A director known for ER, The West Wing and Shameless episodes, and even the Deep Impact disaster movie, will go behind the camera for one of the many TV shows Apple is producing. Mimi Leder reportedly agreed to take on the upcoming program starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
The drama, which doesn’t yet have a name, will be set behind the scenes at a fictional morning TV show.
The story is partially based on CNN anchor Brian Stelter’s book Top of the Morning, according to Variety.
The show has already had its share of drama, even before filming begins. Apple reportedly had to outspend Netflix for the rights. Then, creator and showrunner Jay Carson departed the series this spring as the result of “creative differences.”
Apple’s mysterious TV plans
This is just one of nearly two dozen TV shows Apple has ordered, including a sci-fi drama from the producer of Battlestar Galactica and an Amazing Stories reboot from Steven Spielberg himself. And that’s just the start.
Despite reportedly spending up to $1 billion creating all these programs, Apple has yet to spell out exactly what it’s going to do with them. The most obvious strategy is launching an Apple TV service to compete with Hulu and Netflix. However, whether the iPhone-maker will actually do that remains a mystery. It won’t be an easy job.
