39 best Apple TV+ shows to watch for your next Sunday sofa session
Apple TV+ has upped its game with an impressive line-up of binge-worthy TV shows, so move on over, Netflix!
The platform has brought out so many big guns (and names), with shows fronted by Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show), Tom Hiddleston and Clare Danes (The Essex Serpent); and one of the most star-studded casts we've seen in a long time in the environmental crisis drama, Extrapolations.
We also recommend adding upcoming series The Studio and Loot, executive produced by Maya Rudolph, to your watchlists.
Apple TV+ is also home to content that is inspired by much-loved books, such as The Last Thing He Told Me, Elisabeth Moss' Shining Girls and Lessons in Chemistry from novelist Bonnie Garmus (and starring Brie Larson, no less).
You also can't go wrong with William Landay’s best-selling legal thriller Defending Jacob. Chris Evans stars as Andy Barber, a Massachusetts assistant district attorney who finds his life in turmoil when his 14-year-old son, Jacob, is accused of murdering his classmate Ben Rifkin. Michelle Dockery (who has bid farewell to her Downton voice and does a convincing American accent) stars as the mother. This one is tense but SO good.
There are also plenty of award-winning series on Apple TV+, such as Jason Sudeikis starring Ted Lasso, which sees an American football coach sent to London to coach a struggling English team. Save this one for date night, it might be the next binge show you share together.
Without further ado, take a look at GLAMOUR's round-up of the best Apple TV+ show recommendations right now...
Apple TV+The Studio
Seth Rogen has written, directed, executive produced and starred in this upcoming series, all about Hollywood and the politics around making movies. He plays the head of a movie studio, while Schitt's Creek and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice actor Catherine O'Hara co-starred alongside Kathryn Hahn and a whole slate of A-listers such as Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders. Bryan Cranston is even slated to make a guest appearance. IMDB also has Zac Efron, Martin Scorsese and Usher listed on the cast list, and while Olivia Wilde features in a first look picture with Seth Rogen.
The Studio premieres on 26 March.
Apple TV+Surface
Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars as Sophie, who suffers a head injury and memory loss. As she begins to piece her life back together, she begins to suspect the people around her don't have her best interests at heart, and what kind of life she really had beforehand. Its second season is dropping an episode per week right now, excitingly.
Atsushi NishijimaSeverance
Directed by none other than Ben Stiller, Severance is the dystopian, Black Mirror-esque mystery-thriller that explores what happens when a skewed work-life balance goes awfully, horrifically wrong. The premise: the show features a team of office employees whose memories are surgically divided between their professional and personal lives. When a colleague appears from outside their office circle, they begin to question what's going on.
The second season is mid drop, with the finale airing on 21 March.
Apple TV+Loot
Bridesmaids star Maya Rudolph plays Molly Wells, a billionaire who is navigating a very high-profile divorce. Season one saw her fresh arrival into single life, while season two sees her upping both her romantic and philanthropic efforts. The series is executive produced by Maya, as well as Orange Is The New Black and Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne.
Apple TV+Palm Royale
Set in the 1960s, Palm Royale explores the gorgeous, yet messed up world of the rich elite in an exclusive club in Palm Beach. Kristen Wiig plays Maxine Simmons, who desperately wants in, while Allison Janney and Kaia Gerber play the glamorous “mean girl” gatekeepers. Laura Dern and Ricky Martin (!) also star.
Courtesy of AppleDrops of God
Combine intense wine tasting, family estrangement and a mysterious competition and you get serious Succession vibes, we won't lie. This spine-tingling series follows Camille (Fleur Geffrier), who discovers her late, estranged father has willed her ownership of his wine empire. Sort of. It transpires she must travel to Tokyo and compete with her father's protégé Issei Tomine (Tomohisa Yamashita) to win control of her birthright. One twist: she has a psychosomatic condition that prevents her from drinking alcohol. Let the games begin.
Apple TV+Defending Jacob
Starring Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery, Defending Jacob this new series, based on the American crime drama novel written by novelist William Landay, tells the story of a father dealing with the accusation that his 14-year-old son is a murderer.
Michael BeckerLessons In Chemistry
Adapted from the hit novel by Bonnie Garmus and led by the star that is Brie Larson, Lessons In Chemistry tells the story of aspiring scientist Elizabeth Zott who accepts a job on a TV cooking show to break out of her limiting role as a woman in the domestic sphere. Spoiler: she's here to teach us a lot more than how to fry an egg.
APPLE TVThe Morning Show
The Morning Show features an all-star lineup of Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup and Past Lives' Greta Lee. The three seasons have explored “the power dynamic between men and women in the high-stakes world of a morning news show.” Undoubtedly the kind of comedy-drama we need right now!
