The 49 Best Shows and Movies on Apple TV+ Right Now (April 2024)

Apple TV+ is the youngest of the major streaming services, but that hasn't stopped its corporate juggernaut owner from spending tons of money on its new movies and series, putting out a lot of high-quality stuff with very few real misses. And without any licensed movies from other distributors, quality over quantity is the name of the game for Apple. 

The latest case in point? The thriller series Manhunt, about the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and Noel Fielding's The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, which is a very different (and much more comedic) historical tale.

On top of that, Apple's got the recent sci-fi show Constellation, which follows an astronaut who returns to a different Earth than the one she left, Masters of the Air, a wistful (and intense!) look at the brave airmen of World War II, and Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, which may not have won any Oscars, but it was still one of the best movies of the year.

This list was last updated April 4; newer additions are at the top.

Manhunt

For fans of: historical dramas, Civil War drama, Anthony Boyle showing off range
Number of seasons: 1

Where all the other stories about Abe Lincoln end, this one begins — with his death at the hands of John Wilkes Booth, one of modern history's most famous assassins. The focus here is on Edward Stanton (Outlander star Tobias Menzies), Lincoln's Secretary of War and the man who runs the search for Booth. But this series isn't just about that — it also deals with how this assassination threw the newly reunited USA into a different sort of chaos, and the conspiracies that arose as a result of that. It's a simple premise with a very complicated story.

The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin

For fans of: The Mighty Boosh's Vince Noir, Our Flag Means Death, lots of chatter about velvet
Number of seasons: 1

This incredibly silly comedy will appeal to a particular set of viewers who were charmed by Noel Fielding's pre-Great British Baking Show comedy The Mighty Boosh, as it lets Fielding go wild with what is essentially the same flamboyant, fashion-obsessed character he played in that cult comedy. Set in 18th century England, The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin follows a very unrugged Dick Turpin (Fielding) as he pursues a new career as a highwayman robbing coaches with his incredibly unorthodox methods and a gang of misfits, while they tangle with obstacles both supernatural and regular natural and they're pursued by stuffy aristocrats and lawmen. It is supremely goofy, which is enough to steer it away from its closest comparison, the rather earnest Max pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death. You don't have to be high to enjoy it, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. -Tim Surette [Trailer]    

Constellation

For fans of: Motherhood, theoretical physics
Number of seasons: 1

Apple TV+ is quickly establishing itself as a home for science fiction television of all flavors, and its latest falls firmly into the "smart and philosophical" category. Noomi Rapace stars as an astronaut who returns home to a life she doesn't quite recognize after an experiment in quantum mechanics causes an accident on the International Space Station. Back on terra firma, her family seems different, she's not remembering things she supposedly did, and she's haunted by images only she can see. Some death-defying action is frontloaded in the first few episodes, but the series then settles into what it really is: a meditation on identity and family through a theoretical physics lens. -Tim Surette [Trailer] [Review]      

Masters of the Air

For fans of: Band of Brothers, the internet's favorite boys
Number of seasons: 1

You thought Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks were done making limited series about World War II? Think again. The duo behind Band of Brothers and The Pacific are now bringing us Masters of the Air, which follows a group of airmen, nicknamed the "Bloody Hundredth," who conducted risky bomb raids over Germany during the war. The series doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it's a thrilling spectacle, and the sprawling cast is a real who's who of It boys, including Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan, and Ncuti Gatwa. -Allison Picurro [Trailer] [Review]

Killers of the Flower Moon

For fans of: Historical dramas, true stories, Scorcese flicks, prestige films

Martin Scorsese has made a lot of excellent films over the course of his lengthy career, but Killers of the Flower Moon might legitimately be his best work. This three-hour epic, about a sleazy businessman and his similarly sleazy nephew (played by Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, respectively) marrying into a wealthy Osage Nation family and then murdering them to try to steal their money, is another heartbreaking character study from one of the masters. Star Lily Gladstone made history as the first Native American woman to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, and the fourth Indigenous actress to be nominated in that category. She's the beating heart of this story. -Phil Owen [Trailer]  

Criminal Record

For fans of: crime dramas, British TV, socially aware storytelling
Number of seasons: 1

