Best Apple TV Series You’ve Never Seen

Apple TV+ hides a lot of gems behind its headliners, and these shows are the ones that quietly deliver sharp writing, standout performances, and rich worldbuilding. If you are looking for something fresh that you might have missed, this list rounds up limited series and under-the-radar favorites with clear hooks, strong casts, and tight episode counts that make them easy to dive into.

‘Black Bird’ (2022)

This true-crime limited series follows a charismatic inmate who strikes a deal to transfer to a maximum-security facility and befriend a suspected serial killer to extract a confession. Taron Egerton leads opposite Paul Walter Hauser with Ray Liotta in one of his final roles. The story is based on a real-life memoir and unfolds across six episodes, keeping the tension focused and contained. Expect meticulous prison detail, careful character work, and an ending built around documented case records.

‘Calls’ (2021)

Told entirely through phone conversations and minimalist visuals, this experimental thriller anthology turns audio logs into high-stakes storytelling. Each episode presents a self-contained mystery that gradually links to a larger event. The format uses captions and waveforms to guide your imagination rather than traditional scenes. Big-name voice talent anchors the performances across brisk episode runtimes.

‘Home Before Dark’ (2020–2021)

Inspired by a real young reporter, this mystery drama follows a precocious journalist who moves to a lakeside town and reopens a cold case that adults have long ignored. The show balances investigative beats with family dynamics and small-town politics. Brooklynn Prince stars with Jim Sturgess as her father, a former reporter with his own buried secrets. The two-season arc builds a serialized mystery with clear payoffs and a grounded newsroom vibe.

‘Dickinson’ (2019–2021)

This literary dramedy reimagines Emily Dickinson’s life with playful anachronisms, sharp dialogue, and needle-drop music. Hailee Steinfeld leads a cast that treats the poet’s inner world as a coming-of-age journey framed by social constraints. Episodes weave in poems as story engines and visual motifs rather than classroom recitations. Across three seasons, it tracks ambition, love, and authorship through inventive staging and recurring ensemble arcs.

‘Little America’ (2020–2022)

An anthology about immigrant lives in the United States, each half-hour episode adapts a different real story. The series spotlights a wide range of countries, professions, and family setups with an emphasis on everyday triumphs and setbacks. Episodes stand alone and can be watched in any order, making it an easy pick-up show. The production brings in a rotating group of writers and directors to match each community’s perspective.

‘Mr. Corman’ (2021)

Created by and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, this dramedy charts the inner life of a fifth-grade teacher wrestling with anxiety and creative regret. The series blends naturalistic scenes with musical flights and stylized sequences to mirror its lead’s mindset. Focused side stories follow roommates, family members, and exes to broaden the emotional map. It is a concise single-season story with a clear beginning and endpoint.

‘Lisey’s Story’ (2021)

Adapted by Stephen King from his own novel, this limited series centers on a widow who must confront a dangerous stalker and the hidden legacy of her famous author husband. Julianne Moore headlines alongside Clive Owen and Joan Allen. The show shifts between reality and a fantastical realm tied to trauma and memory. Each episode unpacks a different layer of the couple’s past while moving toward a locked-box mystery.

‘Five Days at Memorial’ (2022)

This dramatization follows hospital staff and patients trapped after a catastrophic hurricane, focusing on medical ethics and resource scarcity. Vera Farmiga leads an ensemble that details hour-by-hour decisions and their legal aftermath. Clinical procedures, incident logs, and investigative interviews structure the narrative. The limited format delivers a complete account across its run without filler.

‘The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey’ (2022)

Samuel L. Jackson plays a man with dementia who undergoes an experimental treatment to recover his memories long enough to solve a family mystery. The series pairs him with Dominique Fishback as an unexpected ally and caretaker. It explores inheritance, neighborhood history, and buried violence through a personal lens. The compact episode count keeps the focus on character revelations and a single central puzzle.

