Genius Recommendations for Movies and TV Shows Appearing on Apple TV

Several Apple TV users have reported a new addition to the menus of their devices, with the new option bringing Genius recommendations for movies and TV shows in their libraries. Curiously, early reports noted that rather than carrying a correct menu title, the movie option carried the name "ATV.Menu.MOVIE.GeniusItem", suggesting that the new feature may have appeared prematurely. Apple seems to have fixed the issue, however, with the menu option now showing properly as "Genius".

apple tv genius option combined
Improperly-displayed (left, via @cthielen) and properly-displayed Genius option for Movies on Apple TV

Despite the strange display of the menu option, the feature does appear to have been functional since its initial appearance yesterday, with users being able to access Genius recommendations for their content.

apple tv genius page
Genius movie recommendations on Apple TV (via @benfurneaux)

Genius recommendations for movies and TV shows have been offered for some time in iTunes itself through the iTunes Sidebar, but those recommendations have not been available on the second-generation Apple TV. Genius recommendations are also available through the iTunes app on iOS devices.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
john ternus on stage

Gurman: Major Apple Leadership Shakeup Impending With John Ternus as Next CEO

Monday October 6, 2025 6:21 am PDT by
Apple is entering its most significant leadership transition in more than a decade as multiple senior executives prepare to depart and CEO Tim Cook begins to shape the company's next generation of leaders, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Jeff Williams, who was viewed as Cook's potential successor for several...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Adds These 200 New Features and Changes to Your iPhone

Saturday October 4, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month. Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight ...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

Apple Highlights Five Perks for iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage

Monday October 6, 2025 6:29 am PDT by
After launching new iPhones last month, Apple is promoting iCloud+ with a prominent banner on its home page, in a bid to boost its services revenue. In addition to more storage, all iCloud+ plans include five perks for iPhone users. As a refresher, iCloud includes 5GB of storage for free. If you want extra storage, you need to subscribe to an iCloud+ plan. In the United States, prices range...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

Apple Fixes Alarms in iOS 26.1

Monday October 6, 2025 11:56 am PDT by
With the second beta of iOS 26.1, Apple updated the design of alarms set on the iPhone, making them harder to dismiss than before. Stopping an alarm in iOS 26.1 beta 2 requires a new Slide to Stop gesture rather than a simple tap. You can continue to tap to snooze an alarm, but if you want to turn it off entirely, you need to use a swipe. Transitioning from a tap to a slide gesture to...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

iPad Mini 8 on the Way: Expected Features and Release Timeline

Monday October 6, 2025 5:05 am PDT by
A new iPad mini is "absolutely" on the way, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released a year ago? Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code that Apple mistakenly shared in...

Top Rated Comments

benspratling Avatar
178 months ago
"ATV.Menu.MOVIE.GeniusItem"
is a "key" used by developers to specify a text resource. The system would look up this unique "key" and find the correct text for the user's locale (language and location) preferences. By default, if the system can't find the text resource, it simply hands back the key that was passed in. If developers used readable text as their keys, that works fine, but since Apple's obviously using developer-centric keys, to more easily identify the exact resource, it displayed something not quite legible.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
178 months ago
In the meantime, Apple got rid of Genius where it's most important: music. If you have iTunes Match, you lose this feature (https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1280505). I hope they fix that, it's become one of my favourite things about the iTunes ecosystem.
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WestonHarvey1 Avatar
178 months ago
"ATV.Menu.MOVIE.GeniusItem"
is a "key" used by developers to specify a text resource. The system would look up this unique "key" and find the correct text for the user's locale (language and location) preferences. By default, if the system can't find the text resource, it simply hands back the key that was passed in. If developers used readable text as their keys, that works fine, but since Apple's obviously using developer-centric keys, to more easily identify the exact resource, it displayed something not quite legible.

The "strange appearance" of the key provides a namespace to differentiate similar keys used elsewhere. Had they used "Genius Item" as a key, they would run into collisions with other keys that would also be named "Genius Item", say for a Song Genius Item.
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)
VanMac Avatar
178 months ago
Interesting feature. Looking forward to them delivering the whole TV.
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dckcentaur Avatar
178 months ago
I noticed this last night and thought it was very bizarre. I thought my apple Tv had a glitch in it. HA HA:D
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe-Diver Avatar
178 months ago
I look forward to checking this out!
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)