The 21 best Apple TV+ shows to watch right now

Beth Dubber/Apple TV+; Apple TV+; Natalie Seery/Apple TV+ Harrison Ford on 'Shrinking'; Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key on 'Schmigadoon!'; and Sharon Horgan on 'Bad Sisters'

While other services battle it out for supremacy in the streaming wars, Apple TV+ is quietly and consistently producing some of the best shows of the modern era. By mixing and matching genres and carefully curating its offerings, Apple TV+ has created a streaming platform where bittersweet comedies like Ted Lasso and Shrinking and murder mysteries like The Afterparty and Bad Sisters can live comfortably next to mind-melting psychological thrillers like Shining Girls and powerful prestige fare like Pachinko. Overwhelmed? Don't be: We break down the shows that you need to be watching on Apple TV+ as of October 2023.

<em>Lessons in Chemistry</em> (2023)

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, Lessons in Chemistry tells the story of Elizabeth Zott, a gifted chemist living in 1950s America who is fired from her job as a lab tech after getting pregnant out of wedlock. Elizabeth decides to take her skills elsewhere by becoming the host of a TV cooking show — and turning into a feminist icon in the process. The eight-episode miniseries, which EW calls "a delightful concoction," stars Academy Award winner Brie Larson as Zott, who dedicated extensive research to her role. As series creator Lee Eisenberg told EW, "She's a very believable chemist, and she is a more than believable cook. More than that, she just has a giant heart, and all of that comes through." Indeed it does, with Larson turning in an inspiring yet nuanced performance, while the series around her is a compelling period drama pastiche. —Kevin Jacobsen

Where to watch Lessons in Chemistry: Apple TV+

Cast: Brie Larson, Lewis Pullman, Aja Naomi King, Stephanie Koenig, Patrick Walker

Related content: Brie Larson heats up the kitchen in Lessons in Chemistry

<em>Swagger</em> (2021–present)

Swagger is an engrossing glimpse into the high-stakes world of youth basketball, charting the journey of Jace Carson (Isaiah Hill), a 14-year-old prospect hoping to make it to the big leagues. O'Shea Jackson Jr. plays Jace's mentor, Ike, who went through this experience in his youth and hopes to lead the next generation. Similar to other beloved sports-centered series like Friday Night Lights and Ted Lasso, Swagger finds value in the people behind the players, investing you in its characters by focusing as much on their personal lives as their professional exploits. Inspired by the experiences of NBA star Kevin Durant, the series returned for its second season this summer, concluding in August. —K.J.

Where to watch Swagger: Apple TV+

Cast: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Isaiah Hill, Shinelle Azoroh, Tessa Ferrer, Quvenzhané Wallis, Caleel Harris, James Bingham, Solomon Irama, Ozie Nzeribe, Jason Rivera, Tristan Wilds

Related content: The best sports movies and TV shows

<em>Platonic</em> (2023–present)

Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne proved to have a unique, winning chemistry with 2014's Neighbors (and its 2016 sequel), and this charming comedy series shows they've still got it. This time, the pair play Will and Sylvia, former best friends who reconnect after Will divorces his wife, whom Sylvia did not care for. Both are at a point where they're taking stock of how they got to this place in their lives and where to go from here, and seeking comfort in having each other to rely on. While the series may be relatively low stakes, EW's critic wrote in her review, "I'm certainly not going to be so ghoulish as to suggest that all comedy series need to have a message. TV is allowed to be fun, and Platonic just wants to show you a good time." —K.J.

Where to watch Platonic: Apple TV+

EW grade: B (read the review)

Cast: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Luke Macfarlane, Tre Hale, Andrew Lopez, Carla Gallo

Related content: 20 platonic movie/TV power couples

<em>Silo</em> (2023–present)

Emmy-winning writer Graham Yost (Justified) adapts Hugh Howey's Silo book series to the small screen in this dystopian thriller. The show takes place in the distant future, where the uninhabitable conditions of Earth have forced its inhabitants underground. Living in a subterranean silo, the community is kept in the dark about the outside world. Everything changes after a hard drive is discovered, uncovering hidden truths of the past. The mystery series — as noted by many critics — is a descendant of Lost and other sci-fi dramas of its ilk, with a starry ensemble led by Rebecca Ferguson as a rebellious engineer. —K.J.