The eight-episode limited series Criminal Record stars Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo as a pair of London police detectives who find themselves at odds over an old murder case that seemingly had a lot more going on than Capaldi's character wants everyone to know. The series promises a tightly wound mystery with plenty of twists to sort through and deep character studies. -Phil Owen [Trailer]  

Slow Horses

For fans of: Spy dramas, incredibly British things, Gary Oldman rippin' toots
Number of seasons: 3 (Renewed through Season 5)

Good spy dramas are hard to come by, which makes Slow Horses a refreshing watch in these times of true crime and tech CEOs behaving badly. The series follows a group of MI5 agents who have been relegated to a backwater outpost called Slough House because of past mistakes, where they're supposed to disappear and do grunt work while superstar agents get the glory. Gary Oldman plays the team leader, a disgruntled man who can no longer give an F about anything, while Jack Lowden plays the new member of Slough House who isn't willing to fade away. It's darkly funny and thrilling. In early 2024, Apple TV+ renewed the series for a fifth season before the fourth season even aired. -Tim Surette [Trailer]  

More recommendations:

• The Ultimate Guide to What to Stream in January
• The Best Shows to Watch Based on Shows You Already Love
• The Best Sci-Fi Shows

For All Mankind

For fans of: Putting boots on the moon (and Mars), space travel, alternate history
Number of seasons: 4

What started out as a fun sci-fi drama set in an alternate history in which Russia landed on the the moon before America — locking the two superpowers in an extended space race that lasts for decades — has become one of TV's best shows. Battlestar Galactica's Ronald D. Moore mixes politics, technology, and character drama to create a show that's unlike anything else on TV. After settling on the moon in Season 2 with lunar stations, Season 3 has bigger aspirations of making it to Mars, bringing some of the most breathtaking action sequences the show has ever done while rivals, plus a new private tech firm, attempt to make history. And in Season 4, we're establishing bases on the Red Planet and dealing with labor practices... in space! It's great for space geeks and anyone into speculative fiction. Joel Kinnaman, Wrenn Schmidt, and Krys Marshall star. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

For fans of: Kaiju, the Russell family
Number of seasons: 1

Apple TV+'s biggest star is approximately, as the song goes, 30 stories high. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters brings the cinematic MonsterVerse to the small screen, continuing the story from the 2014 film Godzilla and tracking the origin of the secret cabal Monarch, which hunts and studies MUTOs (massive unidentified terrestrial organisms, aka monsters). Kurt Russell plays a man linked to Monarch in the current timeline, while his son Wyatt Russell plays the younger version of him in a flashback timeline. It's a summer blockbuster on your TV, for better or worse. -Tim Surette [Trailer]       

The Buccaneers

For fans of: Bridgerton but younger vibes, stickin' it to snobby Brits

Need to unstuff a stuffy British period piece? Just add Americans. This adaptation of Edith Wharton's unfinished novel, published in 1938, will no doubt draw appropriate comparisons to Netflix's wildly popular Bridgerton, but the story of five young, new-money American women who head to London in the 1870s to catch British aristocrats for marriage adds a different enough wrinkle to make it stand out. These girls are rowdy and raucous, making the conservative Brits spit out their tea (metaphorically, sadly) at their brash behavior. But behind the culture clashes is a whopper of a love triangle as Nan (future leading lady Kristine Frøseth) finds herself caught between two best friends. A finale that holds its secrets tight until the last minute, sets and costumes that used every farthing of Apple's generous budget, and a youthful energy make this show a fun watch. -Tim Surette [Trailer]       

Lessons in Chemistry

For fans of: The magic of science, Brie Larson speaking like Sheldon Cooper
Number of seasons: 1

Apple TV+'s adaptation of Bonnie Garmus' best-selling book isn't always able to replicate the full flavors of the source material, but the story of a chemist (Brie Larson) who becomes a cooking TV show host after the misogyny of academia ousts her from her first love creates a hero who is still easy to root for. With shifting perspectives and timeline jumps, it can sometimes bite off more than it can chew, but that same structure also creates some of its most touching and emotional moments. Who knew a dog had so much to say? -Tim Surette [Trailer]       

