11 Best Shows on Apple TV+

An anomaly in the world of modern streaming, Apple TV+ relies almost exclusively on the power of original content. Compare that to the other major players and their vast existing libraries and you can quickly see how this one forges a unique path. After all, there’s a reason Apple TV+ was recognised as the most award-winning streaming service by the Hollywood Critics Association Streaming TV Awards for the second consecutive year in 2021.

One might logically ask themselves: is Apple TV+ worth it? However, the better question might be: is it worth holding on to your Apple TV+ subscription after you’ve binge-watched all the best content? But as the following list goes to show, there’s more to this streaming service than just the obvious titles.

But first, we should make it clear that Apple TV+ and regular Apple TV aren’t the same entities. Whereas Apple TV+ is the company’s streaming service, Apple TV is a general portal that allows you to rent all kinds of movies and shows. Confused yet? Welcome to the age of streaming!

Best TV Shows on Apple TV+

1. Drops of God

IMDB rating: 8.0
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 100%
Created by: Quoc Dang Tran, based on works by Shin Kibayashi, Yuko Kibayashi and Shu Okimoto
Starring: Tomohisa Yamashita, Fleur Geffrier
Number of seasons: 1
Release date: 21 April 2023

It’s not often we see a manga about the ins-and-outs of wine collectors turned into a TV series, but here we are. Drops of God takes us into the dramatic world of Issei Tomine and Camille Léger—protege and daughter of the deceased wine collector Alexandre Léger, respectively—as they fight for control of his massive and incredibly valuable collection.

To ‘win’ this battle, and earn what each see as their inheritance, the pair must face off in a series of challenges to prove how much each knows about wine: and, in the process, Drops of God lifts the veil on the arcane art of wine appreciation.

Don’t know your pinot noir from your pinot gris? Don’t worry about it. The show doesn’t need you to be an expert, as long as you’re willing to go along for the ride. It’s an incredibly satisfying show to watch at times, and is probably best viewed with a good drop on hand.

2. Black Bird

IMDB rating: 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%
Created by: Dennis Lehane, based on works by James Keene and Hillel Levin
Starring: Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser, Sepideh Moafi, Greg Kinnear, Ray Liotta
Number of seasons: 1
Release date: 8 July 2022

Imagine you were sentenced to 10 years in a maximum security prison with no opportunity for parole. Okay, now imagine that you’re given the opportunity to have that sentence completely wiped and be set free: all you need to do is befriend a serial killer and get them to confess to more murders. It sounds like a Hollywood set up, but it actually happened.

That’s the basic premise of Black Bird, a story in which Jimmy Keene is given one chance at freedom. All he has to do is get serial killer Larry Hall to talk before anyone finds out he’s an informant, which ends up being a more complicated affair than anyone expected.

It’s a chilling tale based on autobiographical novel In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption written by the real-life James Keene, who was actually an FBI informant and really did enter a prison for the criminally insane to elicit a confession out of a murderer.

3. Slow Horses

IMDB rating: 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 98%
Created by: Will Smith, based on works by Mick Herron
Starring: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jack Lowden, Saskia Reeves
Number of seasons: 4
Release date: 1 April 2022

Somehow treading the line between spy thriller, police procedural and black comedy, Slow Horses is honestly one of the best shows on TV today. Bringing the brilliance of Gary Oldman to the fore, the show follows a team of MI5 service agents that have been shifted to ‘Slough House’, a place for agents that have fucked up in the line of duty, but not bad enough to get fired. Instead, they get sent to work under Jackson Lamb (Oldman), who comes across as a bit of a prick on first meeting.

However, Lamb, and his team of rejects, end up reluctantly embroiled in a conspiracy that dives deep into the heart of MI5, and the British Government.

Like quite a few titles on this list, Slow Horses is based on a series of books: in this case, the Slough House series by Mick Herron. Each season of the show has, so far, reflected one of the books in the series, and with season five and six already confirmed, it looks like we’ve got a lot of Slow Horses to look forward to.

4. Severance

IMDB rating: 8.7
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%
Created by: Dan Erickson
Starring: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, John Turturro, Zach Cherry
Number of seasons: 2
Release date: 18 February 2022

One of the best things on modern TV, Severance dropped at exactly the right time in 2022 and, despite only having two seasons to show for it, has essentially eclipsed every other show on the planet at the moment. The hype isn’t undeserved—it’s a legitimately creepy and thrilling look at the ins-and-outs of corporate hell, as well as how deep the conspiracy really can go.

