Apple TV+'s Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson offers a more intimate exploration of making music

With Ronson at the helm, the six-episode docuseries Watch the Sound distinguishes itself from Netflix's recent This is Pop music docuseries. "Unlike Netflix's fast-paced This is Pop, Watch the Sound leans more histrionic," says James Trew. "Each episode starts with Ronson recounting his own first experience with whatever this episode is about (a sampler, distorted guitars and so on). He then spends time with artists that popularized that sound, asking pensive questions and generally nerding out about music as only someone with Ronson's wide palette of influences really can. This sense of a journey through Ronson's musical interests gives Watch the Sound a more intimate feel than This is Pop's more talking heads approach." ALSO: Watch the Sound is too focused on the techy details for mere mortals, and too careful to explain how plug-ins work to appeal to studio nerds.