This is the Apple service I never expected to be addicted to

• Apple TV Plus is about to celebrate its first birthday, following the launch of Apple's Netflix-like streaming service back on November 1 of 2019.
  
• Here's a rundown of everything there is to like about the service over its first year of existence, as well as what's still to come -- and areas that could be improved.
• Apple is also continuing to ink deals for new projects at a steady clip, such as a new Jon Stewart current affairs show coming to the platform, word of which was made public on Tuesday.
  

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Even though 2020 isn't over yet -- in fact, there's still two more months' worth of debuts and premieres teed up on the streaming TV industry calendar -- I feel confident enough to go ahead and call it: Tehran, an Israeli spy drama that debuted on Apple TV+ at the end of September, is my favorite new show of the year. And that's after having only seen seven of the debut season's eight episodes, the final of which is set to be added to Apple's now 1-year-old streaming TV service this weekend.

Granted, I could dive into the press screeners site right now and see how it all ends early if I wanted to -- and I'm certainly dying to see how the showrunners bring all the murky, high-stakes storylines to a satisfying conclusion, and whether the show's moody, talented, hacker spy-heroine Tamar is successful with her mission. The one she's been skulking around in pursuit of in all the shadows, underground, back alleys, and other corners of Iran's capital city.

To be sure, I knew this series was going to be a favorite of mine straightaway, within the opening minutes of Episode 1 (as I explained here). Admittedly, it was a foregone conclusion that I was a ready-made, captive audience for this show. As a voracious reader of spy thrillers from the best writers of the genre -- John le Carre, Daniel Silva, and David Ignatius, to name a few -- I've also spent these dreadful months of this, our annus horribilis, consuming titles like those as well as things like True Spies, a podcast narrated by actresses Hayley Atwell and Vanessa Kirby that I'm going to get around to reviewing once I finish it. That podcast offers just what the title suggests -- a recounting of true stories from the lives of real spies, covering everything from the Cold War to the 2000s-era War on Terror. Having said all that about Tehran, however, when I step back to consider the nascent streaming service that picked the show up, I'd like to go ahead and offer my verdict of Apple TV+ just days ahead of its first birthday. It's not just that I think my favorite new series easily hits the mark. I also would argue that the streaming service behind it is off to a solid start, despite launching to a fair amount of skepticism back on November 1 of 2019.

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This is the Apple service I never expected to be addicted to originally appeared on BGR.com on Tue, 27 Oct 2020 at 22:21:26 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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