From new seasons of shows like Acapulco and The Big Door Prize to splashy new originals like Palm Royale and The New Look, this spring and summer are shaping up to be quite a busy period for Apple TV+. The iPhone maker’s streaming service shared its upcoming release slate today during the Television Critics Association’s Winter 2024 press tour, and while there are still some questions marks remaining to be answered about some of the biggest shows (like return dates for hits Shrinking and Severance) there’s nevertheless a lot of great content here to look forward to.
“These compelling series all reflect Apple’s dedication to crafting stories that not only entertain but reflect the richness of our shared human experience, foster a sense of understanding and spark cultural conversations around the world,” said Matt Cherniss, head of domestic programming, Apple TV+. “We can’t wait for everyone to experience what we have in store.”
Below, we’ll run through all of the shows that Apple teased in addition to highlighting our recommendations for what are already shaping up to be the absolute must-watch titles.
All the new and returning shows
The lineup below takes us from now through mid-June, and there’s pretty much something for everyone below — from prestige dramas to sports docuseries as well as programming for kids.
The New Look
Premiere: Feb. 14
Summary: This 10-episode drama from Todd A. Kessler is all about the post-World War II rise of Parisian couture, a period that was dominated by iconic figures like Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, Pierre Balmain, and Cristóbal Balenciaga. The series is set against the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of Paris during the war, and it follows the City of Light’s resurrection after the war thanks to Dior, the fashion icon who’s portrayed here by Ben Mendelsohn.
I suspect that fans of prestige dramas like The Crown will definitely want to check this one out. Of all the titles below, this is one of the series that I’m most looking forward to — plus, Mendelsohn is absolutely mesmerizing in pretty much everything he does.
The Dynasty: New England Patriots
Premiere: Feb. 16
Summary: This 10-part documentary series from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentaries showcases the rise of the most dominant sports dynasty of the 21st century, and it includes interviews with former quarterback Tom Brady, coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft, among others.
Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin
Premiere: Feb. 16
Summary: Franklin, the first black character in the beloved Peanuts comic strip, gets his origin story explored in this Apple TV+ original. Per Apple: “Franklin’s family is always on the move with his dad’s military job, and everywhere he goes Franklin finds support in a notebook filled with his grandfather’s advice on friendship. But when Franklin tries his usual strategies with the Peanuts gang, he has trouble fitting in.
“That’s until he learns about the neighborhood Soap Box Derby race – according to his grandfather, everyone loves a winner! He’s sure that winning the race will also mean winning over some new friends. All he needs is a partner, which he finds in Charlie Brown. Franklin and Charlie Brown work together to build a car and in the process become good buddies.”
Constellation
Premiere: Feb. 21
Summary: This eight-part conspiracy-based space thriller, written and created by Peter Harness, stars Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks. Rapace plays Jo, an astronaut who comes back to Earth after a disaster in space — only to discover that key pieces of her life seem to be missing.
Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend
Premiere: Feb. 21.
Summary: This four-part docuseries charts the rise of the greatest soccer player of the modern era — Lionel Messi, aka The GOAT. Among other things, the series explores his five FIFA World Cup appearances, as well as his FIFA World Cup Qatar win in 2022. Messi himself will also tell the definitive story of his career with the Argentina national football team along with conversations from teammates, coaches, competitors, fans, and more.
The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
Premiere: March 1
Summary: This six-episode comedy stars Noel Fielding in the title role as a legendary British highwayman who sets out on a journey of wild and absurd escapades after he’s appointed the reluctant leader of a band of outlaws. He’s also meant to outwit a corrupt lawman, Jonathan Wilde, who’s played here by Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville.
The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy
Premiere: March 8
Summary: This irreverent yet heartwarming travel series is comfort TV at its finest. With Eugene Levy as the star and narrator, The Reluctant Traveler is basically the opposite of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. Whereas the latter was hosted by an urbane, profane, and frequently mesmerizing writer who was in love with the world, Levy is a 77-year-old fussbudget who prefers his creature comforts in lieu of traveling the globe — and who especially prefers luxe hotels and fine meals over venturing out to mingle with the locals.