Where to watch Silo: Apple TV+

Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Common, Tim Robbins, Harriet Walter

Related content: Rebecca Ferguson on taking life lessons from her roles: 'I learn from all of my characters'

<em>Stillwater</em> (2020–present)

While Apple TV+ may be more known for its prestige adult-oriented programming, there's still plenty to enjoy for kids. Stillwater — adapted from the picture book Zen Shorts by John J. Muth — is one of the more beloved children's shows on the streamer, telling short and sweet stories of a trio of young siblings who live next to a panda named Stillwater. The wise panda imparts crucial life lessons to the siblings while finding beauty and fun in the little things in life. Stillwater has won multiple awards including Emmys and a Peabody for its first two seasons, with season 3 having premiered in May.—K.J.

Where to watch Stillwater: Apple TV+

Cast: James Sie, Eva Ariel Binder, Tucker Chandler, Judah Mackey

Related content: 2023 Peabody Awards: See full list of winners

<em>Shrinking</em> (2023–present)

What happens when a psychiatrist finally expresses what they really think about their patients' situations? Such is the hook of Shrinking, with Jason Segel playing Jimmy, a grieving therapist who tries a more direct approach in his sessions and discovers that it actually starts to help his patients move forward. Harrison Ford — in a rare TV role — portrays Jimmy's colleague and mentor Paul, who is dealing with his own personal struggles. Segel also created the series alongside Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein, with this serving as a logical extension of the kind of poignant comedy and compassion delivered on their other show, Ted Lasso. As EW's critic raves, Shrinking is "a funny, brainy grief-com about the power — and dangers — of radical honesty." —K.J.

Where to watch Shrinking: Apple TV+

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Cast: Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller, Harrison Ford

Related content: Shrinking star Jessica Williams breaks down Gaby and Jimmy's drunken decision

<em>Bad Sisters</em> (2022–present)

Fans of Amazon's Catastrophe will no doubt take pleasure in Sharon Horgan's wickedly funny crime thriller Bad Sisters. The Irish comedy follows Eva, Grace, Ursula, Bibi, and Becka, five sisters who face a life insurance investigation after the death of Grace's abusive husband — though we quickly come to find that Grace's sisters had been secretly plotting his demise all along. As the series bounces back and forth between past and present, the puzzle pieces gradually come together and reveal the true story of how it all went down. Praised by EW's Nick Romano as "equal parts emotionally wrenching trauma story, addictive thriller, and giggly whodunnit," Bad Sisters turned into a word-of-mouth hit for Apple, which greenlit a second season shortly after the season 1 finale. The acclaimed series has already earned industry recognition, with nominations from the Primetime Emmys, the Critics Choice Awards, and the Writers Guild of America Awards. —K.J.

Where to watch Bad Sisters: Apple TV+

Cast: Sharon Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene, Eve Hewson, Claes Bang, Brian Gleeson, Daryl McCormack, Assaad Bouab, Saise Quinn

Related content: Bad Sisters creator Sharon Horgan on how Succession and Rosemary's Baby influence her work

<em>Schmigadoon!</em> (2021–present)

Schmigadoon! is a loving (and sometimes biting) satire for musical theater nerds. Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key star as Melissa and Josh, a couple on a backpacking trip trying to salvage their relationship, who stumble upon the mysteriously cheerful town of Schmigadoon. As it turns out, the community is stuck in a Golden Age-era musical populated with all the tropes you would expect, including the handsome rogue, the farmer's daughter, the humble schoolmarm, and judgmental townsfolk. The series features all original music (including the undeniably catchy Emmy-winning song "Corn Puddin'"), toeing the line between irony and earnestness. While the first season tells its own complete story, season 2 finds Melissa and Josh entering a whole new musical world — Schmicago — which satirizes the darker, sexier musicals released in the '60s, '70s, and '80s. —K.J.

Where to watch Schmigadoon!: Apple TV+

Cast: Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, Dove Cameron, Jaime Camil, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Ariana DeBose, Ann Harada, Jane Krakowski, Aaron Tveit

Related content: Schmigadoon stars Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key open up about their musical theater obsessions

<em>Black Bird</em> (2022)

Dennis Lehane, the novelist behind such crime mystery novels as Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, and Shutter Island, developed this six-episode miniseries about the real-life story of Jimmy Keene. Portrayed in the series by Taron Egerton, Keene was sentenced to 10 years in prison without parole after being accused of drug and weapons conspiracy. Authorities then offered him an opportunity for freedom if he was able to coax a confession out of a convicted serial killer. Critics have hailed Black Bird as an exemplary addition to the true crime genre, with Emmy-nominated performances by Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser, who won a Golden Globe and Critics Choice award for playing suspected serial killer Larry Hall. The limited series also marks one of the final onscreen appearances by Ray Liotta (also Emmy-nominated) as Keene's father. —K.J.

