The 22 best Apple TV Plus shows you should be watching in 2023

Apple TV Plus shows started immediately with the streaming service’s launch in November 2019, joining the fray among other Netflix alternatives. Since then, we have seen a small but steady trickle of new series debut on the service, and now there’s enough content to dive deep into its selections. So, which are the best Apple TV Plus shows? Good question, and one we aim to explore here.

As you will see, the original Apple TV Plus series already have a variety of content, from children’s shows to more mature series for older members of your household.

Remember, if you buy a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV box, you get three months of the service for free. For everyone else, you can sign up now for Apple TV Plus for $6.99 a month, following a seven-day free trial, at the link below.

Editor’s note: We’ll be updating this list of the best Apple TV Plus shows regularly as new ones hit the streaming service.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: Brett Goldstein, Jason Segel, Bill Lawrence
• Main cast: Harrison Ford, Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Luke Tennie, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller
• Genre: Comedy/Drama
• Ratings: 8.1 – IMDB / 82% – Rotten Tomatoes

A therapist processing grief decides on a new approach in his practice. He’ll be completely honest all the time. While this helps him grieve and move on and seems to work for one patient going through something similar, he’s not entirely sure how it will suit others.

Created by funnyman Jason Segel, along with two Ted Lasso creators, Shrinking features some terrific performances by Segel himself, along with Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, and more. It’s a smart and funny look at therapy and what it means to grow as a person.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 2
• Creator: Michael Ellenberg
• Main cast: Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell, Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass
• Genre: Workplace Drama
• Ratings: 8.3 – IMDB / 64% – Rotten Tomatoes

This show is all about the behind-the-scenes drama at a fictional national morning news TV show. The show’s anchors conflict with each other and with its producers and executives.

This is by far the biggest high-concept series on Apple TV Plus. It also has some of the the biggest stars, with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon in the lead roles. The office and media politics can sometimes get a bit confusing, but the performances by Aniston, Carell, Witherspoon, and Billy Crudup make this show very watchable. Check out season 2 in 2023.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-14
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: Anna Symon
• Main cast: Claire Danes, Tom Hiddleston, Frank Dillane, Clémence Poésy, Hayley Squires
• Genre: Historical Drama
• Ratings: 6.3 – IMDB / 76% – Rotten Tomatoes

In 19th-century England, a young widow travels from London to a small town to look into reports of a mythical creature. She soon comes into conflict with the townspeople but creates a bond with the local pastor.

The relationship between the characters played by Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston is the best part of this gothic drama. It also has some exciting plot twists and some great cinematography.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: Malin-sarah Gozin
• Main cast: Sharon Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Claes Bang, Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene
• Genre: Family Drama/Mystery
• Ratings: 8.3 – IMDB / 100% – Rotten Tomatoes

This drama from Ireland centers on the Garvey sisters (Eva, Grace, Ursula, Bibi, and Becka). Grace’s husband, John Paul, has died under mysterious circumstances, but was his death an accident, or was he killed by one or more of the sisters?

This series has already been renewed for a second season, and it’s no surprise why. The mystery drama of what happened to Grace’s husband is just the tip of the iceberg in this deep family drama.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 2
• Creator: Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Bill Lawrence
• Main cast: Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Brendan Hunt, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple
• Genre: Sports Comedy
• Ratings: 8.8 – IMDB / 95% – Rotten Tomatoes

Jason Sudeikis plays the title character, a US football coach sent to coach a major professional UK football (a.k.a. soccer) team. Ted Lasso tries to make up for his lack of soccer knowledge with his confidence and spirit.

This is one of the funniest of the Apple TV Plus shows, and also one of its most heartwarming series. You cannot help but smile as Lasso does his best to uplift his players. Season 3, due sometime in 2023, cannot come soon enough.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: Laura Dave, Josh Singer
• Main cast: Jennifer Garner. Angourie Rice, Aisha Tyler, Augusto Aguilera, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
• Genre: Mystery/Thriller
• Ratings: 6.9 – IMDB / 46% – Rotten Tomatoes

Hannah’s world is rocked when her husband mysteriously vanishes as his employer’s offices are raided by the FBI. Now, she has look out for her 16-year-old stepdaughter and try to get to the bottom of where her husband has gone and why, and whether she really knew him at all.

A sharp adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Laura Dave, The Last Thing He Told Me isn’t breaking boundaries, but it’s a solid mystery drama with terrific performances from its main cast.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 3
• Creator: Charlie Day, Megan Ganz, Rob McElhenney
• Main cast: Rob McElhenney, Charlotte Nicdao, Danny Pudi, Ashly Burch, Naomi Ekperigin
• Genre:  Workplace Comedy
• Ratings: 7.8 – IMDB / 96% – Rotten Tomatoes

Mythic Quest is about the day-to-day efforts inside the offices of a video game developer. Ian Grimm, the creator of the MMO game, frequently frustrates the rest of the team with his outrageous ideas and requests.

