The Apple TV+ thriller Lady in the Lake got off to a strong start, immediately becoming a top 10 hit with streaming viewers. Natalie Portman leads the cast of the limited series as new episodes appear each week through late August.
In addition, the Apple TV+ crime drama Presumed Innocent is still pulling in plenty of eyes, as is the mystery series Sunny.
Apple TV+ stays competitive
Although Apple’s streaming service is smaller than Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, it keeps producing hits. While having three shows at the same time that analysts’ agree are near the top of the charts is unusual, Apple TV+ typically has at least one series drawing an above-average audience.
Shows that have qualified in the past include Hijack, Silo, Dark Matter, Shrinking, and many more.
Lady in the Lake starts strong
Oscar and Golden Globe winner Natalie Portman joins Emmy nominee Moses Ingram in the drama Lady in the Lake. It premiered July 19, and viewers quickly tuned in.
The thriller at No. 7 on Reelgood’s list of Top 10 TV shows on streaming during the week ending July 24. And it’s at No. 8 on JustWatch‘s own list of top streaming shows for the week ending July 21.
Chart: JustWatch/Reelgood
Estimates from companies like JustWatch and Reelgood are necessary because streaming services rarely reveal how many people tune in to their offerings
Lady in the Lake is set in 1960s Baltimore, where the disappearance of a young girl pushes Jewish housewife Maddie Schwartz (played by Portman) to shed a secret past and reinvent her life as an investigative journalist. Cleo Sherwood (played by Ingram) is a mother navigating the political underbelly of Black Baltimore while struggling to provide for her family. SPOILERS: When Cleo is murdered, Maddie becomes fixated — a fixation that puts everyone around them in danger.
It is based on the 2019 novel bestselling author Laura Lippman.
The first three episodes of Lady in the Lake are available now. New episodes debut every Friday through August 23, 2024.
Presumed Innocent starring Jake Gyllenhaal has real staying power
A glance at at the top-ten charts shows that Presumed Innocent pulls a bigger audience than Lady in the Lake, which means the crime drama stayed popular every week from its debut in mid-June through its recent season finale.
Most recently, it was at No. 3 on both ReelGood’s and JustWatch’s most recent lists of most popular Top 10 TV shows on streaming.
For those who might be newly interested because season one has wrapped up, Apple’s teaser says:
“The gripping series takes viewers on a journey through the horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorney’s office when chief deputy prosecutor Rusty Sabich (Gyllenhaal) is suspected of the crime. The series explores obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love, as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”
All eight episodes of Presumed Innocent season one are available now. But that’s not the end of the show: Apple TV+ already committed to season two.
Sunny mystery/dark comedy stays popular, too
Sunny, a mystery thriller with a darkly comic bent starring Rashida Jones and a robot, quickly became one of the most popular shows on streaming after premiering on Apple TV+ earlier in July. It slipped a bit this week but is drawing a larger audience than almost any series on streaming.
It was at No. 9 on ReelGood’s most recent lists of most popular Top 10 TV shows on streaming, and at No. 10 on JustWatch’s equivalent list.
Apple’s teaser says:
Sunny stars Jones as Suzie, an American woman living in Kyoto, Japan, whose life is upended when her husband and son disappear in a mysterious plane crash. As “consolation” she’s given Sunny, one of a new class of domestic robots made by her husband’s electronics company. Though at first, Suzie resents Sunny’s attempts to fill the void in her life, gradually they develop an unexpected friendship. Together they uncover the dark truth of what really happened to Suzie’s family and become dangerously enmeshed in a world Suzie never knew existed.
The 10-episode series premiered globally on Apple’s streaming service on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. The first four episodes are available now, and Apple TV+ will release new episodes every Wednesday through September 4.
Watch these and more on Apple TV+
Watching Lady in the Lake, Presumed Innocent and Sunny plus many other series or films comes with a subscription to Apple TV+. The service is $9.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle.
And Apple’s streaming video service also includes much more, of course. There’s a library of drama, comedies, musicals, children’s shows, nature documentaries, etc.
Want more tips on what to watch on Apple TV+? Read our guide to the 15 best shows on Apple TV+.