Later this month, two of the best streaming services will be coming together when Apple TV Plus joins Prime Video in the US as an add-on subscription for $9.99 per month. Similar to other streaming bundle options like Hulu and Max, Prime Video users will be able to purchase the subscription add-on through the app to unlock access to Apple TV Plus' broad assortment of titles.
To get you ready for your Apple TV Plus era, I have seven recommendations – all with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. I've picked out four of the best Apple TV Plus shows for those who love to binge, and three of the best Apple TV Plus movies for fellow movie buffs like myself – which includes two A24 productions. I've done my best to highlight the best titles from all genres, gathering shows and movies from comedy, drama, romance, and even horror – I mean, it's spooky season after all.
But it's not just the excitement of the new Apple TV Plus add on that makes this a great time to be Prime Video subscriber as there's a line-up of fresh titles new on Prime Video in October 2024. This includes the best horror movies, which I'll be making my way through in my countdown to Halloween 2024.
Ted Lasso
Seasons: 3
Main cast: Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Phil Dunster, and Juno Temple
Age rating: TV-MA (US)
RT score: 90% (critics)
Ted Lasso is undoubtedly one of Apple TV Plus' most notorious shows, making it one to watch if you're new to the Apple TV Plus game. American football coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) is taken across the pond to the UK to manage a British soccer team whose owner hopes will plunge to into failure because of his lack of knowledge, however Lasso's charm and optimistic attitude is the reason the team rises to to the top.
Bad Sisters
Seasons: 1
Main cast: Sharon Horgan, Eve Hewson, Sarah Greene, Anne-Marie Duff, and Eva Birthistle
Age rating: TV-MA
RT score: 100% (critics)
This Irish black comedy series is based on the short-lived Flemish series Clan, taking place in Dublin around the Garvey sisters. The five sisters are brought together following the unexpected death of Grace's (Anne Marie Duff) controlling husband Paul (Claes Bang), who the sisters loathed. Flipping between timelines taking place prior to his death and during the aftermath, revealing a murder plot against him devised by the sisters who find themselves at the middle of a life insurance investigation following his death.
Black Bird
Seasons: 1
Main cast: Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser, Greg Kinnear, and Ray Liotta
Age rating: TV-MA
RT score: 98% (critics)
Taron Egerton leads as James Keene in this crime series produced by Dennis Lehane, taking inspiration from the autobiographical novel written by Keene himself. When he's sentenced to 10 years in a minimum security prison, Keene (Egerton) is offered a deal; transfer to a maximum security prison for the criminally insane and befriend alleged serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser) to get a confession from him and get out of prison, or serve his full sentence without parole. Keene finds himself in a race against time and must help the authorities find the bodies of missing young girls before Hall's appeal is passed. But the question is, who are the liars, and who's telling the truth?
Servant
Seasons: 4
Main cast: Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Rupert Grint, and Nell Tiger Free
Age rating: TV-14
RT score: 90% (critics)
M. Night Shyamalan productions are very hit-or-miss in my opinion (I hated Old), however critics and audiences alike have appeared to find common ground with his Apple TV Plus horror series Servant. In his psychological horror Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) and Sean Turner (Toby Kebbell), a couple in Philadelphia, are torn apart by the recent loss of their child and in an attempt to rekindle their relationship, they decide to take in a reborn doll to patch up the childless gap in their lives. Things get creepy when a new nanny comes along, and the doll develops a mind of its own.
CODA
RT Score: 94%
Age rating: PG-13
Length: 111 minutes
Director: Sian Heder
Scoring big at the 2022 Oscars with Best Supporting actor for Troy Kotsur, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture – a triumph for an Apple TV Plus original. In this remake of the 2014 French language feature La Famille Bélier, seventeen year-old Ruby (Emilia Jones) is the only one in her family who is sound of hearing, serving as an interpreter for her parents (Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur) while working on her family's fishing boat. When she joins the school choir and unlocks her talent for singing, she starts to think about her future and is encouraged by her choir leader to apply for a top music school, but her obligations to caring for her family is the only thing holding her back from pursuing her dream.
Past Lives
RT Score: 95%
Age rating: PG-13
Length: 105 minutes
Director: Celine Song
In this semi-autobiographical account of the director, Greta Lee and Teo Yoo star as Nora and Hae Sung, childhood friends who rekindle after 20 years apart following Nora's family emigration from South Korea to the USA. When they are reunited in New York City, the two spend what little time they have together reflecting on their close childhood friendship, and reminiscing in what could've blossomed if they weren't torn apart all those years ago. Song's directorial debut was one of the stand-out features of the past year, earning Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture
You Hurt My Feelings
RT Score: 94%
Age rating: R
Length: 93 minutes
Director: Nicole Holofcener
From the writer of Oscar winner Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) comes this comedy-drama starring Tobias Menzies and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Novelist and creative writing teacher Beth (Dreyfus) finds her marriage in a state of hostility when her husband Don expresses his honest opinions about her latest work. A jab to the gut for Beth, Don's truth speaks volumes and unfolds into something much deeper, exposing truths about both him and Beth. This rift in their long-term marriage turns into a test, but will they both pass?
