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Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds will fill you with wonder [Apple TV+ review]

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Clive Oppenheimer and Werner Herzog guide us through
Clive Oppenheimer and Werner Herzog guide us through Fireball.
Photo: Apple TV+

Werner Herzog’s latest documentary is truly an all-timer for the Bavarian buddha. Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds, a doc about meteors that debuts on Apple TV+ on November 13, looks at no less than the way the heavens speak to us insignificant earthlings.

In traditional Herzog style it’s discursive, loopy and unspeakably beautiful. However much Apple TV+ spent on this film, it was a bargain. Because this is the kind of documentary you’ll want to watch over and over again.

What to watch on Apple TV+ [Cult of Mac Magazine 374]

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Best Apple TV+ shows: Prep your peepers for some stellar Apple TV+ shows.
Prep your peepers for some stellar Apple TV+ shows.
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

After a bit of a slow start, Apple TV+ has built up a great library of original content. The streaming service just keeps piling on the new shows — and some of them are undeniably great.

You can read our roundup of the best Apple TV+ shows to binge in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. It’s free to download, and it’s fun to read on your iPad or iPhone.

Watching any of the shows on our list would be a great way a celebrate the first birthday of Apple TV+. So turn off the election news and stream something exciting this weekend. And brace yourself for next Tuesday’s big Apple event. It should be a doozy.

Apple news

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PSA: New episode of Long Way Up and Oprah Conversation on Apple TV+

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Oprah Apple TV+
Oprah meets Stevie Wonder.
Photo: Apple

It’s Friday, which means only one thing: weekend tomorrow, more post-election craziness, fresh uploads on Apple TV+.

New content is slightly thin on the ground this week, with only two new shows debuting.  This week, those include a new celebrity interview on The Oprah Conversation and a fresh episode of the travelog series Long Way Up. Here’s what you need to know.

Christopher Walken will surely creep us out in Severance on Apple TV+

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Christopher Walken will be in ‘Severance’ omn Apple TV+.
Christopher Walken can’t stand on a sidewalk without looking frightening.
Photo: Wikipedia CC

Any doubts that the Apple TV+ workplace thriller Severance will be creepy were laid to rest Monday when word got out that Christopher Walken has joined the cast. He’s added an eerie tone to many roles in the past.

He’s just one of multiple big names already involved in the upcoming Apple series. Patricia Arquette is also set to star, while Ben Stiller will direct.

Apple TV comes to Xbox consoles next week

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Apple TV and Xbox: together at last
A version of the Apple TV app will be ready when Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S debut next week.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Those who use a Microsoft Xbox as their entertainment center will soon be able to watch the Apple TV+ streaming video service. A version of the Apple TV software will be released for a range of Xbox consoles next Tuesday, including the newest ones.

PSA: Season finale of Tehran debuts on Apple TV+, more

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Tehran season finale
What's on Apple TV+ today?
Photo: Apple

Apple’s celebrated spy drama Tehran reaches the end of the road Friday as the Apple TV+ airs its season finale.

The episode, titled “Five Hours Until the Bombing Run,” is one of three new shows on Apple TV+ this week. It means that, for the uninitiated, the entire series is now available for viewing. (Plus non-subscribers can tune in to watch the Halloween animated classic It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.)

Beautiful video preview will get you howling for Wolfwalkers

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‘Wolfwalkers’ is headed for theaters and Apple TV+.
Wolfwalkers, from a highly-decorated animation studio, debuts on Apple TV+ in December.
Screenshot: Apple/Cartoon Saloon

To get audiences primed for Wolfwalkers, Apple debuted on Thursday a “Legendary Prologue” for what will be first animated movie on Apple TV+. It introduces viewers to a medieval world where humans can transform into wolves.

Watch the video preview now.

Apple TV+ picks up lovable sports comedy Ted Lasso for surprise third season

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Jason Sudeikis plays a clueless college football coach in the Apple TV+ comedy series
Jason Sudeikis plays a clueless college football coach in the comedy series.
Photo: Apple TV+

AFC Richmond gets to keep its coach for years to come. Apple TV+ revealed Wednesday that it renewed its sports comedy Ted Lasso all the way through a third season.

