Apple has spent the last couple of years filling out an executive team and buying up shows in an effort to build a slate of original content that it can offer customers. The people include executives from entertainment giants like Sony and Amazon. The shows include a drama that goes behind the scenes of morning shows and a sci-fi series from the creator of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. That's actually all we know for sure. Apple has said very little about its recent original content efforts outside the launches of Planet of the Apps and Carpool Karaoke. The company has said nothing about how these new shows will be distributed, when they'll premiere, or how much it will cost to watch them. In an effort to keep you up to date on Apple's continuing original content efforts, here's everything you need to know about them.
'Parijatham' was a huge success on Malayalam TV serials and further this serial was remade in languages Tamil and Kannada. Rasna too acted as lead roles with the new name for twin sisters as Arundhadhi and Aradhi. The noted one was the serial Hello Kuttichathan. She also participated in the singing reality show while busy with her assignments in the modeling industry. As a child artist, she acted in a 100-episode long Malayalam serial by the name Hello.
What's new with Apple TV shows and original content? December 17, 2018: Justin Lin of Fast and the Furious fame signs deal with Apple From. After what's being described as a highly competitive bidding situation, Apple and its forthcoming originals operation has landed the rights to new Peanuts content. The tech giant, which has not-so-quietly been amassing a strong roster of talent and original productions that is said to start rolling out in 2019, has completed a deal with DHX Media to create series, specials and shorts featuring iconic Charles M. Schulz characters such as Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the entire Peanuts gang.
DHX, the Canadian-based kids programming giant that acquired a stake in the Peanuts franchise in 2017, will produce all of the projects. As part of the partnership, DHX Media is also going to produce original short-form STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) content that will be exclusive to Apple and feature astronaut Snoopy. DHX Media will be working closely with subsidiary Peanuts Worldwide on all efforts. October 10, 2018: Apple's TV slate to be free for devices owners According to a new report from, customers who own Apple devices will have free access to the company's upcoming original content offerings.
Apple is preparing a new digital video service that will marry original content and subscription services from legacy media companies, according to people familiar with the matter. Owners of Apple devices, such as the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV will find the still-in-the-works service in the pre-installed 'TV' application, said the people, who asked not to be named because the details of the project are private. July 12, 2018: Carpool Karaoke gets Emmy nomination It looks like Apple's content team is on the right track for producing content that people want to see., the Television Academy has announced its nominees for best shortform variety series and the Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke spinoff is on the list.
Alongside Carpool Karaoke in the best shortform variety series category are Between the Scenes - The Daily Show, Creating Saturday Night Live, Gay of Thrones, Honest Trailers, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - Cover Room. The Creative Arts Emmy awards ceremony will take place on Sept. 8 and 9, but we won't be able to watch it live. Instead, it will air on FXX on Sept. Who do you want to win? June 15, 2018: Apple signs multi-year content deal with Oprah Winfrey Apple has announced that it has signed a multi-year deal with Oprah Winfrey to produce original content for the company.
While no details about the programming have been offered, Apple says that the shows will 'embrace Oprah's incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world.' From: Apple today announced a unique, multi-year content partnership with Oprah Winfrey, the esteemed producer, actress, talk show host, philanthropist and CEO of OWN. Together, Winfrey and Apple will create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world. Winfrey's projects will be released as part of a lineup of original content from Apple. June 7, 2018: Apple is going to develop novel 'Shantaram' as a drama series According to, Apple has received the necessary permissions to develop the novel 'Shantaram,' written by Gregory David Roberts, as a series.
The company will reportedly work with Eric Warren Singer as screenwriter, an individual whose other credits include 'American Hustle,' 'The International,' and 'Only the Brave.' 'Shantaram' is loosely based on Roberts' own life, and follows the story of a man named Lindsay — a heroin addict and bank robber — as he escapes from Pentridge Prison in Victoria, Australia to India. It describes how he finds shelter and new companions in India's 'underworld,' learning the native language and making a new home for himself with the help of others. There had apparently been previous plans to develop the novel as a film, but those didn't pan out as intended. The drama series will produced by Anonymous Content and Paramount Television, and will be executive produced, in part, by David Manson, who has also been executive producer on popular shows like 'Big Love' and 'House of Cards.'
For more information about 'Shantaram,' check out Variety's piece. May 30, 2018: Apple orders Emily Dickinson comedy starring Hailee Steinfeld Apple has given a series order to a new comedy, Dickinson, starring Hailee Steinfeld. The comedy, written by Alena Smith, will focus on a young Emily Dickinson as she tests the boundaries of her society with her unique point of view. From: Written by Smith, Dickinson is set during Emily Dickinson's era with a modern sensibility and tone. It takes viewers into the world of Emily (Steinfeld), audaciously exploring the constraints of society, gender, and family from the perspective of a budding writer who doesn't fit in to her own time through her imaginative point of view.
