Apple TV+ doesn’t have a very busy schedule this month in terms of new releases. That’s par for the course, though, given that the iPhone maker’s small streamer has professed a focus on quantity over quality from the very beginning. And, indeed, quality abounds for Apple subscribers this month thanks to a handful of new prestige dramas as well as a high-profile original film that reunites George Clooney and Brad Pitt for a mostly fun crime dramedy.
Below, we’ll run through the new titles you’ll want to add to your watchlist if you’re subscribed to Apple TV+, starting with a new season of an old favorite.
Slow Horses (returns Sept. 4)
Here’s the thing about Slow Horses, the Apple TV+ adaptation of author Mick Herron’s series of spy novels that was already absolutely magnificent. In the highly anticipated fourth season, which debuts this week, the Gary Oldman-led drama somehow managed to get even better.
Our review of the six-episode season has all the details, but suffice it to say that this new outing — based on Spook Street, the fourth book in Herron’s series — ratchets up the tension, the drama, the heroics, and the quality storytelling. The Slow Horses get pulled into an investigation regarding a bombing of a posh London shopping center, which also has a connection to the past of both River Cartwright and his grandfather, David Cartwright, the legendary ex-spy.
La Maison (debuts Sept. 20)
French elegance meets high fashion meets a juicy Succession-like tale in this 10-episode Apple TV+ drama starring Lambert Wilson as legendary fashion designer Vincent Ledu.
Ledu throws his family’s iconic fashion house into disarray and scandal thanks to a viral video, a consequence of which is that the future of his family’s haute couture house LEDU hangs in the balance. The ruthless CEO of a powerful luxury brand launches an offensive to acquire Maison LEDU, and “to achieve her goal,” Apple explains, “anything is fair game, as this is more than acquiring just another brand — it’s about revenge.” Meanwhile, Vincent’s former muse teams up with a visionary next-generation designer to evolve and save the 100-year-old Maison LEDU.
You can read more about the show in our preview here, but as noted above — this one definitely deserves a spot on your watchlist if you’re looking for something to fill the Succession-sized hole in your heart.
Midnight Family (debuts Sept. 25)
One of two international releases on this list (okay, three if we’re going to be technical and include Britain’s Slow Horses), Midnight Family is another Spanish-language drama following on the heels of the well-received Women in Blue.
This new 10-episode Apple TV+ series, featuring an entirely Hispanic cast, was inspired by the documentary Familia de Medianoche and follows an ambitious, gifted medical student named Marigaby Tamayo. A student by day, she spends her nights, according to Apple, “saving lives throughout a sprawling, contrasted and fascinating Mexico City aboard her family’s privately owned ambulance.” Tamayo, her father and her two brothers serve a population of millions by tackling extreme medical emergencies in order to make a living.
Wolfs (debuts Sept. 27)
Finally, we come to an an Apple TV+ feature film that’s had a bit of a rocky go even before landing on the streaming service later this month. That’s because of Apple’s abrupt decision to pulls the film from theaters, presumably as a consequence of the rocky response to the service’s string of big-budget flops, before settling on a limited one-week theatrical run for director Jon Watts’ Wolfs which will then head to streaming.
About the movie itself: Clooney and Pitt play a pair of professional fixers, both of whom are basically lone wolf-style operators and who’ve been hired for the same job, much to their chagrin. Out of 12 reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes so far, the movie’s score currently stands at 67% — not great, but I’m still holding out hope. Clooney and Pitt together again should bring enough of a spark to make anything an enjoyable watch, right?
