The best Apple TV+ shows

Apple TV+'s catalogue may not be as big as other networks' watchlists (see our guide to the best streaming services for comparisons), but what it lacks in numbers it more than makes up for in quality. By trusting proven artists with hefty budgets, Apple has built up a roster of shows that pretty much all fall into the "prestige" category.

Given that the project is something of a shop window for the richest company on Earth, it makes sense that pretty much everything on the content list bears the hallmark of quality, and absolutely none of it feels like it's been thrown together and dumped on the network. (Which can very much be A Thing.)

£8.99 per month is not nothing, of course. If the price tag has you wondering whether it's worth your while, take a look below at some of the highlights to help steer your decision-making, and also consider that there are still plenty of ways to get the service completely free. Check out our guide to Apple TV+ free trials.

The below is all about TV series, by the way – if it's the channel's movie offerings you're interested in, we've written a separate guide to AppleTV+'s best movies, so fill your boots.

Slow Horses

MI5's rejects make up one of AppleTV+'s most reliable and popular returning series, currently on its fourth outing.

The notorious Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) is the acerbic, bone-idle leader of a squad of failed spies, who would forever be marking time in a dead-end office behind the Barbican Centre in London were it not for occasional outbreaks of intrigue, violence and political cock-ups.

Fans of the book series can rest assured that they've got it exactly right, only changing things that need changing to suit the needs of TV, and the cast is *MWAH!*.

Presumed Innocent

Jake Gyllenhaal really commits to his role in this adaptation of the '90s thriller. He plays a public prosecutor who turns out to be the prime suspect in a case he's investigating – and every new development makes him look even guiltier. Not for nothing is it one of Apple's biggest hits so far. Co-stars including Ruth Negga, O-T Fagbenle and Peter Sarsgaard make this an unmissable ensemble piece.

The Morning Show

Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell's Emmy-winning drama The Morning Show should definitely be on your bucket list of Apple TV+ watches. The show is an "unapologetically candid" take on the workplace through the eyes of news anchors in the midst of a scandal. Let's just say the gossip around the water cooler will make you blush.

Disclaimer

Based on the novel by Renée Knight, Disclaimer is an adaptation by Alfonso Cuarón, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville and Sacha Baron Cohen among others.

Blanchett plays a star investigative journalist who discovers that someone has pseudonymously written a novel that's very clearly based on events from her past, and who now appears determined to destroy her life. But what exactly did she do – and does she deserve her fate?

Severance

Ben Stiller's blackly comic drama posits a world where the staff of a mysterious company are able to divide their brains in half: one consciousness only exists during work hours, the other only exists outside, and neither side knows what the other gets up to.

It's quirky, dark and a treat for the kind of people who enjoyed Being John Malkovich. Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro and Christopher Walken star.

Ted Lasso

Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) – a minor American football coach – moves to England and is tasked with managing a Premier League soccer team despite his lack of experience. It's down to him to win them over to the Ted Lasso way in a warm, adorable comedy that also stars Brett Goldstein, Juno Temple and the totally unignorable Hannah Waddingham.

Masters of the Air

An exceptional lineup of cast and creatives come together to create the limited series Masters of the Air. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, the war drama stars Dune: Part Two's Austin Butler, Saltburn's Barry Keoghan and Doctor Who's Ncuti Gatwa.

Master of the Air is based on a true story and follows in the footsteps of Band of Brothers and The Pacific in telling the story of American forces during World War II.

Bad Sisters

The BAFTA award-winning dark comedy series sees the tight-knit Garvey sisters bound even more closely by death – first, the premature deaths of their parents, followed by the untimely death of one of the sisters' husbands.

His passing prompts insurers to go digging into the circumstances surrounding his demise, determined to sniff out any bad intent…

Foundation

Based on the award-winning novels by Isaac Asimov, this futuristic sci-fi drama tells the story of a group of exiles on their monumental quest to save humanity and rebuild civilisation following the fall of the Galactic Empire.

Mythic Quest

This comedy series sees the egotistical proprietor of a successful video game design company and his staff battling to keep their hit game 'Mythic Quest' in the number-one slot. The chaotic team must build worlds, mould heroes and create legends, if they can get along well enough to do it.

Silo

If you're really loving the post-apocalyptic vibe at the moment, then Silo is definitely a show you should try out. Based on the book Wool by Hugh Howey, Silo tells the story of humans living deep underground in – you guessed it – a silo, protected from the deadly world outside that's thick with toxic gas.

