Best Apple TV+ Shows: What to Watch, Ranked
In its relatively short lifespan, Apple TV+ has already cultivated a storied history and an interesting library of shows to go along with it. Grounded by one of the world’s largest tech companies and with little IP under their umbrella, the seemingly endless supply of resources and remarkably fresh ideas has allowed Apple TV+ to thrive in comparison to its IP-laden and debt-saddled peers.
At launch in 2019, Apple TV+ burst onto the scene with the Emmy-magnet The Morning Show, Jason Momoa’s sci-fi epic See, and the off-beat comedy Dickinson. Since then, the streamer has made a name for itself through its biggest hit, Ted Lasso, and its ambitious sci-fi offerings in particular. And, maybe most importantly, out of its many originals, only a few have been canceled without a proper conclusion, a striking rarity in today’s tumultuous streaming climate.
The early criticism that plagued a lot of its shows—that for all of their beauty, they didn’t have a lot of substance—is giving way to praise for series with compelling narratives. They’re not all great, but at this rate, we’ll soon be able to forget The Mosquito Coast ever existed. And even though Apple is spiking its price (now increasing from $6.99 to $9.99), there are still a number of shows worth subscribing for, from its under-the-radar gems like Bad Sisters and Schmigadoon! to break-out hits like Ted Lasso and The Morning Show.
Below, we’ve ranked 30 notable originals, minus the documentaries and more kid-oriented programming (like Helpsters and Ghostwriter, which we weren’t thrilled with anyway), but we did keep Snoopy because Snoopy is a national treasure and his series on Apple TV+ are genuinely very good.
30. The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin stars The Mighty Boosh’s Noel Fielding as Dick Turpin, an outlaw who apparently existed in real life, though you can be sure even the romanticized version of the historical figure has very little to do with what you see on screen. He’s a butcher’s son, but he’s obsessed with clothing and style and can’t bear to take up the family business. He leaves to find his fortune, and soon finds himself as the head of a gang of highwaymen, called the Essex Gang, after accidentally murdering their leader. Turpin, always the optimist, decides he’s going to create a new kind of gang, one with more style than violence and hopefully boost them from their current ranking as the second-worst gang in existence (yes, in this world, there are highwaymen rankings). Everything here is goofy to the bone, from Turpin’s tiny gun and horse to the secret passageway in the village pub which, for some reason, is directly next to a cupboard with the same exact door. To put it simply, the show provides easy comedy without coming across as stupid, is fun without being a “guilty pleasure,” and is hilarious without feeling forced. It’s smart, it’s ridiculous, and it’s defiantly unique in both style and substance. For six half-hour episodes, the world of Dick Turpin makes for a lovely escape. —Shane Ryan
29. Hijack
The limited series thriller stars Idris Elba as a mediator who finds his skills put to the test when his Dubai to London flight is taken over by armed gunmen, and is refreshingly frank about its goals. This is nuts-and-bolts escapism, a show that colors its characters just enough to deliver the rollercoaster thrills of a high concept premise, and cleverly written to ensure a satisfactory conclusion to its narrative crisis. It’s an upscaled ‘90s thriller, made by people with deep affection for the finest era of Hollywood crowd-pleasers. The only real issue is its length—at just over five hours, it could probably benefit from losing one and refining its dramatic pulse to an unbearably tense, clipped runtime. Still, Hijack is the kind of entertainment Elba was born for: He’s an actor whose physical presence and emotional intensity is perfectly suited for wrestling back control of a big, dangerous metal tube hurtling through the sky. It may not be first class, but Hijack is certainly not the budget airline equivalent of summer streaming fare. —Rory Doherty
28. Manhunt
Most school-age children can tell you that President Abraham Lincoln (Hamish Linklater) was shot by actor John Wilkes Booth (Anthony Boyle) at Ford’s Theater. But of course, there’s so much more to the story. From Booth patiently hiding behind a curtain in Ford’s Theater to the trial of his conspirators, Apple TV+’s Manhunt is a clever blend of the true crime and historical genres, with just the right dashes of a police/legal drama thrown in for good measure. The seven-episode thriller, based on the non-fiction book by James L. Swanson, is as riveting as it is jarring. The action starts with one of the most pivotal moments in American history. By the end of the first two episodes, Lincoln is shot, two other murder attempts have failed, and a nationwide manhunt has begun. Viewers also learn early that Lincoln was a fan of his assassin’s acting skills and that John Wilkes Booth even attended the president’s second inauguration. Loaded with facts and fast-paced, Manhunt hits the ground running and never stops, as historical nuggets, powerful performances, and an engrossing investigation craft an addictive true crime thriller. —Terry Terrones
27. The Morning Show
For a show that started as a MeToo-inspired statement piece about the sexual harassment and abuse of power that is all too common in the entertainment industry (and acted as a play on the real-life Today Show scandal), the persistent thought I keep coming back to throughout its extended existence is: “How did we get here?” Here being three seasons deep into a show that likely could (and probably should) have been a miniseries. However, if The Morning Show had tapped out after its first star-studded and grounded season, we wouldn’t be treated to the irresistibly soapy drama that defines the series now.