But Severance is honestly more than that. It’s also a critique of modern work-life culture, and a warning against the idea of giving everything to a corporation that doesn’t really have your best interests at heart. It’s also funny and weird in all the right ways, delivering something close to Lynchian in nature, but maybe a bit less abstract.

Adam Scott gives the performance of his career as Mark Scout, a man working for the mysterious Lumon Industries, and has undergone the process of Severance: having his conscious time split between a work life, and a home life. Anything that happens in one won’t be experienced by the other, which makes understanding the danger he and his co-workers are in difficult to keep track of. Must watch.

5. The Studio

IMDB rating: 8.0
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 93%
Created by: Seth Rogan, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyuk, Alex Gregory, Frida Perez
Starring: Seth Rogan, Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn, Bryan Cranston, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders
Number of seasons: 1
Release date: 26 March 2025

A fairly new title, The Studio is a fantastically funny look at the realities of movie-making, told from the perspective of those at the top. Seth Rogan plays Matt Remick, the new studio head at Continental Studios with a love for cinema who, unfortunately, has to figure out how to make good movies make money.

As we all know, it’s not quite that simple, and the suits quickly remind him that while making art is all well and good, people need to be paid. The stress of this begins wearing on Remick, as he comes to grips with whether the top job is really for him.

If that sounds bleak, remember that this is a Seth Rogan comedy—you’re still going to get your one-liners and self-deprecating humour, just with the added benefit of a wry look at complications of the modern film industry.

6. Your Friends & Neighbours

IMDB rating: 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 81%
Created by: Jonathan Trooper
Starring: Jon Hamm, Hoon Lee, Olivia Munn, Amanda Peet, Mark Tallman, Lena Hall
Number of seasons: 1
Release date: 11 April 2025

“Rich guy loses his big job, has liquidity problems, and turns to petty crime,” is about as apt a description of Your Friends & Neighbours there is, and it comes direct from the trailer. Things get out of hand quickly, though, as hedge-fund manager turned thief Coop (Jon Hamm) starts learning more about what goes on behind the scenes in rich peoples’ homes.

See, after losing his job, and needing to keep funding his, his ex-wife’s, and his kids’ lifestyle, Coop starts breaking into other rich peoples’ homes to take designer goods that, in all honesty, they probably don’t even remember they have. But complications always arise, and between a new relationship, maintaining old ones, keeping himself afloat and staying out of the police’s gaze, it’s clear the good times aren’t going to last forever.

It’s nice to see Hollywood poke fun at the rich and the famous every once in a while, and Your Friends & Neighbours is a high-quality take down of capitalisms worst offenders. Plus, Jon Hamm is always worth watching.

7. Bad Sisters

IMDB rating: 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 88%
Created by: Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, Brett Baer, based on work by Malin-Sarah Gozin
Starring: Sharon Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Claes Bang, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene
Number of seasons: 2
Release date: 19 August 2022

An Irish black comedy about a group of sisters that are united by a supposed murder, and the life-insurance agents out to prove they’re guilty in order to avoid paying out. In typical black comedy fashion, the deceased was an absolute prick, and barely anyone misses him, but murder is still murder.

The Garvey sisters have long history of hating their brother-in-law John Paul, married to sister Grace, but at a certain point that hate may just have spilled over into full-blown intent to kill. Between the constant insults, controlling behaviour, and his history of sadism, JP may just have had it coming, but insurance agents (and half brothers) Matt and Tom need to prove his death was unlawful, or else their insurance agency will go under, thanks to the sizeable policy on John Paul’s life.

It’s deeply hilarious, deeply dark, and deeply Irish in the best way. Based on a Belgian mini-series, Bad Sisters is honestly one of the funniest shows to grace our screens in a while, and dropped a second season continuing the Garvey’s story beyond the initial concept, if you’re looking for more.

8. Dark Matter

IMDB rating: 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 81%
Created by: Blake Crouch
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, Dayo Okeniyi, Oakes Fegley
Number of seasons: 1
Release date: 8 May 2024

Dark Matter is an interesting take on the multiverse concept sci-fi writers have been obsessed with for the past decade. Here, rather than simply being whisked away to a different universe and needing to find a way home, physicist Jason Desson (Edgerton) is seemingly kidnapped and sent to a different world by an alternate-universe version of himself, who takes his place in his own universe.

