Entertainment
6 Apple TV Shows That Deserve a Place Among TV’s All-Time Greatest
Apple TV entered the streaming wars much later than everyone else, but it took no time changing the game. Big streamers including Netflix and HBO Max thrive on massive libraries that can keep people scrolling through titles for hours, but Apple TV set out to focus on quality over quantity. The platform has kept its catalog small, but its shows feel special because they are created with intention.
The streamer tells stories that will remain interesting long after current trends have died down, because they aren’t interested in capitalizing on hype. Apple keeps backing stories with real ambition and staying power, which is why it keeps the audience wanting more. The platform may still be relatively young, but these shows already deserve a place among television’s all-time greatest.
6
‘Lessons in Chemistry’ (2023)
Lessons in Chemistry is a period drama that follows a woman who dared to challenge the norms. The story takes place in the 1950s, when women were told they belonged only in the kitchen. The audience sees this world through the eyes of Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson), a gifted chemist working at the Hastings Research Institute. Her male colleagues constantly dismiss her ideas and take credit for her work. The one person who recognizes her ability is Calvin Evans (Lewis Pullman), a respected scientist who becomes both her research partner and the love of her life. However, when he tragically dies, Elizabeth has to raise their daughter all alone. At the same time, she is pushed out of the laboratory, which leads her to accept a job hosting a television cooking program.
Now, Elizabeth has no interest in behaving like the cheerful housewife the producers expect. Instead, she treats cooking as chemistry and uses each episode to remind women that they are intelligent, capable, and deserving of more than the lives society has planned for them. The show becomes a surprise hit and becomes a way for Elizabeth to deal with grief and the very real sexism she has faced all her life. Her friendship with Harriet Sloane (Aja Naomi King) widens the story beyond her own struggle and shows how racism and sexism affected women in very different ways back in the day. Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s daughter begins asking questions about Calvin’s past, which leads the family toward truths he never had the chance to share. Lessons in Chemistry balances all these hard-hitting stories with genuine heart. The show tells a complete story in just eight episodes, which stands as a testament to its brilliant writing.
5
‘Pachinko’ (2022–2024)
Pachinko is a sweeping family drama unlike any other. The series, based on Min Jin Lee’s bestselling novel, follows a Korean family across four generations. The story begins during Japan’s occupation of Korea and moves between Korea, Japan, and America. The narrative centers on Sunja, played in her youth by Minha Kim and later in life by Youn Yuh-jung, whose decisions shape the lives of everyone who comes after her. As a young woman, Sunja falls for wealthy businessman Koh Hansu (Lee Min-ho), only to discover that he already has a family, but it’s too late because she is already pregnant. She then accepts a marriage proposal from kind minister Baek Isak (Steve Sanghyun Noh) and leaves her home for Japan. There, Sunja raises her family through poverty, discrimination, and war while holding onto a culture that the world around her wants her to hide.
Decades later, her grandson Solomon (Jin Ha) still deals with the same questions of identity and belonging while trying to build a career in 1980s Japan. Despite covering such a large period of history, Pachinko never feels like a history lesson. The show explains colonialism and migration through intimate storylines and everyday moments, which makes it all feel a little too real. The show seamlessly moves between the past and present to show how generational trauma is passed down. Pachinko is visually stunning and huge in scale, but the story it tells is extremely personal. That’s what sets it up to be a modern classic.
4
‘Bad Sisters’ (2022–Present)
Bad Sisters is one of the most unique shows on Apple TV right now. The black comedy TV series follows the five close-knit Garvey sisters, Eva (Sharon Horgan), Grace (Anne-Marie Duff), Ursula (Eva Birthistle), Bibi (Sarah Greene), and Becka (Eve Hewson). Their bond is tested by Grace’s controlling and emotionally abusive husband, John Paul (Claes Bang). Now, the twist comes when John Paul dies, and the story starts moving between the sisters’ increasingly disastrous attempts to kill him.
The stakes rise when insurance workers Thomas (Brian Gleeson) and Matt Claffin (Daryl McCormack) suspect that his death was not accidental and begin digging into the Garvey family. What ensues is a hilarious yet intriguing mystery that handles domestic abuse without turning Grace into a helpless character. Each sister has her own flaws and secrets, which makes their complex relationships with each other feel completely believable. The ensemble’s chemistry is excellent, and the writing seamlessly moves between heartbreak and laugh-out-loud comedy. The show’s clever structure, distinct Irish setting, and raw exploration of motherhood have made it an instant fan-favorite and one of Apple TV’s defining shows.
3
‘Ted Lasso’ (2020–Present)
Ted Lasso is easily one of the most heartwarming and emotionally intelligent shows on TV right now. The sports comedy-drama follows Jason Sudeikis as Ted, a cheerful college football coach who is hired to manage struggling English club AFC Richmond despite having no experience with the sport. Now, Ted has no idea that the owner, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), brought him in specifically to destroy the team as revenge against her unfaithful former husband. Of course, everyone expects Ted to fail, including the players. However, he slowly wins people over by caring about them more than their scores. That approach begins changing Rebecca and everyone else Ted is working with.
Football remains an important part of the show, but the real story is about a complex group of people slowly learning how to trust one another. Ted Lasso is a show that unfolds with radical empathy. Ted’s optimism is a clear mask for all the grief and loneliness he deals with; the show makes sure to convey that being positive does not mean ignoring all that pain. It’s rare for a modern comedy to create so many lovable characters while also giving them all meaningful growth. Ted Lasso can make the audience laugh one minute, and break their heart a few scenes later, and that balance makes it so much more meaningful than just a feel-good comedy.
2
‘Slow Horses’ (2022–Present)
Slow Horses turns the idea of the spy show on its head and chooses to focus on the agents that MI5 is trying their best to forget. The series is set in Slough House, a neglected department where intelligence officers are sent to rot away after making career-ending mistakes. The story follows River Cartwright (Jack Lowden), an ambitious young agent desperate to prove that one disastrous training exercise should not define him. Unfortunately, his new boss is the rude and irritated veteran Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), who has stopped caring for just about anything.
However, soon enough, River and his fellow rejects find themselves caught in kidnappings, assassinations, and political conspiracies that no one else seems to be able to solve. Each season introduces the characters of Slow Horses to a new crisis, but the real entertainment comes from watching this dysfunctional group deal with situations they were never supposed to be trusted with. This gritty approach makes Slow Horses feel completely different from other spy thrillers where the agents can do no wrong. The show features great action, but it is just as interested in office politics and personal grudges. Slow Horses has only gotten better with time and is definitely going to become a benchmark in the spy thriller genre.
1
‘Severance’ (2022–Present)
Severance takes the familiar idea of separating work from personal life and pushes it to a horrifying extreme. The sci-fi series follows employees at the mysterious Lumon Industries, who undergo a procedure that divides their memories in two. Their “outies” remember nothing about the office, while their “innies” exist only at work. At the center of the story is Mark Scout (Adam Scott), who agrees to the procedure while struggling with the loss of his wife. However, a rebellious new employee, Helly (Britt Lower), forces Mark and the others to question what their work actually means, and Lumon is so determined to keep them under control.
That premise alone is as intriguing as it gets, but Severance keeps raising the stakes further. The show uses Lumon’s sterile setting, endless white corridors, and outdated computers to provide biting commentary on corporate control, free will, and capitalism. Every episode expands Lumon’s world and mythology without ever losing sight of the people experiencing this nightmarish situation. Severance has an instantly recognizable visual style and a brilliant central idea that has successfully expanded in so many intriguing directions. Given all that, the Apple TV series already feels like the kind of classic that people will be obsessed with long after it ends.
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