Since its debut in 2019, Apple TV Plus has swiftly established itself as a prominent participant in the streaming platform and in TV. Its original programming lineup includes The Morning Show, Foundation, and For All Mankind, as well as films such as The Banker, Ted Lasso, Greyhound, and Palmer.
Apple TV Plus episodes began immediately following the streaming service’s November 2019 debut. Since then, the service has seen a slow but steady flow of new series premieres, and there is now enough content to delve deep into its offerings. But which shows are the best shows on Apple TV Plus? Good question, and one we intend to know here.
5 Best Shows on Apple TV
To make a list of only the five best shows on Apple TV plus is really hard. Regardless of that, we tried to pick the best from different genres.
| Show Name | Release Date | IMDb Rating | Rotten Tomatoes |
| Tiny World | October 2, 2020 | 8.9/10 | 100% |
| Ted Lasso | August 14, 2020 | 8.8/10 | 95% |
| Severance | February 18, 2022 | 8.7/10 | 97% |
| For All Mankind | November 1, 2019 | 8/10 | 90% |
| Defending Jacob | April 24, 2020 | 7.8/10 | 72% |
1. Tiny World
Executive Producers:
- Martha Holmes
- Tom Hugh-Jones
- Grant Mansfield
Genre: Nature documentary
Cast: Paul Rudd
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 30 minutes long per episode.
The inventiveness and perseverance of the world’s tiniest animals; new camera technology depicts the world through the eyes of these tiny creatures and the incredible things they undertake to live. It is a great nature docuseries and one of the best shows on Apple TV plus for a long time.
Tiny World is an English environmental documentary television series developed and narrated by Tom Hugh-Jones. The series aired on Apple TV+ on October 2, 2020, with a second season following on April 16, 2021.
This docuseries, narrated by Paul Rudd, highlights nature’s lesser-known small heroes. Each episode features fascinating stories and beautiful cinematography while highlighting little creatures and the incredible things they undertake to live.
BDH Creative employed CGI technology, motion control cameras, and drone photogrammetry techniques to see the world through the eyes of the smallest creatures and watch the remarkable things they do to live.
During this period, the Tiny World crew acquired approximately 3160 hours of film, including 140 hours shot using a drone. After that, each episode was edited from an average of 240 hours of filming. A chipmunk was the most filmed animal.
A big rainforest tree is a home to a plethora of little critters. See how they react as their world comes crumbling down around them. Alex spent two years filming throughout Central and South America for Plimsoll Productions’ “Tiny World: Jungles” series for Apple TV+.
A phantom flex 4K camera with 16-35 Canon and Sigma 60-600 lenses were used to photograph these wild creatures. “It was a great experience because getting moving photos of animals usually need all kinds of setups and pricey heavy equipment,” he explains.
2. Ted Lasso
Executive Producers:
- Bill Lawrence
- Jason Sudeikis
- Brendan Hunt
- Joe Kelly
- Jeff Ingold
- Bill Wrubel
Genre: Sports comedy-drama
Cast:
- Jason Sudeikis
- Hannah Waddingham
- Jeremy Swift
- Phil Dunster
- Brett Goldstein
- Brendan Hunt
- Nick Mohammed
- Juno Temple
- Sarah Niles
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 29–49 minutes long per episode.
Ted Lasso is a television comedy-drama series created by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, and Joe Kelly. It is based on a persona of the same name, which Sudeikis initially played in a series of advertisements for NBC Sports’ Premier League coverage.
The story follows Ted Lasso, an American college football coach who is recruited to coach an English soccer club in an attempt by the team’s owner to slander her ex-husband by inadvertently causing the team’s demise. While coping with his inexperience in the sport, Lasso attempts to win over the wary English market with his folksy, upbeat approach.
Rebecca’s complicated act of sabotage sets the story in motion: she hires two American coaches Ted Lasso to manage Richmond, hoping that he will drive the team—her ex-second-favorite husband’s plaything—to disaster. Ted, a Kansas native, has never visited England and knows nothing of soccer.
We meet him as he exits an aircraft lavatory on his way to London, and his folk sincerity is instantly obvious. The series has earned widespread appreciation for its performances (particularly those of Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, and Brett Goldstein), humor, writing, topics, and upbeat tone.
Its first season was voted for 20 Primetime Emmy Awards, making it the most-awarded first-season comedy in Emmy Award history. The sitcom received the 2021 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Sudeikis, Waddingham, and Goldstein won for their performances.
Ted Lasso, an American college football coach, is surprisingly hired to coach AFC Richmond, a fictional English Premier League soccer team, despite having no coaching experience. Rebecca Welton, the team’s owner, employs Lasso in the hopes that he will fail to seek revenge on the former owner.
Her adulterous ex-husband. On the other hand, Ted’s charisma, attitude, and sense of humor begin to win over Rebecca, the staff, and others who are doubtful of his hiring.
3. Severance
Creator: Dan Erickson
Genre: Drama, Dystopia, Mystery, Psychological thriller, Science fiction
Cast:
- Adam Scott
- Zach Cherry
- Britt Lower
- Tramell Tillman
- Jen Tullock
- Dichen Lachman
- Michael Chernus
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 40–57 minutes long per episode.
Severance is a Dan Erickson-created American science fiction psychological thriller television series directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle. Mark is a Lumon Industries employee who commits to a “severance” program wherein his non-work memories are isolated from his job recollections. Undoubtedly, it has to be one of the best shows on Apple TV.
