The new Apple phone is out now, which means that those who purchased it will have, along with a whole new charger, a three-month free subscription to Apple TV (which comes with the purchase of any new Apple device). For reasons of its own, Apple has eschewed big publicity campaigns for many of its series, so while those new to the streamer, which recently subtracted the + as part of a subtle rebrand, likely know about “Severance,” “The Morning Show,” “The Studio,” “For All Mankind” and, of course, “Ted Lasso,” here’s a list of other series I heartily recommend. The Jessica Chastain-led political thriller “The Savant” would be on the list if Apple hadn’t delayed its release indefinitely after the shooting death of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. The streamer has yet to announce a new premiere date.
‘Mr. Scorsese’
Fresh off his first-ever acting Emmy nomination, for a cameo on “The Studio,” legendary director Martin Scorsese is the subject of Rebecca Miller’s five-part documentary series. A predictably heavy-hitting group of actors, writers and filmmakers discusses the meaning and method of Scorsese’s work and his impact on film and culture, but the star is Scorsese himself, who narrates his own life (and occasionally attempts to direct his own docuseries). He is as engaging, insightful and dazzling on screen as he is behind the camera (see also “Pretend It’s a City” with Fran Lebowitz on Netflix).
Read more: ‘Mr. Scorsese’ is the best behind-the-scenes reel you’ll ever get to see of the famed director
‘Slow Horses’
Since its 2022 debut, this has been my go-to answer for pretty much anyone asking “what should I be watching?” Once a legendary MI5 agent, now a flatulent, greasy-haired wreck, Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) oversees Slough House, the British intelligence agency’s island of misfit toys. Based on the bestselling series by Mick Herron and co-starring Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves and a slew of other terrific actors, it is, minute-for-minute, one of the best shows on television. The fifth season just debuted, but do yourself a favor and start at the beginning.
Read more: Is ‘Slow Horses’ the best show you aren’t watching?
‘Trying’
I honestly do not know why “Trying” has not yet made it into the general “must-watch TV” pantheon; it’s been in mine since it premiered in 2020. Following 30-something Londoners Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall) as they attempt to create a family, first through procreation and then through adoption, “Trying” is a sweet, sad, funny, smart and gloriously authentic look at parenthood and the inevitably imperfect perfection of family. Four seasons are available, the fifth is on its way.
‘Bad Monkey’
Creator Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs,” “Ted Lasso”) takes on Florida satirist/mystery novelist Carl Hiaasen in this adaptation of one of Hiaasen’s many novels. (Yes, there will be alligators.) Jack Yancy (Vince Vaughn) is a troubled, chatty and supremely good-guy detective who keeps getting himself into predicaments, and this being Hiaasen, some of those predicaments are unbelievably wacky. But everyone, including Vaughn, is having such a good time that it is impossible not to join in. Season 1 debuted in 2024 and a new season is on its way.
‘Bad Sisters’
If you can’t count on your sisters to get rid of your horribly abusive, and just generally horrible, husband, do you really have sisters? Adapted from the Belgian series “Clan” in 2022 by Sharon Horgan, who also stars, this is an Irish comedy of the darkest dye, sharpest wit and most tender heart, with some grand scenery thrown in. Two seasons. Please make a third.
‘Dickinson’
Alena Smith deftly mixes a modern sensibility with period details to imagine the rambunctious youth of poet Emily Dickinson (Hailee Steinfeld) while paying homage to her work. The words of the real Dickinson often revealed a woman out of her time, and “Dickinson” offers a smart and often heartbreaking portrait of a life that could have inspired those words. As one of Apple TV’s first original series, “Dickinson” got a lot of attention when it debuted in 2019. Smith, citing issues with Apple’s process, decided to end it after the third season, which is a shame but it remains one of the streamer’s creative masterpieces.
‘Home Before Dark’
There are many reasons to love Dana Fox’s 2020 series about a teenage girl whose love of journalism propels her to investigate a local murder. Based on the real-life exploits of Hilde Lysiak (played by Brooklynn Prince), it also united, for several episodes, the talents of Fox, cinematographer Alice Brooks and director Jon M. Chu, who would go on to bring “Wicked” to the big screen.
