A discounted Apple TV+ subscription is as rare as any offer from Apple, but the company is being rather generous with its current deal on one of the best streaming services. Right now you can get Apple TV+ for three months for only $2.99 in the US, £2.99 in the UK and AU$3.99 in Australia.
There’s still some time to claim this offer, which applies to both new and returning customers, before it ends on April 24, and if you do snap it up, there are five TV shows that should be at the top of your streaming list.
When it comes to the best Apple TV+ shows, its hit sci-fi series Severance is an obvious choice – make sure to read our Severance season 2 review and Severance season 3 guide for more news about its next installment when you’re done.
But there’s a whole range of shows alongside Severance that are on my radar, spanning dramas, comedies, and thrillers.
The Studio
- RT score: 96%
- Age rating: TV-MA
- Length: ~44 minute episodes
- Creators: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, Frida Perez
A satirical comedy show that criticises the entertainment industry? Sign me up. A recent addition to Apple TV+’s library of titles, The Studio has already proved itself to be a staple on the platform and has been well received by audiences. With its strong main cast and list of self-starring guests, The Studio sits at the top of my list.
Film production company Continental Studios finds itself struggling to keep up with rapidly changing tastes, and as a result it appoints a new studio head Matt Remick (Seth Rogen) to keep the business afloat. Remick discovers that his job is much more difficult than anticipated, and must save the studio from floundering by keeping up with ongoing social and economic changes.
Disclaimer
- RT score: 76%
- Age rating: TV-MA
- Length: ~55 minute episodes
- Director: Alfonso Cuarón
I thoroughly enjoyed Todd Field’s psychological drama Tár (2022), and I loved Cate Blanchett even more. This miniseries from Alfonso Cuarón, who directed Children of Men (2006) and Gravity (2013) seems to offer a similar premise and tone to Field’s movie, and can easily be binged with this three-month Apple TV+ offer.
Celebrated documentary journalist Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett) has made a career out of exposing the private lives and wrongdoings of others, but the tables are turned when she receives a novel from a mystery author and discovers that she is the main character in a story that reveals her darkest and deepest secrets. To protect herself she attempts to find discover identity of the mystery author, but in doing so she must come face-to-face with her past.
It’s pretty much Tár 2.0 the remix, with an even darker spin on the theme of cancel culture.
Ted Lasso
- RT critics score: 90%
- Age rating: TV-MA
- Length: ~29 minute episodes
- Developers: Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly
Ted Lasso is by far one of the most popular shows on Apple TV+, so it would feel like a wasted opportunity to not tick this off my watchlist in the next three months. Not only does its high Rotten Tomatoes scores from both critics and audiences show that it’s been well received, but its numerous Emmy nominations and wins are the icing on the cake.
US college football coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) is recruited to help a British Premier League soccer team, AFC Richmond, even though he has no experience in the sport. After gaining ownership of the team following a divorce, owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) hires Ted in that hope that it will lead to the team’s downfall, which wouild devastate her ex-husband. But to everyone’s surprise, Ted’s attitude and personality grows on Rebecca and the rest of the team.
Lessons in Chemistry
- RT score: 83%
- Age rating: TV-MA
- Length: ~41 minute episodes
- Creator: Lee Eisenberg
Lessons in Chemistry is another miniseries that’s ideal for bingeing if you just want to sample the best of Apple TV+ for three months. There are only eight episodes, and whole lot of Brie Larson – my main reason for watching.
Based on the book by Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry is a historical drama set in the 1960s and follows aspiring scientist Elizabeth Zott (Larson) who finds it challenging to reach her goals because of the societal attitudes of the time. After being fired from her job as a lab tech she’s presented with a hosting job on a cooking show called Supper at Six, educating housewives on scientific topics. But Elizabeth sees this as the perfect opportunity to teach the entire nation, including men, a lesson that’s more than just new recipes.
Pachinko
- RT score: 97%
- Age rating: TV-MA
- Length: ~47 minute episodes
- Creator: Soo Hugh
Pachinko is an Apple TV+ shows I’ve only recently come across, and although I’ve never been drawn to stories that take place over several generations but this show sounds like a powerful and moving account of a family in search of a better life.
Premiering in 2022, Pachinko follows a Korean family between 1915 and 1989. In the early 1930s, Kim Sunja (Kim Min-ha & Youn Yuh-jung) who leaves her family in Japanese-dominated Korea to start a new life in Japan where she finds herself the target of further discrimination as a Korean woman. In an epic search to make a better life for herself, Pachinko highlights the issues of racism and stereotyping in the Korean experience of Japan in the 20th century.
