At least 2024 was the year Apple TV Plus firmly established itself as one of the best places to stream sci-fi shows. This year, in particular, had a wide range of options, with sci-fi series ranging from cozy mysteries to old-fashioned film noirs. Of course, the streaming service is much more than science fiction, which is where companies like Pachinko and Disclaimer come in. If you're looking for something new to watch on Apple TV Plus, here are some great places to start.
This series stood out among other Apple science fiction series thanks to its dark tone. Constellation It follows an astronaut named Jo (Noomi Rapace), who survives an evacuation from the International Space Station only to return to an Earth seemingly very different from the one she left. It's the kind of show that leaves you guessing what's really real, and as the vibe gets even darker, that question becomes even harder to answer.
dark matter
Based on the novel by Blake Crouch, dark matter It's another story about parallel universes. But don't tune out just yet: even if you're sick of the multiverse, it's worth checking out. The show follows a physicist named Jason (Joel Edgerton) who manages to kidnap himself. A version of Jason lives a quiet, happy, but somewhat unfulfilled life as a college professor. But in another world, he is highly successful but completely alone, and he will do anything to fix the latter.
From Alfonso Cuarón, the director behind Gravity and children of men, Disclaimer is a psychological thriller starring Cate Blanchett as a journalist who faces revelations about her past brought to light by a mysterious manuscript. The show plays with truth and time as it explores not only the content of the document but also how it has impacted everyone in the present.
The first season of Pachinko did an incredible job adapting Min Jin Lee's historical drama, while also adding its own twist, creating a time-jumping multilingual narrative. Season 2 simply continues this, delving into a family history that spans four generations, although this time, the story focuses primarily on two distinct periods in the family's history: Osaka in 1945 and Tokyo in 1989.
Okay, this isn't a new series, but with Season 2 on the way in January, now's the time to catch up, or refresh, on this twisted workplace thriller. The show focuses on Lumon Industries, a massive technology conglomerate that uses an experimental procedure for those working in its mysterious basement. Essentially, they're split into two halves: one in the outside world who doesn't have to worry about what's going on in their 9 to 5, and one trapped in a never-ending hell at the office. Season 1 raised a number of mysteries, so the new episodes will have a lot to answer for.
On the surface, Silo It looks like another post-apocalyptic drama, all grey, brown and dour. But it's actually an excellent mystery, one that seemed small in Season 1 but has expanded as the show continues to grow in scale. And the good news is that there's still a lot of story left to explore: the first two seasons only cover the first book in Hugh Howey's trilogy.
Sunny It's a murder mystery with a retro-futuristic twist. When her husband and son go missing after a plane crash, Suzie Sakamoto (Rashida Jones) has almost no information to start investigating, until she encounters the titular robot Sunny (Joanna Sotomura). Of course, Suzie hates machines, and that's why Sunny It becomes an odd couple's story, as the two try to figure out what really happened.
Private investigator John Sugar (Colin Farrell) is, in many ways, a stereotypical private investigator: he drives a cool car, always wears a suit, and loves a good whiskey. He is also the best man to find missing people. All that does Sugar An excellent film noir series, but halfway through, a big twist turns into an equally interesting piece of sci-fi, one that seems to go to interesting places in its second season.