Dessen needs to figure out how to get home, of course, but also must contend with the fact that his own family, and his own life, might be irrevocably changed when he gets back, depending on what his shadow intends to do. It’s about as hard sci-fi as something like this can be, but honestly doesn’t get too bogged down in the hairy details.

A second season is on the way, so good news to all the people that love Joel Edgerton—there’s a lot of him in this.

9. Shrinking

IMDB rating: 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94%
Created by: Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel, Brett Goldstien
Starring: Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Harrison Ford, Michael Urie
Number of seasons: 2
Release date: 27 January 2023

Breaking just about every code of ethics he can, a grieving therapist decides to start being far more honest to his clients about what he thinks and what they could do to solve their problem following the death of his wife.

Driven by grief, Jimmy Laird (Segel) starts to build more personal relationship with the people he’s aiming to help, and, quickly, things start getting more complicated. Turns out telling people what to do has consequences!

Now, this is a comedy, so don’t expect a detailed expression of the ethical issues inherent in Laird’s actions, but the resulting show has been praised for its surprisingly deep examination of grief, sorrow, and the cast’s performances.

10. Ted Lasso

IMDB rating: 8.8
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 90%
Created by: Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly
Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster
Number of seasons: 3
Release date: 14 August 2020

An absolute classic, the show follows the titular Ted Lasso (Sudeikis), an American college football coach who takes a job coaching a failing English Soccer club, and despite knowing almost nothing about the game, leads them to victory. It’s been running for three seasons, and a fourth is on the way.

Ted Lasso delivers on the classic journey of one man’s attempt to unite a failing sports club, and pairs that with the wit and humour expected from anything involving Sudeikis. Thankfully, he delivers, and Ted Lasso is a must watch for anyone that has even a passing interest in it.

It’s borderline worth getting Apple TV+ just to watch Ted Lasso, but thankfully we have another 10 reasons on this list to make that purchase more worth your dollars.

11. For All Mankind

IMDB rating: 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 92%
Created by: Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, Ben Nedivi
Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Wrenn Schmidt, Coral Peña, Krys Marshall
Number of seasons: 4
Release date: 1 November 2019

What would have happened if the Soviet Union landed on the moon first, instead of the U.S.? What if, subsequently, the space race never ended? That’s the story of For All Mankind, which centres on an alternate history where NASA’s attempts to catch up to the Soviet Union’s dominance drive disgraced astronaut Ed Baldwin to attempt to get back in the race.

Well, at least that’s the story of the first season. You see, For All Mankind does something interesting in its story, in that each season takes place 10 years in the future, and sees the show’s history spiral further and further out of sync with our own. Because of the increased focus on reaching and fighting over space, technology develops in far different ways, and by the 2000’s there are space-bases and human colonies across the Sol system.

It’s a fairly realistic style of sci-fi, though: don’t expect aliens, sleek spacecraft, or anything that doesn’t particularly make sense for even the made-up world For All Mankind creates. It’s a pretty slept on series, in all honesty, and we think you should watch it.

Key Things to Consider for Apple TV+

Thinking of pulling the trigger on an Apple TV+ subscription? Much like Netflix, Stan and Max, there are a few key considerations to put on your list. Consider the following variables before you do:

• Content Quality – With their deep pockets and reliance on original content, Apple pays big for talented actors and elaborate set pieces. There may ultimately be less content to choose from, but what you get is going to be well-produced. Further to that, the limited-run production method generally sees a few short seasons of a show, meaning that Apple TV+ can pull big-name movie stars for its TV shows, vastly different from its streaming counterparts.
• Exclusive Content – Some Apple TV+ shows and movies are offered exclusively through the streaming service whilst others are available to rent through competing platforms. Hence, it might be worth signing up for unlimited access to a specific title. If you’re a fan of Ted Lasso or Severance, the only place you’ll find the award-winning releases is on Apple TV+.
• Cost of Apple TV+ – The current cost of an Apple TV+ subscription in Australia is AUD$12.99, which is a bit more expensive than a few of its competitors. Importantly, anyone who hasn’t signed up before will qualify for a 7-day free trial, meaning you can check out all the much-loved titles before you have to make a final decision.