Since its inception half a decade ago, Apple TV Plus has built up a solid reputation for taking a quality over quantity strategy in order to deliver some of the finest movies, programs, and documentaries streaming has to offer. It's a platform loaded wall-to-wall with opulent productions to watch and auteur directors to respect, moreish weekly-drop series to digest and films created with the world's top actors to adore. And it's because of this that, despite the massive content libraries of Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video, the house that Tim Cook constructed has become many a discriminating viewer's choice streaming home. Now, we know what you're thinking: with so many buzzy series and movies to chose from, wouldn't it be fantastic if there was some type of neat, hand-curated guide to the finest the streamer has to offer?
Well, whaddaya know? Here at Empire we’ve decided to provide you exactly that – a complete list to the greatest series and movies to watch on Apple TV right now. So whether you’re craving finely presented period pieces, riveting crime dramas, tricksy thrillers, indie darlings, daring documentaries, or some wackadoodle meta musical crazy, you’ve come to the correct spot. This list is provided in no specific order, by the way (otherwise Silo would've been #1, obvs).
Blitz
In the aftermath of yet another Luftwaffe bombing, stressed mother Rona (Saoirse Ronan) takes her mixed-race, nine-year-old son George (Elliott Heffernan) to the train station and bids an anguished farewell to her kid, the latest evacuee of the Blitz. George however has other intentions and, after alighting his moving train, begins upon a trip home packed with danger, bravery, Dickensian characters, and a profound feeling of self-discovery. Steve McQueen’s simply named newest is probably the British filmmaker’s most accessible effort yet. An epic in scope that’s episodic in structure, it’s a movie that follows a mother and son seeking ways to come together at a time where they — and the world around them — has come apart. But with a keen eye for textural detail, a beating heart for deeply humanistic storytelling, an embarrassment of riches among his supporting cast (Paul Weller! Stephen Graham! Harris Dickinson! Benjamin Clementine!), and two magnetic leads bringing it all together, McQueen has made a truly singular war movie — one for the ages.
Disclaimer
An incredibly well calibrated, needling look at the power of the stories we tell ourselves to give life meaning — and the stories we conceal to preserve life’s meaning when tales grow taller and the past’s shadows begin to obscure the present’s light — Alfonso Cuarón’s first TV offering in a decade was well worth the wait. Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline are on extraordinary form here as a journalist with a secret and the man bent on said secret’s discovery, but really there isn’t a weak link to be found among an ensemble featuring Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Leila George, and Louis Partridge, all of whom provide indelible texture to Cuarón’s labyrinthine, chronologically tricksy thriller. This is a mature, psychosexually charged, ethically complex work of prestige drama on Cuarón’s part, yes.
Silo
A sophisticated puzzle-box mystery enveloped in a wonderfully realistic post-apocalyptic dystopian drama, Silo is a masterfully executed screen translation of Hugh Howey’s best-selling book series. Set in a near-future where an apocalyptic event has seemingly driven the remnants of humanity to an underground bunker known only as the Silo, the elliptically structured series follows a sheriff (David Oyelowo) and an engineer (Rebecca Ferguson) as they seek to unearth the truth of the who, what, where, when, and why that led to the Sillo’s creation. Over its 10 episodes, the series nimbly blends political, philosophical, and procedural components into its amazing narrative tapestry, all whilst retaining a primary mystery that actually keeps you wondering till the last. And the result? Easily one of the most engaging watching experiences of 2023. And with Season 2 providing the goods ahead of an already filming Season 3 and 4, there's much more to dive into still.
Shrinking
Having successfully disguised a weekly therapy session as a football sit-com with Ted Lasso, Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein shed the pretense for Shrinking, which puts therapists - notably mourning psychologist Jimmy (co-creator Jason Segel) - front and center. Mourning the loss of his wife, the series sees Jimmy throw aside his training and ethical commitments as he tells his clients straight-up what he thinks about their challenges, ultimately altering their lives - and his own - for the better. It’s a fantastic hook to hang what we’re dubbing a ‘melancomedy’ on, offering the perfect space for moments of catharsis and carnage to sit side-by-side. The big discovery of the program though is certainly Harrison Ford, who wonderfully flexes both his comedic and dramatic abilities as Jimmy’s curmudgeonly colleague and mentor Paul. By the end of the show's broad second season, it's hard to think of many greater feel-good programs about feeling horrible on the box right now.
Severance
Bare white walls, endless maze-like hallways and awkward social interactions make up the curious world of Severance – one where office workers like Mark (Adam Scott), Irving (John Turturro) and newcomer Helly (Britt Lower) consent to a procedure that completely severs their work self from their personal one. It's a high-concept topic, executed in a bizarre, high-concept style. It might seem a touch frigid at first, but as the mystery of Lumon Industries unravels and we learn the ramifications of this most radical approach to finding work/life balance, Severance becomes a tremendously exciting, terribly suspenseful rollercoaster, rounded out with endlessly compelling people. The just, finally published Season 2 only sees the narrative — and Severance's many, many secrets — intensify. It seems like we're innie this one for the long haul, guys.
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Bad Monkey
Have you ever wondered what Death In Paradise would be like if it were set in the Florida Keys/Bahamas, developed by the man behind Scrubs, and starring Vince Vaughn instead of Nick from My Family? Well, wonder no longer! In Bill Lawrence’s Bad Monkey, Vaughn is in usually smart-ass form as Andrew Yancy, a former Miami detective-turned-food inspector who spots a chance to get his old job back when he falls across a case involving a strange severed limb. The case itself — which swiftly spins out of control as Russian mobsters and voodoo magic are put into the mix — is twisted, turny material that’s entertaining if not continuously compelling. But it’s the show’s game ensemble (Michelle Monaghan! Rob Delaney! Jodie Turner-Smith!) and eccentric characters, married with its dextrous genre balance between both its criminal and comic parts, that makes it well worth the journey.
Napoleon: The Director’s Cut
There ain’t no director’s cut like a Ridley Scott director’s cut – and Napoleon: The Director’s Cut definitely is some director’s cut! On theatrical release, Sir Ridders’ epic historical drama was already a fascinating watch, transcending conventional soup-to-nuts biopic trappings by filtering the rise — and eventual fall — of Napoleon Bonaparte (a terrific Joaquin Phoenix) through the lens of his tempestuous relationship with wife Jospehine (Vanessa Kirby — also terrific!). But with the Apple exclusive director’s cut, which adds 48 complete minutes to Scott’s already over three-hour-long blockbuster, a fairly excellent movie becomes a pretty damn outstanding one. Offering more of Josephine, more of the jaw-slackening sets and set pieces Scott conceived for the film (including the pivotal Battle of Marengo), and even more fine details of how the man who conquered half of Europe's fall came to pass, it’s hard to imagine watching this 205 minute marvel any other way now.
