On Monday, Disney dropped new info about its upcoming streaming service Disney+, including subscription prices and launch dates. But what we haven’t seen is any footage from the original content the House of Mouse's platform will host. Within hours, Apple snatched a bit of Disney’s spotlight by dropping a trailer for an upcoming series from its competing streaming service, Apple TV+. (They really should have gotten a bit more creative with the names.)
From its trailer, it looks like The Morning Show tells the behind-the-scenes story of a Today-style morning news program. Steve Carell plays a character with strong shades of Matt Lauer, who’s fired from the show in the wake of unspecified “allegations” against him. Jennifer Aniston plays his one-time co-host, a veteran anchor struggling to maintain her position in the face of an agist behind-the-scenes head honcho, played by Billy Crudup, who declares that her “sell-by date expired years ago.” Reese Witherspoon plays a reporter who’s brought in to give the show new blood, and who proves a threat to Anniston’s character.
Apple is spending $4.2 billion dollars to make us all feel an urgent need to add to our ever-growing array of subscription viewing services, and is developing programs with a long list of big names that includes Steven Spielberg, Oprah, J.J. Abrams, and even Prince Harry. The star-studded Morning Show trailer offers the first real glimpse of what all that pricey content might be like. The series, like the streaming service itself, is expected to launch this fall, so check out the trailer below.
Gabrielle Bruney is a writer and editor for Esquire, where she focuses on politics and culture. She's based (and born and raised) in Brooklyn, New York.