The show’s sophomore season finds Levy on a grand tour of Europe, from Sweden and Scotland down to France and then over to Spain. One of my favorite things about this show, too, is the way the gag about Levy being a curmudgeon isn’t overplayed; he always comes around, letting himself experience the culture and people around him, in a way that warms your heart.
Manhunt
Premiere: March 15
Summary: When I first heard that Apple was releasing a seven-part limited series dramatizing the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the frantic hunt for his killers, I was pretty excited by the news. That’s because this series, from creator Monica Beletsky, is based on The New York Times bestselling historical novel of the same name — a pulse-pounding page-turner that kept me hooked all the way through when I first read it, and which brings the sensibilities of a thriller to one of the most shocking crimes in US history, the first assassination of a US president.
Palm Royale
Premiere: March 20
Summary: Loosely based on Juliet McDaniel’s 2018 novel Mr. & Mrs. American Pie, Palm Royale stars Kristen Wiig as an ambitious social climber in the sun-drenched Palm Beach of 1969.
1969 was a powder keg of a year, to say the least, with Richard Nixon sworn in as the 37th president, Neil Armstrong taking his giant leap for mankind, and Wiig’s Maxine Simmons looking to start anew after having been unceremoniously dumped by her husband. Breaking into Palm Beach’s exclusive high society — whose ruling dame, Norma, is played here by Carol Burnett — thus represents a fresh start for Maxine, in this story about the line between the haves and the have-nots.
Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (Season 2)
Premiere: March 29
Summary: Per Apple TV+, this second season of the reboot of Jim Henson’s beloved classic brings back the Fraggles for more epic, fun adventures. “This time, with big changes affecting the Rock, the Fraggles, Doozers and Gorgs will be forced to confront their past and celebrate their interdependence, as they move through challenges together with hope, silliness and brand new songs, all while dancing their cares away … down at Fraggle Rock.”
Loot
Premiere: April 3
Summary: Per Apple TV+, the new season of this comedy starring and executive-produced by Maya Rudolph is set one year after Molly Wells’ (Rudolph) public divorce from tech billionaire John Novak (Adam Scott), and she’s now thriving in her work as the head of the Wells Foundation.
“Focused mainly on her charity work, Molly has sworn off any new relationships with any new men. Fabulously single but not particularly independent, Molly’s trusty assistant Nicholas (Joel Kim Booster) remains by her side, diligently catering to her every whim … .and occasionally feeding her a kale smoothie spiked with gin.”
Sugar
Premiere: April 5
Summary: This eight-episode drama starring Colin Farrell promises a fresh take on the pretty well-worn genre of the classic detective story. Farrell plays John Sugar, an American PI tracking the disappearance of the granddaughter of a Hollywood producer. As he gets deeper into the case, he also unearths new and old family secrets. There’s a Chinatown vibe all over this one, and Farrell is quite a talented chameleon who disappears into every role he plays, so I’m especially looking forward to this one.
Girls State
Premiere: April 5
Summary: This documentary follows several hundred girls from across Missouri who gather for an academic project that involves building a democracy from the ground up, campaigning for office, and forming a Supreme Court to adjudicate divisive issues. Per Apple TV+, “these young women confront the complicated paths women must navigate to build political power.
“Following a distinctly female perspective and filled with teenage insecurity, biting humor and a yearning for true friendship, the young leaders of “Girls State” win hearts and minds — not just elections.”
Franklin
Premiere: April 12
Summary: Based on Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff’s book A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, this Apple TV+ limited series stars Michael Douglas as founding father Benjamin Franklin in what looks set to be Apple’s version of HBO’s Paul Giamatti-led Adams.
The series explores the huge gamble that Franklin undertook in December 1776, when the 70-year-old put all of his political acumen to the test by embarking on a secret mission to France to convince the monarchy to underwrite the American experiment in democracy.
