Breaking Bad co-star Aaron Paul has signed on to act in Apple’s upcoming Are You Sleeping? drama series.
Paul will join previously announced cast members Octavia Spencer and Lizzy Caplan. Other newly signed cast members will include This Is Us and Luke Cage actor Ron Cephas Jones, Weeds actress Elizabeth Perkins, ER actress Mekhi Phifer, Sons of Anarchy‘s Michael Beach, and others.
Apple signed its Are You Sleeping? drama series at the end of 2017. It stars Oscar-winning Octavia Spencer from The Help, and is being adapted from a novel by Kathleen Barber about a Serial-style crime podcast which reopens a murder case. It is being written by Nichelle Tramble Spellman, best known for The Good Wife and Justified. She will also be showrunner.
Aaron Paul has signed on to play convicted murderer Warren Cave, a character who may or may not be innocent of the crime he was charged with. Along with the other actors, he has supposedly signed a one-year deal. In May, Apple announced that it has given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes.
Coming soon to an Apple device near you?
Apple has so far signed around 16 different TV shows into development — in addition to the non-scripted series such as Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps the company has already released.
Although it is still a new player in original production, Apple has had no problem signing some big names. Thus far, it has brokered deals with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon, Kristen Wiig, Kevin Durant, Ron Howard, Ronald D. Moore and M. Night Shamalayan to produce content.
Apple has yet to reveal exactly how these shows will be made available to customers, however. Interestingly, while it is certainly nothing definite, the company recently signed a Writers Guild of America master contract promising writers greater benefits for shows that air for free online. That is in contrast to the subscription model that companies like Netflix have employed. Whether that offers a hint about Apple’s plans remains to be seen.
Source: Variety
