Apple TV+
is a streaming service created by Apple.
An extension of the Apple TV device and its associated digital media player of the same name, Apple TV+ offers exclusive, premium content featuring some of the biggest names in entertainment, intended to compete with the likes of Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+ and Max. But unlike any of those services, which offer third-party content and existing works, Apple TV+ originally hosted only original programming specifically created for it, but market realities are now driving them to look for licenses for older content as well. As well, each show is given an individual judgement call on whether its seasons are released weekly or all at once, rather than being completely one or the other like most other streaming services.
Apple is making an effort for the content on the service to be relatively lighthearted—it doesn't mandate all content to be PG-13/TV-14 like Disney+, allowing its more mature content to carry a "soft" R-rating or equivalent. CEO Tim Cook reportedly rejected a TV series based on Dr. Dre's life over its depiction of sex, violence and drugs. While the service was being developed, employees disparagingly referred to it as "expensive NBC".
Apple TV+ launched in the U.S. on November 1, 2019, with an international rollout to follow afterward. In 2022, the Apple Original film CODA became the first streaming original film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.note
See the trailer here.
Original content for the service with pages on TV Tropes includes:
- The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (Short) (2022; with The BBC)
- Luck (2022)
- Wolfwalkers (2020)
- Snoopy Presents
- For Auld Lang Syne (2021)
- It's The Small Things, Charlie Brown (2022)
- To Mom (and Dad), With Love (2022)
- Lucy's School (2022)
- Argylle (2024; with Universal)
- The Beanie Bubble (2023)
- Causeway (2022)
- Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022)
- Cherry (2021)
- CODA (2021; the first streaming service production to win the Academy Award for Best Picture)
- Come from Away (2021; live filmed production of the stage musical)
- The Family Plan (2023)
- Finch (2021)
- Fingernails (2023)
- Fly Me to the Moon (2024; with Columbia Pictures)
- Ghosted (2023)
- The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022)
- Greyhound (2020)
- Killers of the Flower Moon (2023; with Paramount Pictures)
- Napoleon (2023; with Columbia Pictures)
- On the Rocks (2020)
- Palmer (2021)
- The Sky Is Everywhere (2022)
- Spirited (2022)
- Tetris (2023; biopic about the creation of the video game)
- The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021; released theatrically by A24)
- Acapulco (2021-present)
- The Afterparty (2022-2023)
- Amazing Stories (2020; revival of the original series)
- Amber Brown (2022)
- Bad Sisters (2022-present)
- Best Foot Forward (2022)
- Blackbird (2022)
- The Buccaneers (2023) (2023)
- Calls (2021)
- The Crowded Room (2023)
- Defending Jacob (2020)
- Dickinson (2019-21)
- Five Days at Memorial (2022)
- For All Mankind (2019-present)
- Foundation (2021-present)
- Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (2022-present)
- Ghostwriter (2019-22)
- Hello Tomorrow! (2023)
- Helpsters (2019-22)
- H/JACK (2023-present)
- Lessons in Chemistry (2023)
- Lisey’s Story (2021)
- Long Way Round, Long Way Down, and Long Way Up (2020)note
- Manhunt (2024)
- Masters of the Air (2024)
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023-present)
- The Morning Show (2019-present)
- The Mosquito Coast (2021-23)
- Mythic Quest (2020-present)
- Physical (2021-23)
- Platonic (2023-present)
- Prehistoric Planet (2022-23; co-produced with BBC)
- Schmigadoon! (2021, 2023)
- See (2019-22)
- Severance (2022-present)
- Servant (2019-23)
- Shrinking (2023-present)
- Silo (2023-present)
- Slow Horses (2022-present)
- Sugar 2024 (2024)
- Ted Lasso (2020-21, 2023)
- Tehran (2020-present; co-production with Israel's Kan 11)
- WeCrashed (2022, miniseries)
- Major League Soccer (2023–2032)
- Central Park (2020-22)
- El Deafo (2022)
- Frog and Toad (2023)
- Doug Unplugs (2020-22)
- Harriet the Spy (2021-present)
- The Snoopy Show (2021-23)
- Stillwater (Apple TV+) (2020-23)
- Strange Planet (2023-present)
- Wolfboy and the Everything Factory (2021)
Tropes associated with Apple TV+:
- Channel Hop:
- As with Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max and Disney+, Apple TV+ has bid to pick up distribution for some films whose plans for theatrical release were waylaid by public health concerns over the COVID-19 Pandemic, snagging the rights to the Tom Hanks films Greyhound and Finch.
- Furthermore, this service has acquired the transmission rights for nearly all animated adaptations of the Peanuts franchise along with announced productions of new specials on top of the various Snoopy original productions. Apple's acquisition of the rights resulted in ABC ending their annual showings of the A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, with Apple instead making the three specials freely available to view for a short time around each of their associated holidays; however, mixed messaging and confusing media headlines regarding the paywall led to a severe public backlash against the service. In response, Apple made a deal with PBS, allowing the channel to air each special once per year note .
- It has gained the transmission rights to Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock.
- Continuity Reboot: A new version of the 1990s children's mystery series Ghostwriter was offered as a launch title.
- Follow the Leader: Apple TV+ is a product of the streaming boon, following the likes of Netflix and Hulu, and preceding Disney+ by less than two weeks and HBO Max by a few months. In addition, while it started out presenting only its original material being available, the service has decided it has to expand by acquiring transmission licensing for older content in order to compete such as most of the various adaptations of the Peanuts franchise.
- Its original content strategy seems to be following the HBO playbook fairly closely, between star-studded original dramas (The Morning Show, Truth Be Told, Defending Jacob), ambitious big-budget epics (For All Mankind, See), office comedies set at tech companies (Mythic Quest) and even Sesame Workshop children's programs (Helpsters).
- Killer App: Without a large supply of third-party content, the service instead marketed the star-studded The Morning Show as its signature program ahead of its launch; however, it was ultimately Ted Lasso that became the network's first series to truly crack the mainstream conversation.
- Late Export for You: Launched in the US first, with an international rollout following afterward.
- Product Placement: Almost every film or show on the platform that takes place in the present day will have all their characters using Apple products like iPhones and iMacs.
- Revival: Steven Spielberg's anthology series Amazing Stories made a comeback on the service, with Spielberg himself returning to produce.
- Plus a Continuity Reboot of Fraggle Rock with the subtitle Back to the Rock.
