Apple is looking to bring its A-game to the streaming wars with the release of Apple TV+ later this year. The tech company has invested no shortage of resources into the platform, in hopes to compete with new streaming services from Disney, HBO, and NBCUniversal, which will also joining an already crowded streaming marketplace.
Yet, Apple has remained tight-lipped about some of the major details of the new Apple TV+ streaming service, with the launch less than two months away.
Everything we know so far about Apple TV+
Launch Date
Apple TV+ launched on Nov. 1, 2019. The ad-free subscription service is available in over 100 countries.
Apple TV+ Cost
AppleTV+ costs $4.99. Apple customers who purchase qualifying products will receive a year subscription for free.
Devices
The full range of devices that will support the Apple TV+ platform has not yet been announced. The platform will be built into an updated version of the Apple+ app.
Apple will limit the number of devices that can stream on one account simultaneously, according to MacRumors. The exact number of devices that one account can support is not yet known.
Apple TV+ Programming
Apple TV+ is planning a slower rollout than its competitors by initially premiering high-quality content rather than dumping a massive back catalog on release. Originally it was reported that the company was investing $1 billion in its first wave of content; that number has been bumped to $6 billion. Here’s what you can expect.
Drama
The Morning Show: The eagerly-awaited project starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell has been a centerpiece of the Apple TV+ platform previews. The recently released trailer indicates a #MeToo-centric plot in Season One.
For All Mankind: Ron Moore (Battlestar Galactica) returns to space with an alternate history where the USSR beat America to the moon. A trailer for the period drama is available on YouTube.
Amazing Stories: This series will reboot the sci-fi anthology series executive produced by Steven Spielberg.
Truth Be Told: Octavia Spencer and Lizzie Caplan will star in a drama to explore the world of true crime podcasting.
See: In the post-apocalyptic world of this series, everyone left on Earth is blind. Jason Mamoa will lead the series.
Foundation: Based on the beloved works of Isaac Asimov, Foundation features characters rushing to ease the impact of the impending fall of a galactic empire.
Little Voice: J.J. Abrams and Sara Bareilles make a surprising team as they come together to create a dramedy described as a “love letter to the diverse musicality of New York which explores the universal journey of finding your authentic voice in your early 20s.”
Swagger: The series inspired by Kevin Durant’s early life will look inside an amateur basketball league.
Home Before Dark: A child journalist exposes a town’s dark secret.
Coming of Age in the CIA: A series based on Amaryllis Fox’s time as a young woman in the intelligence agency. Brie Larson is set to star and executive produce.
Servant: M. Night Shymalan will produce and direct the pilot of this psychological thriller series. Further details are unknown.
Mr. Corman: Joseph Gordon-Levitt will write, star in, and produce a series about an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles.
Lisey’s Story: Julianne Moore will lead this adaptation of the Stephen King novel. King is set to write the entire series.
My Glory Was I Had Such Friends: Amy Silverstein’s heart transplant memoir will be adapted by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot. Jennifer Garner is set to star.
Defending Jacob: The best-selling legal thriller will get an adaptation starring Chris Evans as the father of a 14 year-old boy accused of murder.
Pachinko: Min Jin Lee’s best-selling novel that tells the story of four generations of a Korean immigrant family will be written and directed by Soo Hugh, who was the showrunner for The Terror’s critically acclaimed first season.
Time Bandits: The Terry Gilliam cult classic is getting a reboot and fan favorite director Taika Waititi is rumored to be at the helm.
Losing Earth: Not much is known about the plan for this series, but Apple has the rights to a sprawling New York Times article that chronicled attempts to stop climate change in the 1980s.
Calls: Apple has acquired the rights to adapt a strange French TV series for English-speaking audiences. The French series consists of ten minute episodes in which emergency calls, such as 911 calls or black box recordings, were dramatized.
Shantaram: Charlie Hunnam is attached to star in a series adapting the Gregory David Roberts novel which tells the story of an escaped convict who feels Australia for the Bombay underground.
