Jon Hamm can stop wondering why he's not on Apple TV+. Photo: Apple
Jon Hamm’s humorous request to be included in Apple TV+ has been answered. The actor has been added to the third season of the drama The Morning Show, which is expected to premiere on Apple’s streaming service before the end of 2022.
You can have your own 2.6-inch Ted Lasso. And Coach Beard, Rebecca Welton, too. They’re all in Mattel’s newly released Fisher-Price Little People Collector set for the hit Apple TV+ show.
There are six characters in the set, which is available now.
★★★☆☆
This week's episode of Loot is all about friends and making hard choices. Photo: Apple TV+
Loot, the Apple TV+ comedy about a woman with everything who learns from people who have nothing, has a play, a zoning board meeting and a summit to prepare for this week.
Howard and Nicholas must patch up their friendship. Sofia and Molly need to work out their differences of opinion and ambition. Molly comes face to face with the bad side of charity work. And in general, the characters needs to make some hard choices about the people they want in their lives.
★★★☆☆
Will Sophie (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw) get to the bottom of what's up with her husband, Jamie (Oliver Jackson-Cohen)? Photo: Apple TV+
Surface, the new Apple TV+ mystery series about a woman who can’t remember her life or lies, keeps up the erotic intrigue this week. The show avoids all of its worst tendencies for a basically good fourth episode.
Amnesiac Sophie and her lover Thomas clandestinely chase leads as they try to solve the mystery of who almost killed her. Sophie’s husband, James, desperately runs around trying to hide his crimes, and Caroline gets pulled back into his orbit once again.
The investigation and the cover-up proceed apace. It’s just a matter of who’s smarter, more thorough and more careful.
★★★☆☆
Whether on Earth or on Mars, it's always something. Photo: Apple TV+
For All Mankind holds a few cliffhangers up its sleeve in season 3’s penultimate episode, but first it must deal with its soapy dilemmas.
Ellen and Larry are in the hot seat, Kelly Baldwin’s baby is coming along ahead of schedule, Aleida Rosales is all out of heroes, Karen and Dev might switch jobs — and Danny Stevens’ goose might be cooked!
A decent episode of the Apple TV+ alt-history sci-fi hit focuses on plot nitty-gritty and emotional turmoil, until it gives way to a typically frustrating final reveal.
Apple TV+’s second season of Physical draws to a merciful close this week. Though she’s finally gotten John Breem out of her bedroom, Sheila still has to deal with him. He’s still making Danny crazy — and he’s still the only man in town with power enough to satisfy Sheila’s needs.
Wouldn’t it be funny if she had to wind up trapped with him in a business agreement? Well, no, it wouldn’t, and it isn’t, but that’s where we’re headed.
★★☆☆☆
At least somebody's laughing. Photo: Apple TV+
Trying, the Apple TV+ comedy about middle-class ghouls making the once-a-generation decision to start families, plans a birthday party for special little boy Tyler this week.
Tyler’s party is too overwhelming at first, but with a little help from a lot of people it becomes fun. Elsewhere, Karen is pregnant and nervous, Nikki resents her fertility, Scott has to quit a burgeoning career, and Jason is still on the hook for a dream house.
An M1 MacBook Pro and Studio Display enjoy the sunset by the coast north of Boston. Photo: [email protected]
Some older iMacs are being shown the door, giving way to newer Macs paired with Studio Displays. That’s the case with today’s featured computer setup. In it, an iMac gave way recently to a plenty-powerful M1 MacBook Pro paired with a brilliant Studio Display.
And the attractively spare setup, well placed in a beautiful coastal setting, is nearly all Apple — down to the input devices and audio gear.
★★★★☆
Time's running out for Jimmy Keene (played by Taron Egerton). Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ murder mystery Black Bird draws to a pulse-pounding close as jailhouse informer Jimmy Keene’s last-ditch efforts to stay alive are being threatened at every turn.
Serial killer Larry Hall is inches from confessing, Jimmy’s about to get shanked — and nobody’s coming to help either of them. Plus, Jimmy’s dad Big Jim is dying in a hurry outside prison walls.
The limited series saves its best mechanics for last as the clock runs out on all of our heroes. Black Bird concludes on a high note indeed.
★★☆☆☆
Skydance is going to need a lot of Luck to sell unimaginative movies with a problematic CEO. Image: Apple TV+
Apple TV+’s newest film is the streamer’s big flagship collaboration with Skydance Animation under the new leadership of disgraced former Pixar chief John Lasseter.
Can the film’s relative charms tip the scales in favor of a new endeavor, instead of back toward the hasty assembly of a company around a man who never really answered for his allegations? Unfortunately, Luck, which premieres Friday on Apple TV+, would have had to have a lot more going for it to get people talking about the movie on pure merit.
The limited series features a compelling performance by the late, great Ray Liotta. Photo: Apple TV+
Black Bird is the latest hit for Apple TV+. The prison drama has been one of the top 10 most watched streaming shows for three weeks straight now, according to a company that tracks viewership.
The series is not only popular, it’s getting rave reviews from critics.
Apple TV 4K drops to a new low price of $119.99. Photo: Apple
Apple TV 4K is down to its lowest price yet, making it a lot more affordable and the perfect time to snag one up. Apple’s streaming box retails for $179, but you can get it for $119.99 after a massive 33% discount.
This deal is better than the previous deals we have seen so far. So, if you have been eyeing the Apple TV for a while, now is the time to pull the trigger.
