When it comes to TV shows and movies, Apple TV_ is definitely about quality rather than quantity: its catalog may be much smaller than Netflix or Prime Video, but it’s consistently delivered some of my very favorite shows – such as Shrinking, Sugar, Severance and many shows that don’t begin with the letter ‘S’. So the announcement of its mid-2025 highlights is very exciting indeed.
There are lots of treats here including golf comedy Stick, the Guy Ritchie adventure Fountain of Youth and the Jason Momoa historical epic Chief of War. But there are a few notable omissions too, including the next seasons of For All Mankind and Foundation. Then again, maybe sci-fi is best saved for the darker nights during colder seasons.
Apple TV+ has put the teaser trailer online (it’s embedded below) and for me there are three titles that are particularly exciting; my iPhone will definitely be on Airplane Mode for these.
Slow Horses Season 5
It’s a strange, strange game – you’ve got the theme in your head now, haven’t you? – and the game resumes with the fifth season of this superbly entertaining spy thriller.
We knew we wouldn’t have to wait too long for this season, because it was filmed back to back with last year’s Season 4. But we don’t know what it’ll be about, because so far Apple TV+ has only given us a single still (above) of Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) looking typically disheveled. But with four seasons under our belt we know what to expect: skulduggery, treachery, Lamb’s horrible hygiene and River (Jack Lowden) biting off more than he can chew.
Murderbot
Apple released the trailer for Murderbot yesterday, and I am very, very, very excited about this one because it feels like a sci-fi story with distinctly Deadpool vibes. Based on the brilliant and much-loved books by Martha Wells and with Wells on-board as consulting producer it’s the tale of “a self-hacking security android who is horrified by human emotion yet drawn to its vulnerable clients.” The trailer’s been warmly received by Murderbot fans, it really made me laugh and I can’t wait for it to start streaming from May 16, 2025.
Echo Valley
Premiering June 13, Echo Valley could leave me an emotional wreck. Julianne Moore is Kate, whose troubled daughter Claire turns up covered in blood. Someone else’s blood. Written by Mayor of Easttown‘s Brad Inglesby and with Sydney Sweeney as Claire, it’s about grief, secrets, addiction and how far a parent will go to protect their child.
Speaking to Variety, Moore said that “there’s a lot of action in this movie, but [Kate]’s an ordinary person. What she does is extraordinary because she’s faced with it, not because she’s able to do this stuff. She just feels that she has to.”
Variety says that the film is much bigger than it sounds: “There are horses and diving, a dramatic set piece involving fire, and several fight scenes.” And it “will leave audiences debating their own moral boundaries.”
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