The Pigeon Tunnel

For fans of: Jon le Carré novels, Errol Morris documentaries

Documentary filmmaker Errol Morris is well-known for probing his subjects through interrogation, and he may have met his match with John le Carré (real name David Cornwell), the former MI6 operative and British author known as a master of the espionage thriller, with titles such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Night Agent, and The Constant Gardener in his oeuvre. Morris mixes interviews with dramatic reenactments to crack Cornwell's shell in the author's most revealing talk and final interview before his death in 2020. -Tim Surette [Trailer]       

The Super Models

For fans of: The late 1980s, magazines, "Freedom! '90"
Number of seasons: 1

The easy sell is "here's four hours with some of the most beautiful women to ever walk the Earth," but Apple's four-episode docuseries The Super Models is more than skin deep, looking back on the birth of the super model with the women who created it: Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington. The first two episodes filled with never-before-seen footage that charts their rise to fame are the best, and the candid interviews give great insight into the behind-the-scenes world of fashion as it was blowing up into the mainstream. Just don't expect anything too deep. -Tim Surette [Trailer]       

The Morning Show

For fans of: The Newsroom, #MeToo, A-listers
Number of seasons: 3

When Apple TV+ launched, it seemed to do so on the back of The Morning Show, its big-budget, high-profile, star-studded drama that was going to win every award out there. Jennifer Aniston AND Reese Witherspoon starring in the same show as rival anchors for a popular morning show? Well, reviews were mixed, and early episodes were less than impressive, but the show righted many of its wrongs as its season continued and spent another season tinkering with its formula. Now in its third season, the series is at its best, which is to say it's embraced the silliness and is going for it with some big swings about topical subjects. Case in point: A billionaire tries to shoot Aniston's character into space in the Season 3 premiere. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Changeling

For fans of: Brothers Grimm fairy tales, mysteries, New York City
Number of seasons: 1

The Changeling follows Apollo Kagwa (LaKeith Stanfield), a rare book dealer whose life takes a turn for the supernatural after his wife (Clark Backo) commits an unthinkable act of violence and then promptly disappears. Determined to figure out the truth of what happened to her, Apollo is led on a journey through a version of New York City that he never knew existed. Based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Victor LaVelle, The Changeling is an enchanting, spooky, slow-burning fairy tale. -Allison Picurro [Trailer]

Physical

For fans of: Jazzercise, internal dialogue filled with nasty insults
Number of seasons: 3

If you miss Netflix's GLOW, you might find some solace in this 1980s-set dramedy that follows a housewife (Rose Byrne) who finds strength in the aerobics craze that's just starting to sweep across the nation's malls. But don't expect the cheery underdog story from GLOW; Byrne's character is struggling with bulimia and spends much of her days hurling nasty body-shaming insults at other women. Byrne excels in the role as an antihero breaking free from the expectations of a traditional housewife in her own morally questionable way. Season 3 is the final season. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Foundation

For fans of: Hard science-fiction, great special effects
Number of seasons: 2

One of Apple TV+'s biggest gambles is the big-budget science-fiction series Foundation, based on the popular books by Isaac Asimov. I enjoyed Season 1 more than most — though, to be fair, I wasn't familiar with the source material, so I couldn't do any comparisons — but the biggest complaint was that it was uneven and had difficulty bringing Asimov's colossal ideas to television. But the performances are great, particularly from an inspired Lee Pace as the royal villain Brother Day and the always reliable Jared Harris as Hari Seldon. The ambitious premise is too big to explain in a single blurb — basically, some exiles are trying to rebuild society after the collapse of a long-ruling empire — but it's worth checking out if you're a fan of hard sci-fi. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Afterparty

For fans of: Murder mysteries, your favorite comedians, genre switching
Number of seasons: 2

This comedic murder mystery anthology series combines the plot mechanics of Knives Out with the sense of humor of an Upright Citizens Brigade sketch. The first season — with an all-star cast that includes Ben Schwartz, Sam Richardson, Ilana Glazer, John Early, Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, and Jamie Demetriou — focuses on the murder of a pop star at his high school reunion's afterparty. The second season — which brings back Haddish, Richardson, and Zoë Chao and adds the likes of John Cho, Jack Whitehall, and Poppy Liu — tackles a whole new case involving a wedding that's thrown into disarray when the groom is murdered. It's a genre-hopping good time. -Liam Mathews [Trailer] 

