Apple premiered its first TV show at the Tribeca TV Festival on Saturday. Dickinson is a period drama that centers on the life of 19th century American poet Emily Dickinson, played by pop star Hailee Steinfeld.

dickinson
This is the first time the public has seen one of the shows set to appear on Apple TV+ when the streaming service launches on November 1. Deadline summed up the quirky take on Dickinson's life by comparing it to Baz Luhrmann's 1996 Shakespeare adaptation Romeo + Juliet.

The period-set look at the life of poet Emily Dickinson offers a wealth of contemporary flourishes. (Think Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.) Rapper Wiz Khalifa plays Death and the soundtrack teems with currently charting artists like Billie Eilish. As pastoral 19th century life unfolds, bass-heavy beats drop and many characters speak in a modern style. The show, whose official world premiere will be held in a few weeks, blends drama, comedy and romance steeped in literary history. "It truly reflects everything that's in her poetry, which is everything there is to feel," Steinfeld said.

In the first episode, Dickinson resists her mother's efforts to marry her off and is heartbroken when her father chastises her for submitting a poem to a literary magazine.

"I do think that the pressure that Emily Dickinson is under to feel or act or do certain things, I think that women still feel that today," Steinfeld told Reuters after the screening of the show's first episode.

Steinfeld, who played a breakout starring role in Pitch Perfect 2, also made the surprise-announcement that she will release her new music single "Afterlife" on September 19 and the song will feature in the show.

Other shows set to debut with the launch of ‌Apple TV+‌ include The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, and See, a sci-fi drama featuring Jason Momoa.

Apple's video streaming service will cost $4.99 per month, and Apple is planning to provide one free year of ‌Apple TV+‌ access to all customers who purchase an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, or Mac, aka any device able to play the service's TV shows and movies.

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

Top Rated Comments

Johnny907 Avatar
53 months ago
“Steinfeld, who played a breakout starring role in Pitch Perfect 2”

Yeah, because forget about her Oscar nominated performance as Mattie Ross in “True Grit,” right? Pitch Perfect 2 FTW!!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
prasand Avatar
53 months ago
Not sure if I’m really interested in this show. The others have more appeal to me. But this one looks cute at best. Maybe my low expectations will leave me pleasantly surprised.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Branskins Avatar
53 months ago
“Steinfeld, who played a breakout starring role in Pitch Perfect 2”

Yeah, because forget about her Oscar nominated performance as Mattie Ross in “True Grit,” right? Pitch Perfect 2 FTW!!
I was just going to post this too. Pretty sure her breakout starring role was True Grit...
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GeneralChang Avatar
53 months ago
“Steinfeld, who played a breakout starring role in Pitch Perfect 2”

Yeah, because forget about her Oscar nominated performance as Mattie Ross in “True Grit,” right? Pitch Perfect 2 FTW!!
Holy crap, I didn't even realize that was her!! Suddenly I'm way more interested in this show.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
doelcm82 Avatar
53 months ago
We need something other than "period drama" to refer to works like this, Romeo + Juliet, Hamilton, etc... Period Drama isn't really accurate.
Anachronistic period drama
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Details: Action Button, USB-C Port, Face ID, and More

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:34 pm PDT by
Significant changes are expected to arrive with Apple's fourth-generation iPhone SE, in terms of both design and hardware, MacRumors has learned. The iPhone SE 4, known internally under the codename Ghost, is expected to receive a new design derived almost entirely from the base model iPhone 14. According to our sources, the iPhone SE 4 will use a modified version of the iPhone 14 chassis...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 for All iPhones and iPads

Tuesday September 26, 2023 12:47 pm PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates, with the software coming five days after the releases of iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1. Today's iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates arrive as build 21A351 and can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Note that iOS 17.0.2 was previously made available for iPhone...
iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

Kuo: iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Issues Likely Due to Thermal Compromises, Not 3nm Node

Tuesday September 26, 2023 9:12 am PDT by
Complaints about heat issues with the iPhone 15 Pro models are not related to TSMC's 3-nanometer node that was used for the A17 Pro chip, according to well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo says that overheating could be caused by "compromises made in the thermal system design" that allowed Apple to cut down on the weight of the iPhone 15 Pro models. Kuo says that the reduced heat...
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.1 Beta 1

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:57 pm PDT by
Just a week after releasing iOS 17, Apple has seeded the first beta of iOS 17.1 to developers. iOS 17.1 adds some features that Apple promised were coming to iOS 17 in the future, plus it refines and improves some existing features. This guide covers everything new in the first iOS 17.1 beta. Apple Music Favorites You can favorite songs, albums, playlists, and artists in the iOS 17.1...
macos sonoma 4

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma With New Widget Features, Safari Updates, Screen Sharing Improvements and More

Tuesday September 26, 2023 10:01 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS 14 Sonoma, the newest version of the operating system that runs on the Mac. macOS Sonoma has been in beta testing for several months, and it is compatible with the 2019 and later iMac, the iMac Pro, the 2018 and later Mac mini, the 2018 and later MacBook Pro, the 2019 and later Mac Pro, and the Mac Studio. The ‌macOS Sonoma update can be downloaded for free on...