‘City on Fire’ (2023)

Set around a young woman’s shooting in Manhattan, this crime drama connects a wealthy family’s secrets with a downtown music scene. The case expands through police work, fanzines, and underground venues to map a web of relationships. Ensemble storytelling gives multiple suspects and witnesses their own threads. The investigation drives each episode toward a layered final picture.

‘Surface’ (2022)

After a near-fatal incident, a wealthy woman with memory loss starts to doubt the story her friends and husband tell her. Gugu Mbatha-Raw leads a twisty psychological thriller that plays with diaries, therapy sessions, and financial records. San Francisco locations and upscale settings provide a sleek backdrop to shifting identities. Clues unfold through personal artifacts and conflicting testimonies rather than action set pieces.

‘The Essex Serpent’ (2022)

Set in a coastal village haunted by reports of a mythical creature, this period drama pairs a curious widow with a conflicted vicar. Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston anchor a story about belief, science, and social judgment. Natural marshlands and church life frame debates over evidence and superstition. The limited series format adapts its source novel with careful attention to community rumor and public fear.

‘Hello Tomorrow!’ (2023)

In a retrofuturist world of hover tech and salesmen in sharp suits, a charismatic closer sells lunar timeshares to hopeful customers. Billy Crudup’s character balances big pitches with a complicated personal history. The show uses glossy midcentury design to explore debt, dreams, and consumer promises. Episodes build from door-to-door hustle to an enterprise-scale con.

‘High Desert’ (2023)

Patricia Arquette stars as a recovering addict who reinvents herself as a private investigator in a desert town. The series mixes offbeat casework with family trouble and a local gallery racket. Ben Stiller executive produces, guiding a tone that leans quirky while still landing the mystery beats. Episodes keep cases compact and character arcs moving between comedic setups and crime reveals.

‘Drops of God’ (2023)

This international drama follows a woman who must compete with a star pupil of her late father to inherit the world’s most valuable wine collection. Challenges test palate, memory, and knowledge across vineyards and cellars. Apple TV+ presents the series in multiple languages with careful food and wine cinematography. The limited run structures its contest over escalating blind tastings and personal disclosures.

‘Shining Girls’ (2022)

A copy editor at a Chicago newspaper survives a brutal attack and then tracks a killer whose crimes seem to warp time. Elisabeth Moss leads with Wagner Moura and Jamie Bell in key roles. The story adapts Lauren Beukes’ novel with a structure that shifts perspectives and timelines. Newsroom work, police files, and victim testimonies guide each step of the investigation.

‘Tehran’ (2020–2023)

A young Mossad hacker goes undercover in the Iranian capital to disable a nuclear reactor and must improvise when the plan fails. The series films across multiple international locations to recreate the city and surrounding regions. Episodes focus on safe houses, digital intrusions, and shifting loyalties inside security services. The operation expands to include double agents, family ties, and internal rifts.

‘Acapulco’ (2021– )

A hotel pool boy in the eighties climbs the ranks at a luxury resort while narrating his early choices from the present day. The bilingual format switches between Spanish and English to match character backgrounds. Flashbacks and present-day scenes line up around key milestones in his career. Workplace rules, guest demands, and family obligations create steady narrative stakes.

‘Trying’ (2020– )

A London couple pursues adoption after infertility and learns the process step by step through panels, classes, and home checks. The show follows caseworkers, prospective parents, and friends who become part of the support system. Each season advances their placement status with clear milestones and setbacks. Locations shift between flats, offices, and supervised visits as paperwork and interviews pile up.

‘The Afterparty’ (2022–2023)

A high school reunion turns into a murder case where each suspect recounts the night in a different storytelling style. Episodes adopt genre templates like musical, noir, or action to match each perspective. The detective reconstructs the timeline using phone footage, text threads, and security cameras. The second season resets the case at a wedding with a new ensemble and location.

‘Servant’ (2019–2023)

A Philadelphia couple hires a nanny after a family tragedy, and her arrival triggers unexplained events inside their townhouse. The series keeps the setting focused on a few rooms, kitchen rituals, and a basement stocked with secrets. Food preparation, news segments, and religious artifacts become recurring clues. Family members and visitors test the boundaries of the nanny’s beliefs and the couple’s denial.

