A powerhouse of original programming
Adamya Sharma / Android Authority
With Ted Lasso’s second season breaking Apple TV Plus records and reaching the must-see TV status, it’s worth asking: Has Apple TV Plus finally made it into the streaming big league?
HBO Max and Disney Plus were possibly the biggest streaming launches since the days when Netflix and Amazon Prime dominated the game, practically alone at the top.
Even though Apple is a large tech company, Apple has struggled to get the same kind of buzz without taking advantage of a huge library of titles. But what do you say about quantity and quality?
Cashbox: 14 Apple TV Plus shows you should watch
With a relatively small collection of movies and series, Apple TV Plus has something most streamers don’t: a shockingly high batting average for quality programming. Apple has consistently released top-notch programs that rival the prestige of its much larger competitors.
How did Apple TV Plus go from its dark horse, late entry into the streaming game, to possibly the most reliable subscription service out there? Read on for a breakdown of Apple’s slow, quiet rise.
Apple TV Plus
Apple TV Plus may not have as much content compared to other streaming services, but it makes up for it in the quality of its content. This includes series like For All Mankind and Ted Lasso to films like The Banker, Greyhound and Palmer
A rocky step into the streaming game
Apple didn’t seem sure what to do next when the idea of a dedicated streamer first began circulating.
Original programming plans came up in 2015, when Apple was already producing music-centric series and films on Apple Music.
In 2017, Bloomberg reported that Apple’s streaming plan included a fear of the “nudity, raw language and violence that have become staples on many TV shows on cable or streaming services”.
While it initially raised its eyebrows, Apple hasn’t shied away from mature topics.
That raised a few eyebrows as an oddly conservative move. At the time, Game of Thrones and Westworld were doing big business on HBO, and streamers like Hulu and Netflix were clearly on adult diets with hit titles like The Handmaid’s Tale and Orange Is The New Black, respectively.
Fortunately for everyone, something must have changed. When Apple TV Plus launched in November 2019, the original Slate, which included family programming, didn’t shy away from adult content. The highly anticipated The Morning Show, which received a mature audience rating, addressed issues of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace. Even more vivid in its depictions of violence was the science fiction original See about warring factions in a future in which almost all of humanity is blind.
With new Apple shows like M. Night Shyamalan’s Servant, Mythic Quest, and The Mosquito Coast coming out, it’s hard to dismiss Apple to mature topics.
A solid business model
As Android authorityAdamya Sharma argues that Apple developed a simple but clever rollout strategy for its originals.
You get all of the original content with no filler at a reasonable price ($ 4.99 / month). And episodes are released in threesome to distribute your favorite shows in digestible amounts and keep going from week to week.
Although more series have dropped out, Apple has opened some seasons with two episodes. Then one a week for the remainder of the season, with the second seasons skipping over to a weekly rollout from day one.
Quality over quantity is the motto.
The resistance to weekly TV rollouts is understandable. The full season binge model developed by Netflix gives the viewer full control. But it comes at a price. In these times, television is best suited as event viewing and fodder for the water cooler, literally or virtually. Not everyone watches each other at the same speed, considering around 10 episodes in one fell swoop. “How far are you in?” Isn’t a conversation starter quite as good as “Did you see the latest episode?”
Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus and HBO Max have developed the appointment display with series such as WandaVision, Ted Lasso and The Flight Attendant. They were all conversation starters and the conversation lasted. By getting a head start with a few episodes first, followed by weekly planning, we’re getting the best of both worlds from Apple.
A small but strong starting table
More than the format or the price, the quality of the output from Apple TV Plus sets it apart. Apple doesn’t replenish its library with everything it has the rights to, as it only contains original content. That means the streamer started with just a handful of tracks.
This included a few Class A shows and spectators showed up. Every show that premiered on November 1st, 2019 with the streamer has been renewed.
Apple doesn’t have the luxury of relying on a back catalog to fill in gaps in its original programming.