Hijack

For fans of: 24 but in the sky and only for 7 hours
Number of seasons: 1

This perfectly fine seven-episode thriller stars Idris Elba as a man on board a flight that gets hijacked by terrorists. The good thing about Elba's character? He's a fantastic business negotiator, which makes him the perfect hero to negotiate with the terrorists. Each episode represents an hour of the ordeal, so there is a good sense of a ticking clock going on. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Platonic

For fans of: Chaotic best friends
Number of seasons: 1

Despite what When Harry Met Sally taught us, in Platonic, straight men and women can just be friends. This endearingly silly comedy, created by Nicholas Stoller and Francesca Delbanco, reunites Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen as a pair of old friends who reconnect after years apart, which leads to chaos — and some constructive change — as they both reconsider what they want their lives to look like. It's a fun hangout comedy with a dash of midlife crisis. As Keith Phipps says in his review, "Beneath gags about late-night cell phone etiquette, nightmarish home renovation projects, and raccoons is a bittersweet exploration of giving up youthfulness for middle age, what's lost and gained in the exchange, and the realization that your true friends are the ones still with you on the other side." -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

For fans of: Michael J. Fox!

Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) directs this documentary on 1980s Hollywood legend Michael J. Fox, whose career was paused by a Parkinson's diagnosis. The film works because it embodies the optimistic spirit of Fox, whose wit and charm push Still into an uplifting tale of persevering rather than a sad story of what could have been. Guggenheim's use of classic Fox clips to push the narrative forward will only remind you of just how great Fox was and is. -Tim Surette [Trailer]      

Silo

For fans of: Sci-fi murder mysteries, deep holes in the ground
Number of seasons: 1

This new sci-fi series — an adaptation of Hugh Howey's 2012 book Wool — from Justified's Graham Yost starts off with a rough first episode, but the story — a near-future dystopian murder mystery set in an underground facility where the last surviving thousands of humans live — really gets chugging in Episode 2. That's when we're introduced to Rebecca Ferguson's Juliette, an engineer discovering that a series of murders just might be related to the rule-makers of their subterranean abode. Fair warning: This moody and drab drama is for hard sci-fi lovers or fans of Scandinavian noir. -Tim Surette [Trailer]      

Schmigadoon!

For fans of: Musical comedies, corn pudding
Number of seasons: 2

Despite being perfectly enjoyable, musical comedy series don't have the most successful track record (Galavant, where art thou?). But Apple TV+'s genre-busting series Schmigadoon! is bucking the trend in a good way. Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong star as a couple who come across a magical town where everyone seems stuck in a 1940s musical. They get stuck in the town, which makes it a bit of a Twilight Zone episode or horror movie where everyone sings about corn pudding. Also, Martin Short plays a leprechaun. This show is goofy on the outside, but secretly twisted. In the fantastic Season 2, the series shifts to "Schmicago" to lampoon musicals from the '60s and '70s. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Big Door Prize

For fans of: Small town comedies, existential questions, comically large bowls of spaghetti
Number of seasons: 1 (Renewed for Season 2)

Chris O'Dowd stars in this comfortably whimsical comedy about citizens of a small town who get in a tizzy when a mysterious machine called The Morpho arrives with a promise to reveal their life potential on a little blue card. Seeing how these regular folk take to archery, motorcycle riding, and other hobbies they previously had no interest in is both hilarious and thought-provoking, as questions of prophecy, latent desires, and divine intervention swirl around your head. But the real draw here is the charming cast and the characters they bring to life with intertwining stories sharpened with a bit of mystery. -Tim Surette [Trailer]     

Ted Lasso

For fans of: Making fun of Americans, making fun of the British, sports, feeling good
Number of seasons: 3

