With so many streaming platforms fighting for your attention and wallet, it’s hard to know which ones are worth the subscription.
While Apple TV+ only launched in late 2019, it has quickly made a name for itself, offering an array of quality original programmes, from the award-winning Ted Lasso to The Morning Show.
Whether you’re a drama, comedy, or action lover, you’re sure to find something worthy of a binge. Here’s what you’ll get for $4.99 in the US and £4.99 in the UK per month.
Dickinson (three seasons, 2019–2021)
Dickinson is a literary tale, but you don’t need to be an English major to enjoy it. Hailee Steinfeld leads the series as outspoken feminist Emily Dickinson, striving to become the famed poet so revered today. It’s a remarkable comedy with a modern twist on the 1800s. If you’re into sweet romance, a fight against the patriarchy, and maybe a little Wiz Khalifa, you’re sure to find this three-season show unmissable.
Ted Lasso (two seasons, 2020–)
The platform’s Emmy-winning success is Ted Lasso, a feel-good comedy starring Jason Sudeikis as a hapless American football coach hired to manage a British football team. The show’s overly positive vibe “has been heralded as a welcome antidote to the dark, unhappy tone of many modern comedies”, argues The Independent’s Louis Chilton. Lasso’s limitless optimism, even in the face of so much cynicism, will have you invested immediately.
Severance (one season, 2022–)
A sci-fi series that ambitiously conceives of splitting its characters’ minds between work and personal life, Severance has been likened to Mad Men and George Orwell’s 1984. It’s a slow burn that picks up fast. According to The Independent’s Leonie Cooper, “such a sinister premise leads to moments of wonderfully bleak comedy and eerie surrealism, managed deftly by an exemplary cast” that includes Patricia Arquette, Adam Scott and Christopher Walken.
The Morning Show (two seasons, 2019–)
Boasting an A-list string of actors including Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell, Billy Crudup, and more, The Morning Show is a workplace drama set amid the #MeToo movement. It seeks to pull back the curtain on the problematic inner workings of a news production company – and often succeeds. At times it may get lost in its weighty storytelling, but “embrace the melodrama and the soapiness and use these staggeringly skilled superstars to their full effect, and this could be appointment television”, The Independent’s Adam White writes.
For All Mankind (three seasons, 2019–)
Imagine an alternate reality where the Soviet Union won the space race, and you have the premise of For All Mankind. Acting as a twisted fictionalisation of historical events, its strength lies in the backstories of its characters. Its spectacular recreation of the Solar System is also well worth checking out.
WeCrashed (one season, 2022)
Starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway as real-life couple Adam and Rebekah Neumann, WeCrashed follows the couple’s relationship alongside the short-lived triumph and hasty downfall of their global coworking brand WeWork. Ultimately, the source material isn’t that interesting, so instead, its heart becomes the “oddly sympathetic love story” between the leads, writes The Independent’s Nick Hilton.
Pachinko (one season, 2022–)
Based on the New York Times bestseller of the same name, Pachinko chronicles the journey of an immigrant Korean family as they strive to survive and thrive after fleeing to Japan during World War II. The seamless blend of its directing, acting and storytelling is the key to its success. Critics have praised it for its beautiful narrative techniques and its gentle handling of generational trauma.
The Afterparty (one season, 2022–)
The Afterparty is a whodunit comedy crime fiction and although its plot is far from original – a high school reunion that ends in a murder with each episode told from a different perspective – its light-heartedness doesn’t ask much of its viewer. It’s also anchored by an impressive roster of comedians, with Ilana Glazer, Tiffany Haddish, and Ben Schwartz bringing laughs alongside the mystery.