Where to watch Black Bird: Apple TV+

Cast: Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser, Sepideh Moafi, Greg Kinnear, Ray Liotta

Related content: Taron Egerton on his 'special bond' with Ray Liotta and creating a 'gym bunny's bod' for Black Bird

<em>Acapulco</em> (2021–present)

Inspired by the 2017 comedy How to Be a Latin Lover starring Eugenio Derbez, Acapulco features the actor as wealthy mogul Maximo Gallardo Ramos as he recalls his extraordinary life story. Enrique Arrizon plays the younger version of Maximo, who works as a pool boy at a luxury resort in 1980s Acapulco, Mexico. The series is imbued with the warm glow of nostalgia, brought to life with eye-popping colors and a charming cast of supporting players, including Chord Overstreet as the resort's general manager and Vanessa Bauche as Maximo's widowed mother. It's easy to make comparisons to other shows, from the comforting energy of Ted Lasso to the resort-centered satire of The White Lotus, but Acapulco also offers something different as a bilingual comedy centered on the working class. The series has found a devoted audience over the course of two seasons and has been renewed for a third. —K.J.

Where to watch Acapulco: Apple TV+

Cast: Eugenio Derbez, Enrique Arrizon, Damián Alcázar, Camila Perez, Raphael Alejandro

Related content: How Spanish-language comedy Instructions Not Included became a box office sensation

<em>Severance</em> (2022–present)

With 14 Emmy nominations and two wins in tow, sci-fi/dark comedy-thriller Severance, from creator Dan Erickson and directors Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle, focuses on a group of tech workers — including Adam Scott, John Turturro, and Christopher Walken — who undergo a procedure known as "severance," splitting their memories between home and work. Productive workers don't need to be bogged down by problems at home, and wouldn't it be great to leave your work troubles at the office door? However, this is a trippy thriller, so things tend to go horribly wrong. The intriguing concept centers on Mark (Scott), a grieving history teacher mourning his dead wife who gets to turn off his feelings every time he enters the basement floor of Lumon HQ, a stark white environment that is both cold and alienating. What follows is a profound reflection on technology, productivity, and memory. —Jace Lacob

Where to watch Severance: Apple TV+

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Cast: Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Jen Tullock, Dichen Lachman, Michael Chernus, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette

Related content: Ben Stiller talks Severance's long road to TV and the challenge of work-life balance

<em>Slow Horses</em> (2022–present)

Based on the Slough House books by British novelist Mick Herron, high-octane espionage drama Slow Horses focuses on the denizens of Slough House, a purgatory for "slow horses," or English intelligence operatives who have flamed out spectacularly. Overseen with gruff irritation by often flatulent and always offensive spook Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), Slough House is where failed spies dream of one day making it back to Regents Park, where their careers all went wrong. Among those stuck in Slough House is River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) — a one-time golden boy and grandson of Regents Park big cheese David Cartwright (Jonathan Pryce) — whose own career burned to the ground, much to the irritation of (or perhaps because of) current MI5 bigwig Diana Taverner (Kristin Scott Thomas), an icy authoritarian. When the slow horses are drawn into a kidnapping plot, they race to save the victim, unaware of the larger chess game being played by Taverner and others. —J.L.

Where to watch Slow Horses: Apple TV+

Cast: Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas

Related content: Gary Oldman says it's fun to humiliate people as Slow Horses spymaster Jackson Lamb

<em>Ted Lasso</em> (2020–2023?)

Believe: This Emmy award-winning feel-good comedy is about far more than just sports. In its sophomore season, Ted Lasso — co-created by Bill Lawrence — deepened all of its characters, including its titular lead, perpetually chipper American college football coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), who left behind a failed marriage to manage a struggling British football (read: soccer) team in Blighty. There, he encountered a ragtag team of oddballs and resistance from the team's divorcée owner (Hannah Waddingham), whom he won over with home-baked biscuits and his aw-shucks charm. Instead of coasting on its first season, the "sweeter, weirder" second season of Ted Lasso chose to take a more difficult route, exploring Ted's motivations and pushing his adoring assistant coach Nate (Nick Mohammed) to new extremes. The season 3 finale dropped in May, and though it's still unclear whether the end of this season is the end of the series (or if there will be some sort of spinoff), we're Richmond till we die. —J.L.