Starring and executive produced by Jennifer Anniston and Reese Witherspoon, Apple TV+’s flagship series follows Alex (Anniston) as her morning TV cohost Mitch (Steve Carrell) is exposed for workplace abuse and sexual misconduct. What follows is a newsroom spiral, where Alex attempts to hold her ground within the tumultuous workplace of the titular Morning Show‘s network, all while dragging small-town, hot-headed reporter Bradley (Witherspoon) along for the ride. In subsequent seasons, The Morning Show tackles everything from COVID to big tech, all with a dramatic flair and self-aware wink that allows the series to push the bounds of its prestige aims and lean further than ever into its more soapy storylines. While this series may not be Apple TV+’s best offering, it’s certainly the streamer’s most popular drama series, and we’re just as hooked as everyone else. —Anna Govert
26. Servant
Servant, the gripping Apple TV+ series from writer/creator Tony Basgallop and pilot/penultimate episode director M. Night Shyamalan, is all about the horror of inviting a new presence into your house, be it Cronenberg baby anxiety or the equally ancient fear of a younger woman from outside the fold.
When Philadelphia parents Sean (Toby Kebbell) and Dorothy Turner (Lauren Ambrose) hire a weird nanny, Leanne (Nell Tiger Free), it never seems fine. Things are never normal. There is a ghost in the house. That’s because Leanne has been hired to take care of a reborn doll. These hyper-realistic dolls, morphed and sculpted uniquely to match a real baby, can serve a variety of purposes. The Turners’ helps them cope with the loss of their child, Jericho, at 13 weeks. Reality is simulated for therapeutic purposes. Until it’s not. The first episode ends with a very real cry from a very real baby and uh, where did HE come from?
Servant isn’t scary, really, but its mysteries make for an enthralling nightmare. If you were dreaming about it, it’d reflect the opening titles. A long slow walk down a hallway leads to a closed door, which opens just enough to get a glimpse of what might be a baby and then—oops! You woke up. You’re not sure what was wrong with that last look, but you can’t shake it all morning. Servant is like that. Its horror references are child-based, relationship-heavy, and demonic. But it’s not just the spooky baby stuff. Sean’s a chef, so Shyamalan and company also throw in a hefty amount of food porn for those longing to see haute cuisine for nothing more than fancy animals tearing apart less fancy animals. If Hannibal made horror food the height of bloody elegance, Servant rips it down to its fleshy ferality.
As things begin to get weird—with the first uneven glimpses of Leanne’s strangeness coming in fits and spurts—Sean keeps acquiring physical maladies of increasing severity while he and Dorothy see their tense relationship, strangely, soften. It’s unhealthy, whatever this is, but pressing on it only makes it worse. Over the course of the show, various metaphors rise and fall (sometimes working wonders, other times distracting from the well-crafted genre flavor), but the main idea of watching a couple suffer for taking the easy way out of death, trauma, guilt, and loss is never lost in this still mostly fun fairy tale. Servant is an unfocused yet ultimately creepy good time with enough character and charm to keep its hazy nightmare from lulling you to sleep. [Full Review] —Jacob Oller
25. Masters of the Air
A spiritual successor to HBO’s award-winning World War II miniseries Band of Brothers and The Pacific, Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air trades the U.S. Army and Marine Corps for the Air Force and tells the story of the Hundredth Bombardment Group as they carry out dangerous missions over Europe well ahead of the Allied invasion. The nine-episode limited series, which is based on Donald L. Miller’s book of the same name and stars Austin Butler, Callum Turner, and Barry Keoghan, hails from the same producing team of Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzman. Although it isn’t always on par with its predecessors, the show equals them in size and scope, while the action sequences are some of TV’s best. However, the show really stands out for its compelling tale; it honestly and sometimes painfully displays the trauma soldiers at war endure through heartfelt and genuine stories of camaraderie, determination, and sacrifice. —Kaitlin Thomas and Terry Terrones
24. Foundation
As the long-awaited adaptation of Isaac Asmiov’s iconic series, Foundation takes on massive responsibilities: respect the expansive and iconic source material; impress longtime fans of novels; and somehow take an epic series and condense it into digestible television. Published first as a collection of short stories before eventually growing into a seven-book series, Foundation is as sprawling as the vast universe it explores. David S. Goyer, one of those longtime Asimov fans himself, knew the risks he was taking by attempting such a project. After a four-year journey through a pandemic-stilted production, Goyer, along with Robyn Asimov (who serves as an executive producer), has brought Foundation to life on a breathtaking scale.