Among them is the flagship series The Morning Show, which has handled the #MeToo movement pretty cleverly. It featured the story of a morning show recovering from the loss of its popular co-host who turned out to be an abuser. The Morning Show had a stellar cast and handled difficult subjects with a level of nuance and intelligence that honestly surprised me.
See and For All Mankind weren’t quite the same amount of money, but they both carried their weight. See has a somewhat absurd premise, but the Jason Momoa series has heart and style. Season two is one that I’m really looking forward to. Meanwhile, For All Mankind is easily one of the best series of the last decade with its alternate story, in which NASA has to catch up if the Soviets land first on the moon.
Apple TV Plus shows are some of the best
As good as the first batch of Apple TV Plus shows were, many more great TV shows followed.
M. Night Shyamalan’s Servant has to be one of the great, unsung TV masterpieces of the time. The series follows a couple who hire a nanny to take care of their baby, a lifelike replica of the child they lost only for the child to miraculously come to life. What follows are (so far) two seasons with completely unpredictable twists and turns, all immersed in a brilliant, Gothic ambience. Shyamalan is accompanied behind the camera by some big horror names like Nimród Antal and Julia Ducournau.
Read: M. Night Shyamalan films in the ranking
Other impressive Apple TV Plus shows include Dickinson, an irresistibly updated retelling of Emily Dickinson’s teenage years, along with clever wacky comedies like the video game love letter Mythic Quest and the musical comedy sendup Schmigadoon.
And of course, Ted Lasso has earned its reputation as a refreshingly cheerful and utterly hilarious comedy, with the season two premiere attracting the largest audience of any Apple Plus original movie or TV show. The fish-out-of-the-water show follows an American football coach charged with running a UK football club – uh, football – despite having no knowledge of the game or expertise other than infectious enthusiasm and stand-up -Sports spirit.
Apple TV Plus Movies: A Home for Hit Indies?
As with most services, there aren’t that many movies out there yet. The huge libraries at Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus and other Apple competitors speak for themselves. This is what a decades-old (or even centuries-old) back catalog can offer you.
Where Apple has the advantage of owning its edition directly, it starts from scratch.
Apple is not restricted by content deals and legal disputes.
What it makes up for in quantity, however, is prestige. Some titles were frankly forgotten, but Apple TV Plus movies have some pretty high profile projects in it. Rather than competing with Disney Plus’ Marvel Cinematic Universe or HBO Max’s Warner Bros. Archives, Apple is investing in smaller films with a serious cultural caché.
In addition to films like the impressive naval war film Greyhound – starring Tom Hanks – you will find originals like indie darling Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks. Or the last chapter in Tomm Moore’s animated “Irish Folklore Trilogy”, the visually stunning and moving Wolfwalkers.
Upcoming Apple TV Plus movies include the standout CODA from Sundance, new works by Martin Scorsese and Antoine Fuqua, and an adaptation of Macbeth by Joel Coen of the Coen Brothers.
Outstanding documentaries
Frederick Blichert / Android Authority
Apple TV Plus Movies also offer a small but fine documentation area.
Apple has distinguished itself with some powerful nature documentaries with the award-winning The Elephant Queen. There were also popular festival dishes such as Boys State and Dads.
With a history of releasing new music through iTunes and Apple Music, Apple TV Plus was poised to dominate with music documents.
It doesn’t quite feel like Apple TV Plus has broken through yet. Individual shows have left their mark. Sometimes a huge sign. The first season of the Morning Show earned eight Emmy nominations, with actor Billy Crudup receiving a Supporting Actor Award. Ted Lasso topped that with 20 nominations and became Apple’s breakaway hit.
Apple TV Plus is still a pretty niche, almost boutique streamer at this point, but that’s what makes it such a strong contender. Other companies keep putting huge libraries online, curated by lifeless algorithms.
Apple TV Plus versus Netflix: Which one should you choose?
The Apple TV Plus user interface isn’t quite up to the standards you’d expect from a global tech empire. And placing subscription content next to pay-per-view VOD titles makes for a somewhat chaotic viewing experience. But on the content side, Apple dominates, albeit very slowly.
Perhaps in a few years to develop a larger library, it will finally get the recognition it already deserves.
