Apple TV holds the distinction of being one of the only streaming services to offer only original content on its platform: You won’t find a rotating library of blockbusters and classic sitcoms there. Instead, you’ll get a tightly curated collection of interesting content for kids and adults alike. That includes shows such as Widow’s Bay, The Morning Show and Shrinking and movies such as F1: The Movie — all produced by and for Apple. 

Because Apple’s content collection is thoughtfully curated, it doesn’t release as many titles each month as some of its competitors, but what it does put out always piques our interest. This month, two of the platform’s new original films happen to deal with mountain climbing. In the documentary The Last First: Winter K2, a mountaineering team attempts to climb the second-highest peak in the world, K2, in winter, and the result is brutal, nerve-wracking, and tragic. And the new drama Tenzing, which stars Genden Phuntsok, Tom Hiddleston and Willem Defoe, tells the story of the sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, who was instrumental to the success of the first completed climb of Mount Everest in 1953.

Also arriving this month is the action-packed Matchbox The Movie, starring John Cena, and the critically acclaimed British series Small Prophets. These are just some of the new releases arriving on the platform. Here’s a look at the biggest Apple TV originals coming to the platform in October.

New on Apple TV in October 2026

Oct. 2

Elia Saikaly/Apple/Sundance

The Last First: Winter K2

When it comes to climbing the tallest mountains on Earth, there’s a relatively short climbing season in which one can safely ascend before conditions become too extreme. In the new documentary The Last First: Winter K2, a team of mountaineers attempts to make the first successful winter ascent of the second-highest peak, K2 (the title refers to the fact that K2 is the last 8,000-plus-meter peak to be successfully scaled in winter). The film follows a team of dozens of climbers, some skilled, some not, as they make the treacherous, life-threatening climb.

Titmouse/Apple

The Sisters Grimm (Season 2)

The critically acclaimed animated series The Sisters Grimm returned on Oct. 2 for a second season. In the show, orphaned sisters Sabrina and Daphne Grimm (voiced by Ariel Winter and Leah Newman) are sent to live with their grandmother (Laraine Newman) in Ferryport Landing, a town populated by fairy tale characters known as Everafters. While there, they try to uncover the real circumstances behind their parents’ mysterious disappearance and fend off the giants, pixies and other creatures lurking in the enchanted town. Though it’s made for kids, it’s a quality family show that’s an imaginative and even calming antidote to the frenetic YouTube shorts everyone’s kids (just mine?) seem to be hooked on.

Oct. 7

Small Prophets (Season 1)

Small Prophets is a new series written, created and directed by Mackenzie Crook (best known to American audiences as Gareth from the British version of The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films). Crook appears in the show, but the plot focuses on a man named Michael Sleep, played by Pearce Quigley, who uses alchemy to create a group of homunculi, tiny humanoids with the ability to prophesy the future and help him find out where his girlfriend is. The show’s six episodes originally aired in Great Britain to critical acclaim earlier this year; it will arrive on Apple TV on Oct. 7.

Oct. 9

Apple TV

Matchbox The Movie

There have already been films based on classic toys like Battleship, Barbie and Transformers, so of course Matchbox cars had to be next. (Missed opportunity, Fast and Furious producers!) Matchbox The Movie is an action-comedy starring John Cena, Jessica Biel, Sam Richardson, Teyonah Parris, Arturo Castro and Danai Gurira and it arrives on Apple TV on Oct. 9.

Oct. 16

Apple Studios/See-Saw Films

Tenzing

Apple’s new feature, Tenzing, is based on the real-life story of Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok), the Himalayan mountain climber and sherpa who was instrumental in helping New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston) summit Mount Everest in 1953. (Often relegated as a footnote to Hillary’s story, Norgay fought to be an official part of Hillary’s climbing team, and though Hillary was knighted for his efforts, Norgay summited the mountain simultaneously and received no such recognition.) The film, which co-stars Willem Defoe, Caitriona Balfe and Thinley Lhamo, will hopefully result in some additional validation for his efforts. It’s out in theaters Oct. 9 and on Apple TV on Oct. 16.

Oct. 21

Apple TV

Where’s Wanda? (Season 2)

Apple’s first German-language series Where’s Wanda? is a dark comedy that tells the story of Dedo and Carlotta Klatt, who are desperate to locate their missing 17-year-old daughter Wanda, who disappeared without a trace. The couple, along with their tech-savvy son Ole, disguise themselves as employees of an electrical company so they can bug their neighborhood for clues, unearthing some uncomfortable details about the people in their community. The show returns on Oct. 21, and new episodes arrive weekly.

Oct. 30

Apple TV

Nocturne (Season 1)

Liev Schreiber stars as a detective, Jonah Lind, in the new crime thriller Nocturne, which premieres on Apple TV this month. When Lind relocates to western Pennsylvania in search of a quieter life, he and his family become a target of a serial killer named Jurek Walter (Stephen Graham). The first two episodes of the show arrive on Oct. 30, with new episodes arriving weekly after that.

Liz Kocan has spent the last 20 years covering TV, entertainment and working behind the scenes in digital production. While at VH1.com, she won a Webby Award and was nominated for a Shorty Award as a producer. She has also contributed her writing to USA Today, Decider, Vulture, and many other publications, and has seen every episode of 30 Rock more times than her mind grapes can remember.

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