A GOLDEN YEAR ON APPLE TV+
From the many triumphs of Ted Lasso to the astonishing spectacle of Prehistoric Planet 2, 2023 has been a bumper year on Apple TV+
Ayear is a long time in TV Land, and between edge-of-your-seat drama, comedy to put a spring in your step and spectacular documentaries and movies, Apple TV+ has been serving up a wide variety of entertainment gems in 2023. Here are some of the streaming platform’s highlights from the past 12 months – if you like what you see, why not sign up in 2024? There’s a free one-month trial for readers of this issue to give you even more of a taste, too.
A thrill ride
Apple TV+ has been here for the drama this year, with the mighty Idris Elba as skilled negotiator Sam Nelson in Hijack. When his flight from Dubai to London is hijacked, he must shoulder the unthinkable responsibility of saving everyone on board. Between informing authorities on the ground, discovering just who the hijackers are and what they want, plus mobilising the passengers for the fight of their lives, this is a nail biter from start to finish.
Dystopian epic Silo brings together a star-studded cast, including Rebecca Ferguson, Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Tim Robbins and Harriet Walter in one of the most impressively elaborate sets ever realised for an Apple TV+ show. In a longestablished underground civilisation, restless residents yearn to “go out” to an outside world they’re told is dead. After the sheriff breaks the cardinal rule and residents begin dying mysteriously, engineer Juliette starts to uncover the shocking truth about those in charge of the silo.
Then there’s Slow Horses – a spy thriller that truly celebrates the underdog. Starring Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas, it sees incompetent agents consigned to the MI5 scrapheap in pencil-pushing jobs under the irascible scowl of Jackson Lamb (Oldman). With series three freshly released, the stakes are higher than ever.
Goals and giggles
Over the last three years, the UK has fallen firmly head over heels for Jason Sudeikis as the folksy title character in the multiple award-winning Ted Lasso. The unlikely American’s turbulent time at the helm of AFC Richmond has seen them go from relegation material to Premier League title contenders, with tantrums, tears and a hatful of belly laughs along the way. Alongside Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Nick Mohammed, Brendan Hunt and Brett Goldstein deliver hilarious and heart-warming performances from that’ll keep you cheering to the final whistle.
The comedy on Apple TV+ doesn’t stop there though, with Jason Segel as maverick therapist Jimmy Laird in Shrinking. Consumed by grief after the loss of his wife, he begins radically intervening in his patients’ lives, much to the disapproval of his colleague Paul, played by Harrison Ford. The ensuing fallout causes Jimmy to re-examine his relationships with his friends and his daughter, Alice, but thanks to the charming performances and sharp scripts, the next laugh is always just round the corner.
Romantic action-comedy film Ghosted, starring Chris Evans and Ana de Armas as Cole and Sadie, is another treat. After a successful first date, their relationship is turned upside down when Cole is kidnapped, and Sadie turns out to be a crack CIA operative whose ruthless devotion to the job leaves little room for would-be boyfriends.
Bringing monsters to life
Apple TV+ is also the place to see a truly breathtaking feat of special effects in Prehistoric Planet 2, narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough. This mesmerising showcase of life on earth during the Late Cretaceous period brings us up close and personal with stunningly realised dinosaurs, from Austroraptors to Majungasaurus, with a few T-rex thrown in for good measure.
And if that doesn’t satiate your appetite for prehistoric beasts, you can see Godzilla from a new, more human perspective in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Starring father and son Kurt and Wyatt Russell, as well as Kiersey Clemons ( The Flash), it follows the cataclysmic battle between Godzilla and the MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) that have destroyed the city of San Francisco. As this shocking event reverberates around the world, two curious siblings, played by Ren Watabe and Anna Sawai, embark on a journey of discovery into these monsters’ origins, which leads them to a secretive organisation known as Monarch.