The trouble is that no one knows the history of why – or even when – the silo was built and asking questions is a sure way to get you sent outside. There is one person who's brave enough to seek answers – following the death of a loved one, engineer Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) can't help but become curious about the silo and its secrets.

Shrinking

A grieving therapist throws the rulebook out of the window when he starts to tell clients exactly what he thinks. His devil-may-care attitude – devoid of ethics – has him changing his clients' lives in tumultuous ways as well as his own. Stars How I Met Your Mother's Jason Segel and Harrison Ford.

For All Mankind

It's a hell of a starting point: what would happen to the world if the Soviets had beaten the USA to the moon and the global space race had never stopped? With each season addressing a new decade, we follow the men and women who had the Right Stuff and pioneered man's journey to the stars.

The make-up gets a little creaky by season four when the original cast are playing characters four decades older than their real ages, but the ideas are never less than gripping.

Servant

Servant is four seasons in, so get ready for a bit of a bulk-watch. Starring Toby Kebbell, Rupert Grint and Lauren Ambrose, it follows a Philadelphia couple, Sean and Leanne, in mourning.

An unspeakable tragedy has created a rift in their marriage, leaving space for a mysterious force to slide into the crevices and disrupt their home. It's bringing full-on Annabelle vibes, so expect some terrifying doll action.

See

DC and Game of Thrones actor Jason Momoa stars in this post-apocalyptic dystopia in which mankind has been rendered blind. The idea of sight has, over time, become nothing more than a myth.

Momoa stars as Baba Voss, the adoptive father of twins who are being hunted by the queen for their ability to see. The show features cast and crew who are blind or are visually impaired, to help infuse the world with more authenticity.

The Essex Serpent

Tom Hiddleston swaps his Marvel God of Mischief role to become a man of the cloth as vicar Will in The Essex Serpent.

While the recently-widowed Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes) sets about unravelling the mystery behind the mythical sea serpent stirring through the waters of Aldwinter, Will attempts to quash the rumours to alleviate the town's fears. The two clash as they try to answer what really lies beneath the waters.

Five Days at Memorial

Based on the catastrophic events of Hurricane Katrina, Five Days at Memorial chronicles the impact and aftermath of the disaster at a New Orleans hospital.

This emotional watch gives insight into what the exhausted staff endured in trying to manage under the extreme conditions of rising floodwaters, power failures and soaring heat.

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

This touching drama asks the question 'What are we if not our memories?' When his nephew Reggie is shot to death, the ailing Ptolemy Grey suddenly finds himself without a caretaker.

Teenager Robyn takes up the task of picking up where Reggie left off, until they discover a treatment that will help restore the memories stolen from Ptolemy by dementia. This discovery helps piece together many shocking truths. Starring Samuel L Jackson and Dominique Fishback.

Pachinko

An epic family story that explores the generational impact one important choice can have. Based on the New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by author Min Jin Lee, Pachinko takes us into the lives of four generations of a Korean immigrant family, and stars Boys Over Flowers' Lee Min-ho.

Black Bird

After being sentenced to 10 years in prison it seems Jimmy Keene's (Taron Egerton) luck is beginning to shift when he gets a life-changing offer: freedom. All he has to do is get suspected killer Larry Hall (a profoundly creepy Paul Walter Hauser) to confess his crimes and identify the locations of his victims.

The Afterparty

Get ready for a high-concept comedy from the devious minds of Into the Spider-Verse's Christopher Miller and Phil Lord. A high-school reunion takes a dramatic turn when one of the alumni dies – everyone's a suspect, and each episode plays out in a different genre as cop Tiffany Haddish tries to put together the clues.

You get the comedy throughout, but bonus genres include action movie, musical, teen melodrama, animation. And that's just the first season – it's all change for season two! Season one stars Sam Richardson, Zoe Chao, Ben Schwartz and Stath Lets Flats' Jamie Demetriou among many comedy heroes.

Lessons in Chemistry

MCU star Brie Larson swaps her Captain Marvel gear for a lab coat as she takes on the role of Elizabeth Zott in the 1950s period drama Lessons in Chemistry.

The aspiring scientist bucks up against problems when she tries to make her dream a reality. Elizabeth must challenge the patriarchy's ideals of a woman's role – domestic in its entirety – and resolves to take on a job on a TV cooking show that does more than teach the nation's housewives how to bake the perfect tarte tatin.

Criminal Record

Two London detectives reexamine an old murder case, touching on issues of race, institutional failure and the ongoing struggles of trying to bring together a polarised Britain. Peter Capaldi stars as the deeply suspicious Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Hegarty and Cush Jumbo is the crusading Detective Sergeant June Lenker.