News Analysis India

Tag: Apple TV

  • ‘Physical’ season two to debut on Apple TV+ in June 

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: The second season of Apple TV+ series “Physical”, fronted by Rose Byrne, will premiere on June 3.

    In a statement, the streamer said that the first episode of the second season will drop on June 3, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday.

    The dark comedy series comes from creator, writer and executive producer Annie Weisman.

    Set in the idyllic but fragile beach paradise of sunny 1980s San Diego, “Physical” follows Sheila Rubin (Byrne), a quietly tortured, seemingly dutiful housewife supporting her smart but controversial husband’s bid for state assembly.

    But behind closed doors, Sheila has her own darkly funny take on life she rarely lets the world see. She’s also battling a complex set of personal demons relating to her self-image. That is, until she finds release through the unlikeliest source: the world of aerobics.

    The second season will follow Rubin after she successfully launched her first fitness video but she encounters some new and bigger obstacles on her path.

    “She is torn between loyalty to her husband and the values he represents, and a dangerous attraction to someone else.

    And since she’s no longer the only game in town, she finds herself having to outrun some fierce new competitors on the road to building a full-fledged fitness empire,” the season two logline read.

    “Physical” also stars Rory Scovel, Dierdre Friel, Della Saba, Lou Taylor Pucci, Paul Sparks, Ashley Liao and Geoffrey Arend.

    Joining the ensemble cast for the new season two is actor Murray Bartlett, who plays Vincent “Vinnie” Green, a charismatic fitness instructor, weight-loss guru, and pioneer of the late-night infomercial.

    The show is produced by Tomorrow Studios.

    It is directed by Stephanie Laing, who also serves as executive producers along with Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements for Tomorrow Studios, Alexandra Cunningham, John McNamara, Sera Gamble and Byrne.

  • Jason Momoa to lead ‘Chief of War’ series for Apple TV+ 

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: “Aquaman” star Jason Momoa is set to headline “Chief of War”, a limited series that has been greenlit by the streamer Apple TV+.

    The streaming platform has given a straight-to-series order to the show, which Momoa has also penned making it his writing debut for television.

    According to Deadline, “Chief of War” follows the epic and unprecedented telling of the unification and colonisation of Hawaii from an indigenous point of view.

    Momoa, whose father is of Native Hawaiian ancestry, has also created and executive produced the eight-episode series with Thomas Pa’a Sibbett.

    Justin Chon, known for co-directing the currently on-air Apple series “Pachinko” with Kogonada, is in negotiations to helm the first two episodes of “Chief of War”.

    Executive producers on the series also include Francis Lawrence, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Erik Holmberg and Doug Jung, who serves as showrunner too.

    The show comes from Endeavor Content and Chernin Entertainment.

    Momoa’s previous writing credits include films that he also directed, such as “Brown Bag Diaries: Ridin’ the Blinds in B Minor”, a short, and “Road To Paloma”.

    The “Game of Thrones” alum is also credited as co-story writer on the upcoming “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom”, which will see him reprise the role of Arthur Curry/ Aquaman.

    Momoa currently stars in Apple’s post-apocalyptic drama series “See”, which has been renewed for a third season.

  • Michael Douglas to play Benjamin Franklin in limited series for Apple TV+

    By Express News Service

    Hollywood star Michael Douglas will star as US founding father Benjamin Franklin in a new limited series. The yet-untitled series is based on the book A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America by Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff. Kirk Ellis, the writer behind John Adams series, will write the show for Apple and serve as an executive producer.

    Emmy-winning director Tim Van Patten will direct and executive produce. Douglas will executive produce in addition to starring. Richard Plepler will executive produce via EDEN Productions, which is currently under an overall deal at Apple. Tony Krantz of Flame Ventures and Mark Mostyn also executive produce, with Schiff co-executive producing. Apple Studios and ITV Studios will co-produce.

    The series will explore the story of one of the greatest gambles of Franklin’s career. At age 70, without any diplomatic training, Franklin convinced France – an absolute monarchy – to underwrite America’s experiment in democracy. By virtue of his fame, charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmanoeuvred British spies, French informers, and hostile colleagues, all while engineering the Franco-American alliance of 1778 and the final peace with England of l783.

    The eight-year French mission stands as Franklin’s most vital service to his country, without which America would not have won the Revolution. Douglas most recently starred in the Netflix series The Kominsky Method, which aired its third and final season on the streamer in 2021. His starring role in the series earned him a Golden Globe in 2019 and three consecutive Emmy nominations for best actor in a comedy series. Douglas is primarily known for his film roles.

