Best Series on Apple TV+: 9 Shows to Start With
Key takeaways
- Severance is a strong pick for twisty science fiction.
- Slow Horses is a strong pick for sharp spy drama.
- Ted Lasso is a strong pick for a warmer comedy.
- The picks below are based on their distinctive premises, genre range and track record as recommendations—not a single score or definitive ranking.
Table of contents
- Best Series on Apple TV+: 9 Shows to Start With
- Key takeaways
- Best Apple TV+ series by what you want to watch
- 1. Severance — best for a puzzling sci-fi thriller
- 2. Slow Horses — best for a witty spy drama
- 3. Ted Lasso — best feel-good comedy
- 4. Pachinko — best for a sweeping family saga
- 5. Silo — best for dystopian science fiction
- 6. For All Mankind — best for alternate-history drama
- 7. The Studio — best for Hollywood satire
- 8. Bad Sisters — best for dark comedy and family mystery
- 9. Shrinking — best for comedy-drama
- Which Apple TV+ series should you watch first?
- How to choose among the best Apple TV+ shows
Best Apple TV+ series by what you want to watch
The best series on Apple TV+ depends on what you’re in the mood for: Severance is a strong pick for twisty science fiction, Slow Horses for sharp spy drama, and Ted Lasso for a warmer comedy. This shortlist covers several genres, with a quick note on who each show is likely to suit.
“Apple TV” can mean the Apple TV app or device, but this article is about Apple TV+, Apple’s streaming service. The picks below are based on their distinctive premises, genre range and track record as recommendations—not a single score or definitive ranking. Other entertainment guides also highlight titles such as Severance, Slow Horses and Pachinko among the service’s standouts (CNET’s Apple TV+ guide).
| If you want… | Start with… |
|---|---|
| A strange, absorbing sci-fi mystery | Severance |
| A spy series with dry humor | Slow Horses |
| An upbeat comedy with emotional depth | Ted Lasso |
| A multigenerational family story | Pachinko |
| Dystopian science fiction | Silo |
| Alternate-history space drama | For All Mankind |
| A Hollywood workplace satire | The Studio |
| Dark comedy with a mystery at its center | Bad Sisters |
| A comedy-drama about grief and recovery | Shrinking |
1. Severance — best for a puzzling sci-fi thriller
In Severance, employees at the mysterious company Lumon undergo a procedure that separates their work memories from their personal ones. Their office selves know nothing about life outside work, while their outside selves have no access to what happens inside the office.
That premise gives the show a natural source of suspense, but it also makes room for pointed questions about identity, boundaries and workplace control. The cool, carefully ordered office setting adds to the unease. Choose it if you like mysteries that unfold gradually and don’t mind ending an episode with more questions than answers.
2. Slow Horses — best for a witty spy drama
Not every spy story needs glamorous agents and elaborate action. Slow Horses centers on a group of British intelligence officers who have been relegated to Slough House after making career-ending mistakes. Gary Oldman plays their abrasive leader, Jackson Lamb.
The series mixes espionage plots with workplace friction and bleak humor. Its agents are capable, but they’re also messy and often underestimated—a useful contrast to the polished spy-world image. It’s a good place to start if you want a thriller that moves briskly without taking itself too seriously.
3. Ted Lasso — best feel-good comedy
Ted Lasso follows an American football coach hired to manage a professional soccer team in England, despite having little experience with the sport. The joke is built into the job, but the series is more interested in how Ted treats the players and staff than in whether he understands every rule of soccer.
Its upbeat tone is the main draw, though the show also makes space for setbacks and personal struggles. It suits viewers looking for a character-led comedy with a generous outlook rather than a joke-heavy sitcom. You don’t need to know much about soccer to follow the story.
4. Pachinko — best for a sweeping family saga
Based on Min Jin Lee’s novel, Pachinko follows a Korean family across multiple generations, with the story moving between different periods and places. Its focus on family, identity and displacement gives it a broader scope than a conventional domestic drama.
The series is a good choice if you enjoy patient storytelling and stories shaped by history as well as individual choices. Because it spans generations, it can feel more like an unfolding saga than a single-protagonist drama. Several Apple TV+ roundups, including CNET’s recommendations, include it among the service’s notable series.
5. Silo — best for dystopian science fiction
In Silo, people live in a vast underground structure and follow rules intended to protect the community. Questions about the silo’s history and the world beyond it gradually become part of the central mystery.
The enclosed setting gives the series a different kind of tension from Severance: instead of a strange office, the uncertainty comes from a society built around limits on what its residents can know. Try it if you like speculative worlds, secrets and mysteries that expand over time.
6. For All Mankind — best for alternate-history drama
For All Mankind imagines how the space race might have unfolded if the Soviet Union had put a man on the Moon before the United States. From that changed starting point, the series follows the consequences for astronauts, families and the institutions driving space exploration.
It’s a strong pick for viewers who enjoy historical what-ifs and long-form character stories. The central appeal isn’t only spaceflight: the altered timeline provides a way to explore ambition, competition and social change across different eras.
7. The Studio — best for Hollywood satire
The Studio takes aim at the film business, following the people trying to make decisions inside a Hollywood studio. Its comedy comes from the clash between creative ambitions, commercial pressures and the personalities involved in getting projects made.
Pick it if you like workplace comedies and industry satire, especially stories about the gap between what people want to make and what they can get approved. It has also been singled out as a leading Apple TV+ comedy pick in Man of Many’s show guide.
8. Bad Sisters — best for dark comedy and family mystery
Bad Sisters centers on a close-knit group of sisters and a death that draws their relationships and secrets into the open. The result blends family drama, mystery and dark humor rather than settling into just one category.
It’s a useful choice if you want suspense without a purely grim tone. The family dynamics give the story its emotional core, while the mystery creates momentum. Go in knowing that the comedy can be sharply dark, rather than light or comforting.
9. Shrinking — best for comedy-drama
Shrinking follows a therapist dealing with grief who begins breaking the rules of his profession and telling clients exactly what he thinks. That decision creates comic complications, but the show is also concerned with how people cope with loss and support one another.
Choose it if you want something warmer and more conversational than a thriller. Its mix of humor and difficult subject matter makes it a fit for viewers who enjoy character-driven comedy-drama, rather than a series built around one big mystery.
Which Apple TV+ series should you watch first?
For a quick starting point, match the show to your mood:
- Want a mystery that rewards close attention? Start with Severance.
- Want a spy thriller with a comic edge? Try Slow Horses.
- Want something encouraging and easy to settle into? Pick Ted Lasso.
- Want a story that spans generations? Start with Pachinko.
- Want a contained, secret-filled world? Choose Silo.
If you’re deciding between a few, think about tone as much as genre. Bad Sisters combines suspense with dark comedy, while Shrinking pairs humor with heavier personal themes. For All Mankind is the more expansive choice, and The Studio is the most directly focused on the entertainment industry.
How to choose among the best Apple TV+ shows
There isn’t one objective “best” series for every viewer, and aggregate ratings can hide differences between seasons, critics and audiences. A more useful approach is to choose by what you want from your next watch: a central mystery, a particular kind of humor, a large-scale story or a character-focused drama.
Apple TV+ is also separate from the wider Apple TV app, which may offer other services or titles to rent and buy. The series in this guide are Apple TV+ picks; check the service’s listing in your country for current access and availability.
Bottom line: Start with Severance for sci-fi, Slow Horses for espionage or Ted Lasso for comedy. If none fits your mood, Pachinko, Silo and For All Mankind offer three very different kinds of drama.