If any show can be credited with restoring faith in humanity after the whirlwind of 2020, it is Ted Lasso. The titular Ted (Jason Sudeikis) is an American college football coach who heads to England to coach an actual football (soccer, for the uninitiated) team. While the setup seems like a farce -- Ted's hiring is part of an elaborate scheme by an embittered woman looking to ruin the beloved football team of her cheating ex-husband -- Ted's seemingly unshakeable good nature and determination to see the best in everyone, even those actively trying to do him harm, is downright inspiring. He doesn't just bring a glow to everyone around him; he leaves viewers with hope that things can get better and that doing your best is enough. He's the hero we didn't know we needed. Season 3 might be the last season of the show, or it might not. Sudeikis and Apple are being extremely non-committal, probably because Apple is holding up a check with a lot of numbers on it to keep it going despite the producers' insistence that the originally planned three-season arc is finished. -Megan Vick [Trailer] 

The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy

For fans of: Complaining, watching someone being forced to do something they don't want to
Number of seasons: 1

If you find travel shows too packed with things like "wonder" and "enthusiasm" from their eager hosts, then take a tour of the world with Schitt's Creek's Eugene Levy. As the title implies, Levy would rather loaf around in the comforts of his temperature-controlled home, but here he's visiting beautiful spots like Finland, the Maldives, and Venice, complaining about the weather the entire time. But that's the attraction of the show; Levy's whining is actually more of a draw then the spots he's in, making this less of a travel show and more of a one-man play. -Tim Surette [Trailer]       

Shrinking

For fans of: Ted Lasso, crossing boundaries, sad sacks
Number of seasons: 1

Ted Lasso's Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence team up with Jason Segel for this tragi-com about a therapist (Segel) swirling the toilet bowl of life after his wife dies. So what he decides to do is tell it to his patients like it is, obliterating the professional boundaries of therapists. But because this is a TV show from the same team that said a football coach could go to England and coach a soccer team, the advice works! Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams also star. -Tim Surette [Trailer]       

Servant

For fans of: Psychological horror from M. Night Shyamalan, babies, food
Number of seasons: 4

The claustrophobic thriller Servant, created by Tony Basgallop and executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan, began as a wild-eyed but mechanically precise story about a family unraveling in the wake of a tragedy. In Season 1, Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) and Sean Turner (Toby Kebbell) hired live-in nanny Leanne (Nell Tiger Free) to care for the lifelike "reborn doll" that a grieving Dorothy believed was her son — only for the doll to somehow become a living baby. Now, the show has gone full-on supernatural as Leanne's true nature has come out. It's the details that make this show stand out, like the rich wallpaper of the Turners' Philadelphia brownstone, the wet, wet, shoes of Leanne's weird uncle (Boris McGiver), and the most unsettling food design since Hannibal. The fourth and final season is now airing. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer] 

Little America

For fans of: The immigrant experience, anthologies, crying your eyes out in a good way
Number of seasons: 2

If you need a nice pick-me-up from the ills of the world, this anthology series from Kumail Nanjiani, Emily V. Gordon, and Master of None's Alan Yang is a good bet. Each episode of Little America is based on the true stories of immigrants in America, showing off their successes and experiences in humorous and heartwarming fashion, like the Indian spelling bee whiz who ran his parents' hotel after they were deported and petitioned Laura Bush to help him get them back. The best part of the show is that it focuses on the systemic challenges they face rather than on hate from racist individuals, and the stories vary wildly so they don't feel repetitive. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Echo 3

For fans of: Action and artsiness at the same time, guns but emotion
Number of seasons: 1

Imagine if Strike Back, the great Cinemax action series, took some time to appreciate the beauty of life and nature in between blowing things up. That's kind of like what Echo 3 is. The series hails from Mark Boal, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of The Hurt Locker, and follows a scientist (Jessica Ann Collins) who gets captured by South American rebels and the ensuing mission to get her back by her husband (Michiel Huisman) and brother (Luke Evans), who both happen to be Special Forces. I'm not sure the intense, no-frills action sequences, the meaning-of-life pondering shots of nature, and the emotional flashback snippets belong in the same show together, but for those looking for an elevated military drama, this is it, even if it doesn't always work. -Tim Surette [Trailer]     

Mythic Quest

For fans of: Workplace comedies, the video game industry
Number of seasons: 3 (+special episodes)

