Apple TV+ may have cleaned up at the Emmys, but it’s not all about Severance and The Studio, with the streamer also being home to plenty of underrated gems.
From nature docs to sports comedies, quirky sci-fi to domestic thrillers, I’m here to outline my pick of the best Apple TV+ shows you might have missed so far this year. And what’s more, the majority are brand new series, so no need to catch up on years of previous episodes before you can enjoy the latest offering.
And if none of these takes your fancy, then it’s still worth keeping an eye on one of the best streaming services, as Apple TV+ still has plenty to offer in 2025 and beyond, including new seasons of The Morning Show, Reluctant Traveler and Slow Horses and debut outings for undercover thriller The Savant, crime drama The Last Frontier and Pluribus the new show from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan.
In fact, a couple of months from now, this list could look very different, but while there’s some great looking shows still to come for Apple TV+ in 2025, here are five of the best that you can stream right now.
Your Friends & Neighbors
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RT Score: 78%
Episodes: 9
Main cast: Jon Hamm, Amanda Peet, Olivia Munn, Mark Tallman, Hoon Lee, Lena Hall, Aimee Carrero
This darkly comic thriller, dropped back in April and makes for a gripping binge.
Starring Jon Hamm as Coop, the show follows the recently disgraced hedge-fund manager as he resorts to criminal methods in order to maintain his lavish lifestyle. Grappling with divorce, Coop begins to steal from the homes of his affluent neighbors, but once behind those closed doors he discovers the dark and dangerous secrets that the wealthy harbor.
Favorably compared to Big Little Lies, Your Friends & Neighbors is a biting satire of upper middle class America, fitting squarely into a genre gaining increasing popularity in a post-White Lotus world. The plot is engaging enough, but Hamm is always a charming lead, with his Coop the sort of cad you can’t help but root for.
Stick
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RT Score: 82%
Episodes: 10
Main cast: Owen Wilson, Peter Dager, Lilli Kay, Mariana Treviño, Marc Maron
Apple’s other sports comedy can be best described as Ted Lasso but golf.
Owen Wilson stars as Pryce Cahill, an ex-pro golfer who never quite became the star he should’ve been after his career was derailed two decades ago. Now on the verge of divorce and working in a sporting goods store, Cahill spots a diamond in the rough in the form of Peter Dager’s talented, yet troubled young golfer Santi, with the pair teaming up for a shot at glory.
Comparisons to Apple’s soccer comedy were always going to be made, and the vein of sweet natured, emotionally weighty comedy that Stick goes in for is very much on brand. But there’s also shades of Happy Gilmore and its sequel, with themes around not fitting golf’s image and throwing away a once promising career.
It’s fair to say that Stick doesn’t hold many surprises, but Wilson is great as the disgraced pro seeking redemption, and his pairing with Dager offers great chemistry. If you’re looking for feel-good easy watching, take a swing on this one.
Murderbot
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RT Score: 96%
Episodes: 10
Main cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tamara Podemski, Tattiawna Jones
This adaptation of Martha Wells’ award-winning book series arrived to rave reviews back in May.
The show follows the affectionately nicknamed Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård), an android, who, after hacking its own system, finds itself grappling with its newfound sentient nature. Now capable of self control and somewhat horrified at its own existence, Murderbot is faced with a dilemma: keep carrying out its mundane missions or protest and risk its autonomy being discovered. All while just wishing to be at home catching up on the future’s best soap operas.
It all sounds like an absurd premise, and it is, but the sharp writing and dry humor help sell what could go wildly off the rails in other hands. But the show also touches on some weightier topics, with some though provoking insight in to the way technology is changing our relationship with machines and each other. Running for 10 30-minute episodes, Murderbot is a breezy watch, and worth it for Skarsgård’s stellar performance alone.
The Wild Ones
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RT Score: NA
Episodes: 6
Main cast: Aldo Kane, Vianet Djenguet, Declan Burnley
Part nature documentary, part action adventure, The Wild Ones is a must for animal lovers everywhere.
The show follows three intrepid explorers and experts (Aldo Kane, Vianet Djenguet and Declan Burnley) as they travel the globe with the ambitious aim of saving endangered species’ from extinction. The trio use pioneering camera technology not only to show the audience never-before-seen glimpses of these animals, but to track and monitor them in a way that would be impossible with a human presence nearby.
Throughout the series you can see the group travel to Malaysia in search of tigers, Mongolia to capture footage of Gobi bears, and the island of Java to help rare rhinos breed again. There’s also a trip to Armenia in search of Caucasian leopards, a journey into the jungles of Gabon to save a troop of gorillas and a voyage across the North Atlantic to make contact with endangered whales.
If you want all the awe-inspiring animal magic of David Attenborough with an added sense of adventure, this wild one’s for you.
Platonic (season 2)
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RT Score: 96%
Episodes: 10 (ongoing)
Main cast: Rose Byrne, Seth Rogen, Luke Macfarlane, Tre Hale, Andrew Lopez, Carla Gallo
Seth Rogen’s other Apple TV+ show, Platonic may have a barer awards cabinet than The Studio, but is no less deserving of your attention.
With the show debuting its second season in 2025 we’ll keep spoilers light for this non-rom-com for those of you looking to start fresh, but Rogen stars alongside Rose Byrne as Will and Sylvia, two old friends who reconnect after Will’s divorce. As the pair’s friendship rekindles, it slowly starts to destabilize other parts of their lives, as the two try to be each other’s rocks, but often end up being the kind that drags you down.
Rogen and Byrne’s crackling chemistry makes the show infinitely watchable, and while you may want to look away as Will and Sylvia inadvertently sabotage one another’s lives, the bond between the pair will whip you right back to the screen.
Season 2 continues to soar, upping the emotional stakes while maintaining the heartfelt humor. Finished The Studio? This is where to head next.
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