Apple TV Plus Best Shows: The Complete Guide

Apple TV Plus takes a different approach to streaming than its competitors. Instead of building a massive library of licensed content, Apple focuses on a smaller catalog of high-quality originals. At $9.99 per month, it is among the most affordable premium services, and its hit rate is remarkably high — a greater percentage of Apple TV Plus shows are genuinely worth watching than on any other platform. Here is a guide to the best shows available right now.

How We Selected: We analyzed options using full-season viewing, critical analysis, and production quality assessment. Evaluation criteria included production values, thematic depth, rewatch value. None of our selections were paid placements or sponsored content.

The Essential Tier

Severance is the platform’s crown jewel. Adam Scott stars as Mark Scout, a man who undergoes a procedure that surgically separates his work memories from his personal memories. Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller, the show is a masterpiece of tone — simultaneously a darkly comic workplace satire, a chilling sci-fi thriller, and a deeply emotional story about identity and grief. Two seasons in, it is the best show on any streaming platform.

Slow Horses stars Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb, the slovenly, flatulent, and brilliant head of Slough House — the MI5 department where disgraced spies are sent to do paperwork until they quit. Based on Mick Herron’s novels, each season adapts a different book with wit, tension, and Oldman’s deliciously contemptuous performance anchoring the ensemble. Four seasons and counting, and the quality has not dipped once.

The Morning Show features Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Billy Crudup in a drama about a network morning show navigating scandals, corporate upheaval, and the changing media landscape. Three seasons have seen the show evolve from a MeToo drama into a broader examination of power and media.

Drama and Thriller

Silo adapts Hugh Howey’s novels about a community living in an underground silo who are told the outside world is deadly. Rebecca Ferguson leads a propulsive thriller about secrets, control, and the price of asking forbidden questions. Dark Matter stars Joel Edgerton as a physicist kidnapped and dropped into an alternate version of his life, exploring questions of identity and choice through a gripping multiverse thriller. Presumed Innocent gives Jake Gyllenhaal a vehicle as a prosecutor accused of murder, with twists that keep the legal thriller format fresh.

Pachinko is a sweeping multigenerational saga following a Korean family across Japan and America. Lee Min-ho and Youn Yuh-jung deliver performances of quiet power in one of the most visually beautiful shows on any platform. Lessons in Chemistry stars Brie Larson as a 1960s chemist fighting for recognition in a world that wants her to stay in the kitchen — literally.

Comedy

Ted Lasso made Jason Sudeikis’s eternally optimistic American football coach managing an English soccer team into a cultural phenomenon. Three seasons of warmth, humor, and surprisingly sharp character development. Shrinking stars Jason Segel and Harrison Ford in a comedy about a grieving therapist who starts telling his patients exactly what he thinks. Ford’s late-career comedy turn is a revelation.

Mythic Quest is the best workplace comedy on streaming, following the dysfunctional team behind a massive multiplayer online game. Rob McElhenney’s show delivers sharp satire of tech culture and gaming alongside genuine emotional depth.

Limited Series and Documentary

Masters of the Air brings the Band of Brothers legacy to the skies over Europe with Austin Butler and the most stunning aerial combat sequences ever filmed. Killers of the Flower Moon (available alongside the theatrical release) is Martin Scorsese’s powerful true story of the Osage murders. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters proves the Godzilla franchise can work as long-form storytelling with Kurt Russell anchoring the dual-timeline drama.

Why Apple TV Plus

The platform’s greatest advantage is consistency. Other services have higher highs and lower lows; Apple TV Plus rarely releases anything outright bad. Every show looks expensive — the production values are uniformly excellent — and the smaller catalog means less time scrolling and more time watching. The free trial period and Apple One bundle make it easy to sample, and the quality makes it easy to stay.

For pricing details, see our Best Streaming Services Compared in 2025. For specific reviews, check our coverage of Severance Season 2 and Slow Horses.