Apple TV is lining up 12 shows for the summer, and the list mixes brand-new series with returning favorites. Among the names headed to the small screen are Amy Adams, Rhys Ifans, Javiar Bardem, Jason Sudeikis and Anya Taylor-Joy.
The biggest immediate date on the slate is May 20, when Unconditional premieres on Apple TV. The darkly comedic thriller follows a mother-daughter vacation that turns into a nightmare after 23-year-old Gali is arrested for drug smuggling in Moscow. Her mother, Orna, refuses to accept the charges, and that decision pulls her into a deadly web of crime and corruption. The series stars Liraz Chamami, Talia Lynne Ronn, Amir Haddad, Yossi Marshek, Evgenia Dodina and Vladimir Friedman.
Apple TV is using the summer stretch to keep a steady pipeline of attention on its service, pairing new projects with shows already familiar to viewers. The lineup sits alongside hits such as Silo, Severance and Slow Horses, a reminder that the company is not relying on one breakout title to carry the season. Some of the shows in the summer batch are first-run entries, while others are coming back for another season.
Another title drawing notice is Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, which follows newly divorced mom Paula as she falls into a dangerous rabbit hole involving blackmail, murder and youth soccer. Tatiana Maslany plays Paula, who witnesses a crime while also struggling through a custody battle and an identity crisis. As she starts her own investigation, the story suggests she may be digging toward a larger conspiracy even as she tries to rebuild her family and her sense of self. The cast also includes Jake Johnson, Brandon Flynn, Murray Bartlett, Jessy Hodges, Jon Michael Hill, Charlie Hall, Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg, Nola Wallace and Dolly De Leon.
What the summer slate makes clear is that Apple TV is not betting on one type of show. It is pushing dark thrillers, star-driven dramas and returning series at the same time, which should keep the service in the conversation well beyond the first weekend of June. For viewers, the first marker is simple: Unconditional lands on May 20, and the rest of the summer lineup is built to follow it.