Severance follows a group of office workers at a dark biotech business named Lumon Industries who have all had a process known as ‘severance.’ It was created by Dan Erickson and produced and directed in part by Ben Stiller.
Lumon Industries, a biotechnology business, utilizes a mindwipe medical treatment known as “severance” to split its workers’ awareness between their lives at work and their lives outside of work. Mark (Adam Scott), a disgruntled employee, eventually discovers a labyrinth of intrigue.
On February 18, 2022, the series launched on Apple TV+. It was lauded by reviewers and spectators alike for its photography, production design, musical score, plot, and performances (especially Scott). At the 74th Primetime Emmy Nominations, the series got 14 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series and acting nominations for Scott, Turturro, Walken, and Arquette. The series got approved for a second season in April 2022.
Severance is just as fantastic as everyone claims. To find out what others think of this series, simply read the reviews and check the rating. It’s on every “greatest show of 2022” list for a reason, and it will undoubtedly be nominated for a slew of prizes!
4. For All Mankind
Creators:
- Ronald D. Moore
- Matt Wolpert
- Ben Nedivi
Genre: Space opera, Alternate history, Drama
Cast:
- Joel Kinnaman
- Michael Dorman
- Sarah Jones
- Shantel VanSanten
- Jodi Balfour
- Wrenn Schmidt
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 46–82 minutes long per episode.
For All Mankind is an American science fiction television drama made for Apple TV+ by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi. The series depicts “what might have occurred if the space industry race had never ended” after the Soviet Union achieved the first crewed Lunar landing ahead of the United States.
The title is inspired by the lunar piece placed on the moon either by the crew of Apollo 11, which says in part, “We Came In Peace For All Mankind.” It is one of the best shows on Apple TV plus.
In a parallel universe, Soviet astronaut Alexei Leonov was the first person to land on the Moon in 1969. This result devastates NASA’s morale while simultaneously catalyzing a US attempt to catch up.
With the Soviet Union stressing diversity by adding a woman in successive landings, the US is compelled to keep up, educating women and minorities who were mainly excluded from the early decades of US space exploration.
Each successive season takes place after 10 years, with season 2 in progress in the 1980s, season 3 in the 1990s, and season 4 (as announced in the season 3 finale) in the 2000s.
“Sergei Korolev was the founder of the Soviet space program; in this reality, he perished during a procedure in Moscow (in 1965),” Ronald D. Moore revealed in the series. And after that, their Moon program never really came together. Our point of disagreement was that Korolev lived and was responsible for their Moon landing.
For All Mankind is an excellent sci-fi suspense thriller that explores the “what if” scenarios of space races. It is set in a universe where Russia has beaten us to the moon, and the global space competition has never finished. While the program has flaws, it is still a really nice show.
5. Defending Jacob
Creator: Mark Bomback
Genre: Crime Drama
Cast:
- Chris Evans
- Michelle Dockery
- Jaeden Martell
- Cherry Jones
- Pablo Schreiber
- Betty Gabriel
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 45–65 minutes long per episode.
Defending Jacob is an American crime drama series created by Apple TV+ based on William Landay’s 2012 novel of the same name. Mark Bomback developed and wrote the series, while Morten Tyldum directed it. Critics largely complimented the series, praising the performance’s ambiguity and emotional impact but criticizing the pacing, length, and outcome. Arguably it is one of the best shows on Apple TV plus.
The show’s premise shows that as his beloved son is charged with murder, the world of an assistant district attorney is devastated. Andy Barber has spent over 20 years as an ADA in his suburban Massachusetts county. He is well-liked in his town, tough in court, and content at home with his wife Laurie and son Jacob.
The program was produced and written by Mark Bomback, who has some high-quality film experience: he was a writer and executive producer on “Dawn of” and “War for” the Planet of the Apes, two of the greatest thinking-science-fiction person action flicks in recent years.
Bomback has created an engaging psychological thriller with “Defending Jacob,” in which Evans portrays a prosecutor whose 14-year-old son is accused of killing a classmate.
You can understand why William Landay’s 2012 novel, on which the program is based, seemed like a suitable candidate for mini-series expansionism. It runs on various timelines, with a framing technique in which the prosecutor-father, Andy Barber (Evans), testifies before a grand jury in a future case, the specifics of which are unknown to us.
The suspicion and subsequent arrest of Jacob Barber in the killing of a popular classmate who harassed him shatter his seemingly idyllic suburban family, and the murder investigation’s clues and disclosures are matched by falsehoods and shifting allegiances.
More importantly, it’s an audacious attempt to blend a mystery with a drama about bad parenting. The Defender finds the conclusion of Jacob does not reveal whether or not Jacob murdered Ben. Even though everything leads to him being the murderer. Laurie is persuaded by Jacob’s actions and Hope’s absence. The spectators are left to decide in the open-ended show.
However, the Apple TV original miniseries Defending Jacob is not a true crime drama. The series, based on a William Landay novel of the same name, has the feel of one, especially in terms of speed and structure.
Conclusion
Because Apple TV+ is a latecomer to the streaming fray, you may not think there’s much to watch, but think again. The service is constantly improving and adding more shows. We mentioned these series, and you should watch them right now. Remember the TV-MA rating: Not all these programs are appropriate for children.
The list is longer than five; with that being said, these are our top picks of best shows on Apple TV plus. If you have yet to pay attention, it is about time.
- Related: 10 Best Shows on Hulu
