Like many people, I can’t justify paying for all the streamers all the time, so every month I have to work out which is the best streaming service in order to decide which streamer wins and which one gets binned. And this month, even the remake of the 90s teen drama Cruel Intensions isn’t enough to keep me on Prime Video: for me, Apple TV Plus is where the good stuff lives this month.
Apple TV Plus is more about quality than quantity, releasing relatively few new titles each month compared to the other streamers. But I’ve found again and again that the shows and movies it does add are ones I really enjoy, whether that’s the odd drama of Sugar, which has been renewed for season 2, the bizarre Floridian crime caper Bad Monkey or the peerless Slow Horses. And this month the new additions are particularly fine. Here’s what I’ll be watching in the coming weeks.
Silo Season 2 (streaming November 15)
The first season of Silo was an absolute blast, a below-ground dystopia that to this writer was far superior to Prime Video’s Fallout. And now it’s back, and this time – spoiler alert if you haven’t seen season one – Silo season 2 is going overground with Rebecca Ferguson’s Juliette Nichols discovering what lies above.
The linked article includes more spoilers because we’ve read the books on which the show is based; we suspect Season 2 will be based on the second book, Shift, which describes how and why the silos were created. We’ve been told to “prepare for war”, so we’re expecting to see some epic set-pieces.
Bad Sisters Season 2 (streaming November 13)
Sharon Horgan’s killer comedy returns. Described as the Irish Big Little Lies, it follows the five Garvey sisters – women who decide to deal with one sibling’s husband in a very permanent manner.
Set two years after the events of season 1, Bad Sisters season 2 once again follows the siblings as buried secrets emerge and they find themselves back in the spotlight and under suspicion. It’s the darkest of dark comedies, and speaking to Screen Rant Sharon Horgan promised surprises: “I hope we’ve brought enough surprises that are not all obvious, that are hidden, and that (fans) feel like it’s the show but also that it’s different as well.”
Blitz (streaming November 22)
This looks like it’s going to be special. Directed by Steve McQueen and starring Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson, Elliott Heffernan, Kathy Burke and Stephen Graham, Blitz is the story of nine-year-old George who is evacuated to the countryside when World War II bombs come to London. George doesn’t want to be evacuated, so he runs away and heads for home. Adventures ensue.
Empire magazine says it’s McQueen’s most accessible film yet, “mixing epic sweep with textured detail”, and while the second half is a little uneven “it will make even the stiffest upper lip quiver.”
Bread & Roses (streaming November 22)
With a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating and a string of rave reviews, this powerful documentary about the women of Afghanistan is a must-watch. As The Hollywood Reporter put it, it’s “an uncommon look at a brutal war”.
Director Sahra Mani follows three women, Zahra, Taranom and Sharifa, whose lives were transformed when the Taliban seized control of Kabul three years ago. “This is scrappy, up-close and personal film-making,” Variety says, calling the movie “a necessary howl of rage”.
Shrinking (streaming now)
The second season of this little gem started streaming in mid-October but it’s on a weekly release schedule so we’re only partway through the season so far. And if anything, season 2 is better than the superb season 1: it’s one of the very best Apple TV Plus shows I’ve seen on any streamer and I’ve been a sobbing wreck in every episode. We also now know that a Shrinking season 3 is on the way, so I suspect more sobbing is on the cards.
Shrinking is half comedy, half drama: when it’s funny it’s gut-bustingly so, and when it’s sad, which it often is, it’ll break your heart. Jason Segel and Harrison Ford are great fun in the lead roles but this is an ensemble cast where everyone delivers; Jessica Williams and Christa Miller are particularly great.
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