+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

The 13 original shows Apple is producing in its massive push into TV

Mar 7, 2018, 21:46 IST

Wilfredo Lee/AP

Apple's push into original TV programming is set to explode - at some point in the near future.

Advertisement

The company had a brief, initial run of shows last summer with the release of the unscripted series "Planet of the Apps" and "Carpool Karaoke."

But Apple drastically shifted its course in June when it hired former Sony Pictures Television presidents Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg to head its original programming.

Since then, the company has announced the production or development of 11 original, scripted series - including a biographical drama on NBA all-star Kevin Durant's youth, and a morning talk show drama starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.

None of those 11 upcoming series has a release date yet.

Advertisement

Here are the 13 original shows that Apple is producing in its massive push into TV:

"Amazing Stories"

The Wall Street Journal reported in October that Apple's first move under its new programming heads, Van Amburg and Erlicht, would be to revive Steven Spielberg's sci-fi and horror anthology series "Amazing Stories," which aired on NBC in the late 1980s.

WSJ reported that Apple signed a deal with Spielberg's Amblin Television and Universal Television to produce 10 new episodes of the series, with Bryan Fuller (the creator of NBC's "Hannibal") as its showrunner.

Fuller left the series in February, however. A source told Variety that Fuller parted "amicably," and that Fuller's vision for the show did not match the "more family-friendly approach" that Apple reportedly sought.

Untitled Reese Witherspoon/Jennifer Aniston morning show drama series

In November, Apple announced that it ordered two ten-episode seasons of a drama series that is set in the world of morning-TV talk shows and stars Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.

Variety reported that the series will draw from CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter's 2013 book "Top of the Morning," which recounted the morning-TV rivalry between NBC's "Today" and ABC's "Good Morning America."

Jay Carson ("House of Cards") is writing the pilot and will serve as showrunner. It will be produced by Michael Ellenberg's Media Res studio, Aniston's Echo Films, and Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine production company.

Untitled Ronald D. Moore sci-fi drama series

In December, Apple ordered a space-themed drama series from Ronald D. Moore, a writer and showrunner famous for his work on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," as well his mid-2000s revival of the "Battlestar Galactica" series.

As Deadline first reported, the hour-long, untitled series "explores what would have happened if the global space race had never ended." It will be written by Moore, along with Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, the co-executive producers of the FX series "Fargo."

"Are You Sleeping"

Deadline reported in January that Apple landed "Are You Sleeping," a thriller-drama series starring Octavia Spencer that hails from Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine company.

An adaptation of Kathleen Barber's true-crime novel of the same name, "Are You Sleeping" centers on a reporter behind "a mega-hit podcast" who reopens a murder case.

Sarah Koenig, the creator of the true-crime podcast phenomenon "Serial," is on board to consult the series, according to Deadline.

"Home"

In January, Apple ordered its first docuseries with "Home," a show from executive producers Matt Tyrnauer and Corey Reeser that will focus on "extraordinary homes" from around the world and the builders who make them, Variety reported.

Apple has ordered ten hour-long episodes of the series.

Untitled Damien Chazelle drama series

In January, Apple gave a straight-to-series order for a drama series from "La La Land" writer-director Damien Chazelle, Variety reported.

Apple has withheld details of the series, except to say that Chazelle will write and direct each episode of the show, in addition to executive producing it.

Chazelle is also the creator of an upcoming Netflix original musical series, "The Eddy," which does not yet have a release date.

"See"

In January, Apple won a heated race for a straight-to-series order of "See," a drama series from "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight and film director Francis Lawrence ("Hunger Games," "Red Sparrow"), Deadline reported.

Though details about the series are scant, Deadline described it as "an epic, world-building drama set in the future."

Untitled Kristen Wiig comedy series

Kristen Wiig is set to star in a half-hour, untitled comedy series for Apple that will be produced by Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine, Deadline reported in January.

The series is reportedly inspired by an upcoming short story collection from the novelist Curtis Sittenfeld, which will be titled "You Think It, I’ll Say It."

The "30 Rock" writer-producer Colleen McGuiness will reportedly serve as the show's showrunner and executive producer. It will represent Wiig's first TV gig since she left "Saturday Night Live" in 2012.

"Little America"

In February, Apple announced that it was developing "Little America," a half-hour anthology series from "The Big Sick" writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, and "SMILF" executive producer Lee Eisenberg, Deadline reported.

The series will reportedly be based on Epic Magazine's recurring feature series of the same name, which Epic describes as "a small, collective portrait of America’s immigrants — and thereby a portrait of America itself."

"Swagger"

In February, Apple announced plans to develop a drama series based on the early life of NBA all-star and Golden State Warrior forward Kevin Durant, Variety reported.

The series, titled "Swagger," is reportedly inspired by Durant's experiences as a youth playing Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball.

It will be produced by Imagine Television and Durant's Thirty Five Media. Reggie Rock Bythewood, who wrote the Notorious B.I.G. biopic "Notorious," will be the show's head writer.

Untitled M. Night Shyamalan drama series

Most recently, Apple ordered a ten-episode psychological thriller series that is executive produced by director M. Night Shyamalan ("Split") and written by British TV writer Tony Basgallop ("Inside Men"), Variety reported last week.

Shyamalan is reportedly set to direct the first episode of the series. He previously executive produced the Fox series "Wayward Pines," which ended in February after two seasons.

"Planet of the Apps"

Apple released its first-ever original show with "Planet of the Apps," a "Shark Tank"-style reality series that debuted in June 2017.

The hour-long series is judged by Jessica Alba, Will.i.Am, Gwyneth Paltrow, and digital-marketing entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, each of whom decide whether to invest in upstart app developers.

"Planet of the Apps" was critically panned upon its release, and its status for a second season is currently pending.

"Carpool Karaoke"

Adapted from a popular segment on James Corden's "The Late Late Show," Apple's "Carpool Karaoke" premiered on Apple Music in August with an episode that featured Corden and Will Smith.

Subsequent episodes largely excluded Corden and grouped singers and celebrities in odd pairings. One episode featured Seth MacFarlane and Ariana Grande, and another paired comedian Ken Jeong with the band Linkin Park, in a segment filmed six days before singer Chester Bennington's death in 2017.

Apple renewed "Carpool Karaoke" for a second season in February. No release date has been set for it yet.

You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article