Here Are the Best TV Shows to Stream this Weekend on Apple TV+, Including ‘Shrinking’

Apple TV+ has a deep bench of originals that span historical epics, newsroom dramas, sci-fi puzzles, and feel-good comedies. If you’re lining up something to watch over the weekend, this roundup focuses on series featured across this week’s Apple TV+ highlights and most-watched lineup.

Below you’ll find ten titles with quick primers on what each show covers and who’s behind it—creators, directors, and principal cast—so you can jump straight to the ones that fit your mood without digging around for the basics.

‘Chief of War’ (2025)

Set in the late 18th century, ‘Chief of War’ dramatizes the struggle to unify the Hawaiian Islands, weaving political rivalry, shifting alliances with foreign powers, and Indigenous leadership into a serialized account. Jason Momoa stars and co-creates the series with Thomas Paʻa Sibbett, with dialogue in both ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and English.

Early episodes are directed by Justin Chon, and production partners include Chernin Entertainment. The creative team places Native Hawaiian and Polynesian performers and advisors across the production to shape language use, costuming, protocols, and cultural detail.

‘Foundation’ (2021–)

Based on Isaac Asimov’s novels, ‘Foundation’ follows mathematician Hari Seldon and his science of psychohistory as a Galactic Empire enters decline, sending followers into exile to preserve knowledge. The ensemble includes Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey, and Laura Birn.

Developed for television by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman, the series features large-scale production design and location work, with episodes directed by filmmakers such as Alex Graves. Skydance Television produces, adapting major characters and arcs from across the book cycle.

‘Platonic’ (2023–)

‘Platonic’ centers on former best friends Sylvia and Will, whose reunion in Los Angeles upends their families and careers while they renegotiate boundaries in middle age. Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen lead the cast, with Luke Macfarlane among the regulars.

Created by Nick Stoller and Francesca Delbanco, the show blends workplace and home-life storylines. Stoller directs multiple episodes, and Sony Pictures Television produces, drawing on the creators’ prior collaborations with the leads.

‘Invasion’ (2021–)

‘Invasion’ tracks an extraterrestrial threat through intersecting perspectives: a New York–area doctor, a U.S. soldier drawn into the conflict, and a Japanese aerospace engineer chasing a communications breakthrough. Golshifteh Farahani, Shamier Anderson, Shioli Kutsuna, and Billy Barratt star.

Created by Simon Kinberg and David Weil, the series uses a multi-country structure and large-scale visual effects. Directors such as Jakob Verbruggen have shaped the show’s global scope, with Genre Films among the production companies.

‘Ted Lasso’ (2020–2023)

‘Ted Lasso’ follows an American college football coach hired to manage English club AFC Richmond, charting training-ground dynamics, ownership changes, and locker-room leadership across three seasons. Jason Sudeikis headlines alongside Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Juno Temple, and others.

Co-created by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Joe Kelly, and Brendan Hunt, the series was produced by Doozer and Warner Bros. Television. Directors including M.J. Delaney and Declan Lowney handled key episodes, with serialized arcs spanning promotion battles and rivalries.

‘The Morning Show’ (2019–)

‘The Morning Show’ is set inside UBA’s flagship morning broadcast, where anchors, producers, and executives navigate misconduct fallout, ownership shifts, and a constant ratings race. The main ensemble features Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, and Mark Duplass, with later seasons adding Jon Hamm, Greta Lee, and Nicole Beharie.

Originally developed by showrunner Kerry Ehrin and later led by Charlotte Stoudt, the series draws on media-industry reporting and live-broadcast workflows. Mimi Leder executive produces and directs key episodes, with Echo Films among the producers.

‘Severance’ (2022–)

‘Severance’ imagines a procedure that splits employees’ work and personal memories, creating separate identities on either side of the office doors at Lumon Industries. The cast includes Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and Tramell Tillman.

Created by Dan Erickson, the series is directed in large part by Ben Stiller with contributions from Aoife McArdle. The production employs retro-futurist sets and tightly structured scripts to explore corporate control, surveillance, and identity.

‘Acapulco’ (2021–)

Told through a present-day narrator, ‘Acapulco’ revisits a young man’s first job at the luxurious Las Colinas resort in the 1980s, balancing service-industry rules with family responsibilities and ambition. Eugenio Derbez stars as older Máximo, with Enrique Arrizon portraying his younger self.

Created by Austin Winsberg, Eduardo Cisneros, and Jason Shuman, the bilingual comedy features an ensemble that includes Fernando Carsa, Camila Perez, Regina Reynoso, and Chord Overstreet. Lionsgate Television produces, with directors maintaining a bright, nostalgic visual palette.

‘Shrinking’ (2023–)

‘Shrinking’ follows therapist Jimmy Laird, who begins telling patients exactly what he thinks, setting off breakthroughs and complications that ripple through his workplace and home life. Jason Segel leads alongside Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams, with Christa Miller, Michael Urie, and Lukita Maxwell in supporting roles.

Created by Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel, the series’ pilot was directed by James Ponsoldt. Warner Bros. Television produces, with writers building patient-of-the-week cases into longer arcs about mentorship, ethics, and grief.

‘Slow Horses’ (2022–)

‘Slow Horses’ adapts Mick Herron’s Slough House novels about MI5’s sidelined agents stuck under abrasive handler Jackson Lamb, who find themselves pulled into major operations. Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves, Rosalind Eleazar, Christopher Chung, and Jonathan Pryce star.

Developed for television by Will Smith, early episodes were directed by James Hawes, with See-Saw Films producing. Subsequent seasons draw from later novels, expanding rivalries and agency politics while tracking the unit’s evolving cases.

Share your Apple TV+ picks for the weekend in the comments!