I’m sure you won’t want to waste time sifting through Apple TV+’s extensive catalogue of shows and movies just to decide on what to watch. The streaming giant updates its site every day, week, and month with new content, so I’m here to save your precious time.

Here are my personal recommendations and highlights for Apple TV+ Malaysia’s August 2024 lineup and how to fill up your free time with worthwhile content at home:

This week, Apple TV+ debuts “Women in Blue” (“Las Azules”) a new Spanish-language crime drama featuring an entirely Hispanic cast and crew led by Ariel Award nominee Bárbara Mori, and created by International Emmy Award-winning showrunner and director Fernando Rovzar and Pablo Aramendi. Set in 1970 and inspired by true events, the first two episodes of “Women in Blue” are now streaming globally on Apple TV+.
New episodes of “Lady in the Lake,” “Sunny” and “Time Bandits” also premiere this week on Apple TV+. Plus catch up on all episodes of the gripping, global hit series “Presumed Innocent,” as well as the acclaimed summer sensation “Land of Women,” now streaming globally.

The new four-part documentary series “Cowboy Cartel” also makes its global debut this Friday on Apple TV+.

 “Women in Blue” (“Las Azules”) – Global premiere

“Women in Blue” (“Las Azules”) is an upcoming ten-episode Spanish-language crime drama featuring an entirely Hispanic cast and crew led by Ariel Award nominee Bárbara Mori (“Perdidos en la noche,” “La Negociadora,” “La mujer de mi hermano”).
Created by International Emmy Award-winning showrunner and director Fernando Rovzar (“Monarca,” “Sr. Ávila”) and Pablo Aramendi (“Tijuana,” “Los elegidos”), and set in 1970 and inspired by true events, “Women in Blue” tells the story of four women who defy the ultraconservative norms of the time and join Mexico’s first female police force, only to discover that their squad is a publicity stunt to distract the media from a brutal serial killer. As the body count grows, María (Bárbara Mori), whose determination to catch the killer becomes an obsession, Gabina (Amorita Rasgado), whose father is a renowned cop, Ángeles (Ximena Sariñana), a brilliant fingerprint analyst, and Valentina (Natalia Téllez), a young rebel, set up a secret investigation to achieve what no male officer has been able to do and bring the serial killer to justice. The series stars Mori, Sariñana, Téllez, Rasgado, Miguel Rodarte, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Christian Tappan, and Horacio García Rojas.

Fernando Rovzar, Emmy Award nominee Wendy Riss, Erica Sánchez Su, Sandra Solares and International Emmy Award winner Billy Rovzar serve as executive producers.

The first two episodes of “Women in Blue” are now streaming on Apple TV+, and new episodes will debut every Wednesday through September 25.

“Lady in the Lake” – New episode

Based on the 2019 novel by New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman, “Lady in the Lake” is the thrilling, seven-part limited series starring Academy Award and Golden Globe Award winner Natalie Portman, who also serves as executive producer, and Emmy Award nominee Moses Ingram, and created and directed by Alma Har’el.

When the disappearance of a young girl grips the city of Baltimore on Thanksgiving 1966, the lives of two women converge on a fatal collision course. Maddie Schwartz (Portman) is a Jewish housewife seeking to shed a secret past and reinvent herself as an investigative journalist, and Cleo Sherwood (Ingram) is a mother navigating the political underbelly of Black Baltimore while struggling to provide for her family. Their disparate lives seem parallel at first, but when Maddie becomes fixated on Cleo’s mystifying death, a chasm opens that puts everyone around them in danger. From visionary director Alma Har’el, “Lady in the Lake” emerges as a feverish noir thriller and an unexpected tale of the price women pay for their dreams.

Starring alongside Portman and Ingram in the series are Y’lan Noel, Brett Gelman, Byron Bowers, Noah Jupe, Josiah Cross, Mikey Madison and Pruitt Taylor Vince.

In this week’s new episode, “Innocence leaves you when you discover cruelty. First in others, then in yourself,” Maddie scores a big interview but struggles to be respected by The Star. Cleo starts implementing her plan as Shell learns troubling information.

