Slowly but surely, Apple TV+ has found its feet. The streaming service, which at launch we called “odd, angsty, and horny as hell,” has evolved into a diverse library of dramas, documentaries, and comedies. Now its library is so packed that we’ve declared it “the new HBO.”
Curious but don’t know where to get started? Below are our picks for the best shows on the service. (Also, here are our picks for the best movies on Apple TV+.) When you’re done, head over to our guides to the best shows on Netflix, best movies on Hulu, and best movies on Amazon Prime, because you can never have too much television.
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Foundation
WIRED called Foundation a “flawed masterpiece” in our review of the first season. Considering the complexities of adapting a sprawling Isaac Asimov book series, it was high praise. Starring Jared Harris as Hari Seldon, a math professor who, along with his loyal followers, is exiled for predicting the oncoming end of the galactic empire that rules over them, the show often suffers under the weight of its own massive scope. But it also features wonderful performances from Lee Pace and beautiful images inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope. If you have a soft spot for big sci-fi dramas, this Game-of-Thrones-in-space wannabe is a must-watch. It's third season arrives on July 11.
Stick
Pryce Cahill is a former pro golfer who biffed it during a big tournament 20 years ago and hasn’t been the same since. His marriage fell apart; his life is a shambles. Then one day he meets a kid who swings a club “like a dream” and decides to go all-in. Sound like an Owen Wilson vehicle? Something from the Ted Lasso school of prestige TV? It’s both. Starring Wilson as Pryce and on the same streamer as Lasso, it’s the kind of dramedy full of just enough sports platitudes to be compelling without being grating. Can it make n00bs love golf the way it got the uninitiated into football/soccer? Eh, that remains to be seen, but if you’re sad about Marc Maron’s podcast, this might be the one place you can get your dose of the comedian’s dry humor for the time being.
Murderbot
Fans of Martha Wells have been waiting for Murderbot for a long time, pretty much since Apple TV+ announced in 2023 that it was adapting the sci-fi author's 2017 novella All Systems Red. That beloved book—and the series of stories and novels that followed it—serve as the basis for this splashy series and also for the big expectations that come with adapting a fan favorite. Murderbot, for those who don’t know, serves as both the protagonist of Wells’ stories and the lead of this series, here played by Alexander Skarsgård. It (Murderbot’s pronouns are “it”) has become what WIRED called “one of the most iconic characters in 21st-century science fiction” thanks to its socially awkward charm and relatability. Tasked with protecting a team of scientists on a far-off planet, Murderbot hacks its own internal controls to do what it wants. While that may sound like the plot of yet another show about an AI-powered skin job set on destroying its makers, Murderbot takes a different approach, giving its titular character a desire to take care of humans and binge-watch TV. Will it please all Wells fans? Maybe, maybe not.
Side Quest
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