The first season recently wrapped up, and received high marks from critics and audiences. And there’s plenty more to come

Jon Stewart returns to airwaves on Apple TV+

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Jon Steward headed to Apple TV+
The untitled show is expected to land next year.
Photo: The White House

Jon Stewart, former star of The Daily Show, has signed a deal to host a current affairs series for Apple TV+, a new report claims.

The show is said to center on “the national conversation and [Stewart’s] own advocacy work,” and will run for multiple seasons. Stewart will produce it through his own company, Busboy Productions.

Young robot learns about being human in Doug Unplugs on Apple TV+

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‘Doug Unplugs’ is an upcoming show based on ‘Doug Unplugged.’
Doug Unplugs shows children there’s more to life than what one gets from computers.
Photo: Apple

Preschoolers will soon be able to learn about life in a computer-animated Doug Unplugs show on Apple TV+. It’s based on a popular book series about a robot boy and his human friends, and makes the jump to TV in mid-November.

A trailer released Monday gives kids and their parents a peek at what to expect from this series developed by DreamWorks Animation.

Apple TV+ might save James Bond film No Time to Die [Updated]

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Does Apple TV+ have James Bond film 'No Time to Die' in its sights?
Does Apple TV+ have James Bond in its sights?
Photo: MGM Studios

Rumors are swirling that Apple TV+ might scoop up No Time to Die, the James Bond film currently languishing in box office limbo. The movie — the 25th 007 flick, and the last to star Daniel Craig as the British spy — has seen its release date slip repeatedly as many cinemas remain closed due to COVID-19.

Now, MGM Studios reportedly might pull the trigger on a streaming debut rather than waiting out the pandemic. If Apple TV+ added No Time to Die to its growing library, it would be the streaming service’s biggest coup yet.

Becoming You’s epic toddlers will clobber you with cute

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Apple TV+ Becoming You
This kid can surf better than I can.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ looks to continue building its sterling reputation with the upcoming six-part documentary series Becoming You. Narrated by Oscar-winner Olivia Coleman, the series will tell the story of the first 2,000 days of life for 100 kids from around the world.

It hits me, as the kids say, “right in the feels.” Check out the trailer below.

Hey, Apple … don’t be evil! [Cult of Mac Magazine 372]

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Why Apple needs a
This is how Apple could avoid Google's fate.
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

As Apple faces increasing scrutiny from governments around the world, the company should take a lesson from Google. We think Apple really needs to implement its own “don’t be evil” policy — and stick with it.

Also, with the new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro arriving this week alongside iPad Air 4 it’s time to take a look at reviewers’ first impressions. (It’s also a good time to revisit best practices for setting up and optimizing a new iPhone).

Read it all — along with reviews of new Apple TV+ movies On the Rocks and Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You — in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine.

Download it now to read on your iOS device.

On the Rocks is a warmhearted comedy about all kinds of infidelity [Apple TV+ review]

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Rashida Jones and Bill Murray in On The Rocks
Rashida Jones and Bill Murray On The Rocks.
Photo: Apple TV+

On the Rocks, the first Apple TV+ arthouse film, is an extremely winning combination of midlife crisis, comedy of remarriage, and road-trip movie.

Writer/director Sofia Coppola’s charmingly cynical, shaggy-dog anti-romance — which stars Bill Murray and Rashida Jones, and debuts today on Apple TV+ after a brief theatrical release — is a smart step toward filling out the streaming service’s growing library of original movies.

PSA: On the Rocks, Letter to You, more debut on Apple TV+

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Bill Murray and director Sofia Coppola reunite for On the Rocks.
Bill Murray and director Sofia Coppola reunite for On the Rocks.
Photo: Apple TV+

It’s a packed Friday for Apple TV+ with the debut of Sofia Coppola’s movie On The Rocks, plus a new episode of Tehran and Long Way Up. There’s also the new Bruce Springsteen documentary Letter to You, which was due to debut Friday, but wound up debuting Thursday after a tweet sent out by The Boss (and, no, we don’t mean Tim Cook).

