Apple TV+ does not have the largest catalog in streaming. It does not have the cheapest subscription. What it has — and the data is becoming impossible to argue with — is the highest pound-for-pound hit-rate of any streamer. Like a boutique label that only releases one record a year and somehow each one ends up on the year-end list. Slow Horses has put up five consecutive seasons north of 97% Rotten Tomatoes. Severance remains one of the most-discussed shows on any platform. Here is the 2026 case.
TRACK 01 The franchise: Slow Horses
Gary Oldman's Jackson Lamb — flatulent, cynical, the platonic British spy — is the rare character performance that gets richer the longer the show runs. Each season adapts a Mick Herron novel. Each season clocks six tight episodes. Each season somehow betters the last. Season five landed late 2025; season six is in production.
TRACK 02 The phenomenon: Severance
Ben Stiller's workplace-horror sci-fi is multiple seasons in and somehow still mysterious. Adam Scott's Mark S. continues to navigate Lumon Industries' twin nightmares. The production design has become the single most-imitated visual reference in prestige streaming. Like the sleeve art on a Joy Division record — everyone's still copying it.
TRACK 03 The sleeper: Pluribus
Apple's buzziest new original in years. Genre-bending. Hard to summarize. Built around a complex central performance and a premise that rewards patience. Heading into a second season.
TRACK 04 The comedy on the B-side: The Studio
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's Hollywood satire is the pleasant surprise of the past year. Imagine Entourage, but ninety percent less smug, with a Martin Scorsese cameo and Bryan Cranston eating every scene. Catherine O'Hara and Kathryn Hahn round out the ensemble.
TRACK 05 The warmth: Shrinking, Bad Sisters
Shrinking — Jason Segel, Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams — is the therapy comedy that became Apple's quiet sleeper hit. Bad Sisters, the Irish dark comedy thriller, has the strongest ensemble cast in this entire list. Neither is required listening; both reward time spent.
Apple's "fewer records, longer development, bigger production budget" strategy was mocked at launch. Six years on, the scorecard is impossible to argue with.
TRACK 06 The subscription play
Subscribe for two months. Drop the needle on Slow Horses. Drop it on Severance. Decide. Most people stay. For where Apple fits in the broader streaming order, see our 2026 streaming mixtape — or for the K-drama and Indian web series scene that Apple doesn't compete in, our Albums section.
