The Best Shows and Movies on Apple TV Plus Right Now

The Apple TV Plus subscription service started with a limited selection of original shows. Still, Apple has aggressively added more and more original content every month, so the current library is quite substantial. Finally, Apple TV+ is a competitor to streaming industry giants like Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. So we’ve chosen what we think are the best Apple TV shows subscribers can watch right now.

You Can Get Apple TV Plus for Free (Maybe)

If you have bought a new Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, or Apple TV device, you’ll automatically be offered three months of free Apple TV+.

If you’ve bought a PS5, you can get six months of free Apple TV+ even if you have subscribed in the past. Everyone receives the first seven days free, enough to binge one or two of the very best shows. Some ISPs and cable providers may also offer an Apple TV+ subscription rolled into your package, so check that you’re not already eligible for access to these fantastic Apple TV+ shows.

The Morning Show

The Morning Show is a star-studded original drama starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, and Steve Carell. This was a flagship show that launched with the streaming service, and its third season was confirmed at the time of writing.

The plot follows Alex Levy, an anchor for a popular morning TV news show, rocked by her co-anchor’s scandal. Alex has to fight to keep her job while dealing with one crisis after the other and new rivals.

While the story has mixed reviews, the show has been lauded for its standout performances from the A-list cast and excellent production values. So it’s worth checking out.

Ted Lasso

Ted Lasso has turned out to be a smash-hit for Apple TV+, and we wouldn’t be surprised if this show is driving subscriptions to the service. The show stars Jason Sudeikis, who plays an American Football coach recruited to coach an English Soccer team. Of course, Ted knows nothing about soccer or how to coach it but fakes his way ahead based on pure charm and optimism.

Ted was hired to fail as revenge against the club owner’s ex-husband but somehow manages to keep it all afloat. The show mixes comedy, inspirational sports, and romance into a fresh and entertaining mix. This is the show to spend your 7-day free trial with if you can’t decide. Hey, the show won seven Emmys, so they must be on to something!

For All Mankind

What if Neil Armstrong wasn’t the first man on the moon? What if the Russians beat the USA in the space race? For All Mankind explores the implications in an alternative history story with crazy production values and tense storytelling.

The first season, which debuted with Apple TV+, is a slow burn as the pieces are all put into place. However, the second is where the show truly hits its stride, which is why it received critical acclaim. For All Mankind has also been confirmed to have a third season.

Mythic Quest

Video games have become a major industry, but most gamers don’t spend much time thinking about what goes on behind the scenes of big game developers. While Mythic Quest is just a comedy series set within the walls of a fictional game development studio, it is a fresh and exciting workplace show.

In the show, the company produces a World of Warcraft type of MMORPG called Mythic Quest. The game is an ongoing smash hit, and the studio is about to release a highly-anticipated expansion pack. Still, conflicts between larger-than-life egos make this one release that’s not going smoothly. It stars the co-creator of the sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rob McElhenney, as the game’s creative director Ian Grimm. With the additional writing chops of Charlie Day and Megan Ganz, this is a clever comedy wrapped up in the trappings of the modern gaming industry.

Little America

From executive producers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon (and not related to the British comedy series Little Britain), Little America is an anthology series that tells intimate, inspiring, and heartfelt stories of American immigrants. These tales of immigrants coming to the land of opportunity are often unexpected and very human.

The show makes it easy to empathize with the people who brave the unknown of a new country that doesn’t always offer the warmest of welcomes. Little America should be at the top of your list if you’re looking for human-interest storytelling at its finest.

Central Park

Central Park is an animated musical show by Loren Bouchard, creator of Bob’s Burgers, and the hilarious Josh Gad. Like Bouchard’s most famous show Bob’s Burgers, the story centers on a family who just happens to also live in and manage New York’s Central Park. The family is quirky enough to live up to the Bouchard brand, but there’s far more musical mayhem in this show compared to Bob’s Burgers.

So if you like the small musical tasters handed out by Bob, then Central Park will be a delight to you. It’s no Disney Musical (it’s not for kids!), but the tunes are more than decent.

Schmigadoon

Schmigadoon has a strange origin story. After seeing the horror classic An American Werewolf in London, Cinco Paul had the idea for the show decades ago. Except, instead of two backpackers stumbling into a horrifying story involving werewolves, they find themselves in a magical musical world. Still scary if you ask us!

