Mark Gurman of Bloomberg News joins host Charlotte Henry for the final Media+ of 2021. They look back on Apple’s digital media successes and failures in the last 12 months and discuss what might come next.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+: 'Swan Song' Behind-The-Scenes Featurette
A behind-the-scenes featurette for the movie Swang Song has been released. In it, stars Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, and Glenn Close, as well as director Benjamin Cleary discuss the key questions raised in the feature. It is available on Apple TV+ and in theaters now.
'The Tragedy of Macbeth' Premiere Takes Place in Los Angeles
Apple Original Films hosted a premiere of The Tragedy of Macbeth in Los Angeles attended by stars and company executives.
Apple TV+ Documentary Will Tell The Story of James Bond Soundtracks
The forthcoming Apple TV+ music documentary will be about the history of James Bond soundtracks and called ‘The Sound of 007’.
Apple TV+: Animated Family Series 'El Deafo' to Debut January 7
Three-part kids and family series ‘El Deafo’, based on the best selling graphic novel, will premiere on Apple TV+ on January 7, 2022
Apple TV+: 'The Afterparty' With All-Star Cast will Premiere January 28
Murder-mystery comedy series ‘The Afterparty’ will debut on Apple TV+ on January 28, with an all-star cast that includes Tiffany Haddish.
‘CODA’, ‘Ted Lasso’ And More Apple Originals Recognized by AFI
The AFI announced that ‘CODA’, ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’, ‘Ted Lasso’, and ‘Schmigadoon!’ have been selected as some of its 2021 honorees.
Apple TV+ Suggests Christmas Viewing
In a new Christmas trailer, Apple TV+ suggests shows and films that it recommends for viewers over the festive period. The content featured includes Swansong, The Morning Show, Ted Lasso, and, of course, A Charlie Brown Christmas. All this content is available to subscribers now or will be becoming available shortly.
Apple TV+ Earns Nine Critics Choice Awards Television Nominations
Apple TV+ shows have picked up a total of nine television nominations for the forthcoming Critics Choice Awards, with four for ‘Ted Lasso’.
Alphabet Boss Sundar Pichai Prefers 'Ted Lasso' to 'Squid Game'
It seems that Ted Lasso has won over everyone, including Apple’s fiercest rivals. In a recent interview, reported on by iMore Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai praised the Apple TV+ hit, saying he preferred it to Netflix offering Squid Game.
The CEO recently sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg. During the interview, Pichai was asked to choose between the Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” or the Netflix series “Squid Game. “While Picahi [sic] says he enjoys both shows, he said that “Ted Lasso” was the easy winner.
The Great Rebundling — Media+
Adrian Weckler of the Irish Independent joins Charlotte Henry to discuss the breaking news of Jack Dorsey’s departure from Twitter and the possibility of streaming services working together as part of a great rebundling.
Happy Birthday to Me(dia)+ — Media+
It’s Media+’s first birthday! Kelly Guimont joins Charlotte Henry to celebrate and discuss all that has changed in the digital media landscape during the last 12 months.
'The Morning Show' Stars And Showrunner Reflect on Season Two, Look Ahead to Season Three
The stars and showrunner Kerry Ehrin of The Morning Show had a long conversation with The Hollywood Reporter in which they reflected on season two of the show. They also voiced their hopes and ideas for season three. What’s interesting is that the series has not been renewed at the time of this writing. Other big Apple TV+ hits like Ted Lasso and Mythic Quest have. If The Morning Show does return, future seasons will hopefully be more coherent than the one that just finished.
The Morning Show team is waiting on a renewal from Apple. “We haven’t had an official pickup for a third season. We’re waiting on that,” said Ehrin, who has an overall development deal with the streamer. When asked if she envisions one or more seasons, or plans to take a beat before returning to The Morning Show‘s writers room, Ehrin replied: “That’s a huge question. I feel like the show has a lot of different projections that would work for it. I think right now, I just finished a season that has taken two years. I am just taking a break!”
Jacki Weaver Joining Billy Crudup in Apple TV+ Series ‘Hello Tomorrow!’
Jacki Weaver has joined the cast of forthcoming Apple TV+ show ‘Hello Tomorrow!’, Deadline reported. The two-time Oscar nominee will appear alongside Billy Crudup, whose performance was one of the few good positives in season two of The Morning Show.
Created, written and executive produced by Amit Bhalla and Lucas Jansen, who will serve as showrunners, Hello Tomorrow! is set in a retro-future world. It revolves around a group of traveling salesmen hawking lunar timeshares. Crudup, who also executive produces, stars as Jack, a salesman of great talent and ambition whose unshakable faith in a brighter tomorrow inspires his co-workers and revitalizes his desperate customers but threatens to leave him dangerously lost in the very dream that sustains him.
