The new Apple TV+ film about sneaking Tetris out of Communist Russia is pulling in plenty of viewers. It was actually more popular than Ted Lasso last week, according to one TV ratings company — though that Apple comedy is very popular, too.
And Shinking continues its long run in the top 10 most popular streaming shows, possibly because it’s now possible to binge the entire first season.
Silo premieres in May, and Apple TV+ just released the full trailer for the upcoming drama series based on a bestselling trilogy of dystopian novels.
In the series, a few thousand people are left on earth hiding in a mile-deep silo. But what if everything they’ve ever been told about the outside world is a lie?
★★☆☆☆
New Apple TV+ docuseries Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker centers on a famous tennis player embroiled in a scandal. Directed by prolific but utterly predictable documentarian Alex Gibney, the two-part series charts the rise and fall of the youngest Wimbledon champion in history.
Debuting today on Apple TV+, the straight-ahead documentary goes from Boris Becker’s historic wins to his similarly historic losses on the world stage thanks to dicey financial decisions. And it does so in the most formulaic fashion possible. That’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s no ace, either.
High Desert will join the collection of comedies on Apple TV+ when it premieres in May. This won’t be light fare, as it follows an addict who decides to become a private investigator.
The upcoming series stars Patricia Arquette, winner of several Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy awards.
When a young Parisian woman flies to Tokyo after learning of her estranged father’s death there, she finds something unexpected. He has left her the world’s greatest wine collection. It’s worth $148 million. But she can only have it if she defeats a brilliant young wine expert in a series of wine-tasting tests.
That’s the premise neatly poured in the trailer Apple TV+ released Tuesday for Drops of God. The live-action drama series, adapted from a popular Japanese manga (comics), premieres April 21 on Apple TV+.
Ridley Scott’s epic starring Joaquin Phoenix as French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte as he conquers Europe will premiere in theaters this autumn. It will later appear on Apple’s streaming service.
The film will tell the story of Napoleon’s ruthless rise to power and his obsessive love for his wife, Empress Josephine.
Tom Holland is coming back to Apple TV+ with The Crowded Room, a 10-part limited series about a very unusual murder investigation.
It was created and written by Akiva Goldsman, best known as the screenwriter of A Beautiful Mind.
Kids inspired by famous primatologist Jane Goodall go on epic quests to help protect wild animals in the upcoming Apple TV+ show Jane.
The first Jane trailer, which Apple released Monday, offers a glimpse of the new “live action/CGI blended” series. In it, 9-year-old character Jane Garcia says, “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Jane Goodall said that.”
“I know,” her mother replies, drily, at her bedside. “You recite it every morning.”
★★☆☆☆
New Apple TV+ movie Tetris is part of a trend I hope goes away — making movies about advances in capitalist innovation. Perhaps the least-interesting subject possible, it’s been done justice precisely once in David Fincher’s The Social Network, because it understood that behind every “genius” is a shell game played by a feckless coward. And trust me, Tetris never reaches the highs of that particular example.
A movie too interested in the destination to enjoy the journey, Tetris tells the tale of the sale of the world’s most ubiquitous video game. The movie, which premieres today on Apple’s streaming service, possesses some small virtues but suffers from big problems.
PlayStudios launched a Rewards Store Friday for the classic puzzle game Tetris. The program will let millions of mobile players earn rewards, including a free one-month subscription to Apple TV+.
Of course, this comes “just in time for the premiere of Apple Original Film Tetris, now streaming globally on Apple TV+.”
Because of course it does.
★★★☆☆
New Apple TV+ children’s show Eva the Owlet is a typically cute entry into the streaming service’s very respectable collection of kiddie fare. Eva and her friends, her family and her pet bat, Baxter, get into one misadventure after another in the little village of Treetopington.
The animated show, which premiered Friday, is about creative problem-solving and making room in your heart for everyone. Memorably animated and earnestly performed, this one’s an easy recommendation for kids.
After the success of Tiny World, Apple TV+ is going to the opposite extreme with Big Beasts. The documentary series puts whales, bears, gorillas and many more in center stage.
Tom Hiddleston is narrator, and the multi-part docuseries premiers on Earth Day. A new trailer gives a sneak peek.
