If nothing else, 2024 was the year Apple TV Plus firmly cemented itself as one of the best places to stream science fiction shows. This year, in particular, had a breadth of options, with sci-fi series ranging from cozy mysteries to old-fashioned noirs. Of course, there’s more to the streaming service than just sci-fi — which is where the likes of Pachinko and Disclaimer come in. If you’re looking for something new to watch on Apple TV Plus, here are a few great places to start.
This series stood out among Apple’s other sci-fi shows thanks to its dark tone. Constellation follows an astronaut named Jo (Noomi Rapace), who survives an evacuation of 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 as to what is really real — and as the vibe turns even darker, that question becomes even harder to answer.
Dark Matter
Based on the novel by Blake Crouch, Dark Matter is yet another story about parallel universes. But don’t tune out yet: even if you’re sick of the multiverse, this is worth checking out. The show follows a physicist named Jason (Joel Edgerton) who manages to kidnap himself. One version of Jason lives a quiet, happy, yet somewhat unfulfilled life as a college professor. But in another world, he’s massively successful yet completely lonely — and 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 dealing with revelations about her past brought to light by a mysterious manuscript. The show plays with truth and time, as it explores not only the contents of the document but also how it has impacted everyone in the present.
The first season of Pachinko did an incredible job of adapting Min Jin Lee’s historical drama, while adding its own twist, creating a multilingual narrative that jumps around in time. Season 2 simply continues this, delving further into a family story that spans four generations, though, this time, the story is largely focused 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 is the time to catch up — or refresh yourself — on this twisted workplace thriller. The show is centered on Lumon Industries, a massive tech conglomerate that utilizes an experimental procedure for those working in its mysterious basement. In essence, they sever themselves into two halves: one in the outside world who doesn’t have to worry about what happens at their 9-5, and another trapped in an unending office hellscape. Season 1 set up a number of mysteries, so the new episodes will have a lot to answer for.
On the surface, Silo looks like yet another postapocalyptic drama, all gray and brown and dour. But it’s actually an excellent mystery, one that felt 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 to explore: the first two seasons only cover the first book in Hugh Howey’s trilogy.
Sunny is a murder mystery with a retrofuturistic twist. When her husband and son go missing following a plane crash, Suzie Sakamoto (Rashida Jones) has almost no information to start investigating, until she comes across the titular bot Sunny (Joanna Sotomura). Of course, Suzie hates machines, and so Sunny becomes something of an odd couple buddy story, as the two try to find out what really happened.
Private investigator John Sugar (Colin Farrell) is in many ways a stereotypical PI: he drives a cool car, always wears a suit, and loves a great whiskey. He’s also the best man around for finding missing people. That all makes Sugar an excellent noir series, but partway through, a big twist turns into an equally interesting piece of science fiction — one that looks to be going to some interesting places in its second season.
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