Apple TV+ might still seem like a second tier streaming service in terms of awareness, but its shows are some of the best available right now. Nearly four years since its launch, Apple TV+ has dozens of original movies and more than 100 original series available. Not only has its quantity stealthily accumulated over the years, but its original content has garnered more than 1,400 nominations and 350 awards.
Even though the monthly cost of Apple TV+ is a competitive $6.99, let’s assume you have a free trial for the service. How do you make the most of it? What are the shows you should watch immediately?
First, just a note that even though the seven series listed below are the ones Shondaland would recommend starting with, there are plenty of other ones that are great. For lighthearted viewing, Eugene Levy does an excellent job of being a hesitant traveler on The Reluctant Traveler, where he visits destinations around the world with a dose of a dry sense of humor.
Loot, starring Maya Rudolph, is a simple comedy that injects heart into its look at money and wealth. Mythic Quest treads close to a workplace comedy within a modern gaming and tech start-up. Hello Tomorrow, which boasts a bold mid-century aesthetic, follows the journey of a salesman through a trail of deception. There are too many interesting shows on the service to even name. And even though Ted Lasso is a great comedy, here are the best shows streaming on Apple TV+ now that don’t feature Ted.
Silo
During an episode of Silo, one character turns to another one and asks, “Are you not going to ask me what the silo’s biggest questions are?” before they followed up with “What if everything you knew to be true was a lie?”
That’s the heart of Silo. Ten thousand people live inside this underground structure, but none of them knows why they’ve been there for well over a hundred years. The only thing they know is that it’s unsafe to go outside. Mystery is layered on mystery for compelling reasons throughout the show, but enough questions are answered throughout to be satisfying. Of course, it wouldn’t be a modern drama if there weren’t also plenty of cliff-hangers as well.
Silo is based on the book series Wool by Hugh Howey, so if you really need to know what’s going to happen in the future, there is source material available to keep you busy.
Shrinking
In this current media landscape, it’s primarily drama-related shows that are thought of as prestige TV. Shrinking is a half-hour comedy that bucks that trend. It’s a show that walks a fine line between depressing and hilarious. It’s the delicate balance of knowing you need to laugh at a joke so that it doesn’t make you cry because of how real the situation is.
Few actors and producers can pull off a balancing act as precarious as this one, but thanks to Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Lukita Maxwell, and, oh, Harrison Ford, it works perfectly. The show will hit hardest for people who have lost loved ones, but isn’t that all of us in some form or another?
Severance
Lumon Industries has developed a way to disconnect parts of people’s brains. Those who have opted to have the surgery can work in the depths of the company, which requires a level of secrecy — the need for separate work and home life memories. That’s the premise of Severance. What is the company actually doing? What are the implications of this kind of technology? That’s what the show explores.
There is a purposefully sterile aesthetic to the set design you can almost feel through the screen. The characters are instantly familiar but eccentric enough to be compelling. And most importantly, the story gives as much information as it needs to while still retaining its mystery. The show will need to prove that it can pull off a second successful season for it to reside in the halls of great television, but it nailed its debut run of episodes.
Slow Horses
There are spy capers, and there are espionage thrillers. Slow Horses, on Apple TV+, is the latter of those two. The show moves at a rapid clip, both in its individual episode pacing as well as each season being a concise six-episode run.
Even if a British show that uses underdog MI5 agents, paying for their work-related sins, might seem intimidating in some way, the manageable six-hour-long season is very conducive to giving it a chance. So far, season one started with an intriguing premise and only gained more credibility and steam after a thrilling season two. Luckily, season three is on the way, and season four is already in production.
City on Fire
Take a little bit of anarchy from Fight Club, mix it with corporate climbing from Succession, and stir in ’90s MTV angst, all with the backdrop of being only a couple years removed from 9/11, and that’s the vibe for City on Fire.
While there are admittedly some cheesy or underdeveloped scenes scattered across the eight-episode series, the acting, tone, and narrative urgency for the bulk of the show all make up for those other parts. City on Fire starts as an ember and quickly burns bright as an engulfing flame.
The Big Door Prize
The Big Door Prize hangs its hat on a very specific premise: a machine that magically appears and can tell a person their life’s potential. With a singular point of focus like that, there’s often a risk that an audience will feel like they’re being strung along until the last episode to find out the reveal.
That’s not the case here, and The Big Door Prize manages to avoid this pitfall by connecting each character to one another in a way that takes the focus off the mystery machine. Instead, it should keep you guessing about the fate of each person. The show is funny and insightful. And while it’s not quite at the level of Shrinking, it does have enough heart to get you to care about the characters. The show’s potential looks bright.
High Desert
If you’ve ever visited Palm Springs, California, you might think of it as a glamorous desert oasis. There’s a different side to the city and the surrounding Coachella Valley, however, that is much more akin to a quirky small town. High Desert shows viewers the unexpected stories of desert life in Southern California and blazes a chaotic ride right through it. In this regard, it has a similar feel to HBO’s Hacks, which shows a local’s version of Las Vegas.
High Desert tackles drug addiction, grief, and complicated family entanglements, with Patricia Arquette’s character, Peggy, leading the charge. In the midst of the death of Peggy’s mom, eviction notices from her siblings, and an attempt to kick drugs, she manages to use her street smarts to squeeze her way into becoming a private investigator. The show’s amateur sleuthing is reminiscent of Peacock’s Poker Face. Part of what makes this show a must-watch is its breezy quality. Episodes are a tight 30 minutes while remaining jam-packed with poor decisions most of us viewers wouldn’t make.
Tyler Hayes is an early adopter and technology writer based in California who’s contributed to Fast Company, BuzzFeed, and Billboard, among others.
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