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney is smart enough to know that video games are funny, but they're not to be made fun of. Gamers are legion, after all. The game biz gets a loving sendup in Mythic Quest without making gamers the joke, as McElhenney plays the egotistical creative director of a popular MMORPG that's seemingly always in trouble in some way or another. F. Murray Abraham leaves the show in Season 3 (in spectacular fashion, I might add), but the excellent cast still includes Danny Pudi, Ashly Burch, Jessie Ennis, David Hornsby, Imani Hakim, and Charlotte Nicdao, who's one of TV's most underrated talents. Even with a third season that doesn't hit like the previous two, this is one of TV's best workplace comedies. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me

For fans of: Selena Gomez, getting to know a down-to-earth megastar

You can watch Selena Gomez in streaming originals on Netflix (The Fundamentals of Caring), Hulu (Only Murders in the Building), or HBO Max (Selena + Chef), but now you can really see who Selena Gomez is on Apple TV+. This documentary follows Selena as she struggles with stardom, accepts her diagnoses of lupus, bipolar disorder, and depression, and turns her focus on helping herself and others. It's a must-see for Selena fans, and an ought-to-see for everyone else looking for a cathartic film about one's truth. -Tim Surette [Trailer]     

Acapulco

For fans of: Hard work, sunny vibes, telenovelas
Number of seasons: 2 (Renewed for Season 3)

If you need to wash the day away, you can't do much better than checking into the Las Colinas resort in Acapulco, the setting for this comedy about a young man who gets a dream job working at a high-end resort in Mexico. The 1980s-set bilingual comedy -- it's about 50/50 English and Spanish -- is like Jane the Virgin meets The White Lotus meets How I Met Your Mother, as Maximo (Enrique Arrizon) works his way up from pool boy in 1984 to wealthy hotelier in the present-day timeline. It's charming, it's sunny, and it's got a pair of lounge singers who belt out '80s classics in Spanish. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Bad Sisters

For fans of: Big Little Lies, Irish accents, cinematography
Number of Seasons: 1 (Renewed for Season 2)

The great Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe) created and stars in this Irish series that's something like Big Little Lies as a dark comedy. It's about five sisters — played by Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene, and Eve Hewson — one of whom is married to a truly awful man played by Claes Bang, who, when the show begins, is dead. The show unfolds over two timelines, and there's a mystery in each one: What happened to him and how exactly the sisters were involved in his death in the past, and whether they'll be able to keep the secret in the present. It's thrillingly biting in Horgan's signature way. -Liam Mathews [Trailer]       

Black Bird

For fans of: Mindhunter, prison stories
Number of Seasons: 1

Black Bird is one of this year's rarest birds: a true crime adaptation that actually feels fresh — and horrifying. Developed by novelist Dennis Lehane and based on James Keene's autobiographical novel In With the Devil, the drama series stars Taron Egerton as Keene, who's facing a 10-year prison sentence before he gets an unexpected offer: He'll be freed if he can befriend and tease a confession out of a suspected serial killer (Paul Walter Hauser). Ray Liotta, in one of his final roles, plays Jimmy's father, an ex-cop with his own burdens. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]       

Cha Cha Real Smooth

For fans of: Dancing at bat and bar mitzvahs, crowd-pleasing tearjerkers

Cooper Raiff is having his Hollywood moment. The young writer, director, and star of Cha Cha Real Smooth saw his film take home the Sundance Audience Prize earlier this year, leading Apple to gobble it up (Apple did the same with CODA, which went on to win Best Picture). Raiff plays 22-year-old Andrew, whose charm earns him a job as a party starter at bat and bar mitzvahs, which leads him to fall for an engaged mother (Dakota Johnson) of an autistic child. Post-college confusion ensues as Andrew struggles to find his place in the world, making CCRS a coming-of-age story with laughs and tears. It won't win Best Picture, but it's one of the easiest movies to watch this year. -Tim Surette [Trailer]    

Prehistoric Planet

For fans of: Thunder lizards, better than average CGI, David Attenborough
Number of seasons: 1

The whole "it's a regular nature show, but with dinosaurs" thing has been attempted many times ever since we first caught a glimpse of a brachiosaurus in the original Jurassic Park. The results have been mixed, with most failing to deliver good-looking dinos, but technology is finally at a place where computers can whip up herds of dinosaurs that require a second glance to check if they're real or not. And that realism is important for the emotional impact; ever see a baby pterosaur in a life-or-death race with a predator? With Father Nature David Attenborough narrating and five episodes divided up by biomes, it's the closest we've come to Planet Earth for dinosaurs. -Tim Surette [Trailer]       