‘The Mosquito Coast’ (2021–2023)

A brilliant inventor uproots his family to evade authorities and navigates smugglers, cartels, and border agents. The journey moves from suburban hideouts to desert crossings and coastal enclaves. Practical survival skills, forged documents, and improvised tech carry the plot forward. The story updates core ideas from Paul Theroux’s novel for a modern smuggling corridor.

‘Shantaram’ (2022)

An escaped convict from Australia builds a life in Bombay and becomes involved with local charities, the underworld, and foreign expats. Street clinics, slum redevelopment, and black market deals intersect across the city. The series adapts Gregory David Roberts’ novel with large location shoots and multilingual dialogue. Relationships with mentors and rivals chart his rise and compromises.

‘Suspicion’ (2022)

Four British citizens are accused of kidnapping a media mogul’s son after a viral video goes global. Interrogations, extradition rules, and digital tracking frame the chase across two continents. Evidence analysis hinges on hotel records, encrypted chats, and surveillance gaps. Alliances between private security and law enforcement complicate the suspects’ attempts to clear their names.

‘Echo 3’ (2022)

When a scientist is abducted near the Colombia border, her husband and brother, both special forces operatives, launch a rescue. The mission crosses jungles, safe houses, and intelligence offices as agencies clash over jurisdiction. Military tactics, drone feeds, and signaling protocols drive the action sequences. Political negotiations and media pressure shape each operational window.

‘Liaison’ (2023)

A cyberattack hits multiple European targets, forcing former lovers and intelligence operatives to work together. The plot follows data breaches, diplomatic summits, and extradition deals with competing agendas. Investigators sift through server farms, hidden accounts, and contractor backchannels. Flashbacks fill in prior operations that now threaten current alliances.

‘Extrapolations’ (2023)

An anthology traces interconnected stories set in a near future shaped by climate change. Each chapter explores industries like shipping, agriculture, and finance as they adapt to new conditions. Characters return across episodes to show policy shifts and technology uptake. Corporate filings, court cases, and scientific models appear as story tools rather than background details.

‘Sugar’ (2024)

A private investigator in Los Angeles searches for a missing woman linked to an old Hollywood family. The case draws on studio archives, production lots, and personal assistants who protect access. Video dailies, call sheets, and car logs become crucial evidence. The investigation widens to include disputes over rights, royalties, and public image.

‘Constellation’ (2024)

An astronaut survives a disaster in orbit and returns to Earth to find gaps between memory and recorded events. The narrative moves through ESA and NASA facilities, debrief rooms, and home videos. Technical readouts and experiment logs raise questions about what happened on the mission. International partnerships and hardware recovery teams set the procedural tempo.

‘Criminal Record’ (2024)

A veteran detective and a rising officer reopen an old case after a phone call suggests a wrongful conviction. The inquiry revisits interview tapes, custody chains, and witness protection arrangements. Police politics and community pressure shape who cooperates and who refuses. New forensic testing methods challenge assumptions baked into the original file.

‘Pachinko’ (2022– )

This multigenerational drama adapts Min Jin Lee’s novel about a Korean family whose life spans Japanese occupation and diaspora. Episodes switch between Korea, Japan, and the United States with Korean, Japanese, and English dialogue. The production uses dual timelines to follow Sunja’s choices and their impact on later generations. Location photography and period design anchor scenes in fishing villages, Osaka neighborhoods, and corporate boardrooms.

‘Silo’ (2023– )

Based on Hugh Howey’s books, this science fiction series follows a community living underground after a catastrophe. The plot centers on a mechanic who inherits a sheriff’s role and digs into restricted records. Set pieces rely on the silo’s mechanical levels, judicial authority, and computer archives. Rules about reproduction, relics, and cleaning define how residents live and what they risk.

‘Slow Horses’ (2022– )

A team of British intelligence castoffs works out of a shabby office while taking on operations no one else wants. Cases unfold through surveillance drops, dead-letter boxes, and compromised assets. The show adapts Mick Herron’s novels with recurring arcs that carry across seasons. Inter-agency politics and private contractors shape who gets blamed when missions go wrong.