Black Bird
In Black Bird, Taron Egerton stars as Jimmy Keene, who, when beginning his ten-year prison sentence for a drug-conspiracy charge, gets a life-altering, incredible offer: If he can get a confession out of suspected killer Larry Hall, he will be free to go. However, the task proves much more complex than Jimmy intends. Shockingly, the series was inspired by real events twenty years prior, with the serial killer in question still alive today.
Ryan GreenThe Last Thing He Told Me
Adapted from Laura Dave's best-selling psychological The Last Thing He Told Me, Jennifer Garner stars as Hannah, who is forced to forge a tight relationship with her sixteen-year-old step-daughter, played by Angourie Rice, to get to the bottom of her husband Owen's mysterious disappearance. Tense watching.
A second season is on its way, as well. We're on tenterhooks.
The Crowded Room
Tom Holland plays Danny Sullivan, who, in the summer of 1979, is arrested for a shocking crime in Manhattan. With an unlikely investigator trying to solve the cast, Danny revisits past memories of his life, which slowly leads him to the events of the shooting that he has been charged for. However, his memories unlock a pivotal life-altering revelation that could change the course of his life forever. Amanda Seyfried and Emmy Rossum also star.
Aidan MonaghanHijack
What would you do if your flight was hijacked? Well, corporate negotiator Sam Nelson is under pressure to use his professional skills to save everyone on board when the seven-hour journey flight he is on from Dubai to London is hijacked. The seven episodes mark each hour of the flight as authorities on the ground also scramble for answers while ensuring a safe landing. Idris Elba and Archie Punjabi star in this gripping masterpiece that has taken Apple TV+ by storm.
Extrapolations
With one of the most jam-packed A-list casts out there, Extrapolations is a collection of eight short, interwoven stories that highlight the effects of climate change and how they can change people's everyday lives and force them to make life-changing choices as the planet changes quicker than we can possibly ever imagine.
Paul SarkisPlatonic
Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen star in the comedy series Platonic, which sees former best friends reconnect following a long rift as they approach midlife. However, as the duo's friendship becomes more close-knit than ever, they find themselves seeing each other in a different light. But can they really just stay friends, or is there more to their story?
Little America
Inspired by the true stories featured by Epic Magazine, Little America is a heartfelt anthology series that goes beyond the headlines by looking at the inspiring, funny, romantic and unexpected lives of immigrants in the United States.
Dear Edward
Featuring a stellar cast of Orange Is The New Black star Taylor Schilling, The White Lotus' Connie Britton, and young newcomer Colin O'Brien, Dear Edward will honestly leave you super emotional. It follows the journey of the titular character Edward, a boy who tries to make sense of his life after surviving a plane crash that killed every other passenger, including his family.
Shantaram
Charlie Hunnam plays fugitive Lin Ford, a heroin addict and robber who escapes prison and escapes to Bombay to reinvent himself as a doctor. Despite trying to avoid more trouble, Lin must choose between right and wrong, as well as freedom and love.
Bad Sisters
Starring the likes of Sharon Horgan, Eve Hewson and Sarah Greene, the dark comedy Bad Sisters centres on the five Garvey sisters, Eva, Grace, Ursula, Bibi, and Becka, who promised they would always protect one another following the premature death of their parents. However, after Grace's abusive husband, John Paul, passes away unexpectedly, the siblings find themselves at the centre of a life insurance investigation.
Slow Horses
Gary Oldham stars in this gripping spy thriller series in which he plays Jackson Lamb, the obnoxious and emotionally abusive boss of a dysfunctional team of rejected MI5 agents. Despite the less-than-professional work ethic in their office, they all have to band together and do what needs to be done to protect England from threats.
Truth Be Told
There are three seasons worth of gripping drama in the legal crime series Truth Be Told. True crime podcaster Poppy Parnell (Octavia Spencer) is catapulted to nationwide fame after incriminating a man (Aaron Paul) for murder. But when the supposed culprit confesses that he was framed for the crime, it forces Poppy to reevaluate the case and decide where the lines between guilty and innocent lie.
The Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast comes highly recommended by critics with its story of an idealist inventor Allie (Justin Theroux), who uproots his family to a remote Caribbean island to escape the consumerism he thinks is taking over America. There he starts constructing his idyllic world while alienating his family from ordinary life.
Peter KramerHello Tomorrow!