Fans weren’t bothered by an extra-long wait for Ted Lasso‘s third season. The season premiere brought a tidal wave of viewers, pushing Apple TV+ back to near the top of the ratings charts.
And Shrinking, another Apple TV+ comedy, is finishing its freshman season with strong viewership.
Apple reportedly hopes to make a big splash at your local movie theater in the very near future. The company supposedly will spend $1 billion to make films for the big screen.
These also will appear on the Apple TV+ streaming service, of course.
Friday Night Baseball heads back to the Apple TV+ ballpark on April 7. This is the second season for the series that features weekly doubleheaders of marquee MLB games.
When the sports show launched in 2022, it was free. But that was last year — the 2023 season is only for subscribers to Apple’s streaming service.
★★★★☆
Monster Factory, a surprisingly inventive docuseries about wannabe pro wrestlers, is Apple TV+’s best sports docuseries yet. Over the course of its six breezy and beautiful episodes, set at a wrestling farm school in New Jersey, we meet a cast of eccentrics who share a common dream: to throw people around for a living.
They want to become stars, to go down in pro wrestling history. And with cantankerous Danny Cage as their coach, these ne’er-do-wells learn everything there is to know about wrestling — and they teach us, too.
Although Ted Lasso is amazing and wildly popular, it’s not the only hit show on Apple TV+. A search engine focused on movies and TV released a top 10 list of everything on Apple’s streaming service, revealing which other series also draw plenty of viewers.
Subscribers to the streaming service might use it to find additional shows worth watching.
Season three of Ted Lasso arrived today — but you might need a refresher on where the most critically acclaimed show on Apple TV+ left off. Here’s a quick summary of the first two seasons.
I recorded two conversations with aspiring film critic and personal friend, Russell Davis, discussing the plot points and themes of seasons one and two. You can watch these videos below to catch yourself up for today’s premiere.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave Apple TV+ its latest Oscar win, this time for The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. It is hand-drawn animation, and it therefore took home the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.
The Oscar was awarded Sunday night at the 95th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
Apple TV+ dropped the trailer (below) for the new limited drama series The Last Thing He Told Me Thursday, and it looks like a gripping thriller with a loaded cast.
Based on a bestselling novel and starring Jennifer Garner along with other familiar faces, the show premieres April 14.
The smash-hit Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso is set in greater London. It’s about the unlikely coach of a fictional team in England’s (and the world’s) top soccer league, which is England’s (and the world’s) favorite sport. So why don’t Brits actually watch the show?
No, it’s not some disconnect between American and British humor. The real reason has more to do with adoption of the streaming service itself. And some people blame Apple TV+ for that.
★★☆☆☆
New Apple TV+ sports documentary Real Madrid: Until the End chronicles one of the world’s most popular football clubs during a treacherous 2021 and 2022 comeback season.
Missing their star striker, reuniting with an old coach, dealing with their best player’s injuries … there are many hurdles for the team to overcome. This three-part series won’t play particularly well for people who aren’t already invested in the fortunes of Real Madrid. But it proves fairly informative and entertaining even to the layman.
The next comedy premiering on Apple TV+ is The Big Door Prize. The series tells the story of a small town that is changed forever when a mysterious machine appears in the general store, promising to reveal each resident’s true life potential.
The trailer released Wednesday gives a first real look at the show and its stars. It debuts on Apple’s streaming service on March 28.
Who doesn’t love a quaint pub, especially if it’s the 100% real one in greater London where many scenes from the hit Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso are shot?
Believe it or not, if you’re quick about it and quite lucky indeed, you can actually sleep in Richmond’s Crown & Anchor (known as The Prince’s Head in real life) for just $13 per night, thanks to Airbnb — and we don’t mean nodding off in a pool of Guinness.
After the lighthearted musicals of the first season of Schmigadoon!, fans of the Apple TV+ series will need to adjust for darker and sexier fare in season two. The first trailer shows the upcoming episodes will be set in a new town, where everyone lives in a musical from the 1960s or 1970s.
Watch the just-released Schmigadoon! season two trailer to see what’s coming to Apple TV+ in April.