Apple has released two new trailers showing a preview of next week’s episodes of Carpool Karaoke: The Series.
One ad shows the pairing of Michael Strahan and Jeff Gordon as they sing songs like the 1980s classic “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John. The other depicts what may be the most fun oddball pairing so far as Shaquille O’Neal goes on a drive with one of WWE’s most popular wrestlers — and his name is John Cena.
Check out the ads below.
So far, Carpool Karaoke had been met with middling to negative reactions. A big part of this is the highly scripted nature of the skits, which lose a lot of the spontaneity of the original Late Late Show sketches, whose format Apple borrowed for the new series.
Apple’s previous reality show, Planet of the Apps has also been met with negative responses for much the same reasons.
According to recent reports, Apple will spend $1 billion next year developing 10 scripted drama series on a similar budgetary level to HBO’s Game of Thrones. To help it step up its game in this department, Apple has also recently hired a pair of former Sony execs who helped bring to the screen shows including AMC’s Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, and Netflix’s The Crown.
What have you thought of Carpool Karaoke: The Series so far? I’ve been impressed by the caliber of names Apple can draw for the series, and the less scripted moments are definitely fun, although I haven’t enjoyed the attempts to expand the concept beyond its original concept — or its more obvious product shilling.
The new episodes are available to view by anyone with an Apple Music subscription.