The Morning Show star Billy Crudup heads up his own series, Hello Tomorrow! He plays charismatic salesman Jack Billings whose larger-than-life positivity and faith in a brighter tomorrow threaten to send him down the wrong road as he leads fellow sales associates who are also intent on revitalising the lives of their customers.
The Shrink Next Door
The Shrink Next Door is the star-studded psychological dark comedy (Kathryn Hahn, Paul Rudd, and Will Ferrell play the leads) that explores what happens when therapist-patient lines get seriously crossed. It's based on Joe Nocera's true-crime podcast of the same name – so if a coercive control narrative with a side of humour is up your street, then this is a watch for you.
Aaron EpsteinThe Afterparty
Zoë Chao (Love Life) and Dave Franco (brother of James, starred in Superbad) play the leads in this American murder mystery comedy centred around a high school reunion afterparty, alongside Tiffany Haddish as a detective.
Elizabeth SissonShining Girls
This Emmy-winning thriller series starring The Handmaid's Tale's Elisabeth Moss has received rave reviews since it aired earlier this year. Based on a 2013 novel of the same title and co-starring Jamie Bell and Wagner Moura, it features a journalist (Moss) who seeks revenge following a brutal attack that causes her to lose her handle on reality.
Lachlan MooreRoar
Starring a long line-up of Hollywood's finest, Roar is an 8-episode anthology series of “darkly comic feminist fables". Starring Nicole Kidman, Issa Rae, Cynthia Erivo, Alison Brie and Meera Syal (among others) and created by GLOW creator Liz Flahive & Carly Mensch, it's a beautifully shot, thought-provoking watch with magical realism elements.
The Essex Serpent
See Tom Hiddleston and Clare Danes in action in this Victoria-era period drama adapted from Sarah Perry's novel of the same title. A widow (Danes) moves from London to Essex to pursue a new life, and becomes intrigued by a local myth surrounding, you guessed it, a serpent.
Tehran
Tehran is a tense spy drama all about a young Israeli spy. When she infiltrates Iran, her mission goes wrong, making for an intensely gripping recovery mission and escape.
Mythic Quest
With a 94% average on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems like Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet comes highly recommended by critics. It's all about a team who created the biggest multiplayer video game of all time, where there's more drama going on in their office than there is in the game.
Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special
Okay, it's not officially a full-on series, but you can't go wrong with Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special. Promising more famous guests, costumes and high notes than we could possibly dream of in December (and all year round if you fancy it!), Mariah is making always makes the festive season ‘extra’, and we're so grateful.
Ted Lasso
A smart and 'remarkably sweet' drama with Jason Sudeikis at the helm? Here for it. Follow American football coach Ted from Kansas as he comes to the UK to become an English football manager for a failing team. There are two seasons of pure Emmy-award-winning brilliance.
Trying
It's hard not to fall for Rafe Spall and Esther Smith in this heart-warming sitcom about trying for a baby. When Londoners Nikki and Jason find out that conceiving naturally is not an option for them, they consider adoption. But just how easy is it to be considered by the adoption agency? And how will their friends and family react?
The Elephant Queen
A heartbreaking documentary film which follows the family of a giant elephant matriarch named Athena. When the elephants' home dries up, Athena risks taking her family for food and water, though they might not survive the journey. Tissues at the ready.
Servant
In the mood for a psychological horror? This one, starring Rupert Grint, follows a Philadelphia couple in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home. You'll want a cushion for hiding behind throughout all four seasons.
APPLE TVDickinson
If you're looking for humour (and a little bit of a history lesson), then Dickinson is the viewing for you. The comedy show stars girl crush Hailee Steinfeld as a young Emily Dickinson, the young poet “audaciously exploring the constraints of society, gender, and family.” Nothing we love more than a good laugh and a little rebellion.
APPLE TVFor All Mankind
For those who like science fiction, then For All Mankind is for you. The series imagines an alternate history, exploring what could have happened “if the global space race had never ended” and the USSR succeeded in the first manned Moon landing. If you are a fan of The Man in the High Castle on Prime Video then you’ll undoubtedly be hooked on this… nothing like an alternate history lesson, is there?
APPLE TVThe Oprah Conversation
She's the undisputed queen of talk shows, and here Oprah uses her fantastic interviewing skills, charisma and wit to interview popular, influential figures such as Amanda Gorman and Elliot Page about their lives and what makes them tick.
APPLE TVSee
Post-apocalyptic drama See features another amazing cast with Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard as leads. The show is set in the future, where everyone has been made to hunt, eat, build and survive without sight, but all of this is challenged when a set of twins are born that can see. With each episode costing around 15 million dollars, one of the most expensive shows of all time, it's definitely quite the spectacle.