Dickinson is Emily's coming-of-age story – one woman's fight to get her voice heard. April 10, 2018: Sci-fi series based on Isaac Asimov's 'Foundation' triliogy lands at Apple Apple will produce a TV adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy from David Goyer and Josh Friedman. From: In a competitive situation, Apple has nabbed a TV series adaptation of Foundation, the seminal Isaac Asimov science fiction novel trilogy. The project, from Skydance Television, has been put in development for straight-to-series consideration. Deadline revealed last June that Skydance had made a deal with the Asimov estate and that David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman were cracking the code on a sprawling series based on the books that informed Star Wars and many other sci-fi films and TV series. Goyer & Friedman will be executive producers and showrunners.
Skydance's David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross also will executive produce. March 12, 2018: Apple orders Central Park from Bob's Burgers creator Apple has ordered a new animated comedy, according to. Called Central Park, the show comes from Loren Bouchard, the creator of Fox's Bob's Burgers. The digital giant has given a two-season series order to 'Central Park,' a musical comedy from 'Bob's Burgers' creator Loren Bouchard and 20th Century Fox Television. Written by Bouchard, Josh Gad, and Nora Smith, the series is described as telling the story of how a family of caretakers, who live and work in Central Park, end up saving the park, and basically the world. Produced by 20th Century Fox Television — where Bouchard is under an overall deal — 'Central Park' stars Gad, Leslie Odom Jr., Titus Burgess, Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci, Daveed Diggs, and Kathryn Hahn.
Bouchard and Gad will executive produce, with Smith serving as a consulting producer. The order is for 26 episodes, split into two 13-episode seasons.
February 27, 2018: Apple gives straight-to-series order to thriller from M. Night Shyamalan reports that Apple has given a straight-to-series order to a new psychological thriller from The Sixth Sense writer/director M.
Night Shyamalan: The streaming service has given a straight-to-series order to a psychological thriller series from writer Tony Basgallop that Shyamalan will executive produce. Plot details for the series are being kept under wraps. The half-hour series has received a 10-episode order, with Shyamalan also set to direct the first episode. February 13, 2018: Apple to produce drama series based on Kevin Durant's early life Apple will be producing a new drama series, Swagger, based on the youth of Golden State Warriors player Kevin Durant. From: Titled 'Swagger,' the series is inspired by Durant's youth basketball experiences. It will explore the world of Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball and the lives of the players, their families, and coaches. The series will be produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Television along with Durant's Thirty Five Media.
Durant and Grazer will executive produce, along with Imagine's Francie Calfo and Thirty Five Media's Rich Kleiman. Reggie Rock Bythewood will write and direct. Bythewood previously collaborated with Imagine on the Fox limited series 'Shots Fired,' which he created. His past credits include co-writing the screenplay for the Notorious BIG biopic 'Notorious.' January 25, 2018: Apple signs straight-to-series deal for new drama from 'La La Land' creator Damien Chazelle, the writer and director of the musical La La Land, has signed a straight-to-series deal with Apple for a new drama. Plot details for the series are currently being kept under wraps.
From: Details of the series' plot are being kept under wraps, but Chazelle will write and direct every episode of the series, as well as serving as executive producer. In addition to Chazelle, the series will be executive produced by Jordan Horowitz via his Original Headquarters banner, and Fred Berger for Automatik Entertainment. Media Rights Capital is the studio. January 17, 2018: Kristen Wiig starring in 10-episode comedy series for Apple Kristen Wiig will star in a new half-hour comedy series for Apple. The Reese Witherspoon-produced show is getting a 10-episode initial order, and is based on an upcoming collection of short stories by Chris Sittenfeld called 'You Think It, I'll Say It.'
From: The 10-episode, half-hour comedy is inspired by Curtis Sittenfeld's upcoming short story collection 'You Think It, I'll Say It.' It marks Wiig's first regular television role since she left 'Saturday Night Live' in 2012. She will also serve as an executive producer on the show.
Colleen McGuinness created the series and will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Witherspoon will executive produce via her Hello Sunshine banner along with Lauren Neustadter and Wiig. Sittenfeld will serve as a consulting producer. This also marks Apple's first half-hour scripted comedy order. Elsewhere, notes that the entry of Apple into the original content business has already had an impact on other studios and productions. Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, stars of HBO's Big Little Lies, have already leveraged Apple's content efforts into bigger paydays for the second season of the hit HBO drama.
The tech giant, estimated to enter the scripted genre with a budget of $1 billion in its first year, recently paid what sources say is upward of $1.25 million per episode to stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon for its 20-episode untitled morning-show drama. The eye-popping salaries also include fees for executive producing and points on the show's backend. And that payday directly impacted the recently announced second season of HBO's smash hit Big Little Lies, sources say. Where Witherspoon and Kidman each received between $250,000 and $300,000 per episode for the first season of Big Little Lies, the pair, along with co-stars Zoe Kravitz and Shailene Woodley, are getting substantial pay bumps for season two. Sources say the duo is getting in the $1 million-an-episode ballpark for season two, as well as points off the show's backend and EP fees. Co-stars like Zoe Kravitz also are said to have scored significant bumps, with the actress' total season-one salary of $380,000 jumping to $3 million for the sophomore run.
