★★★☆☆
Apple TV+’s epic science fiction series Foundation deals with the fallout from an assassination attempt, a potential marriage and the opening of a puzzle cube this week.
In the episode, entitled “A Glimpse of Darkness,” Salvor and Gaal have their overdue reunion with Hari Seldon. Plus, some new converts are betrayed by their faith. And Hari, like Schrodinger’s cat, may or may not be in a box. It’s a very good episode between major developments.
★★★☆☆
New Apple TV+ sports doc Stephen Curry: Underrated follows the Golden State Warriors star and his quest to bring his team back after a bad season.
The film documents the various rises and falls of the player with the three-pointer record and the slim build, showing us who Curry is off the court as well as on. It’s a very conventional but likable look at the kind of talent that doesn’t come along every day.
Netflix just killed its Basic plan, forcing people to pay more for an ad-free experience. And the cost of all Peacock plans went up, with or without commercials.
Apple TV+, with no ads at all, looks like a better deal than ever.
★★★☆☆
Sam runs out of options, and Stuart runs out of patience, in this week’s tense installment of Apple TV+ hostage thriller Hijack.
Stuart’s secrets start to spill out as a desperate move to save someone close to him brings the whole operation dangerously close to failure. While Sam tries to stay a step ahead of everyone, there are just some things he can’t know or understand until it’s too late.
Do you love animals, and the more exotic they are the better? Apple TV+ said Tuesday its two new documentary series “featuring the never-before-seen lives of the rarest animals on Earth” will come out soon.
The two series — Born to be Wild and Endangered Planet — consist of six parts apiece. But we’ll have to wait and see when they’ll air. We can probably expect trailers before too long.
★★★★☆
Superlative Apple TV basketball drama Swagger puts Jace in the hot seat this week, as allegations prove too tough to beat. Jace does something crazy in the name of helping his community but it makes things even more fraught.
Meanwhile, Ike and Emory are at loggerheads about how to handle their star player. And Crystal must decide how she feels about her life once more becoming the subject of public debate. Entitled “Through the Fire,” it’s a typically excellent installment of this fiery show.
★★★★☆
The expensive, expansive show overcome opening night jitters in season one to become one of the more watchable and exciting things on Apple TV+, thanks in no small part to a game cast, tense set pieces, fleet drama and exquisite effects.
Apple TV+ needed its own Battlestar Galactica or Mandalorian, and Foundation more than met the challenge. Will it be able to repeat the successes of its first season?
★★★☆☆
Apple TV+ comedy Platonic closes its hilarious first season this week with a sentimental look at the way two people have to understand the limits of their relationship.
Sylvia and her husband Charlie find a new home that seems to signal the end of their recent troubles. But will there be a place for Will in this new version of their life? The answer probably won’t shock you, but it’s basically moving anyway.
The third season of the Apple TV+ dark comedy Physical will feature a psychological battle between Rose Byrne‘s Sheila and a new rival for premier fitness entrepreneur status played by Zooey Deschanel. The first trailer for the upcoming season gives a first look at their struggle.
In addition, Apple’s streaming service revealed Wednesday that the series will return in early August -0- and that this will be the final season of Physical.
Apple TV+ earned dozens of 2023 Emmy nominations, with the Ted Lasso juggernaut racking up no fewer than 21 on its own.
Also gaining recognition for TV’s highest honor are comedies Shrinking and Bad Sisters, jailhouse drama Black Bird, musical spoof Schmigadoon! and current-affairs series The Problem With Jon Stewart. Plus more.
★★★☆☆
High-flying Apple TV+ thriller Hijack deals with a new threat this week even as the last one is still being mopped up in the airplane’s aisles.
As Sam finds himself in bondage, he devises a clever new avenue of contacting the ground and gaining the upper hand without seeming to. There’s panic in Bucharest, Marsha gets a message, and the hijackers are getting jumpy on a perfectly decent installment of the new hit series.
★☆☆☆☆
Apple TV+ comedy The Afterparty returns for a second infuriating season Wednesday. Not even the presence of some of our best actors (Paul Walter Hauser, Mary Holland and John Cho among them) can focus the writing and direction of this show to the point where its gimmick makes sense or its performances seem calibrated to the design of the show.
Unfortunately, this genre-hopping misfire was spent before it was reloaded.
