Apple TV+ is still relatively new to the streaming world, and while its catalog of movies and shows isn’t as large as Netflix, Hulu, or Max, there’s still plenty worth watching. The best shows on Apple TV+ aren’t always the ones you often hear about all the time, like Ted Lasso, but rather the hidden gems that don’t make the headlines.
With new shows being added almost every week, many of them fly under the radar. We’ve done the research, so you don’t have to — and by research, we mean binge-watching every show.
Below, we list our choices for 8 Apple TV shows you should check out next.
Key Takeaways
- Apple TV+ costs $9.99 per month, with occasional discounts on offer.
- The platform has a diverse selection, including comedy-drama (Ted Lasso), crime drama (Black Bird), and sci-fi (Severance).
- Many Apple TV+ shows, such as Bad Sisters and Shrinking, have received Emmy nominations.
- Shrinking explores a therapist breaking ethical boundaries, leading to life-changing consequences for both him and his patients.
- Lessons in Chemistry showcases a woman in the 1950s teaching science through a cooking show, blending drama and humor.
- Slow Horses follows a team of disgraced MI5 agents solving dangerous espionage cases despite being cast aside.
- With frequent new releases and upcoming seasons, including Severance Season 2 and Silo, Apple TV+ remains a dynamic streaming option.
Apple TV Price
Apple TV+ costs $9.99 a month, which is quite reasonable and actually better than Netflix. While Netflix offers a basic plan starting at $6.99, it includes ads and limits viewing to only two devices.
Apple TV+, on the other hand, provides an ad-free experience, allows sharing with up to five members, and offers top-tier quality. To get similar features on Netflix, you’d have to pay $15.49 per month.
If you are geo-restricted and want to get access to the full Apple TV library, perhaps one of the best VPN services can help.
8 Best Shows on Apple TV: What to Binge Next
8. Shrinking
- Cast: Harrison Ford, Jason Segal, Jessica Williams
- Genre: Comedy-drama
- Studio: 3 Chance Productions
Shrinking is about a therapist who starts going against his training and therapy norms. When you visit a therapist, you don’t exactly expect to hear brutal truths about yourself. However, after the death of his wife, Segal crosses ethical boundaries by telling his patients what he really thinks, leading to massive changes in both his life and theirs.
The first season, which premiered on January 27, 2023, received two nominations at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards. Apple TV+ has renewed the show for a second season, expected to arrive in October 2024.
Shrinking is a roller coaster of emotions with loads of humor and a star-studded cast.
7. Bad Sisters
- Cast: Sharon Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene
- Genre: Black comedy
- Studio: Caviar
Bad Sisters is one of the best shows to watch on Apple TV right now. It is a murder mystery filled with hidden secrets and unexpected twists. The show centers on the five Garvey sisters—Eva, Grace, Ursula, Bibi, and Becka—who live in present-day Dublin.
The tight-knit sisters always look out for one another, but when Grace’s abusive and controlling husband, John Paul, dies unexpectedly, they find themselves at the center of a life insurance investigation.
The show follows two timelines: one before John Paul’s death, where Grace’s sisters plot to murder their brother-in-law, and another after his death, where insurance agents try to prove they were behind it. So, did they actually do it? You’ll have to watch to find out.
Bad Sisters has won four Emmy nominations and has been renewed for a second season, which should air in November 2024.
6. Slow Horses
- Cast: Gary Oldman, Olivia Cooke, Jack Lowden
- Genre: Black comedy
- Studio: See-Saw Films
Slow Horses is a British spy thriller, but not the James Bond kind. Instead, it follows a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents who have been relegated to a dumping ground department for service rejects — agents who seriously failed at a task but weren’t fired. Those sent there are dubbed “Slow Horses,” and the place itself is called the “Slough House.”
The banished agents are expected to handle mundane, paper-pushing tasks with no real impact, all while enduring mental abuse from their boss, who hopes they’ll quit. However, the show takes a wild turn when these misfits find themselves navigating the shadowy world of espionage to defend England from sinister forces.
5. Lessons in Chemistry
- Cast: Brie Larson, Lewis Pullman
- Genre: Drama
- Studio: The Great Unknown Productions
Lessons in Chemistry is a real gem. At its heart, it’s about Elizabeth Zott’s passion for chemistry, but it’s way more than that.
Set in the 1950s, Zott’s dream of being a scientist is constantly shut down by a society that thinks women belong in the kitchen. So, to challenge that, she takes a job on a TV cooking show and ends up teaching a whole generation of housewives way more than just recipes.
The show seamlessly blends drama, humor, and social commentary, creating a story that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking.
4. Drops of God
- Cast: Fleur Geffrier, Tomohisa Yamashita
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Studio: Les Productions Dynamic
Drops of God takes the niche world of wine tasting and turns it into a high-stakes thriller. When world-renowned wine expert Alexandre Leger dies, he leaves behind a cellar with 87,000 bottles — believed to be the most important private collection in the world, valued at over $100 million. But instead of simply passing it on, he sets up a multi-step competition to ensure the wine ends up in the right hands.