Shailene Woodley, who earned $1.7 million for season one, is also said to be getting a sizable pay raise. Season two of the show is being planned to shoot in the spring but won't air until 2019. January 16, 2018: Apple bidding on J.J. Abrams sci-fi series J.J. Abrams, the creative force behind Felicity, Alias, Lost, and Fringe — as well as the recent Star Trek reboot and Star Wars sequels — is heading back to television. And it might just be with Apple.
According to Variety: J.J. Abrams has written a new sci-fi drama television series that is currently the subject of a bidding war between Apple and HBO, Variety has confirmed with sources. Details of the project are being kept under tight wraps, but it would reportedly deal with a world's battle against a monstrous, oppressive force.
Should the project move forward, it would be Abrams' first TV writing gig since 'Fringe' in 2008. Abrams would also executive produce, with Ben Stephenson–head of television for Abrams' Bad Robot Productions–also serving as an executive producer. Television would produce. While HBO and Apple are the top contenders for the project, Warner Bros. Is said to be open to other bidders. Some of those series didn't exactly go out with a bang but all of them started with one. And that's the kind of attention and quality that'll help make Apple into must-see TV.
The untitled Aniston-Witherspoon drama hails from Michael Ellenberg's Media Res studio, Aniston's Echo Films and Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine banner. The starry project was highly sought after by a number of outlets and landed a two-season order (10 episodes per season) from Apple. Media Res, Aniston and Witherspoon are the principle owners of the show.
The series is based on an idea from Ellenberg and will draw background material from CNN senior media correspondent Brian Stelter's 2013 book 'Top of the Morning,' which recounted the recent rivalry between NBC's 'Today' and ABC's 'Good Morning America.' Jay Carson ('House of Cards') is writing the pilot and will serve as showrunner. Stelter is serving as a consultant. Moore is heading back to space. Apple has given a straight-to-series order to a space drama from the Battlestar Galactica developer.
The untitled project hails from Sony Pictures Television and Moore's studio-based Tall Ship Productions. Created and written by Moore, along with Fargo co-executive producers Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi, the untitled series explores what would have happened if the global space race had never ended. Tall Ship Prods.' Moore and Maril Davis executive produce with Wolpert and Nedivi. The series will offer viewers a never-before-seen look inside the world's most extraordinary homes, and delves into the minds of the people who built them. Apple has ordered 10, one-hour episodes of the new series. 'Home' hails from executive producers Matt Tyrnauer and Corey Reeser of Altimeter Films, Matthew Weaver, Ian Orefice and Bruce Gersh from Time Inc.
Productions, and Joe Poulin, CEO of Luxury Retreats. Tyrnauer also directs the docuseries. Altimeter Films, Time Inc. Productions, and Media Weaver Entertainment produce.
The 10-episode, half-hour comedy is inspired by Curtis Sittenfeld's upcoming short story collection 'You Think It, I'll Say It.' It marks Wiig's first regular television role since she left 'Saturday Night Live' in 2012. She will also serve as an executive producer on the show. Colleen McGuinness created the series and will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Witherspoon will executive produce via her Hello Sunshine banner along with Lauren Neustadter and Wiig. Sittenfeld will serve as a consulting producer.
This also marks Apple's first half-hour scripted comedy order. Titled 'Swagger,' the series is inspired by Durant's youth basketball experiences. It will explore the world of Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball and the lives of the players, their families, and coaches. The series will be produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Television along with Durant's Thirty Five Media. Durant and Grazer will executive produce, along with Imagine's Francie Calfo and Thirty Five Media's Rich Kleiman.
Reggie Rock Bythewood will write and direct. Bythewood previously collaborated with Imagine on the Fox limited series 'Shots Fired,' which he created. His past credits include co-writing the screenplay for the Notorious BIG biopic 'Notorious.' The digital giant has given a two-season series order to 'Central Park,' a musical comedy from 'Bob's Burgers' creator Loren Bouchard and 20th Century Fox Television. Written by Bouchard, Josh Gad, and Nora Smith, the series is described as telling the story of how a family of caretakers, who live and work in Central Park, end up saving the park, and basically the world. Produced by 20th Century Fox Television — where Bouchard is under an overall deal — 'Central Park' stars Gad, Leslie Odom Jr., Titus Burgess, Kristen Bell, Stanley Tucci, Daveed Diggs, and Kathryn Hahn. Bouchard and Gad will executive produce, with Smith serving as a consulting producer.
The order is for 26 episodes, split into two 13-episode seasons. In a competitive situation, Apple has nabbed a TV series adaptation of Foundation, the seminal Isaac Asimov science fiction novel trilogy. The project, from Skydance Television, has been put in development for straight-to-series consideration. Deadline revealed last June that Skydance had made a deal with the Asimov estate and that David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman were cracking the code on a sprawling series based on the books that informed Star Wars and many other sci-fi films and TV series. Goyer & Friedman will be executive producers and showrunners. Skydance's David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross also will executive produce.
The story is inspired by the true story of Lysiak's reporting. She was the first to expose a murder in her hometown of Selinsgrove, PA, breaking the news in her self-started newspaper, Orange Street News. Her investigative skills have garnered national and international media attention.
In the face of negative feedback from online commenters, Lysiak fought back, taking her story viral. Today, she works with young voices in an effort to empower the next generation of influencers, activists, and leaders.