With vibrant costuming and stunning visual effects, Foundation is a gorgeous and entrancing series. Following multiple timelines and taking place on various planets and spaceships, each of the many settings is impeccably designed. Somewhat predictably for the genre, class and wealth are important themes in Foundation and decadent, unique costumes act as clear indicators of a character’s status.
As with many science fiction tales, Foundation centers on hope and humanity’s ceaseless fight to survive. Faced with a mathematically proven demise, believers are still trying anything they can to ensure the success of future generations. Even as Foundation stumbles throughout its execution, it still maintains a grip on the unconditional hope of its characters. But with an inconsistent timeline and innumerable technicalities, this epic series may take more than mathematical prophecies to grip viewers. [Full Review] —Kristen Reid
23. The Essex Serpent
The obvious reason to check out The Essex Serpent, Apple’s limited series based on the 2016 novel of the same name, is Tom Hiddleston. More specifically, it is Tom Hiddleston’s excellent scarves and cute sweaters. But there’s more to the show than a hunky British actor dressed for cool temperatures. Set in Victorian England, the series spends most of its time in a tiny waterfront village plagued by rumored sightings of a mysterious and deadly serpent. Hiddleston portrays the local vicar, a skeptic who denies any such serpent exists beyond a carving in a church pew. When Claire Danes’ Cora, a wealthy widow and woman of science, learns of the mythical beast, she becomes enamored by the story and sets out from London with her young son to investigate it for herself. This inevitably puts her on a collision course with Hiddleston’s vicar, sparking a unique conflict driven by science, love, faith, and superstition. — Kaitlin Thomas
22. Shining Girls
The mind-bending thriller Shining Girls is an intriguing addition to Apple TV+’s lineup. Well acted and beautifully filmed, the series is based on Lauren Beukes’ best-selling novel of the same name and stars Emmy Award winner Elisabeth Moss as Kirby Mazrachi, a promising journalist whose career is cut short after a brutal attack leaves her with lingering trauma. But the show quickly separates itself from the traditional crime dramas and serial killer-themed shows we’ve become accustomed to seeing by engaging time travel as a means of exploring trauma and agency. Now, I can’t say that it always works—the show could explain things more (and better)— but the performances at the show’s center are enough to make you want to stick around long enough to find out just what the hell is going on. [Full Review] —Kaitlin Thomas
21. Presumed Innocent
Based on the 1987 best-selling novel of the same name by Scott Turow, Presumed Innocent tells the story of Chicago’s chief deputy prosecutor who’s accused of murder. At first, what you’re viewing makes sense and seems simple enough. Prosecutor Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal) is investigating the murder of someone he’s intimately familiar with. Then, slowly, much like Rusty, after each episode your obsession will become more and more obvious. Each episode of Presumed Innocent acts as an individual tug on the noose of suspicion around Rusty’s neck. And much like Rusty obsessing over Carolyn, we became obsessed with what we were watching. Each of the first seven episodes (of eight) all end on cliffhangers, and had us ready for more. Showrunner David E. Kelly has tweaked the formula for Presumed Innocent, in both its novel and film forms, so much so that he has us on the edge of our seats, which is an exciting place to be. —Terry Terrones
20. Palm Royale
Palm Royale, from creator and showrunner Abe Sylvia, follows Maxine (Kristen Wiig), a ‘60s housewife (and country-accented outsider) who is willing to do anything to break her way into Palm Beach high society, and most specifically, the exclusive Palm Royale club. When she arrives, she’s met with the vulturous mavens she reads about in the gossip rag The Shiny Sheet: heiress to an ailing husband Evelyn (Allison Janney), the adulterous and unabashedly rude Dinah (Leslie Bibb), the shady Raquel (Claudia Ferri), the persistent and catty Mary (Julia Duffy), and the once-queen Norma (Carol Burnett), who sits in a coma after embolizing. Even with friendly faces like bartender Robert (Ricky Martin), manicurist Mitzi (Kaia Gerber), and feminist Linda (Laura Dern) on her side, Maxine’s goal remains unchanged in the face of many, many roadblocks: become the queen of Palm Beach. As she struggles to carve out space for herself amongst a society that flinches away from change and anyone deemed “uncouth,” she must ask herself: how much is she willing to sacrifice in order to get what she wants, and what’s left for her once she achieves the status she so desperately desires? This series is campy, weird, hilarious, and unabashedly soapy, and it’s a delight to behold. There are many worse ways to ring in the spring season than with a stay at Apple’s shady Palm Royale. —Anna Govert
19. Silo