False Flag: An Israeli series the follows five people mysteriously implicated in the disappearance of the Iranian Defense Minister will receive an English language adaptation.
The Mosquito Coast: Justin Theroux will star in in an adaption of the novel written by his uncle, Paul Theroux. The novel tells the story of a man who moves his family to a remote part of Honduras to escape American culture.
Simon Kinberg and David Weil Series: A big-budget sci-fi series is coming from the two industry veterans. Kinberg is best known for his work on the X-Men franchise.
Damien Chazelle Series: The La La Land and Whiplash director will go straight to series as the writer and director of this as yet unknown project.
Vital Signs: This six-part series that aimed at telling its story by focusing on a feeling like “Vengeance” or “Innocence” in each episode has been in development since 2016. Filming is reportedly complete on the project, so there is speculation that the production may not see the light of day.
Justin Lin Overall: The Fast and the Furious franchise director has an overall deal with Apple to produce a number of projects with a “global perspective.”
Jason Katims Overall: The drama writer behind Parenthood and Friday Night Lights will bring his production company under Apple’s banner with an overall deal.
Comedy
You Think It, I’ll Say It: A comedy series based on Curtis Sittenfield’s collection of short stories by the same name will send up social issues in an anthology style format.
Central Park: Bob’s Burgers head Loren Bouchard will create this animated musical comedy about a family of caretakers in Central Park for Apple TV+.
Dickinson: Hailee Steinfeld steps into the shoes of famed poet Emily Dickinson in a comedic take on the poet’s life. Apple released a trailer late last month.
Little America: Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon follow up The Big Sick by teaming with Master of None showrunner Alan Yang for an anthology series about immigrants.
Mythic Quest: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia veterans Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day lead a video game development comedy. The hilarious trailer debuted at E3.
Alabama: Apple is partnering with the BBC on this comedy series starring Imelda Staunton, best known to Americans as Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films.
Colleen McGuinness Series: 30 Rock veteran McGuinness has a series in development that is being produced by Reese Witherspoon’s production company.
Apple TV+ Children’s programming
Helpsters: Sesame Workshop will partner with Apple to create content, including a show called Helpsters which will be about coding for children.
Peanuts, the classic comic strip the followed the exploits of Charlie Brown and company, will come to Apple with a number of projects. The first is titled Snoopy in Space.
Ghost Writer: The beloved 90s PBS childrens’ series will be rebooted with Luke Matheny (Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street) at the helm.
Documentary and Reality
Home: A docuseries that takes a look at the surprising types of homes around the world.
Prehistoric Planet: Director Jon Favreau teams with Planet Earth veterans to create a CGI laden look at the last days of the dinosaurs.
Oprah Winfrey has signed on to create at least three documentary projects for the platform. One, with the working title, Toxic Labor, will explore sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace.
A partnership between Oprah and Prince Harry on a project about mental health is also in the works.
Carpool Karaoke: The Series: James Corden has already turned his late night viral hit into a full-fledged series, which will likely continue on AppleTV+.
Film
Wolf Walkers: The Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon has released a dazzling trailer for this story of a young hunter who befriends a native girl fighting to save a pack of evil wolves.
The Elephant Queen: Apple has acquired the rights to this documentary for which the directors embedded themselves with a family of giant elephants for four years. Chiwetel Ejiofor narrates.
On the Rocks: Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola team up for the first time since Lost in Translation for a film about a young mother who adventures through New York with her incorrigible playboy dad. Rashida Jones co-stars with Murray, and A24 will lend their indie prestige to the proceedings.
A24 Deal: In addition to One the Rocks, A24 will produce a number of other projects with Apple.
Hala: Apple acquired this coming-of-age story about a Muslim girl at Sundance last year.
em>The Banker: Some big names including Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson will star in this film inspired by the true story of entrepreneurs attempting offer housing loans to African Americans in the Jim Crow-era South.
Dads: Bryce Dallas Howard directs this “joyful exploration of contemporary fatherhood,” which will features famous and not-so-famous dads (including her own).
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