Read more: At age 9, she broke news of a killing. Now 13, she interviews the TV star who plays her
‘Mythic Quest’
A workplace comedy set among the creators of a bestselling video game, “Mythic Quest” hits Silicon Valley and game culture hard before branching (often crazily) into more existential explorations of ego, ambition, friendship, love, sex and the deep need for cosplay. With a cast headed by Rob McElhenney and Charlotte Nicdao, it is a refreshing blend of old and new TV — it works well as a binge but also as a place to find laughs and succor on a weekly basis. Four seasons and a spinoff (“Side Quest”).
‘Shrinking’
“Shrinking” is one of the better-known Apple TV shows but I couldn’t in good conscience leave it off this list. Created by Lawrence and centered around therapist and widower Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) as he works through his grief, this is as true an ensemble comedy as you’ll find. The “supporting” characters, including Laird’s fellow therapists — Paul (Harrison Ford) and Gaby (the divine Jessica Williams) — and his friends and neighbors — Brian (Michael Urie) and Liz (Christa Miller) — are fascinating, funny and deserving of multiple Emmy nominations. Three seasons with Lawrence saying he would be open to a fourth.
‘Down Cemetery Road’
Emma Thompson as a private investigator and Ruth Wilson as a woman seeking answers to the apparent disappearance of a child. If that’s not enough to draw your eye, “Down Cemetery Road,” which premiered Wednesday, is, like “Slow Horses,” adapted from a series of Herron novels. While it doesn’t share that series’ satiric humor, it is a solid mystery-thriller that Thompson’s jaded Zoë Boehm and Wilson’s tremulous but tough Sarah Tucker lift into the revelatory.
‘Manhunt’
This seven-episode docudrama is based on James L. Swanson’s 2006 book, “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer,” and that should serve as the essential plot outline. But those who have not read Swanson’s book, or done deep research into the assassination of President Lincoln, may find the plot, motivation and aftermath of John Wilkes Booth’s despicable plan more complicated than they thought. If nothing else, this deeply engaging and alarmingly resonant series highlights the role then-Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (Tobias Menzies) played in Booth’s capture, while bringing to life the chaos of the government, and the country, in the days following Lincoln’s death.
‘Silo’
Postapocalyptic tales have long filled our screens, but this one, based on Hugh Howey’s trilogy, is one of the best. In a not-too-distant future when the world has been laid waste by some toxic substance that renders the air poisonous, humanity has been forced underground, into a self-sustaining silo. There a medieval caste system has bred, not surprisingly, rebellion and the suspicion that all is not what it seems above ground. If this sounds familiar (“Paradise,” “Fallout”), “Silo’s” steam-punk atmosphere and wildly ambitious themes (not to mention a terrific cast that includes Rebecca Ferguson, Rashida Jones, Tim Robbins and David Oyelowo) return the sci-fi genre to its roots as a meaningful meditation on the eternal human condition with all sorts of futuristic gadgets and problematic situations thrown in. Two seasons, with a third in the works.
Read more: Rebecca Ferguson has no interest in playing the hero. That’s what makes ‘Silo’ so exciting
‘The Essex Serpent’
If you are looking for a broody, slightly Gothic (and very damp) tale of love, longing, betrayal, female empowerment and a possible sea monster, then this is the six-episode series for you. After her wealthy and abusive husband dies, Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes) takes her thwarted scientific ambitions to the Essex coast, where a sea serpent has allegedly taken a young girl. There she meets Father Will (Tom Hiddleston), whose skeptical faith, and ailing wife, make him vulnerable to Cora’s many attractions. Based on Sarah Perry’s book of the same name, it is romance with a capital R, combining big questions about God, the natural world and the fractured nexus of human need with our archetypal yearning for monsters other than ourselves, and the pleasures of an exquisitely detailed period piece.
‘Pachinko’
A truly epic tale of a Korean family living in Japan, “Pachinko” spans 70 years, multiple generations and all manner of themes — war, bigotry, immigration, sexism, poverty — while never straying from the realities and emotional resonance of its many characters, particularly Sunja, played in youth by Kim Min-ha and in elder years by Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung (“Minari.”) The tension of cultural identity infuses a story that captures the vagaries of life. Like the pachinko game that serves as title and metaphor for the series and the Min Jin Lee book on which it is based, action and reaction overpower whatever plans we might make. As with every good epic, the actions, and reactions, are operatic and wildly diverse.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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