Rob McElhinney, the co-creator of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, also co-created this show and stars as Grimm. While not quite as raunchy as Sunny, Mythic Quest is still hilarious and pokes fun at many video game development tropes.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-G
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: Jim Henson
• Main cast: John Tartaglia, Karen Prell, Donna Kimball, Jordan Lockhart, Dave Goelz
• Genre: Fantasy/Puppets
• Ratings: 8.2 – IMDB / 100% – Rotten Tomatoes

The creatures from Jim Henson’s HBO family series are back on Apple TV Plus. These new adventures include the original Fraggles and some new cast members as well.

There’s nothing not to like about this kids show. The cave-dwelling Fraggles are back for some new adventures and some lessons for young kids as well.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-14
• Seasons: 3
• Director: Alena Smith
• Main cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Toby Huss, Jane Krakowski, Adrian Blake Enscoe, Anna Baryshnikov
• Genre: Historical Fiction/Comedy
• Ratings: 7.6 – IMDB / 92% – Rotten Tomatoes

Real-life 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson gets something of a makeover in this series. She’s portrayed as a rebellious young woman determined to be a great writer.

This show is not exactly historically accurate, but it is entertaining. Hailee Steinfeld plays the role as if she’s a modern woman, with all the benefits and drawbacks of that kind of character during the 19th century.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-14
• Seasons: 2
• Creator: Lee Eisenberg, Emily V. Gordon,  Kumail Nanjiani
• Main cast: Peggy Lu, Mélanie Laurent, Suraj Sharma
  
• Genre: Anthology/Drama
• Ratings: 7.5 – IMDB / 97% – Rotten Tomatoes

This is a unique take on the anthology show genre. Each episode is based on the true stories of immigrants as they try to make a life in America.

Immigrants and their contributions are an essential part of the American experience. This show does a great job showing the very different experiences of the people that come to the US for a new life.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 3
• Creator: Steven Knight
• Main cast: Jason Momoa, Sylvia Hoeks, Hera Hilmar, Christian Camargo, Archie Madekwe
• Genre: Post-Apocalypse/Action/Drama
• Ratings: 7.6 – IMDB / 63% – Rotten Tomatoes

This series takes place hundreds of years after an unnamed global disaster blinds all humans. One of the women in one of the few remaining human tribes gives birth to twins who can see, and now a rival tribe plots to take the twins.

This is a very different look at a post-apocalypse Earth setting. The premise of sightless people struggling just to survive is well handled, and Jason Momoa’s performance as a warrior in one of these tribes is excellent.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 3
• Creator: Tony Basgallop
• Main cast: Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Rupert Grint, Nell Tiger Free, Sunita Mani
• Genre: Horror
• Ratings: 7.5 – IMDB / 88% – Rotten Tomatoes

A young couple suddenly experiences the tragic death of their baby boy. The wife later starts to care for a doll that she thinks is alive. The husband hires a nanny to help take care of their “child,” but she seems to act like this thing is real as well.

M. Night Shyamalan is an executive producer of this series and directed some of its episodes. The show itself fits with his dark storytelling themes and is appropriately creepy. The fourth and final season is coming in January 2023.

• Rating: TV-14
• Seasons: 2
• Creator: Ken Daurio, Cinco Paul
• Main cast: Keegan-Michael Key, Cecily Strong, Dove Cameron, Jaime Camil, Ariana DeBose, Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming
• Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
• Ratings: 7.3 – IMDB / 89% – Rotten Tomatoes

When a couple whose relationship is on the rocks goes for a hike, they suddenly find themselves stuck in a bizarre world that runs on the rules of classical musicals. To get back, they’ll have to find true love, but not necessarily with each other.

One of the best Apple TV Plus shows, Schmigadoon! is full of rewarding references to existing stage and screen musicals, and it features knockout performances by a gifted cast of performers.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: Dan Erickson
• Main cast: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman
• Genre:  Workplace Drama
• Ratings: 8.7 – IMDB / 97% – Rotten Tomatoes

Adam Scott plays a character who gets a chip implanted that separates his work and non-work memories. He soon learns that may not have been a good decision.

This strange Twilight Zone-like series is directed by Ben Stiller and has an all-star cast. The main focus is the mystery of the corporation that wants to sever a person’s work life from everything outside of work. It’s also a commentary on office life itself.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV–14
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: Josh Friedman, David S. Goyer
• Main cast: Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey, Laura Birn
• Genre: Space drama
• Ratings: 7.4 – IMDB / 71% – Rotten Tomatoes

Thousands of years in the future, a human-led Galactic Empire seems to be invulnerable. However, a man named Hari Seldon has developed a mathematical formula that he claims shows this empire is due to fall soon.

