Apple TV’s great year continues with Small Prophets

EntertainmentCloseEntertainmentPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Entertainment

Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

AppleCloseApplePosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Apple

A quirky supernatural comedy is the latest welcome addition to the streaming service.

A quirky supernatural comedy is the latest welcome addition to the streaming service.

Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Apple TV has had a really great run in 2026 — and a cozy new addition is helping expand its lineup even more. As the streaming service has attempted to grow in order to better compete with the likes of Disney and Netflix, it has steadily broadened the range of its series. This year has included everything from a pair of OnlyFans dramedies to the horror-comedy hybrid Widow’s Bay, alongside the return of some big names like Ted Lasso and Silo. And now you can add Small Prophets to the growing list of new flavors on Apple TV.

The six-episode comedy actually premiered on the BBC earlier this year, but it’s going to be streaming on Apple TV on October 7th. It’s a smart, silly, sweet, and occasionally stressful show, and also one tinged with just a bit of the supernatural. Sort of like British humor meets magical realism. The show centers on Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley), who has been living like something of a hermit since his girlfriend Clea disappeared without a trace seven years ago. He’s essentially put his life on hold waiting for her to return: He works a job he hates at a hardware store, helps take care of hi

Then one day his dad has an idea: He tells Michael a secret, alchemical recipe that will let him grow tiny magical beings that can answer any question. And since Michael is desperate to know the answer to one particular question — will he ever see Clea again? — he decides to try it, despite not really believing it will work.

What follows is chaotically comical. Michael ends up partnering with his curious coworker Kacey (Lauren Patel) to grow the creatures, called homunculi, but at the same time his previously simple life becomes much more complex. Michael’s father keeps getting into trouble at his nursing home, his neighbors keep threatening to call the council because of his messy yard, and Clea’s broke brother Roy (Paul Kaye) is trying to claim the house so he can sell it and get out of debt. All the while, the homunculi are growing in both size and power.

The best word to describe Small Prophets is charming. Much of this comes down to Michael himself. While he seems like an isolated shut-in on the surface, with his big beard and aloof personality, he’s actually incredibly funny and even lovable… at least to the people he likes. He’s constantly cracking jokes and helping out his small group of family and friends. To everyone else he’s a bit of an asshole, but in a weirdly funny way, like how he constantly shushes his boss so he can take personal calls at work. At one point he impersonates Santa Claus to get out of a mugging. And there’s a bitter