Skip to main content

How can Apple’s The Morning Show possibly cost more than Game of Thrones?

Apple is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on The Morning Show, the flagship series for its upcoming Apple TV+ streaming service. According to a report by The Financial Times, episodes of the drama cost more than $15 million each, making each one more expensive than an installment of Game of Thrones.

Where is all of that money going? The Morning Show is a Newsroom-esque drama about “the power dynamic between women and men” in the news media. It’s set in the real world. There are no dragons. No giants. No ice zombies. The Morning Show won’t feature large-scale battles that put big Hollywood blockbusters to shame. It won’t burn an entire fantasy kingdom to the ground.

Recommended Videos

But take a look at The Morning Show‘s cast list: Jennifer Aniston. Reese Witherspoon. Steve Carell. It also features well-known character actors like Billy Crudup, Néstor Carbonell, Mark Duplass, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

Suddenly, it all starts to make sense.

Game of Thrones launched with a handful of known actors, most notably Sean Bean (who appeared for less than a season), Peter Dinklage, and Lena Headey, but they were hardly A-list stars. Other actors, including Emilia Clarke and Kit Harrington, were virtually unknown. They didn’t make Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones made them.

By contrast, Apple is banking on name recognition to drive Apple TV+ subscriptions. Celebrities, not content, were the thrust of Apple’s March 2019 “Showtime” event, during which the tech giant unveiled Apple TV+ to the masses. The message since then been consistent: Want to see what the most famous people in show business are up to? Subscribe to Apple TV+.

The list of shows and movies coming to Apple TV+ backs this idea up. Apple has enlisted Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Oprah Winfrey, M. Night Shyamalan, Sofia Coppola, Bill Murray, Jason Momoa, and more to create content for the new streaming network. The projects themselves are little more than loglines, but no matter what these shows are about, Apple wants you know who’s involved.

Overall, The Financial Times says that Apple is spending $6 billion on original Apple TV+ content, a massive increase from its initial $1 billion investment. It’s easy to see why: Big names come at a big cost, and Apple is willing to pay.

Apple isn’t the only company pouring big bucks into streaming content, of course. Netflix spends $15 billion a year producing original programming, and has handed out six-figure development deals to people like Ryan Murphy, Shonda Rhimes, and Game of Thrones‘ own David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Amazon is spending $1 billion on its Lord of the Rings prequel alone.

Still, there’s a difference. Murphy, Rhimes, Benioff, and Weiss are creators first and celebrities second. Casual TV viewers probably may not even know who those people are, even though they’ve certainly heard of Grey’s Anatomy, American Horror Story, and Game of Thrones. Tolkien’s Middle-earth is known for its stories, not its red carpet appearances.

Netflix and its ilk are paying for content. Apple TV+ is banking on star power. It’s too early to say if Apple’s strategy will work, but in an increasingly crowded streaming service market, it’s hard to fault a company for doing anything it can to stand apart. Keep an eye on Apple TV+. Apple just might be onto something.

Chris Gates
Former Contributor
<a href="https://kecsukorejo.kendalkab.go.id/asset/-/situs-slot-resmi/">situs slot resmi</a>
More than winter is coming: Warner Bros. is developing a Game of Thrones movie
Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington in Hame of Thrones.

In the half decade since Game of Thrones finished its eight-season run on HBO, the premium cable network has put together numerous spinoff projects -- only two of which have come to fruition: House of the Dragon and the upcoming prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Now, HBO's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is making plans to bring George R.R. Martin's fantasy world to the big screen.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is "quietly developing" a Game of Thrones movie, but it will certainly be a lot less quiet now that the word is out. The story notes that the project is still very early in development, with no director or screenwriters attached. It's also unclear if the studio has a concept in mind for the film, or if Martin will be directly involved with crafting the story.

Read more
12 best TV shows to stream this Halloween
A blonde-haired woman wears a skull mask in "The Fall of the House of Usher."

Halloween is a prime time for people to binge-watch scary stories. Thankfully, horror fans can sit back and stream countless TV shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Disney+, and beyond for fun, frightening evening. Audiences can check out terrifying mysteries like Evil and Stranger Things, along with more lighthearted comedies like Wednesday and What We Do in the Shadows.

Ironically, picking the right Halloween show can make viewers feel like kids in a candy story. So for those unsure of what to watch this spooky season, here's a guide to the best TV shows to stream for All Hallows' Eve.

Read more
The 10 most popular shows on (HBO) Max right now
Patrick Ball stands next to Noah Wyle in The Pitt.

Something is interesting among the 10 most popular shows on (HBO) Max right now. Sure, the prerequisite trashy reality TV shows from Warner Bros. Discovery are there as always. But the final two slots on this month's list belong to a TV-MA action series called Banshee and The West Wing, a political drama celebrating its 25th anniversary. The former was actually a Cinemax original series that was one of the few to stand out from that time, and it may have a larger audience on Max than it ever did on its home channel.
Additionally, there's a new No. 1 on top of the list. And it shouldn't be surprising at all to learn that it's The Pitt, the most prominent original drama currently running on Max. The reality shows may take up a few slots on this list, but a well-made HBO or Max original almost always rises to the top.

Keep reading for our complete countdown of the 10 most popular shows on Max as of January 23.

Read more