The fourth episode of “Lady in the Lake” premieres this Friday, August 2 on Apple TV+.

“Time Bandits” – New episodes

Created for television by Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Conchords”), Iain Morris (“The Inbetweeners”) and Taika Waititi (“Our Flag Means Death”), and produced for Apple TV+ by Paramount Television Studios, Anonymous Content’s AC Studios and MRC, “Time Bandits” is an unpredictable journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history buff named Kevin. Together, they set out on a thrilling quest to save the boy’s parents — and the world.
Guided by Lisa Kudrow, the eccentric crew of bandits embark on epic adventures while evil forces threaten their conquests and life as they know it. As the group transports through time and space, the gang stumbles upon fascinating worlds of the distant past while seeking out treasure, depending on Kevin to shed light on each situation. The Time Bandits witness the creation of Stonehenge, see the Trojan Horse in action, escape dinosaurs in the prehistoric ages, wreak havoc during medieval times, experience the ice age, ancient civilizations, the Harlem Renaissance, and much more along the way.

The compelling live-action series will delight viewers ages 9-99, and stars Lisa Kudrow, Kal-El Tuck, Tadhg Murphy, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, Rune Temte, Charlyne Yi, Rachel House, Kiera Thompson, James Dryden, Felicity Ward, Francesca Mills and Imaan Hadchiti. “Time Bandits” also features special guest appearances by Waititi and Clement.

In episode three, “Medieval,” the Bandits pose as dragon slayers in England and feel the wrath of a wicked sheriff. Saffron embarks on her own search for answers.

Also dropping this week is episode four, titled, “Prohibition.” Kevin and the Bandits run for their lives during New York’s Harlem Renaissance. Saffron and an ally work to outwit enemies in Japan.

The third and fourth episodes of “Time Bandits” are now streaming on Apple TV+.

“Sunny” – New episode

A new ten-episode mystery thriller with a darkly comic bent, “Sunny” stars Rashida 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, as together they uncover the dark truth of what really happened to Suzie’s family, becoming dangerously enmeshed in a world Suzie never knew existed.
Created by Katie Robbins, who also serves as showrunner, and executive producer and director Lucy Tcherniak, “Sunny” stars Emmy Award nominee, multi-hyphenate Rashida Jones, who also serves as executive producer, along with stars Hidetoshi Nishijima, Joanna Sotomura, Judy Ongg, YOU, annie the clumsy and Jun Kunimura.

Produced for Apple TV+ by A24, “Sunny” is written and executive produced by Robbins, through her shingle Babka Pictures. A24 and Jones also serve as executive producers. The series is based on the book “Dark Manual” by Japan-based award-winning Irish writer Colin O’Sullivan.

In this week’s new episode, “Joey Sakamoto,” Sunny and Susie flee Kyoto with Mixxy to take refuge at her family’s farm.

The fifth episode of “Sunny” is now streaming on Apple TV+ and new episodes debut every Wednesday.

“Cowboy Cartel” – New docuseries

A new four-part documentary series, “Cowboy Cartel” features the extraordinary story of the rookie FBI agent who cracked the case of one of Mexico’s most ruthless cartels, Los Zetas, and the multimillion-dollar money laundering operation they ran through the heart of the American Quarter Horse racing industry.
“Cowboy Cartel” is the unbelievable true story of unlikely hero Scott Lawson, a rookie FBI agent from rural Tennessee whose investigation took down the Treviño brothers, the leaders of Los Zetas, one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico. While the Treviños terrorized thousands in their pursuit of power, money and influence, Lawson risked his life on a hunch: tracking their brother’s racehorse transactions in the United States, infiltrating the deadly cartel and uncovering their international money laundering operations. “Cowboy Cartel” features first-time interviews with FBI agent Lawson, who broke the case; IRS agent Steve Pennington; Irving police officers Steve Junker, Brian Schutt and Kim Williams; Assistant United States Attorney Doug Gardner; Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Ginger Thompson; and Joe Tone, the author of “Bones: Brothers, Horses, Cartels, and the Borderland Dream.”

