Apple is taking meetings in the hopes of landing “big, smart, splashy dramas, with at least one citing Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and The Crown as models,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sources claim Apple has jumped into the discussion at multiple production houses and is now getting the same pitches that Netflix and HBO see for new high-end TV series.
Apple reportedly missed out on “Ratched” — Ryan Murphy’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” origin series — which ended up going to Netflix, and has made bids on a handful of other projects, but the company is also reportedly passing on the vast majority of pitches in the hopes of securing one massive blockbuster deal to lead the way. Those include an update of the Steve Spielberg series Amazing Stories and a morning show drama starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, according to sources close to the discussions.
The major question that leaves some hesitant is Apple’s lack of articulation so far on how the shows would be distributed, whether that’s through Apple Music, a third party or an as-yet-unnamed dedicated in-house video streaming service.
Even with former Sony execs Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht leading the way with all of their industry connections in tow, big players like ICM Partners still have concerns about being the first to take the plunge. “Jamie and Zack are good guys, and they’ve done business with all of us for decades, and it’s Apple, so everybody will sell there,” ICM managing director Chris Silbermann said.
