| Cult of Mac

Two years on: The very best of Apple TV+

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Apple TV+ offers up some real gems.
Apple TV+ offers up some real gems.
Original photo: Paolo Chiabrando/Unsplash CC

When Apple TV+ launched on November 1, 2019, Cupertino had its sights set on creating a serious Netflix rival. Two year on, it may not have conquered the world like fellow streaming newcomer Disney+ did. But Apple TV+ continues to deliver a stream of top-notch shows — and some must-see movies.

With dozens of series and more than 20 feature films, where should you start? Here’s our guide to the best shows and movies on Apple TV+, in no particular order.

A planet-killing ghost ship shakes up Foundation [Apple TV+ review]

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Foundation review: Mysteries and Martyrs
A planet-destroying death machine sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ space opera Foundation deals with every kind of ghost in this week’s exciting installment. Haunted ships with death wishes, old friends back from the dead, and new powers discovered in the darkest hour.

Brother Day makes a foolhardy decision to outwit a religious order, Salvor Hardin must cooperate with her captors to keep a rescue mission from becoming a suicide run, and Brother Dawn discovers the joys of sex.

Foundation hurtles toward galactic war [Apple TV+ review]

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Foundation Apple TV+ review: Lee Pace and Laura Birn face a new challenge this week.
Lee Pace (right) and Laura Birn face a new challenge this week.
Photo: Apple TV+

This week on Foundation, Apple TV+’s space opera is on a collision course with destruction and death. And even if Salvor Hardin can stop the Anachreons, it might be too late to save Terminus.

The sci-fi series speeds toward its endgame this week, with all of its plot threads in free fall and war inevitable.

Foundation flourishes with battles big and small [Apple TV+ review]

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Foundation review: Lou Llobell faces some major flashback action this week.
Gaal (Lou Llobell) faces some major flashback action this week.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s big, shiny space show hits its first set-piece battle this week, but more exciting things are happening in solitude. Foundation hits its stride — and the direction its drama takes proves confident and exciting.

Can the sci-fi show based on Isaac Asimov’s classic continue its upward trajectory toward greatness?

With ‘Barbarians at the Gate,’ Foundation picks up the pace [Apple TV+ review]

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Foundation review: Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey) has the only key to the Vault, a powerful mystery on the edge of the galaxy.
Salvor Hardin (played by Leah Harvey) has the only key to the Vault, a powerful mystery on the edge of the galaxy.
Photo: Apple TV+

Foundation, Apple TV+’s big Isaac Asimov adaptation, wades into the murky waters of intergalactic politics this week. Brother Day hears of a potential rebellion, Salvor Hardin plays a pawn in a game of genocidal chess, and Hari Seldon’s words haunt all and sundry.

Can any side keep it together long enough to enact their decades-old agendas? Foundation, growing stronger by the minute, serves up more questions than answers.

Foundation takes big, beautiful risks … and we’re hooked! [Apple TV+ review]

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Foundation review: Lee Pace is the swaggering spine of Foundation.
Lee Pace, who plays Brother Day, is the swaggering spine of Foundation.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s space opera ramps up this week to show us the goods. But can Foundation get to the business of exciting drama now that the world has been thoroughly built, the characters are in play, and the clock is ticking?

The show has been confident but not quite exciting yet. Let’s see if it can avoid the pitfalls that ruin a lot of Apple TV+’s original programming.

Foundation sets the stage for a sweeping sci-fi epic [Apple TV+ review]

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Jared Harris in Foundation
When you see Jared Harris cast in a key role, it's a sure sign your TV show is on the right track.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s big, expensive sci-fi gamble is finally ready to cash in its bets. After years of production, Foundation — a series based on the work of Isaac Asimov and shepherded by the man who helped turn American culture into a superhero factory — is now streaming.

This very impressive sci-fi show will now have to compete in the attention economy. Can it live up to the hype?

Sci-fi epic Foundation premieres a day early on Apple TV+

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Sci-fi epic ‘Foundation’ premieres a day early on Apple TV+
The wait for Apple TV+’s Foundation is almost over.
Photo: Apple TV+

You won’t have to wait until Friday for the much-anticipated debut of Foundation on Apple TV+. The first episode of this adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi classic will premiere2 on Apple’s streaming service three hours early, so Americans can watch it Thursday night.

The same goes for everything debuting on Apple TV+, including the latest episode of Ted Lasso.

Bring on some less dystopian Apple TV+ sci-fi

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Explosion-packed Foundation trailer will get fans excited for Apple TV+ series
“Foundation” looks amazing. And apocalyptic.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is shooting for the stars with two new sci-fi series and a film this autumn. The trailers for Foundation, Invasion and Finch all look amazing. And dark. The descriptions for all of them include either “dystopian” or “apocalypse” or both.

Could we get some science fiction that’s a little more upbeat from Apple’s streaming service?