In the story, the backpackers from the original concept are a couple who are stuck in this magical world until they find true love. Of course, this is a shock to them since they thought they already had it! Featuring comedy star Keegan-Michael Key and SNL star Cecily Strong, this musical parody piece has a lot going for it.

Who Are You, Charlie Brown?

The Peanuts gang has been a staple of film and TV for decades and started life as a brilliant cartoon created by Charles M. Schulz. The documentary film shows us the story of how Charlie, Snoopy, and the other Peanuts came to be and the impact they’ve had on our culture.

The documentary features comments from famous names like Kevin Smith, Al Roker, Billie Jean King, Paul Feig, and Drew Barrymore. This just shows how far and wide Peanuts has spread over the years.

Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock

The 1983 children’s show Fraggle Rock was a cultural phenomenon, taking kids to a fantasy musical puppet-filled world of weird creatures. Jim Henson even managed to sneak a few life lessons about communication and cooperation, mixed in with all the silly fun.

Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock is a reboot of the original show blending the latest filmmaking technology with the same wholesome slapstick puppet performances everyone loved. If you’re a parent who enjoyed Fraggle Rock as a child, this is the perfect time to rediscover the magic with your children.

Foundation

Isaac Asimov’s epic Foundation series of books have often been thought impossible to adapt to TV or film. When we heard that Apple was attempting the impossible, we felt excitement and concern. The good news is that Foundation is a fantastic show and one of the few actual sci-fi properties on TV these days. The bad news for fans of the books is that it’s more like a story inspired by the books than a straight adaptation. However, that’s probably for the best, and if you’re a fan of the books, you should put your preconceptions aside.

Foundation tells the story of Hari Seldon’s Foundation. Seldon (played by the excellent Jared Harris) uses mathematics to foresee the fall of the great galactic empire, but through the Foundation, the dark ages after the fall can be shortened to a “mere” 1000 years. The road for his descendants isn’t going to be easy, nor is Apple going to have an easy time telling a story at this scale. We can’t wait for season 2!

Mosquito Coast

Allie Fox is an intelligent inventor with deep suspicion and resentment of the modern industrial, material world. He homeschools his children and lives off-grid. Unfortunately, Allie’s financial situation isn’t great and odd jobs don’t pay the bills. To make things worse, the US government wants him, prompting him to take his family and flee from the US to South America.

Is there something to Allie’s paranoia, or is he dragging his family through a dangerous chase for no reason? You’ll have to find out for yourself in this gripping drama which has already been renewed for a second season.

Dickinson

This comedy series starring Hailee Steinfeld tells the story of Emily Dickinson, a real American poet who lived in the 1800s. However, the show is told using a modern style and tone. We follow Emily over the show’s 30-episode run as she bumps up against the cultural norms of her time regarding gender and a woman’s role in life. All seen through Emily’s unique imagination.

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground is perhaps one of the most influential bands, first finding fame in the 60s, with the band active as late as the mid-90s. They inspired experimental and underground music in ways we’ll probably never know.

However, Apple’s award-winning documentary on their history and influence gives an unprecedented glimpse into their story and the many people involved in this historical musical journey.

Defending Jacob

Defending Jacob is a miniseries starring Chris Evans (Captain America) and Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey). This gripping show is based on a novel of the same name. Evans and Dockery play the parents of Jacob (Jaeden Martell), a 14-year-old boy accused of murder. 

How would you deal with this nightmare situation? Do you defend your children unconditionally? This tense series brings out the emotional big guns as its characters deal with an impossible situation.

The Shrink Next Door

This psychological black comedy starring Will Ferrel and Paul Rudd started as a podcast. This is an eight-episode miniseries so that you can binge it on the weekend. The premise is simple but brilliant. Paul Rudd plays Dr. Herschkopf, who helps Ferrel’s Marty Markowitz with some personal problems.

At first, the good doctor seems to be a great therapist who cares about his clients, but as time goes on, it turns out he cares a little too much. There are certain boundaries a therapist should never cross with their clients, and Dr. Herschkopf has apparently never heard of any of them.

See

Along with Foundation, Apple TV+ is becoming a place where you can expect to find bold and creative Sci-Fi stories. See, starring Jason Momoa as Baba Voss is set in the far future where humans have lost their sense of sight. To “see” is a heresy, yet Momoa’s character now has to protect two adopted children who have vision. Hunted by those who want this heresy stamped out, Baba must do what he can to protect this new generation of sighted children.

