Apple TV has been giving its fellow streamers a run for their money.
With the return of “Ted Lasso” and such critically acclaimed hits as horror-comedy “Widow’s Bay,” Jon Hamm‘s “Your Friends and Neighbors” and the star-studded drama of “The Morning Show,” Apple TV has upped the ante.
That’s certainly apparent in the new offerings that will be coming viewers’ way this fall. Here’s a roundup:
‘Mayday’
Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh join forces for this ” genre-bending, action-packed buddy comedy that flips the spy thriller on its head.” Set during the height of the Cold War, Reynolds plays Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly, a hotshot U.S. Navy pilot whose top-secret mission into Russian territory goes south. Forced to eject from his jet and parachute into the USSR, he’s found by Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), a gruff ex-KGB agent with a surprising love for all things American. “Troy thinks he’s toast — but could an unlikely alliance between the two lead to Troy’s rescue and a bond neither saw coming?” Premiere: September 4
‘Last Seen’
In this thriller from Australia, police detective Ian Ridley’s (Patrick Brammall) life fell apart 11 years ago when his young daughter, Maggie, disappeared without a trace. “Now working as a police dispatcher,” reads the logline, “the only thing that has kept him going is his implacable refusal to accept that she might be gone forever. When he receives a distress call from a teenage girl he is certain is Maggie, he will stop at nothing to find her and reunite his broken family, whatever the cost.” Premiere: September 9
‘Slow Horses’ Season 6
Returning for a sixth season, this darkly funny espionage drama follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 due to their career-ending mistakes. Led by their brilliant but irascible leader, the notorious Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman, in the role of his career), they navigate the espionage world’s smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.
The new season begins with Sidonie “Sid” Baker (Olivia Cooke of “House of the Dragons”) revealed to be not quite as dead as the agents had thought after seemingly being shot in the head back in Season 1. Her return coincides with an insidious threat targeting members of the Slough House team. Premiere: September 16
‘Brothers’
This “Curb Your Enthusiasm”-inspired comedy focuses on Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, who play fictionalized versions of themselves. Their lifelong friendship is thrown into chaos when they uncover a decades-old secret: they might actually be brothers.
“After Woody’s daughter’s wedding falls apart, he loads up the family and heads to Austin for an extended stay at Matthew’s ranch,” reads the logline. “But what begins as a healing getaway quickly spirals when Matthew’s mother, Ma Mac (played by Holland Taylor), accidentally lets slip a long-buried secret that the two friends might actually be brothers. As Woody turns the ranch upside down in pursuit of the truth, Matthew finds himself juggling an entirely different identity crisis: a potential run for Governor of Texas. The result is a heartfelt, chaotic and wildly funny story about friendship, family, fame and the messy line between myth and reality.” Premiere: September 23
‘The Last First: Winter K2’
Apple TVFilmmaker Amir Bar-Lev’s documentary “tells a complex, harrowing and moving story that unpacks the industry of extreme mountain climbing and its changing culture. Focusing on a 2021 expedition, mountaineers John Snorri Sigurjónsson, an Icelander, and the Pakistani father-son team of Ali and Sajid Sadpara set out to be the first to summit K2 in the winter, when the mountain’s conditions are the cruelest. The men soon find themselves sharing the treacherous ascent with influencer climbers and their film crews, commercial expedition clients and Nims, a Nepalese celebrity mountaineer, and his team of Sherpas.”
Per the synopsis, the film “takes us to the icy heights and unpredictable weather of K2 and reveals a surprising and layered story — one of strategy and determination, class and caste, money and power — all under life and death circumstances.” Premiere: October 2
‘Matchbox The Movie’
Inspired by the iconic Mattel toy cars, “Matchbox The Movie” is described as “an action-packed, globetrotting adventure about a group of friends since childhood who have their lives upended when undercover CIA agent Sean (John Cena), their long-absent former leader, returns to their small town and unwittingly gets them embroiled in a frantic international pursuit to save the world.” Premiere: October 9
‘Tenzing’
Following its debut in September at the Toronto International Film Festival, this based-on-a-true-story drama stars Tom Hiddleston, Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe and Genden Phuntsok to recount the story of Himalayan Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay, who led Sir Edmund Hillary to become the first humans to make it to the top of Mount Everest in 1953. Premiere: October 16
‘Where’s Wanda’ Season 2
Apple TV’s first-ever German-language series is described as “a dark comedy that tells the story of Dedo and Carlotta Klatt, who are desperate to locate their missing 17-year-old daughter Wanda, who disappeared months ago without a trace. When the police fail to find her, the family takes matters into their own hands, obtaining surveillance devices with the help of their tech-savvy son Ole. Disguising themselves as employees of an electrical company, they bug their neighbourhood and then half their suburb, finding out that behind closed doors, none of their neighbours are who they pretend to be.” Premiere: October 21
‘Nocturne’
Liev Schreiber stars as Jonah Lynn, an ex-soldier turned homicide detective who has grown weary of policing the mean streets of Philadelphia. Seeking a quieter life, he takes a job in a small Pennsylvania town, where he and his family settle down. “But, as the town and his family come under attack from the diabolically cunning serial killer Jurek Walter (Stephen Graham), Jonah must protect all that he holds dear,” reads the logline. “When the desperate search for Jurek’s last missing victim forces Jonah to send his surrogate daughter, FBI Agent Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz), up against Jurek, how far will Jonah go? “Premiere: October 30
‘Being Heumann’
Apple TV“They wouldn’t take Judy Heumann’s phone calls, so she took their building,” reads the tagline for this inspiring biopic. “In 1977, a young disabled woman (Ruth Madeley) and a scrappy coalition of outsiders decide they’ve had enough. What begins as one impulsive act becomes the longest occupation of a federal building in American history, as hundreds spontaneously seize government offices and refuse to leave until the bureaucrat in their way (Mark Ruffalo) takes action. Bringing rebellion in all its forms to the hallowed halls, a movement’s accidental leaders struggle to find their path forward where none has ever been paved for them. Directed by Academy Award winner Siân Heder (‘CODA’) and based on true events, ‘Being Heumann’ is the revolutionary, irreverent and deeply human story of the least likely people trying to pull off the impossible and change the lives of millions.” Premiere: November 13
‘Way of the Warrior Kid’
Apple TVMiddle school has been a nightmare for Marc (Jude Hill), a good kid who’s bullied by his classmates and feels like he’s behind in everything, whether its academic performance of P.E. or even just making friends.
Everything chages, however, when his injured Uncle Jake (Chris Pratt), a decorated Navy SEAL, comes to spend the summer and recuperate with Marc and his mom, Sarah (Linda Cardellini). “To help Marc defend himself, Jake devises an ambitious program he calls ‘Operation Warrior Kid’ based on his SEAL training,” reads the synopsis. “Instead of teaching his nephew how to fight, Jake shows Marc what real courage is, facing down his own demons along the way.” Premiere: November 25
