This new Apple TV Plus show has a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes

When it comes to Apple TV Plus, I feel like an outsized share of the critical acclaim and buzz from the public flows inexorably toward one show in particular. You don’t even need me to say which one. Matter of fact, this heartwarming and near-perfect Apple comedy from across the pond — about an inspirational soccer coach with a thick mustache, a big aw-shucks grin, and more homespun quips than you can shake a stick at — is such a winner for Apple’s streamer that it recently got its own mini-Christmas special. I’ve spent so much of my lead-up here on Ted Lasso, also, because while we all wait for Season 3 to drop on Apple TV Plus? There’s a spiritual successor of sorts that’s actually available to stream on the service right now. It’s got a 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. And its name is Acapulco.

Apple TV Plus scores a Rotten Tomatoes hit

Certainly, the name for this show conjures up vistas of golden sand. Brightly-colored drinks with those little umbrellas in them. The pre-Covid-era hustle and bustle at a luxury resort. And in terms of the visuals, the show handily delivers on that score.

But there’s also a ridiculously feel-good, heartwarming core of this show that manages to feel very Lasso-esque. Acapulco, per Apple, “tells the story of twenty-something Máximo Gallardo (Enrique Arrizon), whose dream comes true when he gets the job of a lifetime as a cabana boy at the hottest resort in Acapulco.

“He soon realizes the job is far more complicated than he ever imagined and in order to succeed, he must learn to navigate a demanding clientele, a mercurial mentor, and a complicated home life, without losing his way to shortcuts or temptations.”

Reaction from viewers and critics

As noted, the show as of the time of this writing has a perfect, 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. And a nearly-as-high 90% score from audiences on the review aggregation website.

From The Globe and Mail: “Acapulco has a ton of heart, plenty of humour and looks stunning. Told in Spanish and English, this coming-of-age story doesn’t set out to break barriers or be scintillating. It anchors itself in seductive cuteness and succeeds.”

I’ll have a full review in a separate post. But, for now, I think the thing I appreciate most here is that this is a half-hour comedy that doesn’t aim for the lowest common denominator humor. It’s feel-good, it looks great, and it’s bite-sized entertainment that doesn’t require a huge investment of time. People just aren’t making enough shows like this anymore.

Apple TV Plus’s best shows

Separate from Acapulco, meanwhile, here are three other Apple TV Plus shows to make absolutely sure you check out. In fact, I’d go so far as to say these three are the best currently on offer by the streamer.

First, of course, Ted Lasso has to be right at the top. If you haven’t seen it yet? Rectify that immediately. Unless you’re not into half-hour comedies that alternately tug at your heartstrings and make you feel happy.

Tehran is another must-watch. Especially if you’re a fan of spy- and espionage-themed pop culture. Filming just wrapped on Season 2, and I can’t wait to see where the series goes next. Niv Sultan, the lead actress, plays an elite Israeli hacker/spy here who sneaks into Iran to sabotage the regime’s war machine. It goes wrong, there are all kinds of twists, and the very nearly ripped-from-the-headlines story and writing had me hooked from start to finish.

Finally, For All Mankind. This one imagines an alternative history of the 1960s-era US space race, between us and the Russians. Imagining, for example, that we didn’t get to the moon first — and all of the consequences that might follow from that. For example, the version of the USA in this story devotes much more resources, attention, and gender equality efforts to space (given that we “lose” the race early).