3 Must-Watch Apple TV+ Series for Your Weekend Binge

We did it, we made it through another week. Now it’s time for some play, and I’m willing to bet that at some point that means kicking back with a show or two. If you’re an Apple TV+ subscriber, I’ll do you one better and make it three—three totally bingeable series with episodes that you can get through in a single weekend.

I’ve watched every one of the shows on this list, and I think they all fit the bill for your weekend watch.

3

The Wild Ones

I’ve been on a bit of a nature show kick, and recently just binged my way through Ryan Reynolds’ great new National Geographic series, Underdogs, on Disney+. Naturally, that led me to The Wild Ones, a stunning nature series on Apple TV+ with a noble mission—to help save several of the world’s most endangered species from extinction.

The intro sequence of each Wild Ones episode starts with this shocking reminder, spoken by the show’s host, former British Marine Aldo Kane: “We lose up to 150 different species every single day, and a million more are threatened with extinction.” Kane and his crew of intrepid cameramen are on an around-the-world mission to film, photograph, and raise awareness about some of these threatened animals, “before it’s too late.”

Throughout its six episodes, the team heads to some beautiful and remote locations, including Malaysia’s jungle, where they search for a rare tiger; Mongolia, searching for Gobi bears; and even to the depths of the North Atlantic, where they get up close with some right whales, of which there are only 400 left.

Despite the show’s dire purpose, The Wild Ones is beautifully shot, with some unbelievable close-up photography, and Kane and the team have a camaraderie and lightness that make you want to tag along.

2

The Studio

If you haven’t made the time to binge the heck out of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s 23-time Emmy-nominated show, then this is the weekend—make it happen! The Studio is the longtime writing duo’s love letter to all of Hollywood’s insanity, shallowness, and backstabbing, while miraculously maintaining the golden thread of wonder and movie magic that keeps us forever enthralled.

With an incredible roster of A-list cameo appearances from the likes of Charlize Theron, Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Olivia Wilde, and many more, The Studio follows the excruciatingly high-stress life of Matt Remick (Rogen), the newly-appointed head of flailing Continental Studios. Matt’s excruciating need for approval and recognition—especially from his own staff, played to perfection by Catherine O’Hara, Katherine Hahn, and Ike Barinholtz—makes for some of the most cringe-worthy and ridiculously hilarious situations on TV.

Standout episodes include The Oner, where Matt just can’t stay away from Sarah Polley’s film set as she shoots the elusive one-shot ending of her film (the episode itself is brilliantly shot in one fluid take), and the season finale, in which everyone trips hard on mushrooms before a big CinemaCon presentation.

The Studio is must-see TV, so watch it before the Emmys next month to bask in its victory when it wins everything​​​​​​ (if Severance doesn’t).

1

Dark Matter

If you’re a fan of mind-bending, parallel-reality thrillers such as Hulu’s Devs, Netflix’s The OA, and Apple’s Severance, then this nine-episode mind-trip based on Blake Crouch’s bestselling novel is right on target. I loved every episode of Dark Matter, and I’m happy to report that there’s a second season in the works … because I need answers.

Joel Edgerton stars as Jason Dessen, an everyman physics professor in Chicago, married to Daniella (Jennifer Connelly), a gifted artist. They have a teenage son named Charlie, and they’re a happy family. But there’s another version of Jason, from another dimension, and he’s found a way to cross worlds, kidnap Jason 1, and swap lives with him.

Daniella and Charlie can’t tell the difference at first, and while Jason 2 struggles to keep the ruse going, Jason 1 must travel through infinite versions of his reality, some similar and some vastly different, to get home and take his life back.

Dark Matter is tense, imaginative, and features excellent performances from Edgerton and Connelly, as well as a supporting cast that includes A Murder At the End of the World‘s Alice Braga and Westworld‘s Jimmi Simpson, all of whom get to play multiple versions of their characters.

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As the Primetime Emmys approach next month, it’s worth noting Apple TV+’s whopping 81 nominations, including the aforementioned 23 for The Studio and 27 for season two of Severance. Needless to say, the house of Tim is doing something right with its programming.