The 20 best Apple TV Plus series streaming now in Australia

Severance is one of those shows that's hard to classify. It's a sci-fi. It's a workplace comedy. It's a thriller. But most importantly, it’s a must-watch. The core premise is that workers can choose to have their brains surgically divided to compartmentalise work life from home life. At work, you don't know anything about yourself in the outside world. At home, you have no idea about your day at work, or what you do. The execution lives up to the concept, making for one wild ride - Alex Choros

Episodes expertly proved that American and British humour can live in harmony when it paired two comedy legends with Matt LeBlanc (playing himself) in Hollywood. Ted Lasso takes the reverse approach by dropping funnyman Jason Sudeikis in England, and the results are very entertaining on and off the pitch.

Sudeikis plays the titular Ted Lasso, who’s an ex-American football coach who’s hired to be the manager of an actual football team in England. The fish-out-of-water setup creates plenty of room for cultural comedy moments, while Sudeikis’s charming Lasso will have you smiling when you’re not laughing out loud. Come for the laughs, but stick around for some inspiring moments and one of the most hopeful shows of 2020 - Nathan Lawrence

Alternative history is a popular subgenre in novels but less so when it comes to the small screen, unless you’re looking at shining recent examples like The Man in the High Castle or Watchmen. For All Mankind isn’t quite as sparkling as either of those two, but the scene is set for some fascinating dramatic storytelling when, in 1969, the Soviet Union beats the United States to the moon.

For the show, this sparks a grander space race amid the Cold War. Even though For All Mankind is slow to start, the more time you commit to it, the more rewarding it is. In terms of talent, Ronald D. Moore of Battlestar Galactica fame is behind the camera, while Joel Kinnaman leads a talented cast of actors on the other side of the camera - Nathan Lawrence

A dystopian drama following the remains of human civilisation living across 144 levels underground, Silo is another unique take on how society might hold on in the face of extreme adversity. After a failed uprising 140 years ago, much of the Silo's history is lost. The Silo works together to run a tight ship, everyone has a job to do, none more so than the folks on the Mechanical level tasked with keeping the power on.

Thrust into the spotlight as the new sheriff of the Silo, engineer Juliet Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson) suddenly finds herself embroiled in a conspiracy that just might bring this society based on strict rules undone.Exploring themes of class struggle and uprising through twists and turns Silo has you on the edge of your seat episode after episode - Dylan Crimsale

Fans of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia may have already stumbled on Rob McElhenney’s latest creation, Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet. And while it’s not as nutty as Sunny, there’s still plenty of outlandish humour to love in this show about the constant struggles of a game studio trying to keep their game on top of the world. While the first episode is a little shaky, Mythic Quest quickly gets into comedic gear for the rest of its inaugural season.

You’ll learn to love to hate McElhenney’s egocentric Ian, you’ll be endeared to Charlotte Nicdao’s Poppy, and there’s a whole other host of familiar faces that will mostly make you laugh. Despite the frequent big laughs, Mythic Quest somehow manages to fit in one of 2020’s best episodes of, which is more poignant than hilarious, but it’s ultimately utterly brilliant - Nathan Lawrence

A shapeshifting murder mystery comedy set during a high school reunion from the director of the Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street. Do you really need me to say more? In each episode, a suspect recaps the night's events, with the show taking on a different genre. This spans from a Fast & Furious homage to a musical with a riff on Hamilton that will be stuck in your head for weeks. Some episodes are clearly stronger than others, but all in all, The Afterparty is a very fun show - Alex Choros

Following the rise and fall of coworking startup WeWork, WeCrashed is an exercise in schadenfreude. While it's a little superficial in its execution, the excellent performances of Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway as Adam and Rebecca Neuman make it hard to look away from the train wreck unfolding in front of your eyes - Alex Choros

Samuel L. Jackson gives the performance of a lifetime in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. Through an experimental treatment, the titular 91-year Ptolemy is able to remember his past and use the time to investigate the death of his nephew. Balancing a bit of light sci-fi, drama, and crime, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is a highly bingeable tight six episode miniseries that’s a little too easy to smash through - Alex Choros

Scroll back up to our top pick for the best drama on Apple TV Plus, but if you’re in the mood for more, Defending Jacob is absolutely worth watching, especially if you’re not hanging out for more seasons. It cements the reality that Apple is okay with exploring dark material, as this adaption of William Landay’s novel digs into a character-driven thriller wherein assistant district attorney Andy Barber (Chris Evans) has his world come crashing down after his quiet son (Jaeden Martell) is accused of murder.

Andy’s wife Laurie (Michelle Dockery) is also sent reeling from the accusation, as the parents drift between wholeheartedly believing in their son’s innocence and having grave misgivings. There are multiple mysteries at play as the story jumps around in time, and while there is closure to be found in the final episode, it’ll keep you guessing until the end as to what really happened - Nathan Lawrence

Nature documentaries tend to bring our big, beautiful planet to the small screen, relaying a bigger world in a smaller, relatable way. Tiny World flips the first part on its head, focusing on the smaller underfoot critters of nature and presenting a docuseries that’s a breezy six episodes all about mighty miniscule creatures.

Fittingly narrated by Paul “Ant-Man” Rudd, this is a documentary that’s designed to be as entertaining as it is informative, with a world-class crew that captures incredible footage of some of the world’s smallest marvels. Whether it’s covering tiny birds, spiders, or monkeys, there’s a lot to love about Tiny World - Nathan Lawrence

Written and co-created in collaboration with Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso) and Bill Lawrence (Scrubs), Shrinking is a comedy series that follows Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) as Jimmy Laird, a dysfunctional therapist who decides to deal with his own grief by becoming more involved in the lives of his patients.

