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Watch out, Netflix – Apple is coming after a share of the streaming market with the announcement of a new service, Apple TV+, to launch later in the year.
On Mon., Mar. 25 at Apple HQ in California, the tech giant gave one of its typically huge presentations of its next big project. But instead of being a new model of iPhone or iPad, it’s a streaming platform billed as “the new home for the world’s most creative storytellers featuring exclusive original shows, movies and documentaries.” Big call.
On hand for the announcement were some of Hollywood’s elite – Reese Witherspoon, J.J. Abrams, Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Aniston, Jason Momoa, Steve Carell and Steven Spielberg, who all have projects on Apple TV+. Could the hype be justified?
At this stage, there are no exact details of a launch date for the service. Or a cost. Or what shows will be among the first to debut. All that has been revealed is that Apple TV+ will roll out in the American fall (i.e. Australian spring).
The announcement came nearly two years after Apple first indicated it would dive into the scripted television market, with the company spending over $1 billion on 20+ shows.
Some of the series confirmed (and included in a sizzle reel screened at Monday’s event) are:
Amazing Stories: a revival of the Steven Spielberg series that aired in the late 1980s, this adventure and fantasy anthology series will be overseen by Once Upon a Time‘s Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.
The Morning Show: as the title suggests, this comedy series, which has already been picked up for two seasons, focuses on the behind-the-scenes action at a morning TV show, and stars Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell.
Little America: based on the series of articles in Epic magazine about the experience of immigrants in the US, this eight-episode anthology series will be written by Kumal Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, who were nominated for an Oscar for The Big Sick.
See: set hundred of years after a disaster swept the planet, leaving only a few million survivors, all of them blind, this post-apocalyptic epic will star Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard.
Little Voice: taking its name from the debut album by Sara Bareilles, this half-hour series follows a woman in her 20s who finds her voice through music and will feature original songs by Bareilles.
Oprah Winfrey documentaries: as part of an all-encompassing deal with Apple, the TV icon is working on two docos: Toxic Labor, about toxic work environments, and an untitled piece about mental health.
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