CODA, Severance and Slow Horses all showed up in this week’s top 10 most-watched movies and TV shows. Each is from Apple TV+, and they show the streaming service has become a strong competitor against Netflix, Hulu and Disney+.
Perhaps this will silence any lingering doubts about Apple’s foray into film and TV.
3 hits for Apple TV+
There are a lot of streaming services, and they all compete fiercely. When a relative newcomer creates a hit, it’s a significant accomplishment. Apple TV+ did it before with Ted Lasso — and it now has three winners at once.
CODA
Movie and TV search engine Reelgood ranks the film CODA at No. 3 on its list of Top 10 Titles in Streaming for the previous week. The film recently won the Best Picture Oscar, making Apple TV+ the first streaming service to ever win that award.
CODA tells the story of a high school senior who is the only hearing person in her Deaf family. She’s torn between holding that family together as an interpreter or departing for a music school to pursue her own dreams.
Severance
Severance came in fifth place on Reelgood‘s weekly rankings. The creepy series, which ended its first season on a high note this week, has been ranked almost every week since it debuted, showing enduring popularity.
It centers on a small group of workers at the harrowingly evil firm Lumon Industries. The employees agreed to a “severance” procedure that surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. What could go wrong when they find out what type of company they work for?
Slow Horses
Slow Horses, a spy show starring Gary Oldman, debuted April 1. And yet it already drew enough viewers to become No. 9 on the list of popular streaming shows.
The thriller follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department for MI5. Oldman stars as the brilliant but irascible leader of the spies who hope to get their careers back on track — as unlikely as that is.
Apple TV+ becomes one of the best streaming services
Reelgood bases its Top 10 rankings on streams and engagement among millions of users in the United States across all SVOD and AVOD services. The rankings covered here are for March 31 to April 6.
These three hits are not Apple’s first successful shows by any means. There’s no better proof than Ted Lasso, the beloved sports comedy that until recently might be the only Apple TV+ series most people could name. It picked up the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series.
However, Ted Lasso isn’t the only Apple TV+ series picking up industry accolades (along with its fans). Other high-profile and award-winning offerings include The Morning Show and Dickinson.
Apple TV+: All original content
Apple’s strength is in original content. Virtually everything on the streaming service was created for it.
But that’s also a weakness. Apple has never shown any interest in buying or licensing the back catalog of a movie studio or TV network. So while Disney+ can provide viewers many decades of content, Apple has little to offer that’s older than its service’s 2019 launch.
Still, Apple seems to be positioning itself as people’s solid second choice in streaming. Thanks to its relatively inexpensive $4.99 monthly subscription fee, many households can afford to sign up for Netflix and Apple TV+. Or Disney+ and Apple TV+.
According to a recent survey by Kantar, the average U.S. household now uses 4.7 streaming services.
Right now, Apple TV+ is small but growing. If Apple’s streaming service can keep making and/or acquiring hits like CODA, Severance and Slow Horses, it’s well-positioned to cement a spot in viewers’ living rooms.
