Apple TV Plus has rapidly risen up our list of the best streaming services. Its focus on quality over quantity is refreshing compared to its rivals, which often overwhelm subscribers with uninspired content. A quick glance at our roundup of the best Apple TV Plus shows displays what an impressive library the service has built in recent years.
Flagship hits like Ted Lasso, Severance, For All Mankind and The Morning Show often dominate the discussion, but you might be surprised to learn that Apple TV Plus has a wealth of worthwhile shows waiting in the wings. In fact, look beyond the shows that hog the spotlight and you’ll find several criminally overlooked shows that deserve more attention.
Below, you’ll find three such series that definitely earn our stamp of approval and are perfect for binge-watching right now. They include a glossy rom-com that subverts the cliched “will-they-won’t-they” tropes to gripping true crime docuseries that centers on a CEO-turned-fugitive. These are the best Apple TV Plus shows you’re (probably) not watching but really should be.
Platonic
A perfect display of the comedic talents of both Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne, Platonic sounds very generic on paper, but give this romantic-comedy series a chance and you might be surprised how quickly it worms its way into your affections. And while you probably think you can predict the ending before even pressing play, you'll be pleasantly surprised by Platonic’s willingness to subvert the genre's cliches.
This 10-episode comedy, sees Sylvia (Byrne) reconnect with her former best friend, Will (Rogan), after a rift led to the pair not speaking for years. Both are on the verge of a midlife crisis, and grappling with how to grow old gracefully, but as they reignite their friendship, the pair’s lives become more and more interwoven with some unforeseen consequences for both of them. Consistently funny, and frighteningly relatable, Platonic is a fresh comedy that is easy to love.
Episodes: 10
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Stream on Apple TV Plus
The Afterparty
With season 2 winding up, now is a great time to head over to The Afterparty. This uniquely structured murder mystery series explores the events of an ill-fated event where one of the attendees ends up murdered. Questioned by a police detective (Tiffany Haddish) each partygoer remembers the events of the night a little differently, and as we see the shindig from each of their perspectives, a clearer picture starts to form.
What’s most entertaining about The Afterparty is how each episode focuses on a different character’s viewpoint and is told in a different style. For example, in the first season, episode 1 is presented as a rom-com, episode 2 is framed like an action movie, episode 3 is a musical and the series continues in this way. You never quite know what you’re going to get when you start a new episode, but the overarching central mystery keeps you hooked across the entire season.
Episodes: 16
Genre: Mystery Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Stream on Apple TV Plus
Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn
If you’re a true crime obsessive, then you’ll certainly want to give Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn a watch. This four-part documentary series focuses on the eponymous Carlos Ghosn, a former titan of the automotive industry who held key positions at Michelin, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi. However, after climbing to the top of the corporate ladder, Ghosn was arrested in a shocking turn of events that eventually led to a worldwide manhunt.
This docuseries looks to answer whether the businessman is a “victim or villain” and explores the repercussions of his actions on the people around him and the companies he worked for. While there are true crime documentaries that explore more shocking events, Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn will hook you with its glossy production values and well-paced structure. This is the type of doc that you’ll likely devour in just a couple of sittings.
Episodes: 4
Genre: True crime
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
Stream on Apple TV Plus
Silo
Debuting back in May of this year, Silo is a dystopian sci-fi drama set in a future where humanity has been forced underground as the planet's surface is no longer habitable. The remaining communities exist in a giant underground silo that is hundreds of stories deep.
The humans living within these claustrophobic conditions are part of a new society that is bound by strict regulations that the powers in charge swear are there to protect them. But when an engineer (Rebecca Ferguson) working on the lowest levels of the Silo discovers shocking truths about the people who rule over this society, secrets come to light and residents begin dying in mysterious ways.
Episodes: 10
Genre: Sci-fi
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
Stream on Apple TV Plus
Shining Girls
Elisabeth Moss swaps the world of Gilead and The Handmaid's Tale for a dark and winding mystery thriller in Shining Girl. Moss plays Kirby Mazrachi, an archivist who was brutally attacked and left for dead by an unknown assailant several years ago. Still traumatized by the ordeal, her grip on reality slowly starts to loosen.
But determined to unmask her attacker, she becomes fixated on a murder that resembles her own assault. Enlisting the help of a reporter (Dan Velazquez), the pair tumble down a rabbit hole of unsolved cases that stretch back decades. The hunt for a serial killer is on, but Kirby struggles to trust her own mind when what's real keeps changing.
Episodes: 8
Genre: Thriller
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Stream on Apple TV Plus
More from Tom's Guide