The Essex Serpent

For fans of: Mythological creatures, star-crossed romance, picturesque English countrysides
Number of seasons: 1

Apple TV+'s adaptation of Sarah Perry's 2016 novel, in which a sea serpent — or at least the possibility of one — terrorizes Essex, England in Victorian times, is the rare period romance and folk horror combo packed with star power. Claire Danes plays the naturalist hunting down the monster, while Tom Hiddleston plays the reverend who's sort of like the Scully to Danes' Mulder. What starts as a monster hunt quickly becomes a witch hunt as the townspeople turn on Danes' character. Lots of juicy metaphors here! The six-episode season is more of a simmer than a boil, but it's gorgeously shot and the performances are excellent. -Tim Surette [Trailer]      

Tehran

For fans of: Homeland, thrillers, stress, espionage
Number of seasons: 2

Aside from Amazon's Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan and whatever passes for a thriller on NBC these days, American television has mostly backed away from international espionage dramas that were once such a hot ticket. To get your spy thrills, you need to look elsewhere, like the Israeli spy thriller Tehran. The International Emmy winner for Best Drama last year, Tehran follows Tamar Rabinyan (Niv Sultan), a female Mossad agent navigating a world of espionage, double crosses, and her cultural quandary as she was born in Iran. After attempting to shut down Iran's plans for atomic weapons in Season 1, Glenn Close joined the cast in Season 2 as a British agent. -Tim Surette [Trailer]         

Shining Girls

For fans of: Brooding murder mysteries, sci-fi twists, early '90s Chicago indie rock
Number of seasons: 1

Somewhere underneath Elisabeth Moss's innocent exterior is a goth girl with a love for the morbid. Following dark roles in The Handmaid's Tale, Top of the Lake, and The Invisible Man, things don't get any cheerier in Shining Girls, in which she plays a woman working at the Chicago Sun-Times who is hunting down a serial killer (Jamie Bell) who previously assaulted her during a murder attempt. The twist here is that she finds herself slipping through different realities — multiverse? wormhole? an extreme practical joke? — with the only real constant being the killer and the case. Wagner Moura plays the reporter helping her, and Chris Chalk plays a Times photographer who is also someone a lot closer to her, at least in one reality. Moss is her usual excellent self, Bell is certifiably creepy, and it checks all the boxes for being a competent murder mystery. Plus, Leonardo DiCaprio produced it! -Tim Surette [Trailer]         

Severance

For fans of: The weekend, r/antiwork, brain-melting thrillers
Number of seasons: 1 (Renewed for Season 2)

The whole idea of work-life balance gets revisited with a technological twist in this sci-thriller that will make you want to quit your day job. Mark (Adam Scott) works at Lumon Industries, where a new procedure implants a chip into employees' brains that severs their consciousness into their work life and personal life, splitting their life in two so that neither knows what the other does. Obviously, Lumon is up to no good, and as the employees get closer to the truth, the line between their work lives and personal lives blurs. Scott is joined by a tremendous cast that includes Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, and Christopher Walken, and Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle work magic behind the camera with one of the best-looking shows in a while. It is WEIRD, yet weaves a complicated conspiracy that will have you hooked. -Tim Surette [Trailer] 

The Tragedy of Macbeth

For fans of: Willy Shakespeare, a Coen brother, Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand star in this adaptation of Shakespeare's Scottish play. It's the first solo film from a Coen brother — McDormand's husband Joel directs, adapts, and produces along with her. If you love art movies, there's not much else that needs to be said to get you to watch this. I mean, it's Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand as Lord and Lady Macbeth. It's kind of historic, in all its black-and-white, Expressionist glory. It was nominated for three Oscars and didn't win any, which only bolsters its artistic credibility. -Liam Mathews [Trailer] 

The Velvet Underground

For fans of: Art films, innovation, rock band turbulence

Film auteur Todd Haynes directed this documentary on one of America's most groundbreaking rock bands, The Velvet Underground. But rather than the simple talking heads, live footage, repeat structure used in most rock docs, Haynes gets to the essence of the band by making the film an arthouse gem that Lou Reed and company would have loved. Don't worry, it's still loaded with VU tunes and insight into the tumultuous relationship between Reed and his bandmates, it just looks extra trippy while doing so. Put simply, this is one of the best music documentaries ever made. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

