Apple TV+ has officially made its way to Pakistan, and local streamers now have direct access to a catalogue that has quietly built a reputation for some seriously good television.
While streaming platforms can sometimes make you scroll for longer than you actually spend watching something, Apple TV+ has largely taken a different route. Its catalogue leans heavily into ambitious storytelling, polished production, strong performances and shows that actually give you a reason to keep watching.
So, if you’ve just subscribed and have absolutely no idea where to begin, we’ve narrowed it down to five series worth adding to your weekend watchlist. Whether you’re in the mood for a courtroom mystery, a bizarre corporate thriller or something a little more comforting, there’s something here for you.
1. Presumed Innocent
Genre: Legal Thriller / Mystery
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ruth Negga, Peter Sarsgaard
If courtroom dramas are your thing, Presumed Innocent should probably be near the top of your list.
Adapted by David E. Kelley from Scott Turow’s bestselling legal novel, the series follows Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal), a chief deputy prosecutor whose life is thrown into chaos when his colleague and former lover is brutally murdered. What begins as a murder investigation quickly turns into something far more personal when Rusty himself becomes the prime suspect.
The series moves between courtroom battles, forensic investigations and the increasingly fractured life Rusty is trying to hold together. But what makes it particularly gripping is that the mystery is never just about figuring out who committed the crime. It also digs into ambition, loyalty, power and the contradictions that exist within the very people responsible for enforcing the law.
With Gyllenhaal leading an impressive ensemble, Presumed Innocent is the kind of thriller that makes you say, “Just one more episode,” and suddenly realise it’s 3 a.m.
2. Severance
Genre: Dystopian Sci-Fi / Psychological Thriller
Starring: Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Christopher Walken
What if you could completely separate your work life from your personal life? Sounds ideal, right?
Well, Severance would like a word.
At the mysterious Lumon Industries, employees undergo a procedure that surgically separates their work memories from their outside lives. Their “Innies” know nothing about what happens outside the office, while their “Outies” have no idea what their employees experience once they walk through Lumon’s doors.
What follows is one of the strangest and most unsettling explorations of corporate culture you’ll find on television.
With its sterile offices, unnerving workplace rituals and increasingly bizarre mysteries, Severance turns the familiar nine-to-five into something genuinely existential. Beneath all the sci-fi weirdness, the series asks surprisingly simple questions about identity, free will and how much of our lives we willingly give away for work.
And yes, you will probably start looking at your own office a little differently afterwards.
3. Ted Lasso
Genre: Sports Comedy / Drama
Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein
Need something that won’t leave you questioning the nature of existence afterwards? Enter Ted Lasso.
The series follows Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), an endlessly optimistic American college football coach who is unexpectedly hired to manage AFC Richmond, an English Premier League football club. The catch? He has absolutely no experience managing professional football, and the club’s new owner has deliberately hired him as part of a plan to destroy the team out of spite towards her ex-husband.
What could have easily been a standard fish-out-of-water sports comedy becomes something much more thoughtful.
Underneath all the jokes and football chaos, Ted Lasso explores vulnerability, friendship, leadership, masculinity, workplace relationships and mental health without losing its warmth. Its characters are allowed to be messy, flawed and occasionally frustrating, which makes their growth all the more satisfying.
It’s funny, genuinely wholesome and exactly the kind of show you put on when you want television to feel like a hug.
4. Lessons in Chemistry
Genre: Period Drama
Starring: Brie Larson, Lewis Pullman, Aja Naomi King
Set in the 1950s, Lessons in Chemistry follows Elizabeth Zott (Brie Larson), a brilliant chemist whose career is repeatedly undermined by the sexism of the world around her.
After being pushed out of her scientific career, Elizabeth unexpectedly finds herself hosting a television cooking programme called Supper at Six. But instead of simply teaching women how to cook, she uses the platform to introduce them to scientific thinking, encouraging her audience to question the roles they have been told to accept.
Based on Bonnie Garmus’ bestselling novel, the series combines period drama with a story about ambition, grief, motherhood and the restrictions placed on women in professional and domestic spaces.
It’s emotional without being overly sentimental, and Elizabeth’s refusal to shrink herself to fit the expectations around her makes this one particularly compelling watch.
5. Pluribus
Genre: Sci-Fi / Psychological Comedy-Drama
Creator: Vince Gilligan
From the creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul comes Pluribus, a very different kind of story.
Leaving behind the crime-filled world of Albuquerque, Vince Gilligan ventures into speculative sci-fi with a series centred around a deeply cynical protagonist who finds herself facing an extraordinarily strange problem: she may be one of the few people capable of saving humanity from a dystopian form of forced happiness.
And if that premise sounds bizarre, that’s because it is.
Pluribus leans into Gilligan’s fascination with morally complicated characters, dark humour and ordinary people being thrown into situations that are anything but ordinary. Rather than rushing through its high-concept premise, the series takes its time building its world and letting its characters become increasingly complicated.
For anyone looking for something outside the usual sci-fi formula, Pluribus offers the kind of strange, cerebral television that is likely to leave you thinking about it long after the episode ends.
So, what are you watching first?
With Apple TV+ now officially available in Pakistan, there’s no shortage of reasons to finally explore its catalogue. From courtroom mysteries and dystopian workplaces to football, period drama and unconventional sci-fi, these five shows offer a pretty good starting point.
