The streaming video environment is more crowded than ever these days. Not to be left out, Apple launched Apple TV+ on November 1 and has been slowly adding original content. They’ve since signed overall deals with the likes of Alfonso Cuaron, Kerry Ehrin, Jon M. Chu, Justin Lin, Jason Katims, Lee Eisenberg, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Meryl Streep, and studios A24, Imagine Documentaries, and Oprah. Clearly, they mean business.
With so many options out there, cord cutters have a lot to consider when it comes to deciding which streaming service to invest in. Of course, one of the biggest factors will be just how compelling each service’s movies and television shows are. In order to help you make an informed decision, here’s all the original content already on Apple TV+, what we know is coming, as well as everything that’s been rumored so far.
Released
Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet
Co-created by It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creators/stars Rob McElhenny and Charlie Day (as well as Megan Ganz), Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet follows a team of video game developers and stars McElhenney as the fictional company’s creative director, Ian Grimm. It was recently renewed for a second season.
Little America
This anthology series developed by the Oscar-nominated writing duo of The Big Sick, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, explores the immigrant experience by focusing on the true stories of immigrants in the U.S. “We wanted to focus on the immigrants doing everyday life stuff,” explained Nanjiani. The majority of writers and directors are either immigrants or the children of immigrants, and the show is intended to remind audiences that there’s “no such thing as the other. Only us.”
For All Mankind
A sci-fi series from Battlestar Galactica‘s Ronald D. Moore that explores what would have happened if the international space race had continued long after it actually ended. The first trailer for the alternate-history series debuted June 3 during Apple’s keynote presentation at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference.
The Elephant Queen
This documentary narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) follows a mother elephant, Athena, as she travels across the African savannah with her herd following the loss of their waterhole.
The Morning Show
One of the biggest projects Apple is working on — given both its A-list cast and Apple’s resource investment — is this series that explores the behind-the-scenes drama of a morning TV news show. The Morning Show will team Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston both in front of the camera and as producers, while also bringing Steve Carell back to television. The series will “pull back the curtain on the power dynamic between women and men,” according to Witherspoon and Aniston. Apple has already ordered two seasons of the series.
Ghostwriter
A reboot of the popular 1990s children’s series of the same name, the new version will follow a group of kids who must solve the mystery of a ghost’s unfinished business after it begins bringing fictional characters to life in their neighborhood.
See
A fantasy epic starring Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard, the series is set centuries after a virus has killed off all but a few million people and rendered the survivors blind. Momoa asked the audience at Apple’s presentation to close their eyes, saying, “Imagine every human experience available to you … experienced in this way.”
Helpsters
Developed with Sesame Workshop and featuring both new and familiar puppets from the Sesame Street world, the kid-friendly series will use principles of coding to solve problems.
Snoopy in Space
The beloved Peanuts character Snoopy heads off into space for this animated adventure that has him take command of the International Space Station. Hilarity is likely to ensue.
Dickinson
A comedy series based on the life of poet Emily Dickinson that stars Hailee Steinfeld (Bumblebee) as Dickinson and Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) as her mother.
Confirmed, coming soon
Dear…
From Emmy and Peabody winner R.J. Cutler, this series will profile internationally-renowned leaders like Oprah Winfrey, Spike Lee, Yara Shahidi, Stevie Wonder, Misty Copeland, and many more using letters written to them from fans as a medium.
Amazing Stories
A revival of the sci-fi /fantasy anthology series of the same name, Amazing Stories has Steven Spielberg on board as producer. (Think Jordan Peele’s new Twilight Zone series, but on Apple’s service instead of CBS All Access.) According to Spielberg, the first season is intended to provide a “single thematic experience” for audiences despite telling stand-alone stories. One episode will feature a World War II pilot whose plane travels into the present day.
Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth
Meryl Streep will provide voiceover narration of this upcoming animated short film about Earth Day. Jacob Tremblay (Room) voices a 7-year old child who learns about the planet. Chris O’Dowd and Ruth Negga provide the voices for his parents.
