criminal Record is a British crime series that follows two rival detectives — the older, jaded DCI Daniel Hegarty (Peter Capaldi) and the younger, motivated DS June Lenker (Cush Jumbo) — as they’re forced into an alliance to deliver justice amid the polarizing backdrop of modern-day London.
Best Pleasure Assured
Apple TV’s Best Pleasure Assured is a comedy thriller about a woman who connects with a camboy online, only to become the victim of a twisty blackmail scheme. The series also stars Jake Johnson and Murray Bartlett, so it features strong talent throughout this bingeable show.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Based on the book of the same name by Rufi Thorpe, Margo’s Got Money Troubles follows the struggles of a young woman with a new baby who turns to cam girl work online to help pay the bills. Elle Fanning stars opposite Nick Offerman and Michelle Pfeiffer, who truly are a match made in comedy heaven.
Pluribus
What happens when an epidemic grips the globe, making everyone incredibly happy? That’s the question at the heart of Pluribus, Vince Gilligan’s latest TV project. The series, now the most-watched Apple TV show ever, follows a rather uncomfortable woman named Carol (Rhea Seehorn) as she navigates this unsettling new reality. Can she find a way to save the world? Or will she eventually become part of this intriguing hive mind?
Masters of the Air
Apple’s military drama is based on true events and takes inspiration from Donald L. Miller’s book of the same name. The series follows the members of the 100th Bomb Group (aka the Bloody Hundredth) as they fight the Nazis during World War II. It has a stacked cast, including the likes of Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle and Barry Keoghan. Masters of the Air was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
Down Cemetery Road
This conspiracy thriller, inspired by Mick Herron’s first novel in his Zoë Boehm series, begins when a child goes missing after a house fire. A concerned neighbor (played by Ruth Wilson) forms an unlikely partnership with Zoë (the books’ titular private investigator, played by Emma Thompson) to find the child. In the process, a conspiracy is uncovered, leading the duo down a dark path.
Palm Royale
Kristen Wiig leads a great cast in Palm Royale, a campy satire that follows Maxine (Wiig), a woman who will do whatever it takes to get into the Palm Royale beach club. The series, which takes on classism, ambition, privilege and greed, also stars Ricky Martin, Josh Lucas, Leslie Bibb, Laura Dern, Allison Janney, Carol Burnett and John Stamos.
Hijack
Hijack, like 24 before it, is a terrorist thriller that takes place in real time. The series follows business negotiator Sam Nelson (played by Idris Elba) as he taps into his training to outsmart the hijackers who’ve taken over his flight. Thanks to Elba’s performance and the twisty story, this series proves to be a fun, edge-of-your-seat binge.
Mr. Scorsese
This 5-episode documentary series shines a light on the personal and professional life of filmmaker Martin Scorsese. I was surprised by how heartfelt and engaging this series turned out to be. If you’ve ever wondered how Scorsese became the legendary director he is today, this program is for you. Besides hearing the stories directly from the man’s mouth, the show features never-before-seen photos and interviews with Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Steven Spielberg, Jodie Foster and Sharon Stone.
The Studio
Seth Rogen co-created and stars in this dysfunctional comedy series about a movie studio’s struggle to stay relevant in Hollywood. Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn, Catherine O’Hara, Chase Sui Wonders and Bryan Cranston round out the cast. It’s the whopping list of celebrity cameos, though, that truly sets this series apart from other comedies. Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Anthony Mackie and more show up in the most surprising and hilarious ways. There’s nothing else like The Studio on TV.
Loot
Loot follows Molly Wells (played by Maya Rudolph), who, after getting divorced from her tech billionaire husband (played by Adam Scott), discovers she is $87 billion richer. Instead of living a lavish life, reveling in her newfound status, she decides to lead a philanthropic organization with the goal of giving it all away. Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Nat Faxon, Ron Funches and Joel Kim Booster also star.
The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy
The absence of Anthony Bourdain’s presence on TV has led me to search for a worthy host to fill the void. I didn’t expect Eugene Levy to be that guy. It’s all in the title of the show. He’s not fond of traveling — but he takes himself out of his comfort zone and the result is an informative, heartwarming and engaging series.
Manhunt
We all know about Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Apple has turned that historical event into a conspiracy thriller that is well worth your time. Manhunt, which is based on the book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer, throws us into the race to track down John Wilkes Booth. Anthony Boyle, Tobias Menzies, Hamish Linklater, Betty Gabriel, Matt Walsh and Patton Oswalt star.
Trying
Trying follows Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall), a couple who can’t quite get pregnant. So, they go to adopt. But the process is not that simple — especially when you throw their offbeat families and daily chaos into the mix. Trying is a bit of everything: a romance, a comedy, a drama. Whatever you choose to call it, the Apple TV series is a thoroughly satisfying watch.
Chief of War
Jason Momoa stars, served as creator and executive produced the period drama Chief of War. The series tells the story of the unification of the Hawaiian islands against the threat of colonization at the turn of the 18th century. The show features a predominantly Polynesian cast and explores this time in history from the perspective of Indigenous people.
Acapulco
Acapulco stars Eugenio Derbez as Maximo, a man reminiscing about his younger years working at a resort in 1980s Acapulco. It’s a lighthearted series that is nostalgic and full of heart, which feels like an anomaly in our current TV landscape. You want to watch a bright and fun show, with low emotional stakes? Here’s the series for you.