Hugh Howey became the face of the self-publishing movement when his 2011 dystopian novella Wool became an enormous hit on Amazon’s Kindle platform. It was the first of the three books in the Silo trilogy, and became the basis for the first season of this Apple TV+ series, developed by Justified creator Graham Yost. Like the book, the series is set in a self-contained world of a 144-story silo surrounded by a dead earth and begins with an IT worker (Rashida Jones) and her sheriff husband (David Oyelowo) digging into the secrets of the their strange anachronistic world (there are computers but no photographs) before shifting focus to an engineer (Rebecca Ferguson), who’s thrown into the center of the Silo‘s power struggles. The mysteries and shifting alliances unfold at a brisk pace with mostly satisfying results, as Yost stays true to the story that unexpectedly captivated millions, and the cast is strong, with additional support from Common, Tim Robbins, and Geraldine James. Alongside Severance, Foundation, and Hello Tomorrow!, Apple has established itself as the home for smart, enjoyable sci-fi shows. —Josh Jackson
18. Shrinking
For avid fans of the sitcoms Scrubs, Cougar Town, and most recently, Ted Lasso, Bill Lawrence’s name will be familiar. And his latest series, the Apple TV+ comedy Shrinking (co-created with Ted Lasso fan-favorite Brett Goldstein and comedy veteran Jason Segel), is another crowd-pleasing success. It’s unapologetically witty, charmingly heartfelt, and features a set of quirky characters who are irresistibly likable. The plot follows Jimmy (Jason Segel), a therapist and a single father who’s been grieving his late wife for over a year. His apathetic mood has leaked into his professional life, turning him into a passive counselor without much progression to show for when it comes to his patients. Then, one day, Jimmy snaps and loses his cool in an unprofessional outburst, but… it works. From that moment, he tells each one of his patients what he thinks their problems are and what they should do to get out of their own way, to varied success.
What Shrinking does right from the start is be upfront about every character’s emotional baggage. Jimmy grieves, Gaby (Jessica Williams) has marital issues, and Paul (Harrison Ford) struggles to open up about his Parkinson’s diagnosis. They might be shrinks, but they’re also human beings dealing with the same personal problems as any of us (which they often ignore just like their patients do). Shrinking revels in the type of humor that’s uncomfortably honest and filled to the brim with sarcasm. But it never goes too far to feel insensitive or insulting. That’s a fine line, one that is incredibly hard to walk, but the show does it with inherent confidence—even if the downside of that approach is that some jokes become cringey in various situations. But if you grow fond of these characters as fast as I did, you can easily pardon their occasionally embarrassing behavior. And undoubtedly, the cast does a tremendous job of making us fall in love with these flawed goofballs. The well-balanced dose of sarcastic and contagious humor (rooted in pain and heartache) is the kind of prescribed laughter we need to heal our souls after a long and hard day. —Akos Peterbencze [Full Review]
17. The Big Door Prize
The Big Door Prize feels like it was crafted from spare parts from other Apple TV+ series. And that’s not really a bad thing. The comedy from David West Read, which is based on the book of the same name by M.O. Walsh, balances science fiction, philosophy, and heart when a mysterious machine known as the Morpho appears in the small town of Deerfield and promises to reveal every resident their life’s potential. Most would likely read this synopsis and assume it’s a cynical and dark sci-fi drama—after all, the Morpho machine requires people first pay money and then input their Social Security Number and scan their fingerprints to receive the little blue card that reveals all. They’re basically paying someone to steal their identity! But the show is not that. It takes a more lighthearted approach to the story as it explores existential life questions through the town’s many quirky characters (each episode follows a different individual, but the series is ultimately anchored by a married couple played by an affable Chris O’Dowd and Gabrielle Dennis). The show doesn’t provide viewers with concrete answers—despite appearances, this isn’t a puzzle box show you’re necessarily meant to solve—but it’s worth stopping by. — Kaitlin Thomas
16. Physical
Created and executive produced by Annie Weisman, Physical is set in the early 1980s against a sun-drenched San Diego backdrop. It stars Rose Byrne as Sheila Rubin, an unhappy housewife quietly struggling with her self-image and her inability to assert herself in nearly every aspect of her life. This includes her marriage to Danny (Rory Scovel), whose liberal ideals seem to stop at the front door.
Sheila single-handedly runs the Rubin household while raising a 4-year-old daughter (who mostly exists to scream a lot) and also managing Danny’s political campaign. It’s meant to be frustrating to watch, and it succeeds. But Sheila’s story becomes even more complicated once you learn of her deep self-hatred and how that has shaped her self-image for decades. Everything begins to change, though, once Sheila finds a renewed sense of purpose in aerobics, the latest exercise fad sweeping the country. But while Sheila finds strength and confidence through aerobics, and purpose via her burgeoning business venture in the present day, it hasn’t changed much else—yet—with Sheila trading one problem for another.