Anyone curious about the big-budget sci-fi epic Foundation can now take in the very first episode … no subscription to Apple TV+ required. It’s free to watch on YouTube.
Die-hard fans know season 2 is about to start, and if you don’t have time for a rewatch of last season, Apple made a quick recap video. Plus it released a clip from the next episode.
A documentary series looking back at the careers of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington premieres on Apple TV+ in September. The Super Models will explore how these four disrupted the ’90s fashion scene.
In addition to announcing the premiere date, Apple’s video streaming service also released a brief teaser trailer Monday.
Apple TV+ dropped a “first look” at a new drama/horror series and “parenthood fable” The Changeling, coming to the streaming service September 8. See the photographs below.
The eight-episode show stars LaKeith Stanfield (Atlanta, Sorry to Bother You) and comes from the critically acclaimed and bestselling book of the same name by Victor LaValle.
Apple TV+ just gave us the first real look at Ridley Scott’s upcoming biopic about Napoleon Bonaparte. The Napoleon trailer dropped Monday, showing Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor setting out to conquer Europe.
The film tells the story of Napoleon’s ruthless rise to power and his obsessive love for his wife, Empress Josephine.
☆☆☆☆☆
Apple TV+ limited series The Crowded Room plays its final hand this week, and the show finally broke me the way it reportedly “broke” its lead actor, Tom Holland. Danny finally gets to know all of his personalities at Rya’s behest, though he may have blown his chances at a fair trial already.
The show’s prior attempts at sensitively depicting Danny’s mental illness take a turn for the deeply unserious this week. And for this recapper, there is just no sane way to move forward.
★★★★☆
This week on Swagger, Jace and Ike’s latest victory is a short-lived affair. When Crystal comes to Jace with worrying possibilities for his future, he shuts down — leaving Phil, Drew and Musa to panic.
Meanwhile, Jenna and Tonya start making plans. And Ike and Emery decide to hash out their differences the old-fashioned way. The episode, entitled “Rise + Fall,” is good and tense. And it points the way toward much darker events to come on the Apple TV+ basketball drama.
The Galactic Empire and the Foundation prepare for massive conflict in a new trailer for Apple TV+ show Foundation, with the sci-fi series’ gorgeous special effects and cinematography very much on display.
Foundation season two premieres July 14. So now’s the time to watch the epic trailer Apple released Thursday — or get caught up on season one.
Nathan Pyle’s humorous Strange Planet graphic novels are being made into an Apple TV+ animated series that’s now set to launch in late summer.
The show uses brightly colored aliens to poke fun at all of us.
★★★★☆
Platonic heads into the home stretch this week as the Apple TV+ comedy about two friends who interrupt each other’s lives and relationships digs into jealousy.
Charlie takes his anger out on a co-worker in the strangest way imaginable. Sylvia takes out her anger directly on Charlie. And Will takes out his anger on his co-workers, who in turn take out their frustration on him. It’s less of a listening and learning week than a wit’s end week on this very easily consumed show.
Apple TV+ dropped the official trailer Wednesday for its upcoming historical drama Killers of the Flower Moon. The sprawling period piece is filled with the rage and bloodshed of one of America’s most-enduring murder mysteries.
Based on a nonfiction account of a deadly conspiracy by white men to capture oil wealth held by the Osage Indian nation members in early-1900s Oklahoma, the Marin Scorsese film counts Leonardo Di Caprio and Robert De Niro among its sprawling cast.
★★★☆☆
Apple TV+ terrorist thriller Hijack finally takes off this week, introducing real challenges and intense, investigative set pieces as the people on the ground try to figure out if the plane has been taken over, and if so, why — and what can be done about it.
The calm, cool and collected interloper played by Idris Elba takes action as the plane he’s on descends further and further into chaos. The episode, entitled “Draw a Blank,” is the best this show has yet been.
The number of Apple TV+ subscribers has more than tripled in the past two years, according to data from a market-analysis firm.
Apple’s streaming service now sits in the middle of the pack in the battle against competitors like Netflix, Hulu and Disney+.
The dark comedy High Desert will not be returning to Apple TV+. The series starring Patricia Arquette earned generally positive comments from critics and viewers, but perhaps didn’t find a big audience.
Arquette herself made the announcement Sunday.