As part of a trend among streaming services, Netflix will jack up the price of ad-free streaming soon. Photo: Netflix
With the writers and actors strikes now over if tentative agreements hold, Netflix plans to raise its ad-free streaming subscription price soon, joining other streaming platforms in doing so, a report said Tuesday.
Apple Original special The Velveteen Rabbit debuts on November 22. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ set a slate of kids-and-family specials Tuesday for the upcoming holiday season, including the new Apple Original special The Velveteen Rabbit, based on Margery Williams’ beloved children’s book, on November 22.
But that’s not all. New holiday-themed episodes from series The Snoopy Show, Frog and Toad and Shape Island premiere December 1. And a special New Year’s Eve-themed episode of Sago Mini Friends comes out December 22.
Some Peanuts classics will stream for free, too — you don’t need to subscribe to Apple TV+ to see the classic Charlie Brown shows for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Academy Award winner Peter Capaldi (left) and Cush Jumbo star in Criminal Record, premiering with the first two episodes on January 12 on Apple TV+. Photo: Apple
Apple TV+ unveiled a first look Tuesday at Criminal Record, an eight-episode crime thriller in which brilliant detectives clash over a high-profile murder in London.
Debuting January 12, the series stars Academy Award and BAFTA award winner Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who, The Thick of It) and Laurence Olivier Award and Critics Choice Award nominee Cush Jumbo (The Good Wife, The Good Fight, The Beast Must Die).
Apple may lay out big money for one of the world's major sports. Photo: Chris [email protected]
Somewhat like soccer, outside of the United States Formula 1 racing is really big. And Apple wants those exclusive streaming rights enough to think about putting the pedal to the metal with a $2 billion bid for them, according to a report.
International soccer legend Lionel Messi is now a fixture with MLS club Inter Miami CF. Photo: Apple
World soccer phenom Lionel Messi conquered the world. And now he’s come for the United States, according to a new documentary teaser trailer Apple TV+ dropped Monday for Messi Meets America.
The six-part series, which debuts October 11, is all about Messi’s first season with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF.
Can true love be scientifically tested and proven? Photo: Apple
Apple TV+ debuted its first trailer Wednesday for a rare beast — a sci-fi romantic comedy. It’s called Fingernails, and its appealing cast includes Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White and Luke Wilson.
Set in and around a “love-testing institute,” the Apple Originals film debuts in New York City and Los Angeles theaters October 27 and in more theaters and on Apple TV+ November 3.
The Enfield Poltergeist debuts October 27 on Apple TV+. Image: Apple
The story of “the most famous poltergeist haunting in history” came my way first in the form of a trailer Apple TV+ dropped Tuesday for The Enfield Poltergeist documentary series. I hadn’t heard of the case it covers.
The trailer delivers a chill or two, but it’s kind of over-the-top with the spooky narration. The four-part documentary series debuts October 27.
As rumpled spy Jackson Lamb, Gary Oldman never looks his best. Photo: Apple
Jackson Lamb and his team of misfit MI5 agents return soon for season three of espionage thriller Slow Horses. Apple TV+ offered a first look Wednesday with some photos and plot tidbits about the trouble they will get into.
The award-winning show debuts December 1 with the first two episodes of the new season. As a big fan of the show and the books it’s based on, I can’t wait.
Foundation on Apple TV+ is one of the most popular shows on any streaming service. Image: Apple TV+
Season two of the sci-fi epic Foundation draws enough viewers to propel the Apple TV+ series to near the top of the popularity charts for three weeks in a row. It continues to outperform nearly everything on any streaming service.
And it’s not only viewers who like the show — the current season enjoys a 100% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes.
★★★★★
What's next for Hari Seldon and the Second Foundation? Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+’s epic science fiction series Foundation concludes its second season this week and it goes out on a remarkable high note.
Who knows what the future holds for the Second Foundation? But I’ve greatly enjoyed this season. The hours I’ve spent getting sucked into this excellent sci-fi show were well worth the investment.
★☆☆☆☆
Jon Hamm joins The Morning Show cast, playing a tech mogul that's part Steve Jobs, part Elon Musk and part Jeff Bezos. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+’s flagship drama The Morning Show returns today for another season of broadcast news back-stabbing after a truly disastrous second season. The show adds a new character — a tech exec played by Mad Men star Jon Hamm — to the toxic mix this time around.
But can the showrunners right The Morning Show’s course? And, perhaps more importantly, does it matter? The show, about a news network and its star executives and anchors, finds itself dealing with contemporary politics a day late and a dollar short.
Sounds like the makings of a good story, like every podcast should be. Photo: Apple
The new Apple Originals podcast Magnificent Jerk tells the unbelievable story of an eccentric uncle who plays at acting and screenwriting but turns out to be a Chinese gang leader whose life ends up on screen in a low-budget action flick starring Rob Lowe in a fake mustache, according to a new trailer dropped Wednesday.
Former Washington Post journalist Maya Lin Sugarman — the guy’s niece — hosts the podcast. It debuts September 18.
★★★★★
Terminus had better watch out for Brother Day (played by Lee Pace, left) and Demerzel (Laura Birn).
