Apple just added up to five months to current Apple TV+ free trials. If your free access to the streaming video service was about to expire, it’s instead been extended until the end of June.
And Apple is giving monthly rebates to those who paid for an annual subscription.
From CES product unveilings to juicy rumors, this week suffered zero shortage of new for Apple fans. You’ll find the cream of the crop in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. As always, it’s free — and it’s ready for consumption on your iOS device of choice.
I don’t want to slow you down on your way to the week’s top news stories. But if you use Safari (and you really should), don’t miss our new series of how-tos on getting the most out of Apple’s web browser. Those Safari Pro Tips are in the mag as well.
Or you can get it all, plus our reviews of the new Apple TV+ seasons of Servant and Dickinson, in your browser at the links below.
Dickinson ambles closer to the edge of its hero’s fame and madness in this season’s fourth episode, which serves as a meditation on creative blockage.
Though oft charming and frequently beautiful, the postmodern Apple TV+ show about the 19th-century poet still suffers from an irreconcilable identity crisis. This week’s episode, released Friday, takes no steps to resolve the situation.
2021 not scary enough for you? Apple TV+ is here to help. On Friday, Apple debuted the first episode of season two of Servant. The creepy psychological thriller series from Tony Basgallop and M. Night Shyamalan spooked audiences with its first season about the supernatural goings-on involving “baby” Jericho and nanny Leanne.
Check out the season 2 trailer below:
Apple premiered the first trailer for Cherry, a drama starring Tom Holland, on Thursday. Although best known for playing Spider-Man, Holland’s upcoming film is far grittier, telling the story of an Iraq war veteran with PTSD who spirals into drug addiction and bank robbery.
The movie is coming to theaters in February and Apple TV+ in the spring.
Watch the trailer now:
Ridley Scott will reportedly direct an epic starring Joaquin Phoenix as French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Kitbag will be produced by Apple and shown on Apple TV+.
A new sci-fi comedy/drama starring the hilarious Andy Samberg is reportedly coming to Apple TV+.
The as-yet-untitled project is based on an idea by BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg. And it’s being penned by Andy Siara, who wrote the script for Samberg’s hit Hulu movie, Palm Springs.
Servant, the brainchild of producer/director M. Night Shyamalan and writer Tony Basgallop, is back for more perversity, more cultish derangement, and more exquisitely photographed food.
The sleeper Apple TV+ hit comes roaring back for a well-deserved victory lap this Friday. And in this second season, everyone from the characters to the directors seems to know it’s time to take off the gloves.
Dickinson is back against all odds (odds don’t include viewer numbers), bringing another season of anachronistic anarchy to Apple TV+. Can showrunner Alena Smith keep this bauble from shattering long enough to get to the third season?
Can’t wait for the second season of Dickinson? Then quickly sign up to watch an advance screening. A one-time stream will allow viewers to see the comedy/drama on Thursday, January 7, the day before it debuts on Apple TV+.
Update: The screening is now full. “Registration for this event is now closed,“ says Apple.
Apple broke new ground in 2020, and will build on that in many ways in 2021. It should be a really significant year for Mac. And iPad and Apple Watch are expected to get important new features as well.
Plus, this could be the year a product Apple has been quietly developing finally breaks out.
Apple might make a Mariah Carey Christmas special a regular part of the Apple TV+ holiday slate. A new report suggests Apple and the superstar songstress are already in talks about a 2021 follow-up to the surprisingly popular Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special.
Netflix could spend an estimated $19.03 billion on video content in 2021, data presented by investment bank Bankr suggests.
That would be an increase of 10% from the estimated $17.3 billion it spent this year. It’s also a massive ramp-up from the $2.4 billion Netflix spent in 2013 when it started moving into original productions with shows like House of Cards.
Say goodbye to 2020 with the help of Snoopy and his friends. Apple TV+ is now showing Happy New Year, Charlie Brown.
It’s one of many holiday specials appearing on Apple’s streaming video service, which is now the home of all things Peanuts.
Among other things, Apple is known for its clear messaging and high level of quality control. Which is why it was slightly strange when a poster for upcoming Apple TV+ movie Cherry failed totally on both these counts. It featured an all-but-illegible title on its “For Your Consideration” campaign poster for Best Picture.
Don’t worry, though. The flick hasn’t been renamed CHERk, 0HER88 or 8HERK in post-production. Nor is this terrible typeface a marketing stunt. Instead, it seems that trade publication Variety just shared the wrong version of the poster.
A new report adds weight to rumors that an Apple TV set-top box supercharged for gaming is coming next year.
“Apple is planning an upgraded box with a stronger gaming focus, an updated remote and a new processor,” according to Bloomberg.
MGM, the movie studio that owns the James Bond franchise, is supposedly up for sale — and The Wall Street Journal says some “big technology companies [are] logical buyers.”
Apple has previously been reported as expressing interest in acquiring the James Bond movies, and has held talks about purchasing MGM.
Coronavirus cases continue to spike around the U.S. and the world — and the set of Apple TV+ shows is no exception. With several positive COVID-19 tests having been reported on the set of Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, the show creator and one of its lead actors Rob McElhenney sent out a message to staff, Variety reports.
But not everyone was happy about it.
Superstar Samuel L. Jackson will take the lead in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, a limited series coming to Apple TV+. The show is being adapted from a novel about a dying man getting a revival of his youth.
Earlier in 2020, Jackson appeared in The Banker, the first movie on Apple TV+.
The next star-powered movie on Apple TV+ will put Justin Timberlake in the spotlight. He’ll star in Palmer as a former prisoner determined to put his life back together. The film will debut on Apple’s streaming service in late January.
Watch a trailer now:
Oscar winner Jared Leto could play Adam Neumann, boss of WeWork, in an Apple TV+ series about the rise and fall of the shared workspace startup.
At one point in time, WeWork had an estimated value of $47 billion, before it collapsed. Neumann served as WeWork’s CEO from 2010 through 2019, before finally being pressured into resigning. A Wall Street Journal article last year cited his “eccentric behavior” as one of the reasons he was pushed to step down.
Apple TV+ executives are reportedly in “prolonged conversations” to acquire two movies produced by former Pixar and Walt Disney chief creative officer John Lasseter.
The movies could be part of a larger agreement between Apple and the company Skydance Animation, which Lasseter heads up. Lasseter is one of the most successful creators in animation history. He played a key role in creating the Toy Story franchise, The Incredibles movies, Finding Dory, Frozen and more.
Users of the Chromecast with Google TV will soon be able to install the Apple TV app. That’ll bring access to Apple’s streaming video service, along with series like Ted Lasso and movies like Wolfwalkers.
This is part of Apple’s efforts to get its video app on as many platforms as possible. Going beyond iPhone Mac, the video software is already on multiple smart TVs, game consoles and more.
Apple has released the first trailer for its upcoming Billie Eilish documentary, The World’s A Little Blurry.
The documentary, which Apple reportedly paid $25 million to acquire, will debut on Apple TV+ February 26. The trailer depicts Eilish in her regular home life, on stage, and also shows off home video of the pop star as a kid. Check it out below.
The psychological thriller Servant will be back for a third season. Apple TV+ went ahead and greenlit the next season event though it’s still a month before Season 2 premiers.
The show tells the story of young couple trying to figure out if their lost child has returned from the dead. Of if they’re going mad. Or something worse is happening. It’s what you’d expect from a series with M. Night Shyamalan involved.
.jpg){kind=link}