Where to watch Ted Lasso: Apple TV+

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed, Juno Temple

Related content: Brett Goldstein pitches us his idea for a supernatural Ted Lasso spinoff called Ghost Roy

<em>Mythic Quest</em> (2020–present)

Created by It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Megan Ganz, workplace comedy Mythic Quest centers on the employees of a video game studio responsible for one of the industry's biggest hits who are anything but responsible adults. Creative director Ian Grimm (McElhenny) constantly clashes with his lead engineer — and later co-director — Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao) over the creative direction of the titular MMORPG Mythic Quest and just about everyone else at the company. The result is if you crossed the workplace dynamics of The Office with the caustic humor of Sunny but doubled down on the weird, niche factors. While some shows would have been content to merely focus on workplace shenanigans, Mythic Quest continually tests the elasticity of its format, producing episodes set in the 1970s or without its main characters altogether. The result is one of the most original, incisive, and compelling comedies on television right now. —J.L.

Where to watch Mythic Quest: Apple TV+

Cast: Rob McElhenney, Ashly Burch, Jessie Ennis, Imani Hakim, David Hornsby, Charlotte Nicdao, Danny Pudi

Related content: Mythic Quest has been renewed through season 4, so there's no excuse for you not to watch

<em>For All Mankind</em> (2019–present)

From the visionary mind of Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) comes this alternate-history drama about the space race between the United States and Russia. In the reality posited by the show, the Soviet Union staked its claim as the victor when it landed on the moon first in 1969. In response to the Russians' success, America pushes itself to surpass its rival, bringing women and minorities (who were excluded from the space program) into the heart of the international competition to claim the stars and build the first lunar base. The alternate history of For All Mankind becomes a canvas to look at the social and political realities of the 20th century, where "female pilots like Tracy Stevens (Sarah Jones) and Molly Cobb (Sonya Walger) get fast-tracked at NASA and find themselves struggling against both their own inexperience and the entrenched sexism of American patriarchy." —J.L.

Where to watch For All Mankind: Apple TV+

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten, Jodi Balfour, Wrenn Schmidt

Related content: Senator Ellen? A spacey first look at For All Mankind season 3

<em>The Afterparty</em> (2022–2023)

As former classmates reunite at a high school reunion, the afterparty — held at a luxe mansion owned by former loser–turned–hot Hollywood star Xavier (Dave Franco) — turns deadly when their host is found dead, the subject of an apparent murder. Arriving at the scene of the crime, Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) begins questioning each of the guests about their version of the night's events and soon, everyone's secrets start tumbling out about why all the classmates hated Xavier. This deft murder mystery incorporates filmmaking elements of animation, musicals, slasher horror, action, romantic comedy, and more as Danner races to uncover the truth of who killed Xavier and why. Season 2 premiered in July, with Danner investigating a wedding where there's a new cast of characters to question about a dead groom. Created by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, The Afterparty is full of laughs and revelations as it is with creative flourishes. —J.L.

Where to watch The Afterparty: Apple TV+

Cast: Tiffany Haddish, Sam Richardson, Zoë Chao, Ike Barinholtz, Ben Schwartz, Ilana Glazer, Jamie Demetriou, Dave Franco

Related content: Phil Lord and Chris Miller clue you into their decade-in-the-making whodunit The Afterparty

<em>The Essex Serpent</em> (2022)

Based on the novel by Sarah Perry, The Essex Serpent is an atmospheric period drama centered on Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes), a London widow and amateur scientist, who travels to Essex in search of a mythical serpent. When Cora crosses paths with dishy vicar Will Ransome (Tom Hiddleston), their bond creates ripples through the local community and Cora finds herself the subject of hostility and suspicion when tragedy strikes. What follows is a Gothic romance tale with Will trapped between the pull he feels for Cora and his duty to his wife and his congregation, whom he tries to lead out of "times of uncertainty." Is the serpent a harbinger of something evil? Is it real? Danes and Hiddleston anchor a tremendous cast as a village grapples with the mystery of the unknown, the mythic, and the nature of sin. —J.L.

