Once you get done checking your monthly budget for all these streaming services, you might want to carve out a couple extra bucks because Apple is officially getting into the streaming service game. On Monday, Apple announced that it is planning to launch its subscription streaming service this fall that will come along a set of Apple Original shows, only available through Apple TV+. Unlike streaming giants of the past, Apple is leading with its biggest names—Steven Spielberg, Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell, to name a few.
The move has been in the works for a while now, but the big announcement at the most recent Apple Event highlights just how elaborate the new streaming service will be. In addition to trying to house all your subscriptions in one place, the new programs range from documentary work to romantic dramedies. The list of talent is pretty exhaustive as well. In addition to the speculative names attached to unannounced projects, Apple touted projects from J.J. Abrams, Jennifer Aniston, Damien Chazelle, Sofia Coppola, Ron Howard, M. Night Shyamalan, Octavia Spencer, Spielberg, Hailee Steinfeld, and Witherspoon.
As for specific show details, this is what we've seen so far.
Little Voice
J.J. Abrams and Sara Bareilles are teaming up after her Tony-nominated turn for Waitress. The Abrams-produced program will centre around the story of finding your voice in your 20s. It also has a romantic comedy-drama spin. Bareilles performed the opening song from the upcoming series at the Apple Event.
The Morning Show
This Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston-led drama about morning news is probably the buzziest among the group. Starring Witherspoon and Aniston, alongside Steve Carell, the series will explore the complications that are faced in morning news, with a particular focus on women.
See
Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard lead this drama about a world in which blindness has taken over the human race. According to Deadline, the premise is specifically "a future when the human race has lost the sense of sight, and society has had to find new ways to interact, to build, to hunt, to survive. All of that is challenged when a set of twins with sight is born."
Little America
The power couple behind The Big Sick—Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon—are teaming up again to write Little America, an anthology series that will explore the true stories of everyday Americans. The stories, originating in Epic Magazine, will give a rewritten in-depth look into the lives of immigrants and all the facets about life in a post-immigration American world.
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories is one of the very few projects that isn't explicitly an original Apple TV+ idea. The original series, put together by Steven Spielberg, was a fantasy and horror anthology series that ran in the '80s. The series is coming back to Apple TV+ with the same premise and creator, redesigned for a 2019 audience.
Untitled Oprah Projects
When Oprah shows up, you listen. The famed media personality announced a few separate ventures, including a documentary on workplace sexual assault, as well as a documentary on mental illness and the stigma around it. Oprah will also work with Apple to establish her book club in a new and inventive way that readers will be able to partake in from any Apple screen.
Helpsters
This one is probably the most insane of the bunch, so buckle up: Sesame Street is teaming up with Apple TV+ to come out with Helpsters, which is literally a children's show that will teach preschoolers to develop early coding skills. Apple is getting all up in your kid's business to prepare them to... work for Apple? I'm just saying.
Justin Kirkland is a Brooklyn-based writer who covers culture, food, and the South. Along with Esquire, his work has appeared in NYLON, Vulture, and USA Today.
