Every streaming service has an original that makes it essentialNetflix kicked things off with House of Cards in 2013Hulu dominated awards and conversations with The Handmaid's TaleAmazon Prime had audiences buzzing with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Disney+ arrived swinging with The Mandalorian. AppleTV+ entered the streaming wars with compulsively watchable The Morning Show and kooky Dickinson, but half a dozen shows later we have its entry of truly stirring, triumphant television: Little America.

The half-hour anthology series from Alan Yang, Kumail Nanjiani, and Emily V. Gordon follows immigrants families from around the world as they experience the everyday victories and upsets of the American Dream. Each of the eight episodes focuses on a different individual's journey (based on true stories) — a conventional immigrant journey with just a dash of the absurd: the pre-teen motel manager, the raffle-crazed single mom, Zachary Quinto in a highly disturbing wig.  Read more...