There are times when Sheila and her selfishness risk toppling the carefully-constructed narrative about women’s empowerment that the show is building. But Physical is also well made, frequently compelling, and features episodes that come in at under 30 minutes. It may even fill some of the void left by the cancellation of Netflix’s GLOW. [Full Review] —Kaitlin Thomas
15. Mythic Quest
This videogame workplace comedy (which has a niche audience, to say the least) originally landed on Apple TV+ about a month before the world shut down because of the pandemic, a faint artifact of the forgettable February 2020. And Mythic Quest could have faded away after that. But somehow, perhaps thanks to the genius of creators Rob McElhenney, Megan Ganz, and Charlie Day, Mythic Quest has gone on to become a brilliant comedy.
While McElhenney blesses the screen as the stand-offish Ian, Charlotte Nicdao’s Poppy emerges as the show’s true star. She is furiously flawed—a stubborn workaholic with no social life but a knack for designing games—but a perfect foil to Ian’s charismatic ego. The two share a friendship with off-the-charts chemistry, hurling insults that sound like compliments and compliments that sound like insults at each other with such ease.
Despite these successes, there is a major flaw. The first season of Mythic Quest introduced a minor problem that’s spiraled into something unavoidable: the game concept is thoroughly dull. Like the aggressively masculine promotional material, the Mythic Quest imagery bores more than it invigorates. Still, Mythic Quest is more than its occasionally hilarious, occasionally odd sense of humor. Like workplace comedies The Office or Parks and Recreation, it embraces interpersonal professional relationships, but the series never crosses the line. The relationships are flawed, as capitalism drives these characters to overwork their creative selves, so they end up treating each other with little respect. Though there are touching moments where these folks shine, they are never forcibly lovable. And yet, the future is ripe with opportunities for these characters to grow. [Full Review] —Fletcher Peters
14. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
MonsterVerse films (Godzilla, Kong Skull Island, Godzilla vs. Kong) are fun popcorn movies, but they have almost always lacked a strong human story that could establish a critical link to its over-the-top, CGI-laden action. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters reverses this trend, skillfully managing to do what the films from which it is sired traditionally have trouble doing: provide compelling stakes for its human characters with just the right amount of monster mayhem. We follow Cate Randa (Anna Sawai), a former teacher from San Francisco whose father recently died, as she embarks on a mission she never truly signed up for: investigate her father’s past. It turns out, her father isn’t exactly who he seemed to be. Joining her half-brother Kentaro (Ren Watabe) and May (Kiersey Clemons), Monarch embarks on a timeline-jumping adventure to uncover family secrets and investigate the kaiju we have come to know and love. Much like the original Jurassic Park, with this new series, audiences will find that seeing less of what terrifies really is more. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters tells the human-driven story the MonsterVerse has always needed. —Terry Terrones
13. Bad Sisters
Mixing a mystery and thriller with humor—and doing it well—is no small feat. But Sharon Horgan’s Bad Sisters (based on the 2012 Flemish series Clan) manages it with aplomb. And unlike Hulu’s cozy murder show, Only Murders in the Building, Bad Sisters doesn’t have us hunting for the killer so much as hoping whoever it was gets away with it. This hourlong series is set in Dublin, where four charismatic and tightly-knit sisters lament that their fifth sister, Grace (Anne-Marie Duff), has had the life sucked out of her by her miserable husband, John Paul (Claes Bang). But each of the Garvey sisters have a bone to pick with John Paul personally, too. Bad Sisters opens with his funeral, and we are quickly made to assume the sisters (minus Grace) are responsible. But the truth is not quite so cut and dry; the series flits back and forth between the present and six months prior, when the plan was first hatched. What begins as an idea that one sister has slowly grows into a group effort, as the women individually come to the end of their ropes with their twisted brother-in-law. So, which one is ultimately responsible? For now, it’s enough to appreciate the winning strangeness of how a show about murder can fill us with such unbridled glee. —Allison Keene [Full Review]
12. Black Bird
A former high school football star and son of a decorated police officer, Jimmy Keene is sentenced to 10 years in a minimum security prison for dealing drugs when he’s given an offer he can’t refuse. If he agrees to enter a maximum security prison for the criminally insane and gets vital information from a suspected serial killer, he can have his sentence erased. The influence of series developer Dennis Lehane’s previous work, most notably Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone, can clearly be felt in Black Bird, which is also carried by memorable performances from Paul Walter Hauser and Taron Egerton. Hauser is mesmerizingly disturbing while Egerton turns in an equally masterful performance as a drug dealer-turned-hero. —Terry Terrones [Full Review]
11. Lessons in Chemistry
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, Apple TV+’s Lessons in Chemistry follows Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson), who begins the series with ambitions of becoming a chemist, but the restraints of the time period force her to eventually become the host of popular cooking show Supper at Six. Unfolding over eight episodes, Lessons in Chemistry is part-romantic drama and part-feminist triumph, serving as a dynamic character piece with a keen focus on Elizabeth’s ambition and heart throughout the various phases of her life showcased on screen. Featuring a brilliant lead performance from Larson, alongside the grounding chemistry she shares with Lewis Pullman as Calvin or Aja Naomi King as Harriet, Lessons in Chemistry is a delightfully heartbreaking journey about life, love, and the power of connection. —Anna Govert
10. Severance
In Severance, a group of people working for an evil company (Lumon Industries) have opted to go through the title procedure, severance, in order to mentally separate their work selves from their “real” selves. This involves needles going into brains, and the net effect is that it creates worker drones who literally only have the barest consciousness while at work. The minute they step out of the elevator to go home, they snap back to the real world, with everything that happened in the past nine hours totally forgotten.
