Since its launch in 2019, Apple TV Plus has won awards and generated hits, but it still occupies a strange place in the streaming landscape. It’s not as big as competitors like Netflix or Disney Plus, nor is it as productive. Instead, the service seems intent on focusing on quality over quantity, which has led some to compare it to the old HBO (you know, when it was still called HBO). In reality, Apple TV Plus has a somewhat scattered library that includes everything from Charlie Brown to Martin Scorsese. Some of it is great; some of it is For Argy.
But there’s one area where the service really nails it: science fiction.
For some reason, the lineup of sci-fi shows on Apple TV Plus has steadily grown over the years, not just in size and quality, but also in tone and scope. The genre has become one of the service’s strongest selling points. Here is a quick overview of some of the products currently available:
Many of these series have multiple seasons or have at least been renewed and are fairly evenly split between original series and adaptations. Some are huge (Foundation, endowment), some are scary as hell (severance pay), and some are fun and playful (Hello morning). Not all of them are outstanding, but when you put them together you have a strong and diverse line-up.
More recently the service has taken on a darker tone. First there was the debut of constellation Earlier this year, Noomi Rapace played an astronaut who returned to an Earth very different from the one she left. And now we have it Dark matter based on the novel by Blake Crouch, premiering May 8th. It’s a multiversal story about a physicist, played by Joel Edgerton, who is kidnapped by a parallel version of himself. So far I’ve watched the first two episodes, and they manage to combine the tone of a suspense thriller with the breathtaking nature of time travel, creating a story that intentionally makes you feel unmoored. There are also some very large and impressive dice.
It’s also the kind of show necessary to highlight Apple’s product lineup. This is not the place to find the biggest franchises, but the competition features heavyweights like war of stars And Star Trek And Doctor Who. Instead, the service’s true sci-fi elements come from largely unexpected and original series, like a workplace thriller about creepy numbers and baby goats or an alien invasion story that’s not afraid to take its time.
This focus on individual stories could change in the future. Apple TV Plus already seems to be entering the spin-off era: monarch And For all humanity are getting both more seasons and new shows to expand them into larger franchises. (monarchalready exists, of course, in a largely theatrical franchise called “Monsterverse.”)
But hopefully the service doesn’t push too far into the franchise model, which can stifle even the largest properties. It’s also at odds with what made Apple’s sci-fi offerings so exciting in the first place: In a genre full of familiars, these series offer a welcome surprise. And they could help finally give Apple TV Plus the identity it’s missing.