    He won the Oscar for best actor for his iconic role in Wall Street in 1988, with Douglas reprising the role of Gordon Gekko in Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps in 2010.

  • Sacha Baron Cohen in talks for Alfonso Cuaron’s Apple series ‘Disclaimer’ 

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Hollywood star Sacha Baron Cohen in negotiations to join the cast of Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron’s Apple thriller series “Disclaimer”.

    If finalised, Cohen, known for films such as “The Trial of the Chicago 7”, “Hugo”, “Borat” and “The Dictator”, will feature alongside Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline in the show, reported Deadline.

    Cuaron, best known for his award-winning films “Y Tu Mama Tambien”, “Children of Men”, “Gravity” and “Roma”, will write, direct and executive produce all episodes through his production company Esperanto Filmoj as part of his overall deal with Apple TV Plus.

    Based on the novel of the same name by Renee Knight, “Disclaimer” will star Blanchett as Catherine Ravenscroft, a successful and respected television documentary journalist whose work has been built on revealing the concealed transgressions of long-respected institutions.

    When an intriguing novel written by a widower (played by Kline) appears on her bedside table, she is horrified to realise that she is a key character in a story that she had hoped was long buried in the past.

    A story that reveals her darkest secret.

    A secret she thought was hers alone.

    The series will be the first project to debut from a multi-year deal with Cuaron, who is developing television series exclusively for Apple TV Plus.

    It is also the first time that Cuaron will be writing and directing all episodes of an original series.

    Blanchett will also executive produce the series with award-winning cinematographers Emmanuel Lubezki and Bruno Delbonnel serving as directors of photography.

  • Amanda Seyfried joins Apple TV+ anthology 

    By Express News Service

    Actor Amanda Seyfried has joined the cast of The Crowded Room. Apple TV+, the streamer of the anthology series made the official announcement.

    Seyfried will play Rya, a clinical psychologist and single mother,  in the upcoming season. His previous work includes  Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s Things Heard & Seen and David Fincher’s Mank, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She will also play Elizabeth Holmes in the upcoming Hulu series The Dropout.

    Spider-Man actor Tom Holland will be joining Seyfried in The Crowded Room. He was recently seen in this week’s The Uncharted. He is also an executive producer for the series.

  • Rashida Jones to star in Apple TV+ series ‘Sunny’

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Actor Rashida Jones will headline and executive produce “Sunny”, a dark comedic drama from Apple TV+ and production house A24.

    The series, created by Katie Robbins, will be spread across 10 half-hour episodes.

    “Sunny” will be directed and executive produced by Lucy Tcherniak, known for “Station Eleven” and “The End of the F***ing World”.

    According to a press release, “Sunny” will see Jones play the role of Suzie, an American woman living in Kyoto, Japan, whose life is upended when her husband and son disappear in a mysterious plane crash.

    As “consolation” she’s given Sunny, one of a new class of domestic robots made by her husband’s electronics company.

    “Though at first Suzie resents Sunny’s attempts to fill the void in her life, gradually they develop an unexpected friendship, as together they uncover the dark truth of what really happened to Suzie’s family, becoming dangerously enmeshed in a world Suzie never knew existed,” reads the logline of the series.

    The series is based on the book “Dark Manual” by Japan-based award-winning Irish writer Colin O’Sullivan.

    “Sunny” will be adapted to screen and executive produced by Robbins, Ravi Nandan and Jess Lubben from A24.

    The show marks the second collaboration for Apple, A24 and Jones following the global premiere of Sofia Coppola’s acclaimed film “On The Rocks”.

    Jones will also next be seen in “Wool”, Apple’s upcoming drama series based on Hugh Howey’s New York Times best-selling trilogy of dystopian novels.

  • Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern’s comedy ‘Mrs. American Pie’ ordered to series by Apple

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Apple TV Plus has given a series order for the comedy “Mrs. American Pie”, set to feature Kristen Wiig and Laura Dern.

    The 10-episode show, which is based on Juliet McDaniel’s novel “Mr. & Mrs. American Pie”, will be executive produced by Dern, who developed the project and is eyeing a key role, the streamer said in a statement.

    Set in the early 1970s, “Mrs. American Pie” follows Maxine Simmons (Wiig) as she attempts to secure her place within the high society of Palm Beach.

