A closer look at all the best Apple TV+ shows, from dramas like Pachinko to feel-good series like Ted Lasso, Shrinking, and more.
Apple’s streaming service Apple TV+, for better or worse, is a fraction of the size of pretty much all of its rivals and has remained a more or less boutique offering since 2019. That said, size doesn’t really have anything to do with the amount of quality content on the platform available to choose from — quality, fortunately, being where Apple especially shines.
I’ve been an Apple TV+ subscriber from day one, in addition to covering the iPhone maker’s streaming service from its November 2019 launch. In this guide, I’ll take a closer look at more than a dozen Apple shows available to stream that are as good as anything you’ll find on Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and the like. They range from high-profile standouts to underrated gems. Let’s dive right in, in no particular order.
Tehran
In this Apple spy thriller (which is coming back soon for a third season), Niv Sultan portrays Tamar Rabinyan — an Iranian-born Mossad agent who, in Season 1, sneaks into Iran to try and leave an Iranian nuclear facility vulnerable to an Israeli Air Force bombing run. In Season 2, Glenn Close joined the cast as a new handler of sorts for Tamar inside Iran.
In my opinion, quality spy shows aren’t always easy to come by — making Tehran a rare gem, indeed. Too often, it feels like filmmakers or TV showrunners fall back on tired tropes and lazy assumptions about the cloak-and-dagger world of espionage. In Tehran, however, the protagonists are messy, flawed, and prone to mistakes — but also so compelling as to keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
Season 3, by the way, will see the addition of Hugh Laurie to the cast. He’ll play a South African nuclear inspector. Overall, a 10/10 series from Apple.Acapulco
TV doesn’t get much more feel-good than Apple’s Spanish- and English-language comedy Acapulco, which is awash in bright splashes of color, is set largely in and around a beautiful resort, and focuses on the earnest, lovelorn character of a young man named Maximo.
The co-creators include Eduardo Cisneros, Jason Shuman, and Austin Winsberg, the latter of whom is also the creator of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist — in other words, a TV veteran who is clearly hardcore about making sure you feel good after spending time with any of his shows. Long story short, we follow two versions of Maximo throughout this series: Both the young man who gets a job at the Las Colinas resort in Acapulco, and the much older and now fabulously wealthy version of Maximo who’s recounting his story to his nephew, How I Met Your Mother-style.
There’s a reason this show still has a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Pretty much all of the characters are so likable that you come to enjoy spending time with them all. They grow, make you laugh, and make you want to go ahead and book a relaxing getaway to Mexico ASAP. And by you, I mean me.
I also love the little touches, like the man and woman at the resort who sing Spanish-language versions of different hit songs from the 80s. I couldn’t be happier that Apple continues to invest in this series, which is a definite must-watch for the Ted Lasso fans among you. Speaking of which …Ted Lasso
In Ted Lasso, the title character is an aw-shucks, small-time coach from Kansas who gets a job in England coaching a Premier League football team. Like with so many shows from creator Bill Lawrence, however, that setting is just the packaging for something timeless and much more approachable at the core. You don’t have to be a sports fan at all, in other words, to appreciate this series about learning how to find and embrace your better self.
In season two of the show, its irrepressible optimism and feel-good spirit were complemented by a focus on mental health, thanks to the addition of a team therapist. Characters like Coach Lasso, whose marriage has fallen apart, were fleshed out even more — and season three found him confronted by the challenge of leading the team out of their malaise.
From my review of the third and maybe-not-so-final season of the show, which was the most-watched original streaming series across all platforms in 2023:
“At the end of the day, there’s always a little bit of arrogance involved in writing about any kind of art — not that it won’t stop the hot-take machine from weighing in on the highly anticipated new season of the show. Does Ted Lasso stick the landing? You’ll have to figure that out for yourself, of course, but I can only offer — again — that if you’ve enjoyed the ride thus far, I think the thing you’ll be the most disappointed by here is that the show that encouraged us to be a goldfish — and to be curious, not judgmental — is coming to an end.”Little America
This next Apple TV+ show is an anthology series about the lives of real-life immigrants who all have different experiences in pursuit of the American Dream.
On paper, Little America might sound like a dreary idea for a TV show. It first debuted on Apple’s streamer as part of the launch slate of programming back in 2019 and follows a single protagonist across each of its eight episodes. For many of the immigrants depicted herein, life is hard, fraught, and joy is tough to come by. And yet, the slice-of-life vignettes in each of the episodes put Little America right up there with Ted Lasso as one of the most heartwarming and feel-good shows on Apple’s streamer.
As an aside, Episode 3 of Little America‘s second season (titled The 9th Caller) is one of the best single episodes of TV I’ve seen in a long time — make sure a box of Kleenex is nearby while you watch.