If you don’t think about it for more than two minutes, this might seem like an attractive idea. You—the “you” who lives outside work—get to just cut out the entire shitty workday, along with whatever stress and disappointment comes from it, and your entire life is now just the good parts. When you think about it for that third minute, though, the full horror dawns: You also create a secondary “you” living in a godforsaken work zoo, never sleeping, never going outside, literally living an entire life of stepping on and off elevators and sitting at a desk, ad nauseam, until the day your “outie” self decides to retire, at which point you just die.
We watch as main character Mark (Adam Scott) marches through a series of blindingly white corridors, and is joined in his office by Irving (the always excellent John Turturro) and Dylan (Zach Cherry). But the real force behind the story comes from Helly (Brit Lower), a new employee with a mysterious background, and Petey (Yul Vazquez), Mark’s former co-worker who is attempting to bridge the divide between the innies and outies and uncover just what the hell Lumon Industries is up to. For now, Severance is dedicated to keeping that other side a mystery. [Full Review] —Shane Ryan
9. Pachinko
Apple TV+’s trilingual epic, Pachinko, hit the jackpot. The series takes place over one woman’s life across three distinct periods in Korean history. Over the course of Sonja’s childhood (Jeon Yu-na), adolescence (Kim Min-ha), and senior years (Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-Jung), the show reveals the hardships Koreans had while under Japanese rule. But before you start thinking this show is only interested in history, there’s an intriguing romance with a man connected to Japanese gangsters (Lee Min-ho) and an immigration story complete with heartbreak and longing. Although the series explores a very specific time period in the lives of a Korean family, the themes are universal to anyone connected to a diaspora or who has suffered unjust treatment. And, by the end of the first season, Pachinko has laid the groundwork for even more riveting stories from Sonja and her extended family. —Max Covill [Full Review]
8. The Afterparty
If I can only use one word to describe Christopher Miller’s genre-defying murder mystery The Afterparty, it’s “super-freaking-fun.” The eight-episode first season follows the investigation of a high-profile murder that occurs at a high school reunion afterparty, while the second is set at a wedding. Each episode is a retelling of the night’s events as viewed through the lens of a different popular film genre that corresponds to the perspective and personality of the person being interrogated. The result is a series that both operates within and pokes fun at the tropes of not just the formulaic murder mystery, but also romantic comedies, psychological thrillers, musicals, heist films, and more. It’s not a terribly deep show, but with a cast filled with actors and actresses who are often the funniest and best parts of every project they’re in, it’s an exceptionally good time from start to finish. [Full Review] —Kaitlin Thomas
7. Trying
In Trying, thirtysomething couple Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall) have been together for three years. The series’ title refers to their continued attempts to have a baby. They monitor Nikki’s ovulations cycles (the series kicks off with them having sex on a bus so they don’t miss Nikki’s ovulation window. Not a great way to start, but definitely a way to get the viewer’s attention) and try IVF where they are unceremoniously informed that the chances of conceiving with Nikki’s eggs is very unlikely given her sub-par fertility numbers. “Are you sure? I definitely feel higher than that,” Nikki says.
Nikki and Jason thus embark on a journey to adopt a child, where they are faced with one of society’s most perplexing double standards. Anyone who can get pregnant can have a baby. There are no screenings. No home visits. No forms to fill out. No one assesses your health or your habits. No classes you have to take. You just … have a baby. But the adoption process is long and arduous. They have regular visits from Penny (Imelda Staunton), the case worker assigned to assess them and issue a report. They have meet-ups with other prospective adoptive parents. They go to workshops where they are lectured on things like “oppositional defiant disorder” and “object permanence.” And, in one of the most heartbreaking scenes, have to go in front of a panel to defend that they are worthy of adopting a child.