    “As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots, ‘Mrs. American Pie’ asks the same questions that still baffle us today: ‘Who gets a seat at the table?’ ‘How do you get a seat at the table?’ ‘What will you sacrifice to get there?’ “Set during the powderkeg era of the early 1970s, ‘Mrs. American Pie’ is a testament to every outsider fighting for their chance at superficial greatness,” the official logline read.

    “Mrs. American Pie” will be written, executive produced and showrun by Sylvia. Filmmaker Tate Taylor, known for movies such as “Breaking News in Yuba County” and “The Help”, will direct.

    Dern, who developed the project, will executive produce alongside her producing partner Jayme Lemons.

    Taylor and John Norris also serve as executive producers under their Wyolah Entertainment banner.

    Katie O’Connell Marsh executive produces for Boat Rocker.

  • Alex moffat joins the cast of Bad Monkey

    By Express News Service

    Actor Alex Moffat has joined the cast of Apple TV+’s upcoming series Bad Monkey in a recurring role.

    The 10-episode drama is based on a 2013 novel of the same name by Carl Hiaasen. The story follows Andrew Yancy (Vince Vaughn), a one-time detective demoted to restaurant inspector in Southern Florida. A severed arm found by a tourist out fishing pulls Yancy into the world of greed and corruption that decimates the land and environment in both Florida and the Bahamas.

    Moffat will play the role of Evan Shook, an obnoxious real estate developer from Maryland who buys a plot next to Yancy’s. Bad Monkey also stars Ana Villafane, Rob Delaney, Ahmed Elhaj, and Arturo Luis Soria. Bill Lawrence, co-creator of Ted Lasso, is set to adapt the novel to screen. Lawrence and Vaughn also executive produce the show alongside Matt Tarses and Jeff Ingold. Marcos Siega directs the first episode and also serves as an executive producer.

  • Apple acquires Dakota Johnson film Cha Cha Real Smooth

    By Express News Service

    Apple has acquired director Cooper Raiff’s Cha Cha Real Smooth, starring Dakota Johnson in the lead role, worldwide distribution. According to Variety, the acquisition is the biggest deal in the ongoing 2022 Virtual Sundance Film Festival, costing around the streamer around $15 million.

    The film premiered at the festival on January 23 in the US Dramatic Competition category. Raiff also plays the role of a college graduate from New Jersey who gets into a relationship with a young mom and her autistic teenage daughter. The film also features Leslie Mann, Brad Garrett and Evan Assante in supporting roles.

  • ‘The Morning Show’ renewed for season three at Apple

    By PTI

    Apple TV Plus has renewed popular series “The Morning Show”, starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, for a third season.

    In a statement, the streaming service said that Charlotte Stoudt is boarding the show as showrunner as part of a new, multi-year overall deal that she has signed with Apple.

    “I’m excited to be joining forces with Apple TV+ and ‘The Morning Show’. The cast, led by the phenomenal Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, are truly to die for.  Kerry, Mimi and Michael, and the teams at Media Res, Hello Sunshine and Echo Films, have created an irresistible world that is equally delicious and provocative,” said Stoudt.

    Kerry Ehrin, who developed and served as showrunner on the first two seasons of the Emmy-winning series, will serve as a consultant on the third season. She will also develop new projects for Apple under her overall deal.

    “The Morning Show” explores the cutthroat world of morning news and the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning.

    It is told through the lens of two complicated women, played by Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, working to navigate the minefield of high-octane jobs while facing crises in both their personal and professional lives.

    The second season, which released in September 2021, saw ‘The Morning Show’ team emerging from the wreckage of Alex (Aniston) and Bradley’s (Witherspoon) actions, to a new UBA and a world in flux, where identity is everything and the chasm between who we present as and who we really are comes into play.

    The series also stars Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Bel Powley, Desean Terry, Janina Gavankar, Tom Irwin and Marcia Gay Harden, as well as Greta Lee, Ruairi O’Connor, Hasan Minhaj, Holland Taylor, Tara Karsian, Valeria Golino and Julianna Margulies.

    “It has been thrilling to watch ‘The Morning Show’ go from strength to strength over the past two seasons, exploring topical storylines that have resonated with audiences around the world while also being incredibly addictive and entertaining,” said Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV Plus.

    “We’re excited to see where Charlotte takes these extraordinary characters in season three and to watch the magic that Jennifer, Reese and our awe-inspiring cast continue to bring to the captivating world of morning television,” he added.