Apple TV+ has stood out for its sci-fi TV shows, and while many are still going, others are ready to be binge-watched. The battle between streaming platforms got more heated and interesting when they began producing their own content. However, one platform that has stood out for having mostly original content, rather than licensed titles, is Apple TV+.
Since its launch in 2019, Apple TV+ has mostly focused on original content, adding licensed content from time to time. Although this was a strange move at the beginning, Apple TV+ has found great success with its original movies and TV shows, though mostly the latter. Apple TV+ has TV shows from different genres, but it has excelled in one.
Apple TV+ has stood out for its sci-fi TV shows, which have been praised for their writing, concepts, high production quality, blend of genres, performances, and the platform’s focus on quality. While shows like Severance and Foundation continue, there are other great sci-fi shows on Apple TV+ that are already finished.
5
Hello Tomorrow!
One Season
In February 2023, Apple TV+ released Hello Tomorrow!, a sci-fi comedy drama created by Amit Bhalla and Lucas Jansen. Set in a retrofuturistic world, Hello Tomorrow! follows Jack Billings (Billy Crudup), a lunar-timeshare salesman and con man who runs his own business. Jack goes from town to town scamming people, delaying the delivery of a fictional rocket launch.
On one of those work trips, Jack meets his son, Joey (Nicholas Podany), an upstart salesman who becomes Jack’s protégé, but has no idea he’s actually his father. Jack stays in town to help Joey and find a way to tell him he’s his son without scaring him away, while also keeping his fraudulent business afloat.
While Hello Tomorrow! hasn’t been officially canceled, it hasn’t been renewed for a second season, and it seems like it will stay that way – however, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth checking out. The biggest criticisms Hello Tomorrow! has received are about its pacing, lack of depth, and its prioritization of style over substance.
Still, Hello Tomorrow! has its strengths, such as its unique retrofuturistic setting, its visual style, Crudup’s performance, its humor, and its potential, though the latter might be frustrating to some due to the show not being renewed.
4
See
Three Seasons
One of Apple TV+’s most notable TV shows, not just in the sci-fi genre but in general, is See. Created by Steven Knight, See is a sci-fi drama starring Jason Momoa. See is set in a world where, in the 21st century, a virus wiped out most of the world’s population, with fewer than two million people surviving.
However, the descendants of the survivors have lost their sense of sight. Now, centuries later, society has found a way to survive, interact, build, and hunt under these circumstances, turning into a medieval type of society with hunters and more. The past has become distorted or lost, materials like metal and plastic are believed to have been created by gods, and vision is a myth.
See introduces two rival settings: the Payan Kingdom and the Trivantian Republic. Now, the events of See kick off when Maghra (Hera Hilmar), a pregnant woman, seeks shelter with the Alkenny tribe, led by Baba Voss (Momoa).
Voss, who is unable to have children, marries Maghra and adopts her children. However, the kids’ biological father, Jerlamarel, is wanted by the Queen of the Payan Kingdom as he’s “sighted”, so he’s wanted for heresy. On top of that, his and Maghra’s children, Kofun and Haniwa, are also sighted, and so those in power are also going after them.
It’s up to Baba Voss to protect his family, as best as he can, given the circumstances. See was quite divisive, with many praising its creative premise and others finding it too strange or not living up to its potential.
See’s biggest strength is Momoa’s performance, as well as its incredible visual quality. See does have its flaws and is inconsistent at times, but its premise is intriguing enough to deserve a chance.
3
Amazing Stories
One Season
Apple TV+’s Amazing Stories is a revival of the 1985 TV series of the same name, created by Steven Spielberg. As such, it follows the same format and premise as Spielberg’s original show, with the legendary filmmaker now serving as an executive producer.
Amazing Stories is an anthology series, with its episodes being a mix of sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and drama. Unfortunately, the 2020 reboot of Amazing Stories only stuck around for one very short season with five episodes, with talents like Susanna Fogel and Mark Mylod among its team of directors.
However, unlike the original show, Apple TV+’s Amazing Stories reboot is less dark and has even been labeled as “family-friendly.” This also led to criticism of the lack of depth and originality of some episodes, as well as the show’s lighter tone not quite fitting that of the original show.
Still, Amazing Stories offers interesting sci-fi episodes with different tones and styles that will appeal to different audiences. A huge advantage of the revival of Amazing Stories is that it’s only five episodes long, so it’s easy to binge-watch it.
2
Constellation
One Season
Constellation is a sci-fi psychological thriller created by Peter Harness and based on a concept by Sean Jablonski. Constellation debuted on Apple TV+ in February 2024 and ran for just eight episodes. As the name suggests, Constellation is a space sci-fi story, and it all begins when an unidentified object collides with the International Space Station.
Unfortunately, the collision leads to the death of one of the astronauts on board and most of the onboard systems not working anymore, along with one of the Soyuz descent modules. Out of the four surviving astronauts, three make an emergency evacuation in the functional Soyuz module, with one crew member, Johanna Ericsson (Noomi Rapace) staying to repair the other Soyuz.
Johanna eventually makes it back to Earth, but to her surprise, parts of her life are either missing or are very different from how she remembers them. Constellation currently holds a 72% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, but even though its critical reception was mostly positive, the show was canceled after just one season due to low viewership numbers.
Constellation’s strengths are its concept, visuals, the performances of its main cast (particularly Rapace’s), its creepy atmosphere, and its exploration of themes like identity, reality, and family. It’s worth noting that Constellation has been criticized for its pace, so it might not be for everyone.
1
Sunny
One Season
For those looking for sci-fi and black comedy, Sunny is the best Apple TV+ show. Created by Katie Robbis and based on Colin O’Sullivan’s 2018 novel The Dark Manual, Sunny premiered on the platform in July 2024. Sunny takes the audience to Kyoto to meet Suzie Sakamoto (Rashida Jones), who is coping with the loss of her family.
Suzie’s husband and their son die in a mysterious plane crash, after which Suzie receives a domestic robot named Sunny. The man who delivers it says Sunny was created by Suzie’s husband, which doesn’t match what Suzie knew about him and his job.
Suzie begins to question her husband’s past and whether he and their son are truly gone, and with the help of Sunny, she begins to uncover some dark secrets. Sunny holds a 90% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising Jones’ performance and comedic timing, the show’s concept, and its tone. Unfortunately, despite all this, Sunny was canceled.
Sunny has strong performances, stunning visuals, and an entertaining blend of sci-fi and comedy, with a dose of drama in its exploration of topics like grief and technology. Although Sunny ends on a cliffhanger, it’s still worth watching.