Shrinking is often just as likely to make you laugh as it is cry. Segel’s lead performance is anchored by a stoic and soft-spoken Harrison Ford on one side and a slew of TV acting veterans including Jessica Williams, Christa Miller and Ted McGinley on the other. Given the talent involved, it’s little surprise that Shrinking manages to be both moving as often as it is funny - Fergus Halliday

An adapation of the bestselling book of the same name, Pachinko is an epic drama that spans decades and delves into the triumphs and tragedies of a single South Korean family over four generations. 

Pachinko pulls no punches in its depiction of the past and how it shapes us in ways that are both profound yet rarely realised. The series is a lavishly produced vision of history and filled with unforgettable performances by both familiar faces and actors that you might have never heard of before watching the series - Fergus Halliday

After a leading wine taster passes away, his daughter must face off against his protégé to win a billion-dollar wine collection. There’s just one problem - his daughter can’t drink alcohol and the contest is naturally a blind wine tasting.

Drops of God is as ridiculous as it sounds. Characters go into their mind palaces when tasting wines to identify flavours. There’s an overly intense montage on how to open a bottle of wine the proper way. You even get some soapy family drama. Oh, and it’s set in three different languages - English, French, and Japanese.

While there’s an element of camp, Drops of God takes itself and its subject matter entirely seriously. This makes for a very fun watch - especially with a glass of wine in hand. - Alex Choros 

Britain's national security is not safe in the hands of the "slow horses", a group of has-been and never-were spies. Often described as one of the most under-rated shows streaming today, Slow Horses crosses spy parody effortlessly with spy thriller, managing to be as funny and smart as it is thrilling, action-packed and impossible to stop watching.

That alone would be enough to recommend it, but on top of being great TV, it's receiving a refreshing amount of support from Apple TV+. They've cranked out four brilliant seasons and have already renewed it for two more. In the age of endless series cancellations, it's exciting to see a streamer back a show with this much confidence. Throw in a career-topping performance from Gary Oldman and you can understand why. Oh, and did I mention it scored 98% on Rotten Tomatoes? - Jacqui Dent

Back in 2004, household name Ewan McGregor and his bestest bud Charley Boorman got on their bikes and made a 31,000-kilometre trek around the world for the Long Way Round series. This was followed up in 2007 with Long Way Down. Fast-forward 16 years, and the pals are back at it again for Long Way Up.

For fans of the original series, this is Return of the Jedi-like essential viewing to complete this particular trilogy (despite the likelihood that, like Star Wars, there may be more to come). For everyone else, Long Way Up sees McGregor and Boorman tearing up 13,000 miles of track through Central and South America, this time on electric motorbikes. You definitely don’t have to love motorbikes to love this doco - Nathan Lawrence

There was a time when “from the twisted of mind of M. Night Shyamalan” didn’t mean what it used to, but after a recent return to form, the infamous twister’s name has gravitas again. So when Apple has Shyamalan’s name prominently placed on the Servant poster and trailer, you can safely assume that’s a good thing. Servant is a psychological horror series that’s already been approved for a second season, so you can safely get attached to the characters of its sinister world.

Like a creepy reimagining of Pinocchio, a married couple attempt to deal with the death of their infant son by using a lifelike doll as a coping method. While the couple disagree on how real the doll is, their dynamic changes further when a zealous babysitter is brought into their home - Nathan Lawrence

Calls is an experimental horror-ish series that's more like listening to an audiobook. The entire show is voice clips of interconnected phone calls, presented with minimal abstract imagery reminiscent of 90s Windows Media Player visualizers. In the nicest way possible. Despite the unconventional presentation, it's very easy to get wrapped up in Calls. The star-studded cast including Aubrey Plaza, Ben Schwartz, Danny Pudi, Karen Gillian, Nick Jonas, and Pedro Pascal certainly doesn't hurt either - Alex Choros

While its focus is relegated to American TV only, Visible: Out on Television is a docuseries that follows the representation of LGBTQ personalities and characters on TV from the 1950s onwards. This representation in the 1950s was offensive, and while that’s improved in recent years, Visible: Out on Television has a powerful message that there’s still work to be done.

The docuseries combines archival footage and new interviews with familiar LGBTQ TV personalities to explore the impact of the LGBTQ movement in terms of on-screen representation. At times heartbreaking, at others uplifting, Visible: Out on Television is a powerful tale of how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go in terms of on-screen diversity - Nathan Lawrence

There are so many ways this could have gone wrong. Despite the sunny name, Morning Wars dives headfirst into a fictionalised #MeToo scandal of a disgraced former morning show co-host, Mitch Kessler (Steve Carrel), and the lingering questions it raises during his exile. Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston) is the co-host left to pick up the pieces, while confrontational up-and-comer Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) has her shot at fame.

These intertwining stories are centre stage for an excellent ensemble cast in a drama that pulls no punches and warrants of all of its critical praise, with effective staying power beyond the pilot (which can’t be said of the similar setting for The Newsroom. It effortlessly walks a difficult tightrope of respecting heavy material, while also allowing room for constant humanising and occasionally hilarious moments - Nathan Lawrence

What is a new streaming service without a show that’s all about some kind of dystopian future? While not as legendary a sci-fi series as The Expanse (not yet at least), See will still scratch the sci-fi itch for fans of the popular genre. In a world where most people are quite literally blind, this Children of Men-like story has some impressive behind-the-camera crew, most notably creator Steven Knight of Peaky Blinders fame.

Naturally, it helps that Jason Momoa takes on the leading role, competent in both drama, charismatic screen presence, and taking care of himself when things frequently get messy. He’s the protector of two twins that are born with sight, and a word of metaphorically and literally blind foes stand in his way of keeping them safe - Nathan Lawrence