Apple is once again bundling a $50 gift card with the Apple TV. Photo: Apple
Apple is once again bundling a $50 gift card with the purchase of the Apple TV. The company first ran this promotion on its U.S. online store from July 1 through July 14.
This time, Apple is running the promotion in the U.S., UK, some European countries and Australia. And in typical Apple fashion, the company took down its website for a few hours before making this promotion live.
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Things are not going well for prison informer Jimmy Keene (played by Taron Egerton). Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ miniseries Black Bird finally reveals the killer this week, along with the evidence that might hang him … or might not be enough to do anything but frustrate the people working to expose him.
Superlative work from actors Paul Walter Hauser, Ray Liotta and Laney Stiebing in the episode, titled “The Place I Lie,” pulls the show into greatness just before its final installment.
Black Bird covered a lot of ground in a little time — and now it’s time to bring it home.
★★★☆☆
Danielle Poole (played by Krys Marshall) tries to save lives on Mars this week on For All Mankind. Photo: Apple TV+
For All Mankind has a Martian crisis on its hands this week’s episode, “The Sands of Ares.” Ed and Danny are trapped, Danielle has to come get them, and Karen, Jimmy, and Amber wait on tenterhooks for news of the rescue.
It’s all hands on deck at NASA in the meantime, in the Apple TV+ space soap. People start confessing dark things as they face down death. And there may not be enough people left to make any sense of the Mars mission when it’s over.
★★☆☆☆
Physical recap: Sheila (played by Rose Byrne) tries to sort out her problems this week. Sorta. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+’s Physical, the story of would-be workout icon Sheila Rubin, is in recovery this week. Can Sheila finally combat her inner critic? Can she make Danny forgive her? Will she make friends at a retreat? Can she finally be honest with herself about her life and her problems and her image of herself?
The answers probably won’t shock you in this perfectly ordinary episode.
★★★☆☆
Molly (played by Maya Rudolph, left) and her cousin Renee (Kym Whitley) get together for some family fun. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ comedy Loot has family and romance on the brain this week. Molly wants to get in touch with her family again after years of distance — with Howard as go-between. Arthur and Nicholas eavesdrop on a stormy night of conflict for Sofia.
It’s all fine. Indeed, the drama and comedy are handled with equal deftness for the first time this season. But there’s something that nags about the mission of a show like Loot.
☆☆☆☆☆
Trying recap, Apple TV+: Just when you thought Trying couldn't get any worse... Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ family comedy Trying goes camping this week, and Nikki and Jason discover their strengths and weaknesses as parents by listening to things their kids need.
Elsewhere, Freddy hijacks an AA meeting to bore them with his everyday transgressions, Karen is pregnant and Scott is an idiot. More glaring than any plot point is a gaffe that hints at the hollowness at this story’s core. It is a long half-hour.
It's a back-to-school special, Charlie Brown! Photo: Apple TV+
With a new school year looming, it’s time to celebrate educators. Apple TV+ did just that Friday when it dropped a trailer for Lucy’s School, an all-new Peanuts special that debuts on the streaming service August 12.
For those who grew up with Peanuts, it’s comforting that the classic series based on classic Charles M. Schulz comics lives on. Lucy’s School adds to the growing list of seasonal features following Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy and the rest of the gang.
★★☆☆☆
Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Sophie, a woman plagued by confusing flashbacks, in Surface, which premieres today. Photo: Apple TV+
Glossy mystery series Surface gets off to a bumpy, soapy start this week on Apple TV+. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (who you might know from The Morning Show) stars as Sophie, a woman who lost her memory after what could have been an accident or a suicide attempt.
Like Truth Be Told, another Apple TV+ series from producer Reese Witherspoon, this one is a prestige look at a woman undergoing a lot of changes in her life as the result of crime … or is it?
Eve Hewson, Sharon Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff, Eva Birthistle and Sarah Greene in Bad Sisters, coming soon to Apple TV+. Photo: Apple TV+
The Garvey sisters vowed to always take care of each other, which leads them toward murdering their abusive brother-in-law. Their scheme plays out in Bad Sisters, a creation of Irish actress, writer and producer Sharon Horgan, who is known for her darkly funny shows.
The comedy/thriller series debuts on Apple TV+ in August, and a trailer debuted Wednesday.
Rob McElhenney and Charlotte Nicdao in “Mythic Quest” season three, premiering fall 2022 on Apple TV+. Photo: Apple TV+
Fans of the office comedy Mythic Quest on Apple TV+ will be relieved to hear the show’s coming back for season 3. That news was confirmed and a teaser trailer was unveiled Saturday at a special panel about the show at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
The show’s cast and creators confirmed that the series will return this fall. And they rolled a first-look teaser for the third season that suggests it’ll be just as funny as the first two seasons. Have a look and a laugh at it, below.
★★★★☆
Cleanup duty leads to compelling revelations. Photo: Apple TV+
Black Bird, the Apple TV+ drama about a bad guy sent to ferret out a worse guy in the rottenest jail in America, takes a turn for the confessional this week. Probable serial killer Larry Hall and police informer Jimmy Keene tell each other some truths and some lies as they clean up the mess after a prison riot.
Larry starts to see the hidden side of Jimmy. And Jimmy starts to recognize the worst parts of himself — the ones that remind him of Larry. Black Bird’s been in a good place for two and a half episodes, and this latest one finds the show indulging in its strengths for an extended conversation between the two leads.