Apple TV+ science fiction show Foundation reaches the penultimate episode of a very fine second season this week
Brother Day demands answers from the people of Terminus, who disappoint him with their conviction. Gaal and Salvor plot a daring escape from the Mentalics. And a great big dogfight in space precedes the showstopping image of the season.
Up from the depths, 30 stories high, breathing fire, his head in the sky: Godzilla! Photo: Apple TV+
Those eager to see more about the upcoming Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters can finally watch a teaser trailer. It gives the best look yet at the show set in the MonsterVerse that contains Godzilla and other classic kaiju.
Apple also announced that the series will premier in November 2023.
Carlotta and Dedo do whatever it takes to find their daughter in Where’s Wanda?, coming soon to Apple TV+. Photo: Apple TV+
The upcoming series Where’s Wanda? is a dark comedy that follows parents searching for their missing daughter who discover that behind closed doors, none of their neighbors are who they pretend to be.
From left, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington became icons of fashion and culture in the 1980s. Photo: Apple
The four women who sparked the term “supermodel” in the 1980s — Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington — were a close-knit sisterhood and “the original influencers,” according to the new trailer Apple TV+ dropped Wednesday for the upcoming documentary series The Super Models.
The four-part series, which promises never-before-seen commentary from fashion and pop culture luminaries, walks the runway September 20.
★★★★☆
Rue (played by Sandra Yi Sencindiver, left) reveals something earth-shaking to Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann). Photo: Apple TV+
Salvor and Gaal are in trouble this week as incredible Apple TV+ space opera Foundation heads into the home stretch of its great second season.
With the Mentalics moving on our two heroines, it seems that everyone has their fair share of trouble in the episode, entitled “The Last Empress.” Cleric and Constant find themselves at the business end of a Trantor firing squad. Dusk and Dawn see themselves fading into obsolescence. And Sareth’s running out of time to make her move.
John le Carré, aka David Cornwell, is the subject of Errol Morris' documentary The Pigeon Tunnel. It premieres October 20 on Apple TV+. Photo: Apple
The upcoming documentary The Pigeon Tunnel is the final interview with John le Carré, who wrote many best-selling novels about spies and was an MI6 agent himself.
A just-released trailer for the biopic shows the British spy-turned-author discussing his very usual life. The film will premiere on Apple TV+ this fall.
Apple Original Films unveiled the key art for Killers of the Flower Moon, set to release in theaters globally this fall. Images: Apple TV+
Martin Scorsese’s historical drama Killers of the Flower Moon will debut in theaters in late October. The real-life tale of a serial killer will appear on the Apple TV+ streaming service sometime after that.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro, and Apple is clearly hoping it will earn an Oscar or two.
When you break it down to per-unit cost, it's about $3 per cookie. But they're buttery! Photo: Mackenzie Limited
If you miss Ted Lasso on Apple TV+ badly enough, perhaps you’ll pay $30 for 10 of the shortbread biscuits, aka cookies.
That’s the hope of gourmet food purveyor Mackenzie Limited, anyway. It now offers its exclusive, officially endorsed “Biscuits with the Boss” shortbread cookies much like the ones coach Lasso often brought to AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton on the show.
Everyone’s making compromises this week on Foundation, the gorgeous and exciting Apple TV+ sci-fi series based on the writings of Isaac Asimov.
Day and Demerzel sweat their next move as the Second Foundation rears its head (and Queen Sareth shows her fangs). Salvor and Gaal make the most of a new home. And Bel Riose meets Hober Mallow — with disastrous consequences.
The third season of The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon premieres globally on September 13 on Apple TV+. Photo: Apple
A new trailer for The Morning Show‘s upcoming third season depicts a major crisis hitting the show-within-a-show — but the solution might be worse than the problem.
That solution? A gigantic cash infusion from tech executive Paul Marks, a new character played by Mad Men star Jon Hamm. He dangles the money after the UBA TV network suffers a massive hack attack. The trailer, which Apple TV+ released Thursday, gives us a better look at Hamm as he joins Morning Show stars Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Billy Crudup.
Who killed the groom? Better have a look at the wedding videographer's footage. Photo: Apple
A TV director just revealed that he and his crew “got away with” using an iPhone to shoot much of an episode of murder-mystery comedy The Afterparty on Apple TV+.
Season 2, episode 8 of the show benefited from the sense of iPhone “found footage” because it takes place mostly during a wedding, so they took pains to make it look like some amateur shot it.
There's the happy mum and her darling boy! Looks like somebody needs a crappy guitar. Photo: Apple
Apple TV+ dropped a trailer Wednesday for it upcoming Irish dramedy Flora and Son, saying “never underestimate a Dublin woman with a guitar.”
Bad Sisters mainstay Eve Hewson stars as that Dublin woman, a beleaguered mom trying to give her rebellious teen son a focus in life through a beat-up old acoustic guitar.
The film debuts in theaters September 22 and streams on Apple TV+ September 29.
Strange things happen to people who haven't slept in weeks. Screenshot: Apple TV+
Still Up is about the hijinks of a pair of chronic insomniacs who aren’t aware they’re falling in love. Apple TV+ released the trailer Tuesday showing Danny and Lisa’s struggles to sleep and find someone who understands them.
The romantic comedy series will debut on Apple TV+ in a few weeks.