Slow Horses
Slow Horses is the first television series starring Gary Oldman, and that fact, in and of itself, should be enough to get you to tune in. This show is inspired by Mick Herron’s Slough House book series and follows Jackson Lamb (Oldman) and his crew of low-level spies as they face espionage challenges and criminal conspiracies in every season. Three of the show’s 5 seasons have a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which it completely deserves.
Smoke
Taron Egerton is Dave, an arson investigator, and Jurnee Smollett is Michelle, a police detective, who team up to track down a duo of arsonists wreaking havoc on their community. Smoke is a brooding drama series inspired by true events. There’s a twisty thriller fueling this program, and it boasts a solid cast, which also includes Greg Kinnear, Anna Chlumsky, John Leguizamo, Rafe Spall and Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine.
Stick
If you thought the return of Happy Gilmore was the best golf comedy worth watching, think again. Stick stars Owen Wilson as Pryce Cahill, a jaded ex-golfer who’s given a second chance at the game in the form of a 17-year-old golf prodigy named Santi (Peter Dager). If you’re looking for another feel-good sports series like Ted Lasso, you should definitely give this show a shot.
Dope Thief
Dope Thief is inspired by Dennis Tafoya’s 2009 novel and follows friends Ray and Manny, who decide to impersonate DEA agents so they can steal from drug dealers. Things go sideways when their small crime unveils a massive drug operation. Brian Tyree Henry and Wagner Moura lead the series, ensuring this engaging drama is led by top-tier talent.
Your Friends & Neighbors
In this dark comedy, Jon Hamm plays disgraced hedge fund manager Andrew “Coop” Cooper, who decides to try home invasions as a way of making money. The twist on that twist? He’s robbing his wealthy neighbors. What he doesn’t expect through all this thievery is the dark secrets he uncovers about the people of this upper-crust neighborhood.
Black Bird
Black Bird is inspired by the true story of Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton), a man who made a deal with the FBI to go undercover in a maximum-security prison to shorten his sentence. I forgot to mention, this is a facility that houses the criminally insane and his mission is to befriend Larry Hall, a suspected serial killer, so he can gather information about where the bodies are buried. That is, if he can get a confession in the first place. Paul Walter Hauser delivers a career-best performance as Hall.
Pachinko
Based on the novel by Min Jin Lee, Pachinko is a sweeping drama that follows multiple generations of a Korean family from the early 1900s through the 1980s. Seriously, it’s hard to sum up how beautiful and complex the storytelling is on this series in just a few sentences. I’ll just say the performances (by Lee Min-ho, Jin Ha, Minha Kim and the rest of the cast), cinematography and conflicts featured here are absolutely stunning. It’s probably the best show on this entire list, if I’m being honest.
Shrinking
Jason Segel, Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams star in this dramedy series about a damaged therapist who strives to put his life and family back together after a heartbreaking loss. There’s an interesting balance found when Jimmy (Segel) breaks from professional norms to help his patients heal while trying to do the same for himself. It’s sad, hilarious, poignant and profound. To me, this is what mental health stories on TV should look like.
Bad Monkey
If you start a murder mystery in Florida, you expect things to get weird. And they do just that in Bad Monkey. It’s a quirky kind of drama that stars Vince Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, a detective-turned-restaurant-inspector, who gets sucked into a murder case after fishing a severed arm out of the ocean. Bill Lawrence (of Ted Lasso, Scrubs and Shrinking fame) created the dark comedy, which is inspired by the book by Carl Hiaasen.
Presumed Innocent
Presumed Innocent, based on the novel by Scott Turow, hails from executive producer David E. Kelley and stars Jake Gyllenhaal as smarmy attorney Rusty Sabich. Unlike the 1987 movie starring Harrison Ford, this series delves much deeper into the multilayered scandal that put Sabich in handcuffs. The exploration of each character, all of whom seem guilty in one way or another, adds to a morally dark story that makes this a riveting, albeit frequently frustrating, watch.
Lessons in Chemistry
Here we have yet another book adaptation to add to this list, and, luckily, Lessons in Chemistry is a feel-good delight. Inspired by Bonnie Garmus’ book of the same name, the series follows a chemist named Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson) who finds herself taking a job as host of a cooking show. Being a story that takes place in the ’50s, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Zott faces a lot of sexism in the workplace. She perseveres, though, and brings a quirky scientific touch to her Julia Child-like role, making this period piece a fun show to dig into.
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Platonic
I didn’t know what to expect when I clicked play on Platonic. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne have co-starred in other projects together, but their delightfully oddball dynamic on this one stands out. The story follows two longtime friends who reconnect in their 40s only to find that, even though they live very different lives, they share common midlife struggles of trying to figure out where they fit in this rapidly changing world. It’s also nice to see a non-romantic exploration of a friendship between a man and a woman. Contrary to what When Harry Met Sally said, it is possible.
Bad Sisters
Sharon Horgan created this dark comedy series — which takes inspiration from the Belgian show Clan — about a group of sisters who deal with the fallout of the murder of JP, one of the women’s husbands, who, thanks to his distasteful behavior, is referred to throughout the show as “The Prick.” The series shifts story regularly to reveal pieces of who killed the man, while showcasing the dysfunctional dynamic between these wicked sisters. Horgan stars opposite Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene and Eve Hewson.
