Wade through the interface of Apple TV+, and you are pretty much bound to find one or two shows you’ve never heard of. In its relatively short six-year life cycle, the streamer has amassed an impressive library of titles featuring big name A-list actors and lush production values that you probably haven’t heard of at all. “Hello Tomorrow” starring Billy Crudup? “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” starring Samuel L. Jackson? “Mr. Corman” starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt? These are shows that, for all intents and purposes, may as well have never actually existed.
Why does the Apple streamer have so many shows that feel vaguely as if they were made to be fake TV shows playing in the background of a movie? While the money Apple pours into their programs is readily abundant onscreen, that doesn’t always translate into amazing marketing. A lot of these series receive the bare minimum in promotion, which causes many to fizzle out after receiving meager audiences (although Apple closely guards its viewership numbers, so there’s really no telling what series are successes or how they even quantify what counts as a success). Add in the fact that the streamer still has a relatively low subscriber base (around 45 million), and it’s easy for a show to go unnoticed.
But also: Many of Apple TV+’s series, are, to be frank, undercooked. While Apple’s commitment to giving creators money and free rein to do what they want is admirable, it also leads to rather poor quality control. Many of their titles have little real vision beyond the stars that they wrangle to headline: see “Lessons in Chemistry,” which only ever existed as a rather middling Brie Larson vehicle. Even shows that hit can prove bumpy: see “Ted Lasso,” a charming comedy that spiraled into a mess by its third season when the creators had zero restrictions placed upon them.
In a sea of flawed shows, it can be difficult to find something worth watching on Apple TV+. But all of the qualities that make the streamer’s output so mixed also ensures that it occasionally pumps out an all-time great, such as its biggest and buzziest hit “Severance.” And the streamer also excels at the rather specific subgenre of “shows your dad will love”: action thrillers or sci-fi series that are sturdy, reliable, and entertaining comfort watches.
With “Severance” having recently wrapped up and one of the streamer’s best new series in some time, “The Studio,” currently airing, here are the 10 best Apple TV+ series to stream right now.
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“Bad Sisters” (2022-Present)
Image Credit: ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection How many seasons: 2
A blackly comedic thriller from “Catastrophe” co-creator Sharon Horgan, “Bad Sisters” hits that pitch-perfect mix of drama, laughs, suspense, and sweetness that so many shows reach for but fail to really nail. Set in Dublin, the two-season series stars Horgan along with Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene, and Eve Hewson as four close-knit sisters who come under the suspicion of a life insurance agent (Brian Gleeson) for the possible murder of one of their husbands — and he might be on to something, because the deceased (played to slimey perfection by Claes Bang) was a completely abusive, controlling asshole that all of the women had personal reasons to want gone. While Season 2 is a little wobbly, the first season of “Bad Sisters” is a perfect acidic treat, full of sharp performances from the entire ensemble and lifted up with a genuinely moving message of family looking out for each other by any means necessary.
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“Dickinson” (2019-2021)
Image Credit: ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection How many seasons: 3
One of the few shows that debuted on Apple TV+ when the service launched, “Dickinson” is also the streamer’s first genuinely great series. From creator Alena Smith, the cheerfully anachronistic series imagines the life of famed 19th century poet Emily Dickinson (played by a brilliant Hailee Steinfeld) as both a goofy family comedy and a steamy romance, as the iconoclastic author deals with her often crazy family (including parents played hilariously by Jane Krakowski and Toby Huss) as well as her love for her brother’s fiancée Sue (Ella Hunt). What makes “Dickinson” a great show, though, is between all the Gen Z lingo dropped into the Civil War era and the teen comedy tropes, it takes Emily’s work and life seriously, and lovingly captures the pain and pleasure of the creative process in a way few shows have ever managed.
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“For All Mankind” (2019-Present)
Image Credit: ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection How many seasons: 4
Another launch title for Apple TV+, “For All Mankind” is the pinnacle of “Dad television” — a well that the streamer plunges into often. Ronald D. Moore’s sci-fi drama imagines an alternate reality where the Soviet Union beat the United States to the moon, kicking off decades where the space race never ends and NASA expands from the moon to Mars by the ’90s. Frequently hit or miss, the show has had its highs and lows across four seasons and counting. But the effects work and nerdy space stuff is always a blast, and occasionally — like with the Season 2 finale — the show can verge toward the utterly sublime.
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“Pachinko” (2022-Present)
Image Credit: ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection How many seasons: 2
Adapted from the acclaimed novel by Min Jin Lee, Soo Hugh’s “Pachinko” is a sprawling, intimate epic that looks and feels more beautiful than almost anything else on TV. Focusing on a Korean family living in Japan, the show toggles between two timelines — one where the matriarch Kim Sunja (played by Kim Min-ha as a young woman, in a heartbreaking performance that deserves way more attention) is a young woman who immigrates to the country in the ’30s, and one set in the late ’80s, where she’s an older woman (“Minari” Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung) attempting to guide her Americanized grandson Baek Solomon (Jin Ha) to a moral life. The performances are brilliant, the direction — the first two episodes come from “After Yang” director Kogonada — are sublime, and the show’s look at the discrimination against Koreans in Japan is eye-opening. Plus, the opening credits may be the best of the decade so far.