Isaac Asimov’s classic sci-fi novel series has been adapted into a truly epic TV show. Thankfully, the scope of this show is balanced with some great performances by the cast, led by Jared Harris as Hari Seldon.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 3
• Creator: Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, Ben Nedivi
• Main cast: Joel Kinnaman, Shantel VanSanten, Jodi Balfour, Sonya Walger, Krys Marshall
• Genre: Alternate History
• Ratings: 8.0 – IMDB / 90% – Rotten Tomatoes

This alternate history tale begins by showing the Soviet Union winning the race to put a man on the moon in 1969. The series progresses from that major change in history with a very different NASA space program.

This is one of our favorites in the current crop of Apple TV Plus shows. It offers a plausible “What if?” take on how our space program could have advanced well beyond its current status.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-G
• Seasons: 2
• Creator: Rob Boutilier, Mark Evestaff, Alex Galatis
• Main cast: Tyler Nathan, Terry McGurrin, Rob Tinkler, Christian Dal Dosso, Isabella Leo
• Genre: Animated comedy
• Ratings: 8.0 – IMDB / 100% – Rotten Tomatoes

Charles Schultz’s famous comic strip creation Snoopy is back in this new series. He goes on adventures by himself and also with other members of the Peanuts gang.

Apple TV Plus clearly loves the Peanuts character, and this is the streamer’s latest contribution to the franchises’ many animation TV shows and specials. This is great for parents to watch with their young kids.

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: David West Read
• Main cast: Chris O’Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Ally Maki, Damon Gupton, Josh Segarra, Crystal Fox, Sammy Fourlas
• Genre: Comedy/Science Fiction
• Ratings: 6.4 – IMDB / 91% – Rotten Tomatoes

When a mysterious machine appears out of the blue, a small town is forever changed. The machine has the power to reveal everyone’s true potential, which leads to major changes in the beliefs, relationships, and careers of the townspeople.

Blending comedy, drama, and sci-fi, The Big Door Prize is a solid existential series. Its central parable allows it to reach for some powerful truths, with engaging characters at its core.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: Silka Luisa
• Main cast: Elisabeth Moss, Wagner Moura, Phillipa Soo, Chris Chalk, Amy Brenneman
• Genre: Crime Mystery
• Ratings: 7.4 – IMDB / 84% – Rotten Tomatoes

Kirby Mazrachi works as an archivist for the Chicago Sun-Times. When a woman is killed in a manner similar to an assault she survived several years ago, she begins her own investigation.

Elisabeth Moss shines in the role of Kirby in this mystery series. Both the character and the audience are given some weird narrative twists in this tale, and it keeps us guessing what’s really going on.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-MA
• Seasons: 1
• Creator: Dennis Lehane
• Main cast: Taron Egerton, Ray Liotta, Greg Kinnear, Sepideh Moafi, Paul Walter Hauser
• Genre: Crime/Prison Drama
• Ratings: 8.1 – IMDB / 97% – Rotten Tomatoes

This dark crime series, based on true events, features a jailed drug dealer who gets an offer from the FBI. He can get his sentence commuted if he talks to a suspected serial killer and gets a confession of where a murdered woman has been buried.

This is an intense prison thriller where the main goal of getting a confession is secondary to the tension between Taron Egerton’s dealer and Paul Walter Hauser’s serial killer. It’s also one of the last performances by the great actor Ray Liotta.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-14
• Seasons: 2
• Creator: Mick Herron
• Main cast: Gary Newman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas
• Genre: Spy Drama
• Ratings: 7.8 – IMDB / 98% – Rotten Tomatoes

British secret agents who have failed to meet their potential are moved to a building known as Slough House, where they are expected to disappear from view while doing boring work. However, the first season brings up a new case that may need to be solved by these rejected spies.

The always-great Gary Newman leads the cast as the leader of Slough House. There’s definitely some humor involved in this spy drama, which takes the genre in some new directions.

What you need to know:

• Rating: TV-G
• Seasons: 3
• Creator: Luke Matheny
• Main cast: Nour Assaf, Princess K. Mapp, Daire McLeod, Isaac Arellanes, Amadi Chapata
• Genre: Literary fantasy
• Ratings: 5.7 – IMDB / 100% – Rotten Tomatoes

This reboot of the classic children’s TV series focuses on four kids. They are in a magical bookshop where they solve mysteries with the help of literary characters that come to life.

If you want to introduce your children to the love of reading, this TV series could help out. The acting and stories are solid and the kids in the cast are wonderful in their roles.

That’s it for now! Apple TV Plus adds new content almost weekly, so be sure to check back and see how our list evolves over time.