The best shows on Apple TV+ right now (August 2023)

Even though it’s yet another postapocalyptic, dystopian series, Silo draws you in with its unique and compelling story and A-list cast. Earth has supposedly become nothing more than a vast wasteland, and the only survivors reside in a massive silo built more than 100 floors high. No one knows why the silo was built or even by whom. But they are told it’s dangerous and deadly to step outside. The protective community abides by strict rules and the same kind of corrupted politics and socioeconomic classes that existed in the outside world. Any signs of the world before, called relics, are strictly prohibited.

The story, based on the sci-fi books by Hugh Howey, centers around Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson, Dune), a young engineer who decides to investigate the truth when her boyfriend, who was looking into various theories, mysteriously falls to his death. Silo touches on themes of power, control, perception, and manipulation. Is the silo really protecting people from dangerous conditions outside its doors, or is this all just an elaborate demonstration of smoke and mirrors?

With three seasons under its belt, Stillwater remains one of the most thoughtful and heartwarming animated series within Apple TV+’s slate of originals. Based on the Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth, the title character is a panda named Stillwater who teaches important life lessons to the kids who live next door, Karl, Addy, and Michael. From educating the kids on how to live a more Earth-friendly lifestyle to dealing with typical kid challenges like broken toys and fights with friends, Stillwater always knows just the right things to say.

It’s a cute animated series for kids that has smarts behind it, along with wonderful voice actors who make you feel like you’re part of the story, too.

A take on the early life of primatologist and anthropologist Dr. Jane Goodall, the title character in Jane is a 9-year-old girl with a mission to save endangered animals. Together with her best friend David and a chimpanzee named Greybeard, the imaginative trio embarks on various adventures around the world, with the goal of protecting animals of all kinds. She idolized her namesake, Dr. Goodall, and lives by the mantra that understanding is necessary to care, and to care means helping.

Jane’s premise is inspired by Dr. Goodall’s own life and will be an entertaining watch for animal-loving families that want to educate their kids about the importance of the environment and the animals that live within our world.

After their infant son Jericho dies, Sean (Toby Kebbell) and Dorothy Turner (Lauren Ambrose) are distraught, Dorothy so much that she suffers a psychological breakdown. To help Dorothy recover, the couple gets a lifelike therapy doll, which Dorothy treats as if it’s real.

Sean and Dorothy’s brother, Julian (Harry Potter‘s Rupert Grint), both put up with the act for her sake, but things get even stranger when the couple’s nanny, a young woman named Leanne (Nell Tiger Free), arrives, and she too behaves as if the doll is a real child. As Sean tries to figure out what is going on with the new nanny, he begins to question his own grip on reality. Servant is an eerie thriller, executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan no less, that moves at a brisk pace and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Black Bird is a thrilling crime drama with a top-notch cast that follows a young man, James (Taron Egerton), the son of a decorated police officer, who is sent to jail on drug trafficking and weapons charges. But James is given an incredible opportunity: enter a maximum security prison, get a confession out of a suspected serial killer, and his entire 10-year sentence will be commuted. So begins James’ race against the clock as he tries to use his charms and likability to get oddball Larry (Paul Walter Hauser) to implicate himself without blowing his cover. James also needs to stay out of trouble himself, because if he does anything to get time tacked onto his sentence, he’s on his own.

Maximum security prison life is no joke, but James is determined to be set free in time to see his ailing father, played by Ray Liotta in one of his final roles. Greg Kinnear also stars as Brian Miller, an officer investigating the case who is determined to catch a repeated killer before he’s set free to kill again. There’s edge-of-your-seat tension through all six episodes.