Apple is spending money on your customized New Year’s recovery program. You can switch off your phone, lock your doors, and enjoy all of the movies and TV series on Apple TV Plus for free from January 3 to January 5, 2025. No further commitment or membership is needed to take advantage of this deal; you only need an existing Apple ID to log in on any device where the streaming service is accessible.
You can watch hundreds of great shows using this, such as For All Mankind, The Foundation, Silo, and Monarch Legacy of Monsters, which is my particular favorite. Apple TV Plus offers more than just television series; it is the only platform where dozens of exclusive films, such as Coda, Greyhound, Napoleon, and others, may be streamed.
48 hours isn’t enough time to (feasibly) watch all that Apple TV Plus currently offers, but if you need extra time, you can purchase a $9.99 monthly subscription. To experience everything in their collection, Apple also provides a seven-day free trial for new subscribers.
Here’s a list of science fiction movies and shows to watch this weekend.
Finch (2021)
Craig Luck and Ivor Powell wrote the screenplay for the 2021 American post-apocalyptic survival movie Finch, directed by Miguel Sapochnik. Caleb Landry Jones and Tom Hanks are the film’s leading actors. The narrative centers on Finch (Tom Hanks), an elderly survivor of a now-nearly inhospitable Earth, who creates and trains a robot to care for his dog when he passes away.
Universal Pictures had originally planned for the movie to open in theaters in the United States on October 2, 2020, but the COVID-19 epidemic caused multiple delays. On November 5, 2021, it was sold to Apple TV+ and rebranded as Finch. Critics gave the movie mixed reviews, praising Hanks’ performance, the images, and its general charm while criticizing it for lacking creativity and novelty in the post-apocalyptic genre.
Swan Song (2021)
Benjamin Cleary is the writer and director of the 2021 American science fiction romantic drama film Swan Song. The movie stars Adam Beach, Glenn Close, Awkwafina, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali. Cameron Turner, a devoted husband and father, is given the choice to have a clone replace him to spare his family from suffering when he is told that he has a terminal illness. Turner is unsure if he should talk to his wife about the possibility.
On December 17, 2021, Swan Song was available on Apple TV+ and in a few cinemas. Critics gave the movie largely favorable reviews.
Constellation
Based on a premise by Sean Jablonski, Peter Harness developed the science fiction psychological thriller television series Constellation. Most of the onboard systems and one of the Soyuz descent modules are crippled when an unknown object strikes the International Space Station, killing one of the five astronauts on board. Swedish astronaut Johanna “Jo” Ericsson of the European Space Agency is left to fix the second Soyuz after three other astronauts evacuate in the operable Soyuz module. She discovers that several aspects of her life are either gone or not, as she remembers them when she brings her deceased crewmate’s body back to Earth.
The first three episodes of the first season were made available on February 21, 2024. Noomi Rapace, Barbara Sukowa, Henry David, Julian Looman, Jonathan Banks, James D’Arcy, and William Catlett are among its cast members. After just one season, the show was canceled in May 2024.
Calls
Fede Álvarez is the creator of the mystery-thriller analog animated miniseries called Calls. These discussions, told through a sequence of related phone calls, tell the enigmatic tale of a group of strangers whose lives are upended in the wake of a cataclysm. Timothée Hochet’s French television series of the same name served as the inspiration for the show. The French network Canal+, which produced the first French version of the series, is a co-producer with Apple TV+. On March 19, 2021, Apple TV+ debuted it. Both viewers and critics praised it. A Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Motion Design went to the series.
Dark Matter
Blake Crouch’s 2016 book, the same name as the television series Dark Matter, inspired the science fiction series. On May 8, 2024, it debuted with two episodes on Apple TV+. The show received a second season renewal in August 2024. To keep his family from being taken over by alternate-reality versions of himself, a Chicago physicist must struggle to return to his life after being distorted into it.
Foundation
Foundation is an American science fiction television series based on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. Starring Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Lou Llobell, and Leah Harvey, it premiered in September 2021 and was renewed for a second season in July 2023. The first season received positive reviews, but the second season received more positive reviews, praised for its accessible pacing, better plot, and improved interpersonal characterizations.
For All Mankind
For All Mankind is an American science fiction drama series created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi, produced for Apple TV+. The series depicts an alternate history where the Soviet Union had the first crewed Moon landing, and the space race never ended.
The series stars an ensemble cast, including Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Sarah Jones, Shantel VanSanten, Jodi Balfour, Wrenn Schmidt, Sonya Walger, and Krys Marshall. The series features historical figures, including astronauts, NASA officials, American presidents, and politicians. The series premiered in 2019 and was critically acclaimed, winning the TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama. In 2023, the writers announced a goal of seven seasons and a story span of at least 70 years.
Hello Tomorrow!