You wouldn’t think sniffing a glass of wine could be entertaining to watch — we didn’t either — but the show somehow turns it into a visual spectacle that’s tense and keeps you glued to your couch, bed, or whatever you’re sitting on.
3. Ted Lasso
- Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein
- Genre: Comedy-drama
- Studio: Warner Bros. Television, Doozer Productions
Any “best TV shows on Apple TV” list that doesn’t include Ted Lasso would be committing a cardinal sin, and we want no part of that. Ted Lasso is a comedy-drama series about an American football coach hired to manage a British soccer team, AFC Richmond.
The team’s owner, Rebecca Welton, gained ownership in a divorce from her unfaithful ex-husband, Rupert. She brought in Lasso, hoping it would lead to AFC Richmond’s downfall and hurt Rupert, who cared about the team more than anything.
However, Lasso wins over Rebecca and all the skeptics with his charm and humor. Ted Lasso is one of the best shows on Apple TV in 2024, and you can binge-watch it in one sitting (if you’re dedicated enough).
2. Pachinko
- Cast: Youn Yuh-jung, Lee Min-ho, Kim Min-ha
- Genre: Historical drama
- Studio: Media Res
Pachinko is a fantastic show and one of this author’s personal favorites. It’s a heart-wrenching immigrant story that follows Sunja, a Korean girl who moves to Japan during Japan’s rule over Korea in 1913. The series tracks her journey and spans three generations, starting with a forbidden romance that evolves into a sweeping saga across Korea, Japan, and the U.S.
It nails everything — from the cast and story to the cinematography and plot. The only downside is that it airs on Apple TV+, which doesn’t give it the attention it deserves. If it were on Netflix or even Amazon Prime, it would definitely get much more recognition.
1. Black Bird
- Cast: Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser, Ray Liotta
- Genre: Crime drama
- Studio: Imperative Entertainment
Black Bird is an American crime drama miniseries inspired by true events. It focuses on Jimmy Keene, a high school football hero and the son of a decorated policeman, who gets sentenced to 10 years in a minimum-security prison. Keene receives an incredible offer: he can either enter a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane and befriend a suspected serial killer or stay where he is and serve his full sentence with no chance of parole.
Keene quickly realizes that his only way out is to get a confession and find out where several young girls’ bodies are buried before Hall’s appeal goes through. But pulling off this mission turns into the challenge of a lifetime.
The Best Upcoming Apple TV Shows
If you need more choices, here are three Apple premieres coming soon.
1. Severance (Season 2)
- Cast: Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro
- Genre: Dystopian sci-fi, Thriller
- Studio: Endeavor Content, Red Hour Productions
Lumon Industries employs a medical procedure called “Severance” to separate employees’ memories based on their location.
When at work, severed workers, or “innies,” can’t recall their lives outside, while “outies” can’t remember their time at work, leading to distinct personalities and experiences for both.
The first season follows Mark (Adam Scott), a severed employee who uncovers conspiracies within Lumon.
After nearly two years and five months since its debut, the highly anticipated second season of the critically acclaimed dystopian sci-fi drama Severance is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on January 17, 2025.
Take the day off work that day — you won’t even remember doing it.
2. Silo (Season 2)
- Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, Rashida Jones
- Genre: Sci-fi, Drama
- Studio: AMC Studios, Mimir Films
Silo is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the last remnants of humanity live in a massive underground structure called the Silo. The inhabitants abide by strict rules and regulations, believing that the outside world is uninhabitable.
When a series of mysterious events lead to the death of the Silo’s leadership, a group of residents begins to question the truth about their environment and the secrets kept from them.
Silo is returning for its highly anticipated second season on Apple TV+, premiering on November 15, 2024.
3. The Dispatcher
- Cast: TBA
- Genre: Thriller
- Studio: TBA
The Dispatcher is a six-episode thriller announced by Apple earlier this year — though we still don’t know exactly when it’s airing.
It follows Ian Hunt, a former police detective whose life fell apart 10 years ago when his daughter Maggie disappeared without a trace.
Now working as a police dispatcher, Ian can’t let go of the hope that Maggie is still alive. When he gets a distress call from a girl he’s sure is Maggie, he’ll stop at nothing to find her and bring his family back together, no matter the cost.
The Bottom Line
Apple TV+ has quickly built an impressive lineup of new shows that make a subscription worth considering. There are some real gems, like Drops of God, Pachinko, and Black Bird, which unfortunately didn’t get the recognition they deserved, largely due to Apple’s limited promotion.
If you already have an Apple TV subscription, start with these shows we’ve mentioned, or feel free to explore and discover more on your own.