The Big Door Prize (Season 2)
Premiere: April 24
Summary: This returning dramedy is based on M.O. Walsh’s 2020 novel of the same name, which is about a new machine that shows up one day in the grocery store of a Louisiana town — a machine that looks like a phone booth and can tell anyone who forks over two dollars and a cheek swab what the rest of their life has in store for them.
That feel-good, delightful book couldn’t have arrived at a better time, smack in the middle of a devastating global pandemic, and Apple’s series starring Chris O’Dowd is solid adaptation — a big-hearted, feel-good gem.
Acapulco (Season 3)
Premiere: May 1
Summary: Having said all that about the previous show, TV actually doesn’t get much more feel-good and heartwarming than this next extremely underrated Apple TV+ classic that’s been overshadowed to a large extent in the comfort TV category by another little Apple series you might have heard of (Ted Lasso). In my opinion, Acapulco is absolutely a superior watch compared to Lasso. There’s a How I Met Your Mother vibe to the storytelling, the characters are all ridiculously likable, and there’s none of the hokey Lasso-isms and cheesiness pervading this story.
In season three of Acapulco, the modern-day version of Maximo returns to a Las Colinas he doesn’t recognize anymore, while the younger Maximo from 1985 keeps climbing the ladder of success — potentially jeopardizing his relationships along the way.
Dark Matter
Premiere: May 8
Summary: When I read Black Crouch’s sci-fi novel Dark Matter a year or so ago, it absolutely blew my mind. The book is not so much about time travel as it is about alternate realities, wherein a physicist/professor/family man gets steered abruptly into another version of his life in a thriller that had me completely absorbed from start to finish. I don’t want to give too much of it away, but the book is especially creative in the way that it pits the main character against other versions of himself.
Apple’s nine-episode adaptation of the book stars Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly — and man, oh, man. All I can say is you all are absolutely in for a treat with this one.
Trying (Season 4)
Premiere: May 22
Summary: This critically acclaimed British comedy, first and foremost, stars one of my all-time favorite TV couples. Nikki and Jason are nice, sweet, and earnest partners who love each other to bits and who started this show by “trying” and failing to get pregnant — and then, failing that, setting about the process of adopting a child. Trying abounds with sweet and tender moments, and it should go without saying that Nikki and Jason are absolutely the kind of heart-breakingly nice people that you want to entrust the raising of a child to.
“In this exciting new season,” Apple says about season four, “we fast-forward six years, discovering that Nikki (Smith) and Jason (Spall) are experienced adopters having built a lovely little nuclear family, enriched by an extraordinary support network. However, as their teenage daughter, Princess (Rayner), starts to yearn for a connection with her birth mother, Nikki and Jason find themselves confronted with the ultimate test of their parenting skills.”
Presumed Innocent
Premiere: June 14
Summary: This eight-episode limited series from David E. Kelley and J.J. Abrams is based on The New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Scott Turow.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in the lead role as chief deputy prosecutor Rusty Sabich, and the series takes viewers on a journey through a horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorneys’ office when one of its own is suspected of the crime. From Apple, “The series explores obsession, sex, politics, and the power and limits of love, as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”
Land of Women
Premiere: Summer 2024
Summary: Per Apple TV+, “Land of Women is a new six-episode dramedy starring Golden Globe nominee Eva Longoria, who also serves as executive producer, alongside legendary film and television star Carmen Maura and newcomer Victoria Bazúa. The groundbreaking show is shot in both English and Spanish and will be available to watch in each language when it premieres this summer.
“Land of Women stars Longoria as Gala, a New York empty nester whose life is turned upside down when her husband implicates the family in financial improprieties, and she is forced to flee the city alongside her aging mother (Maura) and college-age daughter (Bazúa). To escape the dangerous criminals to whom Gala’s now vanished husband is indebted, the three women hide in the same charming wine town in northern Spain that Gala’s mother fled 50 years ago, vowing never to return. The women seek to start anew and hope their identities will remain unknown, but gossip in the small town quickly spreads, unraveling their deepest family secrets and truths.”