Servant

M. Night Shyamalan is most famous for his “what a twist!” movies, but the divisive auteur director took a swing at making a TV series with funding from Apple, and the result is Servant. The show is already three seasons in, with the fourth and final season already greenlit.

It tells the story of a wealthy couple who have marriage issues after their baby passes away. The mother (Lauren Ambrose) experiences a complete psychotic break resulting in catatonia, and the only thing to bring her out of it is a “born doll.”

Born Dolls are hyper-realistic dolls that look like actual infants. The mother believes that the doll is her son, and in service of this delusion, they hire someone to take “care” of it. However, this caretaker brings a “mysterious force” with her, and the horror is just beginning.

Truth Be Told

True crime podcasts are more popular than ever, and the most successful podcasters live the high life. So what happens when you stop being a commentator and get mixed into the dangerous world of uncovering the truth when powerful and dangerous people don’t want you to? Poppy Parnell (Octavia Spencer) is about to find out the hard way.

The Sky is Everywhere

This is one of the best movies on Apple TV+ right now, with haunting music and visually stunning cinematography. Lennie is a musical genius grieving her sister’s death, but life waits for no one. At her high school, she has to deal with a new boy who comes into conflict with her sister’s boyfriend, who’s still reeling from his loss.

Add her blossoming feelings of first love into the mix, and things are messy, but a vivid imagination and a musical view of the world might help her pull through and find the right harmony.

Lisey’s Story

We seem to be in another peak of Stephen King film and TV adaptations, but with far more hits than misses compared to the 80s or 90s. Lisey’s Story follows the psychological trials of Lisey Landon (Julianne Moore), who experiences a series of terrifying and disturbing events, triggering memories of her marriage to author Scott Landon (Clive Owen) and the terrible, mysterious darkness that followed him. Watch this one with the lights on!

Dads

Dads is a fantastic documentary told with humor and heart following the exploits of six amazing fathers and their children from different parts of the world. The film takes a poignant look at what masculine parenting is like in modern times and boasts many celebrity commentators who relate their own experiences as fathers and their fathers.

Losing Alice

Alice Ginor is an influential and successful filmmaker growing tired of her life and misses the glory days at the height of her career. Things seem to be stuck in a rut until she meets a young screenwriter named Sophie.

For Alice, Sophie seems like a dangerous and arousing diversion, but soon she gets pulled into the destructive world Sophie occupies, and there’s no telling who will make it out in one piece.

Home Before Dark

A young investigative journalist named Hilde Lisko moves to a small town in the boonies. However, something seems a little off in this coastal town, and it soon turns out that there’s a cold case everyone in town would rather leave buried.

Unfortunately for them, Hilde’s pursuit of the truth is relentless. This is a great mystery thriller for those who like to keep guessing at the end of every episode.

Acapulco

In the 80s, there doesn’t seem to be a sweeter gig than working at an upscale Acapulco resort, but as Maximo Gallardo is about to find out, the glamor of Acapulco is only skin deep. If you’re all about that 80s Miami Vice era vibe, Acapulco is a fantastic dramedy that channels the era with skill and biting humor.

Physical

This dark comedy-drama stars Rose Byrne as Sheila Rubin, an 80s housewife with vicious inner demons and a life she’s just not happy with. That is, until she discovers the wonders of aerobics, putting her on the path to self-empowerment in a funny and, at times, inspirational story.

The Problem With Jon Stewart

Despite his “retirement” from his daily talk show, Jon Stewart just can’t stay off-camera. In this series, the charismatic host brings together people who are impacted by different aspects of the world’s biggest problems and discusses how it might be possible to change things in a way that works for everyone.

Swagger

Inspired by famous baller Kevin Durant’s life experiences, Swagger is a dramatic look at the world of youth basketball. It’s way more than just a game. For many young players, their families, and their coaches.

CODA

CODA is an award-winning film about Ruby, a Child of Deaf Adults (CODA). “Coda” also cleverly doubles as a musical term. To add even more layers to the name, the premise of this movie is that Ruby discovers a love of singing. As you can imagine, her deaf parents have a hard time understanding this new passion, and conflicts between obligation and ambition aren’t far behind.