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“Schmigadoon!” (2021-2023)
Image Credit: ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection How many seasons: 2
A gooey, loving parody of musical theater, “Schmigadoon” had its bumpy parts, but was joyous enough that its cancellation after Season 2 still proved a massive bummer. Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key are married doctors who, in an homage to “Brigadoon,” stumble while backpacking in the mountains upon a magical musical theater world modeled after the classic musicals of the ’50s. In Season 2, they return again to find the grittier world of “Schmicago,” modeled after ’60s and ’70s musicals like “Cabaret” and “Hair.” The comedy can be broad, but the cast is uniformally fantastic, and filled out by seasoned musical theater vets like Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Jane Krakowski, and a pre-Oscar Ariana DeBose. Plus, the songs are genuinely incredible — you won’t be able to get “Corn Puddin’” out of your head.
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“Servant” (2019-2023)
Image Credit: ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection How many seasons: 4
Ambitious, weird, messy, and altogether singular, “Servant” feels like an M. Night Shyamalan film stretched out into a four-season series — in the best possible way. And quite literally too, considering how Shyamalan showran the psychological horror story and directed several episodes. Lauren Ambrose and Toby Kebbell star as Dorothy and Sean Turner, a married couple devastated after the loss of their infant son. When Dorothy begins to believe a therapy doll is her actual son, Sean recruits her brother Julian (Rupert Grint) and a strange young nanny Leanne (Nell Tiger Free) to help them, only to stumble on a much larger cult conspiracy. “Servant” isn’t perfect, but it’s the exact type of gonzo, go-for-broke TV show streaming could use much more of. Plus, the cast is terrific, especially Ambrose and Free, who give all-time genre performances.
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“Severance” (2022-Present)
Image Credit: ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection How many seasons: 2
At this point, arguably Apple TV+’s signature show, “Severance” is the rare program from the streamer to cross over as a mainstream, buzzy hit. Its obvious quality aside, the reason why Dan Erickson’s sci-fi thriller resonated might just be that it feels so relatable to the modern moment: as a metaphor for the soul-crushing dehumanizing world of corporate politics and late-stage capitalism, many can find something to relate to in the severed employees of the Lumen office building. Of course, a killer premise isn’t everything, and “Severance” nails the execution as well: the direction (largely from executive producer Ben Stiller) is slick and immaculate, the production design creates an entirely original world, and the performances from the cast (often playing double) are well-measured, particularly Britt Lower as the rebellious Helly, and Tramell Tillman as the menacing corporate overlord Milchick. And unlike far too many “Lost” inspired shows of its ilk, “Severance” knows how to pace itself, teasing out mysteries and offering answers at a brisk, satisfying pace.
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“Slow Horses” (2022-Present)
Image Credit: ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection How many seasons: 4
Another killer entry in the “Dad TV” subgenre of Apple Original offerings, “Slow Horses” is a pulpy, fun show that’s pleasingly managed to pump out four seasons in two years. Based on a series of spy novels by Mick Herron, the show from “The Thick of It” alum Will Smith (not that one, no) follows the ragtag Slough House department of MI5, where those who flamed out in higher-risk positions get assigned to do unglamorous grunt work. From the perspective of promising rookie River (Jack Lowden), each season follows the agents of Slough House as they invariably manage to stumble on a high danger case and save the day to little reward. Each season works as a satisfying standalone, mixing genuine stakes with a cheeky sense of humor, and the cast is sturdy, from Lowden to marquee names Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas to the supporting Slough House agents who provide the series with some delightful coloring.
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“The Studio” (2025-Present)
Image Credit: ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection How many seasons: 1
Showbiz satires about the soul-crushing ruthlessness of Hollywood are a dime-a-dozen. But a lot separates “The Studio,” Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s take on that formula, from the pack. For one, it’s just very funny, featuring a top-of-his-game Rogen as the beleaguered studio executive trying to balance genuine art with business demands, and supporting him with a great ensemble cast (Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, and Kathryn Hahn) plus cameos from the likes of Martin Scorsese and Greta Lee taking the piss out of themselves. For another, it’s a formally accomplished series that builds tension and humor from long takes, especially in a meta second episode about the disastrous filming of a closing long take scene. But what elevates “The Studio” above the pack is the real affection it shows for Hollywood and cinema, and the wistfulness with which it ponders that the industry might be past its prime. It can bring a tear to your eye, in between the laughter.
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“Trying” (2020-Present)
Image Credit: ©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection How many seasons: 4
While so many Apple TV+ shows attempt to capture people’s attention through buzzy lead actors and exorbitant production values, one of the streamer’s best shows is a quiet, modest British comedy that proves winning purely on its writing and performances. Created by Andy Wolton, “Trying” stars Esther Smith and Rafe Spall as Nikki and Jason, a quirky, loving couple who desperately want to be parents, and begin the painful, stressful process of navigating the adoption process when their struggles to conceive become too much to bear. It’s a very simple, unassuming show, but the leads are great, the writing is funny, and the characters are sharp and distinct enough that you invest in their attempts to build a family. Sometimes, that’s all you need for a show to be great.