On February 17, 2023, the American science fiction comedy-drama television series Hello Tomorrow! debuted on Apple TV+. Billy Crudup plays the lead.
A huckster, Jack Billings, has a small company of traveling salesmen on a retrofuturistic planet who sell timeshares on the moon by knocking on people’s doors (on Earth). Jack uses the money to pay his employees, keeps the remainder for himself, and then travels from town to town while his clients’ fictitious rocket launch to take them to their fictitious new mansions is continually being postponed. Jack discovers his son Joey in one of the towns, but Joey is unaware that Jack is his father. To keep the phony business from collapsing, Jack recruits Joey as a salesperson, chooses to remain in this town for a while, and attempts to figure out how to inform Joey that they are father and son without making him leave.
Mixed reviews caused Apple to abandon the second season, but it’s ambitious enough to watch.
Invasion
Simon Kinberg and David Weil are the creators of the American science fiction television series Invasion, which debuted on Apple TV+ on October 22, 2021. An extraterrestrial species visits Earth and poses a threat to humankind.
A few everyday folks worldwide watch events unfold in real-time as they try to make sense of the growing chaos in their environment. Critics have given it mixed reviews, complimenting the pacing, acting, and soundtrack while criticizing the underuse of the aliens. In December 2021, a second season was renewed and debuted on August 23, 2023. In February 2024, a third-season renewal was granted.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
The monster television show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters was produced by Legendary Television and developed by Chris Black and Matt Fraction. It is the second television series and the sixth in the Monsterverse franchise based on Toho Co., Ltd.’s Godzilla. The series, which takes place after the events of Godzilla (2014), chronicles the experiences of Monarch organization members over a half-century as they come into contact with Godzilla and other monsters known as Titans.
In addition to Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell in the joint role of Lee Shaw, the series stars Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, and Elisa Lasowski. With favorable reviews, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters had its Apple TV+ debut on November 17, 2023. The series received a second renewal in April 2024.
Silo
Hugh Howey’s Silo trilogy inspired Graham Yost’s American science fiction dystopian drama television series, Wool. The series stars Rebecca Ferguson as an engineer entangled in the community’s past and present. The series, set in a massive subterranean silo, features various actors and actresses. The series was initially planned for a movie adaptation but was shelved. In May 2021, Apple TV+ took it up as a series, with the first season released in May 2023. The show received positive reviews for Ferguson’s acting, production design, and world-building.
See
See is an American science fiction television series set in a post-apocalyptic dystopia where humanity’s descendants have lost sight. The plot revolves around twin-sighted children born in a mountain tribe. The series stars Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard, created by Steven Knight and directed by Anders Engström. The series premiered in November 2019, with a second season in August 2021 and a final season in August 2022.
Severance
Severance is a science fiction psychological thriller television series directed by Dan Erickson and Ben Stiller. The show follows Mark Scout, an employee of Lumon Industries, who agrees to a “severance” program where his non-work memories are separated from his work memories. The series premiered on Apple TV+ in February 2022 and received acclaim for its cinematography, direction, production design, musical score, story, and performances. It received 14 nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and acting nominations. The second season premieres this month.
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is an American drama miniseries by Walter Mosley based on a 2010 novel. Robyn, an orphaned teenager, is placed in Ptolemy Grey’s care after he is abruptly left without his reliable caregiver. They start moving toward startling realities when they find out about a therapy that can help them regain memories affected by Ptolemy’s dementia. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Cynthia McWilliams, Damon Gupton, and Marsha Stephanie Blake, it premiered on Apple TV+ in March 2022 and concluded in April 2022. The series received seven Black Reels and six NAACP Image Award nominations.
Sunny
The 2018 book The Dark Manual by Irish author Colin O’Sullivan inspired Katie Robbins’ American black comedy television series, Sunny. When Suzie Sakamoto’s (Rashida Jones) husband and kid vanish in an unexplained plane crash, the life of an American widow in Kyoto, Japan, is completely turned upside down. She is comforted by Sunny, a new household robot produced by her husband’s business.
On July 10, 2024, the series debuted on Apple TV+. After just one season, Apple TV+ canceled the show in November 2024.
Sugar
Mark Protosevich created the American neo-noir mystery drama television series Sugar. Fernando Meirelles directed five of the show’s episodes, while Adam Arkin directed three. Colin Farrell, who also acts as executive producer, is the series’ star. On April 5, 2024, it made its debut on Apple TV+. Known as “a genre-bending contemporary take on the private detective story set in Los Angeles,” it centers on John Sugar, a private investigator hired by a high-profile film producer to investigate his granddaughter’s abduction.
Positive reviews were given to the first season, nominated for a 2024 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour). The show received a second season renewal in October 2024.
What are you watching on Apple Plus this weekend? Let us know in the comments below!
