Apple TV+ new arrivals: ‘Central Park’, the ‘Dads’ documentary’ and more

A new animated musical comedy, the season finale of Chris Evans’ ‘Defending Jacob’ and two intriguing documentaries come to the platform

Here are some of the shows and movies to watch out for on Apple TV+:

Central Park

Series premiere Friday, May 29

A new animated musical comedy starring Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr., Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs and Stanley Tucci. Central Park is created, written and executive produced by Emmy Award winner Loren Bouchard alongside Grammy Award winner Josh Gad, and Emmy Award winner Nora Smith, and follows the Tillermans, a family that lives in Central Park.

Owen, the park manager, and Paige, his journalist wife, raise their kids Molly and Cole in the world’s most famous park, while fending off hotel heiress Bitsy Brandenham and her long suffering assistant Helen, who would love nothing more than to turn the park into condos.

Defending Jacob

Season finale premieres Friday, May 29

A gripping, character-driven thriller based on the 2012 New York Times best-selling novel of the same name, and starring Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery, Jaeden Martell, Cherry Jones, Pablo Schreiber, Betty Gabriel and Sakina Jaffrey. The limited drama series unfolds around a shocking crime that rocks a small Massachusetts town and one family in particular, forcing an assistant district attorney to choose between his sworn duty to uphold justice and his unconditional love for his son.

Fraggle Rock: Rock On!

A new mini-episode featuring special guests Alanis Morissette, Common, Jason Mraz, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish, and Ziggy Marley now streaming

In this week’s epic season finale of Fraggle Rock: Rock On!, Jason Mraz returns alongside multi-Grammy Award winner Alanis Morissette, Emmy and Grammy Award winner Common, Neil Patrick Harris, Tiffany Haddish, and multi-Grammy Award winner Ziggy Marley join the Fraggle gang to perform a special rendition of the beloved, classic Fraggle Rock theme song “Dance Your Cares Away.” The mini-episode debuted for free around the world on Apple TV+ on Tuesday, May 26.

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Helpsters Help You

Free new episodes every Friday

A new series of six shorts from the makers of Sesame Street and inspired by Apple’s Parents’ Choice and Common Sense Media Award-winning series Helpsters. Starring Cody, the the enthusiastic leader of the Helpsters, and produced in partnership with Sesame Workshop, new mini-episodes stream for free, and premiere Fridays, exclusively on Apple TV+.

Helpsters Help You is created to provide emotional support for preschoolers and parents living in the time of COVID-19. Each short is broadcast from inside the Helpsters’ shop, and features Cody giving out helpful tips and songs. The shorts have been created to help parents educate and entertain their kids and to assist teachers who are exploring creative ways to facilitate remote learning.

Coming Soon

Dear...

A new 10-episode documentary series executive produced by Emmy Award and Peabody Award winner R.J. Cutler and inspired by Apple’s groundbreaking Dear Apple spots. Dear…takes an inventive and cinematic approach to biographies of the most iconic figures in society today by using letters written by those whose lives have been changed through their work.

Premieres Friday, June 5

Dads

Dads is a heartfelt and humorous documentary that celebrates the joys and challenges of parenting in today’s world. Featuring six extraordinary fathers from across the globe, this film offers a firsthand glimpse into the trials and tribulations of modern-day parenting through revealing interviews, rare home-movie footage, viral videos, and hilarious and thoughtful testimonials from some of Hollywood’s funniest celebrities, including Judd Apatow, Jimmy Fallon, Neil Patrick Harris, Ron Howard, Ken Jeong, Jimmy Kimmel, Hasan Minhaj, Conan O’Brien, Patton Oswalt, Will Smith and more.

Making her feature directorial debut, Bryce Dallas Howard also offers an intimate look at the dads in her own family, including remarkable interviews with her late grandfather Rance, her father Ron and her brother Reed.

Premieres Friday, June 19

Little Voice

A fresh, intensely romantic tale from the award-winning team of J.J. Abrams, Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson, Little Voice is a love letter to the diverse musicality of New York starring Brittany O’Grady, Sean Teale, Colton Ryan, Shalini Bathina, Kevin Valdez, Phillip Johnson Richardson and Chuck Cooper.

The series follows Bess King, (O’Grady) a uniquely talented performer struggling to fulfill her dreams while navigating rejection, love, and complicated family issues. Featuring original music by Grammy and Tony Award nominee, Sara Bareilles, this is a story about finding your authentic voice—and the courage to use it.

Premieres Friday, July 10

Greatness Code

A landmark, short form unscripted series directed by Gotham Chopra that spotlights untold stories from the greatest athletes in the world. The first season unfolds with seven mini-episodes, each examining a pivotal moment that defined an athlete’s career.

Internationally revered athletes featured in season one include four-time NBA MVP, three-time NBA Champion and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Lebron James; six-time Super Bowl Champion and four-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady; Olympic Gold Medalist and Co-Captain of the US Women’s National Soccer Team Alex Morgan; world’s fastest man and eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt; five-time Olympic Gold medalist and 15-time World Champion swimmer Katie Ledecky; 11-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater.

Premieres Friday, July 10

Now Streaming

Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet special episode

Mythic Quest: Quarantine is a special new episode written, filmed and edited in quarantine. The half-hour installment finds the team behind the biggest multiplayer video game of all time tasked with working from home. Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao) and Ian (Rob McElhenney) struggle with solitude, while Brad (Danny Pudi) and David (David Hornsby) start a charitable competition. Assistant Jo (Jessie Ennis) tries to explain video-conferencing to CW (F. Murray Abraham) with mixed results. To produce the episode, the cast and crew worked remotely in multiple locations across the country.

Here is the full list of Apple TV+ shows and movies available now

The Morning Show — Season 1 (10 episodes)

Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet — Season 1 (9 episodes)

Beastie Boys Story (documentary)

Defending Jacob — Season 1 (ongoing)

Helpsters Help You — Episode 1

Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock Rock On! — Episode 1

Home — Season 1 (9 episodes)

Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth

Amazing Stories — 5 episodes

Home Before Dark — Season 1 (10 episodes)

Oprah Talks COVID-19 — 10 episodes

Little America — Season 1 (8 episodes)

Servant — Season 1 (10 episodes)

Oprah’s Book Club — 4 episodes

The Elephant Queen (documentary)

Hala (film)

Snoopy in Space — Season 1 (12 episodes)

The Banker (film)

Visible: Out on Television — Season 1 (10 episodes)

See — Season 1 (8 episodes)

For All Mankind— Season 1 (10 episodes)

Dickinson — Season 1 (10 episodes)

Truth be Told — Season 1 (8 episodes)

Ghostwriter — Season 1 (7 episodes)

Helpsters — 13 episodes