Factbox - Apple's media ambition: Original shows, news subscription
(Reuters) - Apple Inc is expected to unveil a new video streaming service and a news subscription platform at an event on Monday at its California headquarters.
The iPhone maker is banking on growing its services business to offset a dip in smartphone sales.
While the Wall Street Journal plans to join Apple’s new subscription news service, other major publishers, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, have declined, according to a New York Times report.
Apple has also partnered with Hollywood celebrities to make a streaming debut with a slate of original content, taking a page out of Netflix Inc’s playbook.
Below are some of the shows, curated from media reports and Apple’s own announcements, which are part of the iPhone maker’s content library.
SHOWS CONFIRMED BY APPLE:
** UNTITLED DRAMA SERIES WITH REESE WITHERSPOON AND JENNIFER ANISTON
Two seasons of a drama series starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston that looks at the lives of people working on a morning television show.
** REVIVAL OF STEVEN SPIELBERG’S 1985 “AMAZING STORIES”
The tech giant has also struck a deal with director Steven Spielberg to make new episodes of “Amazing Stories,” a science fiction and horror anthology series that ran on NBC in the 1980s.
** A NEW THRILLER BY M NIGHT SHYAMALAN
Plot of the story has not been disclosed.
** “ARE YOU SLEEPING?” - A MYSTERY SERIES
A drama featuring Octavia Spencer, based on a crime novel by Kathleen Barber.
** AN ANTHOLOGY SERIES CALLED “LITTLE AMERICA”
Focuses on stories of immigrants coming to the United States.
** AN ANIMATED CARTOON MUSICAL CALLED “CENTRAL PARK”
The animated musical comedy is about a family of caretakers who end up saving the park and the world.
** “DICKINSON”, AN EMILY DICKINSON COMEDY
A half-hour comedy series that is set during American poet Emily Dickinson’s era with a modern sensibility and tone.
** OPRAH WINFREY PARTNERSHIP
Apple in June last year announced a multi-year deal with Oprah Winfrey to create original programming.
SHOWS REPORTED BY MEDIA:
** TIME BANDITS - A FANTASY SERIES
The potential series is an adaptation of Terry Gilliam’s 1981 fantasy film of the same name, about a young boy who joins a group of renegade time-traveling dwarves, Deadline reported.
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** UNTITLED “CAPTAIN MARVEL” STAR BRIE LARSON’S CIA PROJECT
The new series looks at a young woman’s journey in the CIA, reported Variety.
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** DEFENDING JACOB - STARRING CAPTAIN AMERICA CHRIS EVANS
This limited series is based on the novel of the same name and is about an assistant district attorney, who is investigating the murder of a 14-year-old boy, according to Deadline.
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** “FOR ALL MANKIND” - A SCI-FI SERIES
A space drama from producer Ronald Moore, according to Deadline.
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** MY GLORY WAS I HAD SUCH FRIENDS
A series featuring Jennifer Garner is based on the 2017 memoir of the same name by Amy Silverstein, reported Variety.
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** “SEE” - A FANTASY EPIC STARRING JASON MOMOA
The show poses the question about the fate of humanity if everyone lost their sight, Variety reported.
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** FOUNDATION - A SCI-FI ADAPTATION
An adaptation of the iconic novel series from famed sci-fi author Isaac Asimov, Deadline reported. The book series follows a mathematician who predicts the collapse of humanity.
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** A COMEDY SHOW BY ROB MCELHENNEY AND CHARLIE DAY
The sitcom comedy based on the lives of a diverse group of people who work together in a video game development studio, Variety reported.
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** AN UNSCRIPTED SERIES “HOME” FROM THE DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER MATT TYRNAUER
The series will offer viewers a never-before-seen look inside the world’s most extraordinary homes and feature interviews with people who built them, according to Variety.
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** UNTITLED RICHARD GERE SERIES
Based on an Israeli series Nevelot, the show is about two elderly Vietnam vets whose lives are changed when a woman they both love is killed in a car accident, Deadline reported.
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** J.J. ABRAMS-PRODUCED LITTLE VOICE
Singer and actress Sara Bareilles is writing the music and could possibly star in the J.J. Abrams-produced half-hour show, which explores the journey of finding one’s authentic voice in early 20s, according to Variety.
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** THE PEANUTS GANG
Apple has acquired the rights to the famous characters and the first series will be a science and math oriented short featuring Snoopy as an astronaut, according to Hollywood Reporter.
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** ON THE ROCKS
A feature film, directed by Sofia Coppola, starring Bill Murray, is about a young mother who reconnects with her larger-than-life playboy father on an adventure through New York, Variety reported.
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** LOSING EARTH
Apple has acquired the rights to a TV series based on Nathaniel Rich’s 70-page New York Times Magazine story “Losing Earth”, New York Times reported.
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** THE ELEPHANT QUEEN
Apple has acquired the rights to Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble’s documentary The Elephant Queen, Deadline reported.
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** WOLFWALKERS
An Irish animation about a young hunter who comes to Ireland with her father to destroy a pack of evil wolves, but instead befriends a wild native girl who runs with them, first reported by Bloomberg.
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** PACHINKO
Apple has secured the rights to develop Min Jin Lee’s best-selling novel, about four generations of a Korean immigrant family, into a series, reported Variety.
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** CALLS
Apple has bought the rights to make an English-language version of the French original short-form series, according to Variety.
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** SHANTARAM
Apple has won the rights to develop the hit novel Shantaram as a drama series, reported Variety.
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** SWAGGER, A DRAMA SERIES BASED ON KEVIN DURANT
A drama series based on the early life and career of NBA superstar Kevin Durant, according to Variety.
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** YOU THINK IT, I’LL SAY IT
Apple has ordered a 10-episode, half-hour run of the comedy show, which is an adaptation of Curtis Sittenfeld’s short story collection by the same name, Variety reported.
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** WHIPLASH DIRECTOR DAMIEN CHAZELLE DRAMA SERIES
According to Variety, Apple has ordered a whole season of a series without first shooting a pilot, but no other details are known about the show.
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** Apple may offer cut-priced bundles with video offering - The Information reported bit.ly/2HzcSLW on Thursday.
Reporting by Sonam Rai and Saumya Sibi Joseph in Bengaluru
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