CODA

For fans of: Heartwarming movies, Deaf culture

A remake of the 2014 French film La Famille Bélier, CODA (which stands for Child of Deaf Adults) is a coming-of-age story about a 17-year-old girl (Emilia Jones) who is the only hearing member of her Deaf family, and must choose between pursuing her own dreams of becoming a singer or helping her mother and father with the family business. It's a crowd-pleasing tearjerker, with a wonderful performance from Jones. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture, the first movie released by a streaming service to do so. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Losing Alice

For fans of: Psychological and erotic thrillers, getting mindf---ed, delicious subtext
Number of seasons: 1

One of the most intriguing releases of 2021, the Israeli psychological drama is lathered up in erotically charged mystery that takes cues from the greats of the film world. Writer-director Sigal Avin leans on Alfred Hitchcock, David Lynch, and more for influences in her story about an aging female director (Ayelet Zurer) who becomes obsessed with a young, seductive screenwriter (Lihi Kornowski) and the film that might save her career but destroy her marriage. It's wonderfully shot and loaded with beautiful people, if that's your thing. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Boys State

For fans of: Politics, Lord of the Flies, the future of America, chaos

Boys State was one of the best documentaries of 2020. The film follows the annual Boys State, a summer camp (this particular one's in Texas) sponsored by the American Legion in which more than 1,000 high school boys come together to form their own two-party government, complete with elections, voting, and mudslinging. It's a remarkable look at the pitfalls of our current political system, hyper-masculinity among teen boys, and the future of America (it looks like we're in both good and bad hands). Beyond the fascinating subject matter, the filmmaking is superb and gorgeous, feeling more like a scripted movie than a guerilla-shot documentary, which is a compliment in this case. If you like Lord of the Flies or Kid Nation (which, how can you not?), you're going to love this. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Dickinson

For fans of: Period pieces with anachronisms, Wiz Khalifa
Number of seasons: 3

Every early headline about Dickinson, an Apple TV+ show about Emily Dickinson, felt like a fever dream: John Mulaney guest starring as Henry David Thoreau! Wiz Khalifa playing Death! The show, which stars Hailee Steinfeld as the great American poet in her younger years, is the sort of beautiful gamble that could either soar or fall on its face, with almost no room for anything in between. It worked out — Dickinson totally rules. A delirious, anachronistic period piece, it's both a very funny show and a surreal elegy for all the great art lost to misogyny. It's as bold and haunting as the work of its heroine. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer] 

Visible: Out on Television

For fans of: The LGBTQ+ community, the progressive movement, television history

Apple TV+'s expansive and carefully paced history of LGBTQ+ people on TV deserves kudos for its thoughtful, authoritative, and exhausting summation. Even if it weren't packed with the most well-known queer people on TV, Visible: Out on Television does an excellent job of tracking how gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and non-binary people have been depicted on television from its earliest days — including the frantic, hyper-paranoid news reports of the 1950s declaring queer people a menacing threat. It's practically a college course, methodically chronicling representation throughout the decades through archival footage, news reports, and the like, but its abundant first-person testimonials from practically every living LGBTQ+ TV star you can think of (plus allies like Oprah, Billy Crystal and more) make Visible: Out on Television an invaluable educational tool for everyone who watches. -Malcolm Venable [Trailer] 

Wolfwalkers

For fans of: The wonderful Cartoon Saloon films, wolves, Irish mythology (and accents)

The beautifully animated film Wolfwalkers came out in theaters in 2020, but there's about a 99% chance you didn't see it because of, well, obvious reasons. It's the third in a series of films based on Irish folklore from the studio Cartoon Saloon, following the critically acclaimed The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea (highly recommended), and tells the story of a young girl who heads to Ireland from England with her dad to kill off the last wolf pack but ends up befriending a young girl who is part of a tribe of humans who become wolves at night. It's less Disney and Pixar and more Hayao Miyazaki, and it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Pop some corn and gather the family for movie night. -Tim Surette [Trailer]