The weekend is here, and with it Apple TV+ has decided to gift audiences not subscribed to the streaming service a free weekend to watch their shows, and these are five to look out for.
The first weekend of 2025 has arrived, and Apple has rolled out the red carpet for would-be subscribers to Apple TV+, allowing the unsubscribed to sign up and watch their catalogue of offerings all weekend long free of charge. Apple has confirmed that the free weekend runs from January 3 until January 6, and the only requirement to stream is to have an active Apple ID.
Following the news, CGMagazine has scoured the service for its offerings, and have produced five that fans may have been itching to watch on Apple TV+, but have just not gotten around to it due to not having an active subscription. While Severance is always a safe bet when bingeing this particular streaming service, here are CGMagazine’s other five shows to binge while using Apple TV+ for free this weekend.
Black Bird
From the mind of the writer that conceived Shutter Island and Mystic River, Black Bird follows (and is based on) the true story of criminal Jimmy Keene (played by Taron Edgerton) who’s tasked with getting another inmate (Paul Walter Hauser) to spill their secrets on their own crimes by the higher ups of the prison. While this show may sound like that one episode of Black Mirror with Jon Hamm (and very much plays like a 6-episode long version of it), it’s a limited series that released in 2022 and has received a very favourable 80% on Metacritic by critics and fans alike.
Mythic Quest
If anyone’s been interested in knowing what’s on the other side of game development (albeit in a over the top, hilarious fashion), Mythic Quest might be the next show worthy of audience eyes. Mythic Quest is executive produced by Rob McElhenney (Welcome to Wrexham) and Charlie Day (Horrible Bosses), two of the main characters on the immensely popular comedy series It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and features what’s on the other side of the curtain in the development room.
McElhenney portrays the creative director of the fictional MMORPG Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, leading to comedic conflicts among the cast over the team’s future direction. The Season Four premiere airs on Apple TV+ on January 29, so now would be a great time to catch up for free.
Slow Horses
Let’s face it, almost everyone needs more Gary Oldman, and he’s prominently featured as the head of Slough House in Slow Horses. The premise is simple, Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) plays leader of a group of MI5 agents re-assigned (without consent) to desks in wake of their failure on missions, and thrilling antics ensue when the reassigned desk occupants return to hero duty. Slow Horses smartly weaves a complex narrative together with a surprisingly layered character role from Oldman that features sharp-as-nails dry humour timing, and with the setting of a halfway house that everyone wants to leave filled with ‘losers’ who can’t, Slow Horses‘ audience remains winning.
For All Mankind
Introducing a sci-fi series from screenwriter Ronald D. Moore (Outlander, Battlestar Galactica), For All Mankind asks the audience to imagine what would have happened had the Soviet Union landed on the Moon before the United States in a series that basically takes the premise of Superman: Red Son (a story that reimagines the Man of Steel as a Soviet Union asset) and ties that occurrence to how real life events could have unfolded if that’s how history went.
In this ‘fan-fiction,’ NASA is still continuing the space race after the USSR’s landing. For All Mankind is at its absolute best when portraying humanities imperfect struggle to progress. After four seasons, For All Mankind has been renewed for a fifth, and it’s the perfect time to catch up ahead of the season premiere on Apple TV+.
Shrinking
From the writers of the other wildly popular Apple TV+ comedy, Ted Lasso, comes Shrinking a new dramedy that deploys a star-studded cast and a wild premise. Jason Segel plays a therapist that begins to become too honest with his clients at the chagrin of his esteemed colleagues (played by Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams). Shrinking smartly marries witty comedy and emotional depth in an easy to digest series that brings entertainment to the forefront of each episode. Both seasons can be found on Apple TV+.
That wraps our list of shows to binge while enjoying Apple TV+ for free this weekend. Fans can sign-up for Apple TV on the official website, as it does still require an Apple ID to start watching, and readers can also check out what’s coming to Disney Plus in January 2025 as well at CGMagazine.