Written by Andy Wolton and directed by Jim O’Hanlon, each episode ends with a lovely montage that checks in on all the characters the viewer has seen over the last half-hour. The way it’s structured reinforces how much we as humans have in common. How love and friendship sustain us. [Full Review] —Amy Amatangelo
6. Slow Horses
The “Slow Horses” of MI5 are the exiles, the screw-ups, the has-beens who are no longer wanted where the action is hottest. Their leader is Jackson Lamb, the slovenly, cynical, occasionally cruel boss who seems to be the very definition of washed up. But through the brilliant performance of Gary Oldman, we learn that there’s more to him than meets the eye, waiting to be drawn out by the right circumstances. He is the centerpiece of this superb spy drama, and around him, the likes of Jack Lowden and Kristin Scott Thomas make up a cast with no weak spots. In its many strengths, Slow Horses joins a very short list of recent TV series from the espionage genre that rise to the level of greatness. Even more impressive, it does so through the strength of wounded people. Humanity beats within them, from Lamb down to Cartwright (Lowden) and all their semi-miserable colleagues. This show manages the incredible task of being a human redemption story, a genuinely funny comedy, and above all, a terrific spy tale. Apple TV+ has a hit on its hands, and unlike the sad, exiled souls of Slough House, you won’t have to look very hard to see its merits. [Full Review] —Shane Ryan
5. Schmigadoon!
In this musical comedy series from executive producer Lorne Michaels, Melissa (Cecily Strong) and Josh (Keegan-Michael Key) are two New York doctors who embark on a camping trip designed to bring them closer together. They get lost along the way and find themselves stranded in the town of Schmigadoon! Despite their continued efforts, they are unable to leave until they find true love. Turns out, that means that Melissa and Josh aren’t as in love as they (particularly Melissa) thought they were.
The series manages to be simultaneously an adoring homage to the genre and a spot-on satire of it; every trope is lovingly upended, every plot difficulty laid bare. (Let’s be honest, women didn’t fare too well in the classic musicals. I mean there is a “what can you do but love him?” song about an abusive husband in Carousel.) Melissa explains the reproductive system in a little ditty that’s very similar to “Do-Re-Mi” from The Sound of Music. “Why are they laughing? Nothing even remotely funny just happened?” Josh wonders at the end of one number. There’s references to “color-blind casting” and at the start of a dream ballet, Melissa exclaims, “We’re not having a dream ballet. They’re annoying and stupid and slow everything down.” Will you enjoy the show if you’ve never seen a musical and have no context for what’s being spoofed? Maybe. But this truly is a series for Broadway fans. [Full Review ] —Amy Amatangelo
4. For All Mankind
America has never lost gracefully. Exploring alternate histories where America loses usually involves the country’s moral stance defeated by a great political evil. The Nazis win World War II; the British suppress the revolution. But what if the loss was more complicated than that? More ideologically gray. Less focused on Superman’s truth and justice, and more on his American Way. Apple TV+ asks this question with alt-history For All Mankind’s opening, in which the Soviet Union stuns a watching world by beating the U.S. to the moon, and answers it with an enthralling drama dedicated to the flawed pursuit of greatness.
It’s certainly appropriate for a show about the best pilots in the world to have a great pilot episode, but its early success is matched by a show where politics and science branch in ways pleasing for space junkies and astro-nots alike. The sprawling sociopolitical butterfly effects—like how the Nixon administration reacts to, and is affected by, losing the first leg of the space race—are just one of the pleasures to be found in Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi’s creation. For All Mankind has set itself apart as the must-see show of Apple TV+.
NASA, pushed as much by a president needing a political victory as by their own wounded pride, shoots for sci-fi. And the writing is smart. Potentially saccharine rah-rah patriotism is undermined by dashed hopes and a permeating need for American exceptionalism that is, in this version of events, proven untrue. Instead, the series works towards a new national culture in its large scale and quiet, workhorse dignities in its small scale. America gets back to its scrappy roots through its space program.