“Cowboy Cartel” will make its global debut on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 2.

“The Instigators” – New Apple Original Film

Rory (Matt Damon) and Cobby (Casey Affleck) are reluctant partners: a desperate father and an ex-con thrown together to pull off a robbery of the ill-gained earnings of a corrupt politician. But when the heist goes wrong, the two find themselves engulfed in a whirlwind of chaos, pursued not only by police, but also backwards bureaucrats and vengeful crime bosses. Completely out of their depth, they convince Rory’s therapist (Hong Chau) to join their riotous getaway through the city, where they must put aside their differences and work together to evade capture—or worse.
Directed by Doug Liman and written by Chuck MacLean and Casey Affleck, “The Instigators” also stars Michael Stuhlbarg, Paul Walter Hauser, Ving Rhames, Alfred Molina, and Toby Jones, with Jack Harlow and Ron Perlman.

“The Instigators” will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 9.

Head on over here for our full review of the movie.

“Bad Monkey”

Hailing from award-winning executive producer Bill Lawrence (“Ted Lasso,” “Shrinking”), “Bad Monkey” is a new Apple Original comedy series starring acclaimed actor, producer and screenwriter Vince Vaughn, who also serves as an executive producer, and based on Carl Hiaasen’s New York Times bestselling novel and enduring cult favorite.
“Bad Monkey” tells the story of Andrew Yancy (Vaughn), who has been bounced from the Miami Police Department and is now a health inspector in the Keys. But after stumbling upon a case that begins with a human arm fished up by tourists, he realizes that if he can prove murder, he’ll be back in. He just needs to get past a trove of Floridian oddballs and one bad monkey.

The ensemble cast also includes L. Scott Caldwell, Rob Delaney, Meredith Hagner, Natalie Martinez, Alex Moffat, Michelle Monaghan, Ronald Peet, Jodie Turner-Smith and Scott Glenn, with special guest star John Ortiz and guest stars Zach Braff and Charlotte Lawrence in her television debut.

Hailing from Warner Bros. Television, “Bad Monkey” is developed by executive producer and showrunner Bill Lawrence through his Doozer Productions alongside Jeff Ingold, Matt Tarses (“Scrubs”), Marcos Siega, Vaughn and Liza Katzer.

“Bad Monkey” will makes its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on August 14, followed by new episodes every Wednesday through October 9.

“Pachinko” – Season two

Told in three languages – Korean, Japanese, and English — “Pachinko” is the highly anticipated drama series based on The New York Times bestselling, acclaimed novel by the same name. Epic in scope and intimate in tone, the story begins with a forbidden love and crescendos into a sweeping saga that journeys between Korea, Japan and America to tell an unforgettable story of war and peace, love and loss, triumph and reckoning.
“Pachinko” is created and written by Soo Hugh who serves as executive producer alongside Media Res’ Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer, and Theresa Kang for Blue Marble Pictures. Season two stars Lee Minho, Minha Kim, Anna Sawai, Yuh-Jung Youn, Jin Ha, Eunchae Jung, Soji Arai, Junwoo Han and Sungkyu Kim; and, is directed by Leanne Welham, Arvin Chen and Sang-il Lee.

“Pachinko” season two will premiere globally on Friday, August 23, with the first episode, followed by one episode weekly every Friday through October 11.

“K-Pop Idols” – New docuseries

“K-Pop Idols” is a new six-episode documentary event offering fans an unprecedented backstage pass to the world’s biggest musical phenomenon, with a behind-the-scenes look at the highly competitive reality of K-pop stardom, featuring beloved artists Jessi, CRAVITY and BLACKSWAN.
Glitz meets grit as K-pop artists Jessi, CRAVITY and BLACKSWAN give everything they’ve got to an art form that demands nothing less than perfection. Over the course of six episodes, the series follows the superstars through trials and triumphs as they break down cultural and musical barriers in K-pop with passion, creativity and determination while they chase their dreams.