Apple's New Slate of Original Programming May Launch as Early as March 2019

Apple is on track to outspend Facebook and YouTube on original content for the launch of its TV series and movie platform, which could debut as early as March next year.

Additional details of Apple's aggressive push into original programming were revealed on Monday in a New York Times article titled Apple Goes to Hollywood. Will Its Story Have a Happy Ending?

apple tv 4k
According to the report, Apple’s strong brand name and its willingness to write big checks have quickly made it a top draw for show creators and stars. Furthermore, to underline its ambitions in the original content space, the company is said to be building a 128,000-square-foot headquarters for its new entertainment division in Culver City, California.

The location will likely be home to a 40-person team working on Apple Worldwide Video, whose portfolio of shows will include adult dramas, children's shows, and programming for Latin America and Europe. The planned rollout of the new slate of original content is expected to be sometime between March 2019 and summer 2019.

Last August it was reported Apple would spend $1 billion acquiring and producing original TV shows and Hollywood content over the next year. However, today's report suggests Apple will plough a lot more money into programming than that amount, having outbid Netflix in negotiations for some shows and exceeded Facebook's and YouTube's original content spend in recent months.

According to NYT, entertainment executives who met with Apple say the company is looking for TV shows that align with its "bright, optimistic" brand. That accords with previous rumors suggesting Apple wants to produce shows with broad appeal that are also inoffensive enough to be shown in an Apple Store. For example, Bryan Fuller, who was set to be the showrunner for Apple's upcoming "Amazing Stories" reboot, reportedly cut ties with the company after it requested family friendly content only. Today's report notes that Apple still hasn't found a replacement for Fuller.

Meanwhile, the delivery mechanism for the original content still remains unclear – the shows could be accessed through Apple's TV app or another standalone wrapper as part of a separate subscription streaming service.

Apple is known to have invested in at least 12 television shows so far. They include include a new animated TV series called "Central Park" an untitled morning show drama starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon (which is said to be still waiting on a script), an "Amazing Stories" reboot from Steven Spielberg, an untitled space drama from Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore, a series written by "La La Land" creator Damien Chazelle, a Kristen Wiig comedy series, See, an epic world-building drama, Home, a docuseries focusing on incredible homes, "Little America," an anthology series from "The Big Sick" creators Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, Swagger, a drama based on the early life and career of NBA star Kevin Durant, and a psychological thriller produced by M. Night Shyamalan.

Additional detail on all of Apple's TV projects can be found in the original content section of our Apple TV roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Neutral)

Top Rated Comments

Sethal Avatar
74 months ago
It’s too bad that all that money is going towards content that sounds terrible, boring, or too kid friendly.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
62tele Avatar
74 months ago
Where is the legendary focus of this company?
Where is the Jobs philosophy of sometimes you have to say no to ideas, features, ventures and products?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Steve121178 Avatar
74 months ago
Are customers expected to rent or pay for yet another streaming service to be able to view this 'original content'?

Apple have lost their minds if they honestly think people are going to pay for another streaming service. Apple are far too late to the party. Again.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
74 months ago
Apple is on track to outspend Facebook and YouTube on original content
Is this a big deal? I honestly don't know. I do know it would be a big deal if they were outspending Netflix or Amazon. But FB and YT:confused:... does anyone know if this is a big deal beyond name recognition?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Glmnet1 Avatar
74 months ago
It’s too bad that all that money is going towards content that sounds terrible, boring, or too kid friendly.
This is from a guy in his mid-20s with no kids, I welcome their kid friendly policy with open arms. I'm tired that Netflix and others keep adding violence and sex just for the heck of it to everything they release.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theluggage Avatar
74 months ago
I'm tired that Netflix and others keep adding violence and sex just for the heck of it to everything they release.
Well, they're releasing kids stuff as well...

The sex & violence stuff, well that's partly the "Game of Thrones" bandwagon effect and a previously unfilled market niche for "adult" SF and fantasy created by mainstream Hollywood's abhorrence of R-rated movies. The books that shows like Altered Carbon and American Gods are based on are definitely not for the faint-hearted, so that's just Netflix/Amazon being more faithful to the book than traditional Hollywood might have been.

The only ones that annoyed me slightly w.r.t. violence were Daredevil/Iron Fist which fell into an awkward gap between comic-book violence and realistic violence - with the heroes proudly asserting their anti-killing credentials while handing out graphically-portrayed cans of bloody whoopass that would have surely left a fair proportion the recipients on life support. C.f. Jessica Jones where the protagonist's failure to avoid a body count is central to the plot.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

apple card 1

Apple Ending Apple Card Partnership With Goldman Sachs

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:09 pm PST by
Apple is ending its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple plans to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months, and it is not yet clear if Apple has established a new partnership for the Apple Card. Apple and Goldman Sachs will dissolve their entire consumer partnership, including the Apple Card and the Apple Savings account....
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.2 Beta 4

Tuesday November 28, 2023 12:18 pm PST by
Apple is wrapping up development on iOS 17.2, with the update expected to come out in December. While we're getting to the end of the beta testing period, Apple is still tweaking features and adding new functionality. We've rounded up everything new in the fourth beta of iOS 17.2. Default Notification Sound Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to ...
ios 17 namedrop

Police Departments and News Sites Spreading Misinformation About How iOS 17 NameDrop Feature Works

Monday November 27, 2023 5:11 pm PST by
Apple with iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 introduced a new NameDrop feature that is designed to allow users to place Apple devices near one another to quickly exchange contact information. Sharing contact information is done with explicit user permission, but some news organizations and police departments have been spreading misinformation about how NameDrop functions. As noted by The Washington...
All New CarPlay Five New Features Article 2

What to Expect From All-New CarPlay, Still Listed as Coming 'Late 2023'

Tuesday November 28, 2023 7:44 am PST by
At WWDC in June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, increased personalization, and more. Apple's website still says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in "late 2023," but it has not shared...
iOS 17

iOS 17.1.2 Update for iPhone Likely to Be Released This Week

Monday November 27, 2023 8:24 am PST by
Apple will likely release iOS 17.1.2 this week, based on mounting evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs in recent days. As a minor update, iOS 17.1.2 should be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues might be addressed. Some users have continued to experience Wi-Fi issues on iOS 17.1.1, so perhaps iOS 17.1.2 will include the same fix for Wi-Fi...
Apple 5G Modem Feature Triad

Apple to Discontinue Custom 5G Modem Development, Claim Reports

Wednesday November 29, 2023 4:19 am PST by
Apple is discontinuing in-house modem development after several unsuccessful attempts to perfect its own custom 5G modem chip, according to unconfirmed reports coming out of Asia. According to the operator of news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, supply chain sources related to Apple's 5G modem departments claim that the company's attempts to develop its own modem have...
Apple Logo

Apple Discontinued These 5 Products This Year

Monday November 27, 2023 7:03 am PST by
As the end of 2023 nears, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories. Also check out our lists of Apple products discontinued in 2022 and 2021. iPhone Mini ...
Google Drive

Some Google Drive Users' Files Have Mysteriously Vanished

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:55 am PST by
Google Drive users have been warned not to disconnect their account within the Google Drive for desktop app, after a spate of reports of files going missing from the cloud service. Alarm bells began ringing last week on Google's community support site when some users reported files mysteriously disappearing from Google Drive, with some posters claiming six or more months of data had...