Defending Jacob
Based on the 2012 New York Times best-selling novel of the same name, Defending Jacob tells the story of a crime that shakes a small Massachusetts town to its core. It stars Chris Evans, Michelle Dockery, Jaeden Martell, Cherry Jones, Pablo Schreiber, Betty Gabriel, and Sakina Jaffrey.
Visible…
This docuseries is produced by Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Wanda Sykes, and Wilson Cruz and focuses on the LGBTQ movement’s impact on television. It will feature narration from Janet Mock, Margaret Cho, Asia Kate Dillon, Neil Patrick Harris, and Lena Waithe.
Central Park
An animated musical comedy from Bob’s Burgers creator Loren Bouchard, Nora Smith, and Josh Gad, Central Park will follow the Tillermans, a family that lives in Central Park. The voice cast includes the likes of Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr., Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Tituss Burgess, Daveed Diggs, and Stanley Tucci. From the first-look image, it looks like it will be made in a similar animation style to Bob’s Burgers.
Little Voice
J.J. Abrams and musician Sara Bareilles team up for this series that follows a young musician in New York City learning to find herself and her voice. Bareilles will serve as co-creator, co-producer, and composer on the series.
Trying
Apple’s first original series from the U.K., Trying stars Rafe Spall and Esther Smith as a couple who are trying to have a baby. Apple, however, describes the series’ larger theme as about “growing up, settling down and finding someone to love.”
Servant
This series from Sixth Sense filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan follows a Philadelphia couple whose marriage is disintegrating after a terrible tragedy, and the mysterious force that enters their lives. Rupert Grint, Lauren Ambrose, and Toby Kebbell star in the series.
Time Bandits
Thor: Ragnarok and What We Do in the Shadows director Taika Waititi has been hired by Apple to helm a TV adaptation of the 1981 fantasy film Time Bandits, which follows a young boy who embarks on a series of time-traveling adventures with a group of dwarfs.
Oprah Winfrey projects
Apple signed a multiyear programming deal with Oprah Winfrey in June 2018 that will reportedly encompass everything from movies to TV to apps to books. Among the projects that Oprah confirmed are two documentaries: One exploring sexual harassment and exploitation in the workplace, titled Toxic Labor, and another that will look at mental health and the stigmas surrounding it. She also announced plans for a new kind of “book club” in which author interviews and readings are streamed from Apple Stores.
Hala
This dramatic feature follows a Muslim girl who struggles to reconcile her life as a suburban teenager with her family’s traditional Muslim culture. Blockers actress Geraldine Viswanathan plays the title role.
Truth Be Told
A mystery starring Octavia Spencer that is based on a Kathleen Barber novel about a cold case reopened by a podcasting detective. Breaking Bad actor Aaron Paul plays the man Spencer’s character might have wrongfully put behind bars.
Home
This unscripted series explores unique, impressive homes that don’t have celebrity owners.
Rumored for Apple TV+
Shantaram
An adaptation of Gregory David Roberts’ novel, which follows the exploits of an Australian bank robber who escapes prison and flees to India, has been given the green light for an eventual Apple TV+ release. Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Pacific Rim) is expected to star, Deadline reports.
Foundation
This adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s celebrated sci-fi saga Foundation reportedly has David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight) and Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds) serving as executive producers. Foundation is a trilogy that tells the story of humans living throughout the galaxy, under the rule of a Galactic Empire. Lead character Hari Seldon has developed a branch of mathematics that allows him to predict the future, where he sees the eventual fall of the Empire. He forms a team called the Foundation to try and preserve humanity.
Swagger
Based on the life of NBA star Kevin Durant, this scripted series fits the mold of series like Friday Night Lights. Produced by Durant and Imagine Television’s Brian Grazer, it follows young, highly recruited basketball players and their families as they navigate their way to the NBA.
On the Rocks
Apple’s first original feature film will reunite Oscar-winning Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola with star Bill Murray. Production on the film is expected to begin this year.
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