The Business
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 45 OCTOBER 16, 2019
AnalysisDRIVE DOWN WASHINGTON BOULEVARD
through Culver City and it becomes clear
Apple is taking its entertainment pursuit seri-
ously. Construction is underway on a sleek,
glass-enclosed office building that will house
Erlicht and Van Amburg’s Worldwide Video
team, which will make up a significant por-
tion of the 1,000 or so workers Apple expects
to employ in the neighborhood by 2021.
Historically, when Apple enters a new indus-
try, it doesn’t do so tepidly. When it launched
iTunes in 2001, it struck deals with every major
music label and, eventually, revolutionized
the way people bought and listened to music.
Now, for TV+, it has struck deals with A-list
creators including Oprah Winfrey, Alfonso
Cuarón, Justin Lin and Jason Katims. Echoing
an industrywide push to own the content you
distribute, on Oct. 11 Apple announced plans to
launch an in-house studio (Masters of the Air, a
third installment in the Band of Brothers saga,
will mark its first wholly owned show).
“They didn’t step in halfway,” says CAA TV
agent Sonya Rosenfeld of Apple’s entertain-
ment ambitions. “They were smart to hire
people who have spent their careers at the
center of the TV business, and they didn’t
stutter start.”
By several accounts, the company already
has well outspent its initially projected $1 bil-
lion annual content budget. Morning Show
alone costs $15 million an episode for a total
of $300 million for two seasons, per sources,
due in large part to the $2 million-an-episode
fees that Witherspoon and Aniston negoti-
ated. (Their deals are said to be even higher
with producing fees and ownership points.)
See also is expensive, with sources estimat-
ing $240 million for two seasons. These costs
are at the high end of premium streaming but
represent pocket change for Apple.
As if to show off just how much cash the
$1 trillion company has, execs are offering
every AppleTV+ showrunner and series regu-
lar a free Apple product and have dispatched
representatives to the sets of shows including
Dickinson to take orders from talent on which
style iPhone or iPad they’d prefer.
But the gifts haven’t exactly made up for the
regular Apple presence on some sets, where
sources say development executives have been
hands-on with ensuring that each show fits
the Apple brand. While the company isn’t
imposing strict family-friendly guidelines
— early episodes of Morning Show feature the
heavy use of F-bombs — the understanding is
that explicit content must be in service of the
storyline and all projects should, ultimately,
mesh with Apple’s aspirational
brand identity. (According to a
recent BuzzFeed News report, the
company also pressured creators
not to portray China negatively to
avoid angering the authorities.)
The corporate meddling has led to some
creative differences. During early develop-
ment of Amazing Stories, Fuller and Hanson
received pushback from both Apple and
studio Universal Television over what sources
describe as their vision for an edgy, high-
concept anthology. (One story would have
followed a crazy cat lady murdered by her
feline friends.) Though the show was meant to
be part of Apple’s launch slate, the departure
of the producers delayed the project. Apple,
interested in a more aspirational version of
the show, opted to bring on Once Upon a Time
duo Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.
While showrunner departures are com-
mon — especially with straight-to-series
orders increasingly frequent at streamers andupstart outlets — some within the creative
community attribute Apple’s early hurdles to
its lack of Hollywood savvy. “It’s an interesting
place because there’s no history or precedent,”
notes one lit agent. “They have no systems
in place. Two guys who ran a studio are now
effectively running a network. They’ve built a
collection of executives who individually are
great but are working together for the first
time.” Adds one top producer who has worked
with the company: “The biggest problem is
Apple’s insistence that the industry adapt to
them and not the other way around.”
Kitsis doesn’t agree. “While they’re a
new network, they’re really not,” he says.
“Meaning, from top to bottom, everyone we
dealt with was a pro with tons of studio and/
or network experience. Some of whom we had
actually worked with back in our ABC days, so
there was an immediate comfort level for us.”
Veteran execs aside, Morning Show’s d ra ma
continued into postproduction. After an
arbitration, the Writers Guild awarded Carson
the lone “created by” credit, though he has
no current involvement in the show; Ehrin
was granted “developed by” credit (Carson,
Ehrin and the WGA declined to comment).
The decision is said to have gone against the
recommendation of Media Res — fronted by
former HBO drama head Michael Ellenberg,
who has three shows (and counting) at Apple.
“If you’re going to bet on a new company
to enter this space, we felt Apple is as good a
bet as you can make,” says Ellenberg. “Apple’s
brand is synonymous with excellence, and
they believe in — and know how to create —
cultural moments. And we knew if we were
able to make something we were proud of,
we could land the moment with them to cut
through the noise.”
While Morning Show will be key to the
launch of TV+, Apple has started revealing itsJennifer Aniston (left) and Reese Witherspoon also executive
produce Morning Show, each earning $2 million per episode.The Long,
Winding Road
to Apple TV+
FEBRUARY 2016
→ Apple quietly enters scripted TV
with Vital Signs, a sex-filled drama
from Beats co-founder Dr. Dre.
The series was shelved and never
released in a shift to aspirational
fare. Apple has never confirmed
the show’s existence.
MARCH 2016
→ Apple teams with Ben
Silverman and will.i.am
for docuseries Planet
of the Apps, canceled
after 10 episodes.
NOVEMBER 2017
→ After a bidding war, former HBO
drama head Michael Ellenberg sells
The Morning Show — starring and
exec produced by Jennifer Aniston
and Reese Witherspoon — to Apple
over Netflix.
APRIL 2018
→ Former Hillary Clinton press
secretary Jay Carson (House of
Cards) is ousted as showrunner
of The Morning Show. Kerry Ehrin
(Bates Motel) replaces him and is
the first to land an Apple overall deal
($10 million).
JUNE 2018
→ Oprah Winfrey inks a content
partnership with Apple, which also
adds a slate of new programming
from Sesame Workshop.JULY 2016
→ Apple lands the spinoff of James
Corden’s Carpool Karaoke. Renewed
in July for a third season, it’s Apple’s
longest-running original.
JUNE 2017
→ Eddy Cue hires Sony TV’s Jamie
Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg to
head video programming, signaling
what would be a significant and
multibillion-dollar spending spree.
OCTOBER 2017
→ The first scripted TV series
greenlit by Erlicht and Van
Amburg is a Steven Spielberg-
produced reboot of Amazing
Stories from Bryan Fuller
(Pushing Daisies) and
Hart Hanson (Bones), who
depart after four months.NOVEMBER 2018
→ In a multiyear, multifilm deal with
A24 (Midnight), Apple inks its first
film partnership. The first project is
On the Rocks from Sofia Coppola.
MARCH 2019
→ A-list creators and stars invade
its Cupertino headquarters for a TV+
unveiling that is high on Apple-
style glitz but low on details about
the service.
JUNE
→ J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, which hasthree shows at Apple, passes on the
company’s $500 million-plus offer
to sign a $250 million pact to stay at
WarnerMedia.
SEPT. 3
→ Apple scraps Bastards, an
adaptation of the dark Israeli format
starring Richard Gere. It lacks an
aspirational tone.
SEPT. 10
→ At Apple’s annual fall
product event, CEO Tim Cook
announces TV+ will launch
Nov. 1 and cost $5 a month (free
for a year with the purchase of
an Apple product).
NOV. 1
→ Apple TV+ will launch with a slate
of nine shows. — L.G.Cue