How The Script For 'CODA' Was Written in ASL
In a new interview with Gold Derby, Sian Heder discussed how she learned American Sign Language (ASL) and wrote CODA in it. I confess that it didn’t occur to me that such a movie would have to be scripted in this way, although it makes total sense when Ms. Heder explains it. The discussion gives another indication of the pioneering work by both cast and crew to make the film, which is available on Apple TV+.
It’s a “hugely different” process to write in ASL because it “has no written form.” Heder learned ASL in the process of making the film, but at first, “I wrote in English, and I wrote the way that I’ve written every script, where I’m talking out loud to myself and playing every part and really hearing the characters.” Then she and the film’s ASL consultants “went line by line through the script, every piece of dialogue, and we would go back and forth and discuss, and [ASL master Alexandria Wailes] would show me possible sign choices.” That process from the initial English-language script to the finished film was “really amazing,” Heder says. “People talk about that feeling as a writer where you watch your words come to life. And this was the most literal form of that.”
New Fraggle Rock Coming to Apple TV+ on January 21, 2022
Thirteen new episodes of the Jim Henson-created favorite ‘Fraggle Rock’ will hit the streaming service from January 21, 2022.
Apple TV+ Show Dr. Brain is Big Moment For Company and Korean Content
Dr. Brain premiered on Apple TV+ on November 4, the same day the streaming service went live in South Korea. As a new feature from Reuters shows, the move is a significant one, coming at a time when Korean content is more popular, and valuable, than ever.
Apple’s foray into original Korean content comes as the country’s entertainment industry reaches new global popularity, from k-pop superstars such as BTS to the 2020 Oscar-winning South Korean film “Parasite,” and now “Squid Game”, which became Netflix’s (NFLX.O)biggest original series launch. Director Kim Jee-woon said after the consecutive success of such Korean content, global audiences began to understand Korean culture through artistic works and that he had made an extra effort to get the translations right. “I hope Dr. Brain can prove there are diverse works in South Korea that cover a wide variety of genres, sensibilities and materials as much as previous mega hit Korean series,” Kim said.
Disney+ Day Brings New Releases And Sign-Up Offer
Friday, November 12 is Disney+ Day, and to celebrate, a host of new content is being released, and there is a sign-up deal too.
Olivier Martinez Joins Maya Rudolph in Apple TV+ Comedy
Olivier Martinez will join Maya Rudolph and MJ Rodriguez in an upcoming, as-yet-untitled series, Apple TV+ half-hour comedy.
Tom Hanks Just Broke His Own Apple TV+ Audience Record With 'Finch'
‘Finch’ has set audience records since it premiered on Apple TV+, meaning Tom Hanks has beaten his own record set with ‘Greyhound’.
The Exhausting Velvet Underground — Media+
Mic Wright joins Charlotte Henry to discuss Todd Haynes Apple TV+ film ‘The Velvet Underground’. They also look at the potentially important role of music and other documentaries for the streaming platform.
Billie Eilish 'Was Excited And Scared' About Apple TV+ Doc
Billie Eilish spoke about the Oscar-contending Apple TV+ documentary The World’s a Little Blurry at an event moderated by Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. She described the emotions she felt being followed by cameras for three years, Deadline reported.
“I was excited and scared and nervous, and worried and hopeful,” she told attendees at a post-screening Q&A. “It was not acting, I wasn’t playing a character. It was real life footage of my life… It was a very real and good interpretation of my three years that you were filming it, or however long it was, and it’s really scary. It’s hard to tell anybody a lot of information about your life, let alone put it on a platform for literally anyone in the world to see.” Millions have seen it, noted Zane Lowe, Apple Music’s creative director, who moderated the discussion. Billie was joined on stage by Cutler and by her parents, Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell, who feature prominently in the film. The only family member missing (apart from dog Pepper and cat Misha) was Finneas O’Connell, Billie’s older brother and songwriting partner.
A Collection of Concept Art From Apple TV+ Show 'Foundation'
Kotaku has put together a collection of concept art from the science fiction show Foundation on Apple TV+.
That comes across pretty quickly watching the show, but it’ll be even clearer here as we take a look at a variety of artists’ contributions to the series, from Paul Chadeisson’s trademark ship designs, to the costume design of WETA’s Adam Middleton.
This isn’t a collection of everything from everyone who worked on the show, but it does give us a cross-section of pieces, covering characters, environments, and weapon and ship designs, all of which I think look cool as hell.
'Swan Song' Debuts on Apple TV+ on December 17
The movie ‘Swan Song’ will be released on December 12 on Apple TV+ and in theaters, with a new trailer now available.