‘Loot’ (2022– )

A tech billionaire turns to philanthropy after a public breakup and learns how her foundation actually operates. Storylines move between boardrooms, community grants, and donor events. Staff members juggle audits, site visits, and public relations as programs launch. The series follows measurable outcomes and budget tradeoffs alongside personal growth.

‘Mythic Quest’ (2020– )

Set inside a game studio, this workplace comedy charts how updates, user numbers, and creative disputes drive development. Episodes cover patch planning, monetization debates, and server failures. Bottle episodes jump through time to explore the history of the studio’s founders. Writers and QA teams get plotlines about crunch, credit, and community management.

‘See’ (2019–2022)

In a far future where humans are blind, rival tribes fight over children born with sight who can read and build tools. Warfare tactics, crafts, and sign systems are designed for nonvisual combat and communication. The story tracks migrations, city-states, and religious factions that fear technology. Weapons, armor, and settlements are built around tactile navigation and sound.

‘Swagger’ (2021–2023)

Inspired by youth basketball circuits, this sports drama follows players moving between school teams, AAU programs, and sneaker deals. Plotlines include recruiting, eligibility rules, and video scouting. Parents and coaches negotiate tournaments, sponsorships, and academic benchmarks. The series maps how social media highlights and rankings affect real opportunities.

‘Truth Be Told’ (2019–2023)

A true-crime podcaster reopens cases while collaborating with defense attorneys, victims’ families, and reluctant witnesses. Seasons tackle different investigations connected by recurring characters and local institutions. Evidence includes prison interviews, suppressed reports, and forensic rechecks. Civil suits and media coverage influence how leads surface and who cooperates.

‘Defending Jacob’ (2020)

A prosecutor confronts a murder case that implicates his own son and reshapes his role in court. The investigation uses school records, digital activity, and neighborhood timelines. Legal strategy and grand jury procedure drive the narrative from arraignment to verdict. Extended family history becomes a contested factor as expert testimony enters the file.

‘Invasion’ (2021– )

This global science fiction series follows multiple groups as an extraterrestrial event unfolds across continents. Story threads move through military briefings, classrooms, and small towns. Communications blackouts and shifting signals create different regional responses. Characters learn alien behavior by observing patterns in wreckage, frequencies, and terrain changes.

‘Schmigadoon!’ (2021–2023)

Two doctors stumble into a musical town where residents follow classic songbook rules. Each season riffs on a different era of stage motifs with choreography and orchestration to match. Plot points hinge on romantic pairings, ensemble numbers, and showstopper set pieces. Casting draws on Broadway leads who switch roles between seasons.

‘The Big Door Prize’ (2023– )

Residents of a small town encounter a machine that prints cards with each person’s supposed life potential. Episodes track how people act on the prompts through job changes and relationship decisions. School, parish, and local businesses become hubs for big choices. The machine’s origin and testing data surface as the season progresses.

‘Dark Matter’ (2024– )

Adapted from Blake Crouch’s novel, this series follows a physicist pulled into an alternate life by a version of himself. The device at the center uses a box and serum protocol that allows travel across branching realities. Characters navigate rules for identity, contamination, and safe passage. The arc builds around choices recorded in notebooks and sealed pathways.

‘Presumed Innocent’ (2024)

This legal limited series reimagines Scott Turow’s courtroom thriller about a prosecutor accused of murder. The case covers conflict-of-interest rules, media exposure, and chain-of-custody challenges. Discovery, plea negotiations, and jury selection mark the legal timeline. Personal emails and office politics complicate how evidence is interpreted.

‘Masters of the Air’ (2024)

Produced with support from historical archives, this war drama follows a U.S. bomber group in the European theater. Episodes detail flight planning, engine failures, and formation tactics under enemy fire. Ground sequences cover debriefs, intelligence assessments, and survival training. The production reconstructs airfields, aircraft interiors, and escape lines used by downed crews.

Share the Apple TV+ sleepers you think deserve more love in the comments.