Where to watch The Essex Serpent: Apple TV+

Cast: Claire Danes, Tom Hiddleston, Frank Dillane, Hayley Squires, Clémence Poésy, Jamael Westman, Michael Jibson, Gerard Kearns

Related content: See first look at Claire Danes in Apple's The Essex Serpent adaptation

<em>Shining Girls</em> (2022–present)

Elisabeth Moss, Jamie Bell, and Wagner Moura headline this mind-bending thriller based on the novel by Lauren Beukes. Moss plays newspaper archivist Kirby Mazrachi, who was attacked and left for dead by a mysterious killer, leaving her traumatized. When Kirby encounters an attack like her own, she teams up with reporter Dan Velazquez (Moura) to dig into the incident and they "uncover a killing spree that inexplicably spans several decades," committed by a sociopath killer (Bell). This would be enough to unnerve anyone, but Shining Girls takes its creepy conceit even farther as Kirby is left perpetually off-kilter and unbalanced as her life continually shifts after her attack. Flitting through realities, Kirby and Dan race to end the killer's reign of terror in a series that masterfully blends together sci-fi, horror, and feminist drama. —J.L.

Where to watch Shining Girls: Apple TV+

Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Wagner Moura, Phillipa Soo, Chris Chalk, Amy Brenneman, Jamie Bell

Related content: Madeline Brewer on reuniting with Handmaid's Tale costar Elisabeth Moss in Shining Girls

<em>Pachinko</em> (2022–present)

This critically acclaimed drama — created by Soo Hugh (The Terror) and based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Min Jin Lee — follows four generations of a Korean family over the course of a turbulent century. The result is an epic, powerful, globe-trotting, multigenerational story about immigration, diaspora, identity, and opportunity. Pachinko shuttles between matriarch Sunja (played by Academy Award winner Yuh-jung Youn as an older woman and as a young woman by Minha Kim) and her grandson Solomon (Jin Ha), an investment banker in Tokyo as he moves through his own life in the present day. Described by EW's critic as "gripping" and a "beautiful, yearning testament to the concept of home,"  this is one drama not to be missed. —J.L.

Where to watch Pachinko: Apple TV+

EW grade: A (read the review)

Cast: Soji Arai, Jin Ha, Jun-woo Han, Eun-chae Jung, Minha Kim, Lee Min-ho, Kaho Minami, Steve Sang-hyun Noh, Anna Sawai, Jimmi Simpson, Yuh-jung Youn

Related content: Pachinko showrunner Soo Hugh reveals the Rolling Stones song almost featured in 'joyful' opening credits

<em>Dickinson</em> (2019–2021)

Hailee Steinfeld stars in period comedy Dickinson, which explores the life of poet Emily Dickinson, who while little-known during her lifetime, has since become renowned as one of the greatest voices in American literature. Created by Alena Smith, Dickinson blends together the period drama trappings of Emily's life with a modern sensibility — there's Wiz Khalifa as Death, for example, and the soundtrack features modern-day bangers by Billie Eilish, Lizzo, and Mitski. Each episode is inspired by one of Emily Dickinson's poems and Steinfeld, who imbues Emily with a cunning sense of wit in this irresistible coming-of-age story about a woman ahead of her time. The three-season narrative wrapped on Apple TV+ in December 2021, making now the perfect time to finally catch up on the thwarted passions of one of our culture's greatest writers as she grapples with what EW describes as "the idea of hopelessness and hopefulness." —J.L.

Where to watch Dickinson: Apple TV+

Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Toby Huss, Adrian Blake Enscoe, Anna Baryshnikov, Ella Hunt, Jane Krakowski

Related content: How Hailee Steinfeld and Dickinson creator are welcoming the legendary poet into the modern era

<em>Servant</em> (2019–2023)

An unsettling quality permeates every second of M. Night Shyamalan's slow-burn psychological horror Servant. After the accidental death of their newborn son Jericho, local news anchor Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) and chef Sean (Toby Kebbell) struggle to hold onto their sanity...until they find a replacement for their lost child in a reborn doll and hire nanny Leanne (Nell Tiger Free) to care for it. But Leanne isn't your bog-standard Midwesterner — the mysterious nanny has formidable supernatural powers over which she has little, if any, control. As Dorothy struggles with acute mental illness, convinced that her baby has been kidnapped, Dorothy's brother Julian (Rupert Grint) becomes aware of Leanne's strange abilities. The result is a surprisingly droll horror-drama, one which becomes "even darker, scarier, and funnier" in its second season. All four seasons are currently available to stream — just don't watch with the lights off. —J.L.

Where to watch Servant: Apple TV+

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Cast: Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free, Rupert Grint

Related content: Servant star Rupert Grint shares the weirdest advice M. Night Shyamalan gave him

Related content:

• Severance creators tease season 2: We 'feel a responsibility' to answer season 1 questions

• Ted Lasso's Brett Goldstein says 'we are writing' season 3 as the series' end

• Why the Pachinko showrunner wants you to 'call your parents' after watching the season 1 finale