Those scrappy (bordering on irresponsible) elements—government employees doing their best at the behest of their overlords—see a powerhouse turn underdog. Nothing’s more humanizing than trying to break ground with equipment from the lowest bidder. Avoiding the truly sappy by showing the scars left by the program (the fuck-ups, the deaths, the near-misses, the battered relationships) earns the show its most moving moments. Rather than pure golden glow, For All Mankind leaves you smiling and ugly crying at the same time, amazed that humanity has achieved so much despite all its stupid pettiness. Unlike the space program it follows, For All Mankind pursues greatness, succeeds, and plants an Apple flag for the world to see. [Full Review] —Jacob Oller
3. Dickinson
Despite all the mystery surrounding her long, hermetic life, it’s hard to imagine that the real Emily Dickinson (she of the poetic syntax so wildly removed from the style of her time that it wasn’t until 1955 that publishers stopped editing all her linguistic ecstasies into comparatively dull normalcy), wouldn’t get a kick out of Dickinson, Alena Smith and Hailee Steinfeld’s lovingly weird imagining of the poet’s young adulthood. Dickinson is so fun and so strange and so tireless in handing out little moments of character development, with wildly original mood setting, you could watch thousands of hours of television and still not think to expect, of course, the Dickinson who scrawled out “Wild nights – Wild nights!” and left behind thousands of scraps of genius in a locked chest would dig it.
To be clear, this is not me saying that rapturous anachronisms of Dickinson will be to everyone’s taste. Would Emily’s parents, in reality or as played here by Toby Huss and Jane Krakowski, be into it? Nah. Emily’s peers? Sue (Ella Hunt)—yes. George (Samuel Farnsworth)—yes. Everyone else—it depends. You? Who’s to say! Death showing up in the guise of Wiz Khalifa in a black silk top hat inside a ghostly black carriage to take Emily (Steinfeld) away from the funeral of her bosom friend/true love Sue’s last remaining sister (as Billie Eilish’s “bury a friend” pulses underneath the dialogue almost too quiet to hear) will read to many as try-hard poptimist-adjacent gimmick, and it feels likely that Apple is trying to buy the affections of a Gen Z audience through clout rather than substance. But.
But with such gorgeous cinematography, costuming, and metatextual design, and with every actor putting in such fun, charming, deeply specific (read: often deeply odd) performances—and with Smith and Steinfeld, especially, so blazingly self-confident in their vision—Dickinson is one of Apple TV+’s brightest shows. [Full Review] —Alexis Gunderson
2. Little America
Boasting a robustly talented set of executive producers, including Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, Apple TV+’s anthology series Little America is one of its best to date. The anthology series explores immigrant stories inspired by real events that are unique and full of heart. Though each story is incredibly different in terms of time and place, the series is united by a gorgeous, cinematic style and a theme of finding one’s home. With each episode telling a complete vignette, Little America is worth savoring instead of bingeing. The segments end with a picture and a micro epilogue regarding the real person at the heart of the story, putting a point on the fact that these experiences are happening all around us every day. There’s no agenda beyond a hopeful note for a country deeply divided and fueled by vitriol to be reminded of these very grounded, human stories—ones that should unite us in the varied and often beautiful tapestry of American life. [Full Review] —Allison Keene
1. Ted Lasso
Almost a decade ago, NBC Sports released a very funny sketch starring Jason Sudeikis as an American football coach named Ted Lasso who manages to get hired as the manager of Tottenham, one of the top soccer clubs in England’s Premier League, which is one of the best leagues in the world. The comedy is the culture clash—a shouting alpha male with a southern accent trying to figure out a totally unfamiliar sport in a strange place, too stubborn to adapt and bringing all the wrong lessons over from America. As soccer becomes more familiar in the U.S., that sketch becomes increasingly quaint, since even your average deep-south gridiron jock knows more and more all the time about the world’s most popular sport. This makes the premise of Ted Lasso the TV show questionable; can you really translate a premise that’s thin in the first place, and extend it to multiple seasons even as soccer becomes less and less exotic to us all the time?
Wisely, creators Sudeikis and Bill Lawrence didn’t really try. Now focused on AFC Richmond, a middling English soccer club facing relegation, the success of the show begins and ends with Sudeikis (whose Lasso is almost pathologically nice as a coach and motivator rather than tactical genius), but the rest of the cast is also superb. In short, the show is genuinely moving more than it is uproarious, although the climactic scene in the final episode of the first season might be one of the greatest athletic set pieces in comedy history, and will make any sports fan bust a gut. There’s also something very timely about the fact that the competitive drama here isn’t about winning a glorious championship, but about avoiding the shame of relegation. And yet, when faced with the unofficial AFC Richmond credo, “it’s the hope that kills you,” Lasso disagrees. “It’s the lack of hope that comes and gets you,” he tells his team, and whether or not that’s strictly correct is irrelevant. What actually matters is, do you believe? [Full Review] —Shane Ryan
For all the latest TV news, reviews, lists and features, follow @Paste_TV.
Related Article
The Best 32-Inch TV – Wirecutter, A New York Times Company
Most watched primetime telecasts in the U.S. 2023 – Statista