Here’s what to expect from this week’s new arrivals.

Scarlett Johansson will star in genre-bending Bride on Apple TV+

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Scarlett Johansson will star in ‘Bride’ on Apple TV
Scarlett Johansson is probably best known as Black Widow, but she’ll also star in Bride on Apple TV.
Screenshot: Marvel

Scarlett Johansson reportedly will take the lead in an Apple TV+ film. Bride will be about a creation designed to be the perfect wife. And what happens when she rejects the role.

Oscar-winner Sebastián Lelio will direct the film.

Quibi’s crash and burn makes the slow, steady approach of Apple TV+ look smart

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Tortoise
Apple's not in a rush with Apple TV+.
Photo: Magdalena Kula Manchee/Unsplash CC

In the words of Ron Burgundy, “That escalated quickly.” A day after short-form video streamer Quibi pivoted from a mobile-only approach to launch an Apple TV app, the beleaguered service announced it will shut down for good.

What lesson can we learn from Quibi’s glitzy, high-profile launch, only to crash and burn six months later? That the slow-but-steady, tortoise-like Apple TV+ strategy looks smarter than ever.

Creepy Apple TV+ show Servant season 2 coming January 15

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Servant on Apple TV+
Get 2021 off to a creepy start.
Photo: Apple

Season two of Apple TV+’s creepy M. Night Shyamalan series Servant will debut on January 15, the famed director tweeted Thursday.

The first season was among the initial wave of shows that debuted on Apple TV+ in November 2019. It seems likely that the second season would have been due to begin about now, but shooting was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic shutting down filming.

Sony confirms Apple TV app is coming to PlayStation 4 and 5 in Nov

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PS5 media remote
A look at the PS5 media remote.
Photo: Sony

The Apple TV app is coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, Sony revealed Thursday.

According to Sony, the Apple TV app will join Disney+, Netflix, Spotify, Twitch and YouTube as streaming services that will be available when the PS5 ships on November 12. (Amazon Prime Video, MyCanal, Hulu, Peacock, and others are also coming soon.)

These were the biggest hits on Apple TV+ in the third quarter

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Jason Sudeikis is the titular Ted Lasso
No wonder he's smiling.
Photo: Apple TV

Apple doesn’t reveal too many numbers about Apple TV+, which can make it difficult to gauge which shows are the streaming service’s biggest hits.

Most of the time, the best you can do is use anecdotal evidence, such as what people are talking about on Twitter, or extrapolate the number of Rotten Tomatoes reviews to get a sense of which shows are the getting the most attention.

However, Reelgood, which describes itself as the “most extensive movie and TV streaming search engine with more than 2 million monthly active users in the United States,” thinks it’s going a more accurate idea. It’s produced a chart showing date about Apple TV+’s top-performing TV shows for the past three months. Check it out.

Quibi launches Apple TV app just in time to shut down [Updated]

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Power players Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman apparently couldn't save Quibi.
Power players Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman ran Quibi.
Photo: Fortune Brainstorm Tech/Flickr CC

Quibi, the mobile-first streaming video service that launched at the worst possible time, is shutting down, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report came Wednesday, just days after Quibi launched an Apple TV app so subscribers could enjoy its bite-size videos on the big screen.

The Velvet Underground music doc explores avant-garde ‘60s band for Apple TV+

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Discover how an unsuccessful rock band went on to become hugely influential in the Velvet Underground documentary on Apple TV+.
Discover how an unsuccessful rock band went on to become hugely influential in the Velvet Underground documentary on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ is carving out a niche of musical documentaries. It’s latest project is The Velvet Underground. This will be, of course, about the 1960s band that found little success in its day, but went on to be hugely influential.

Apple yanks Apple TV Remote app from App Store

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The Remote app is no more.
The Remote app is no more.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple quietly (or as quietly as Apple can do anything, which means it’s widely reported) removed the Apple TV Remote app from the App Store.

The app allowed owners to control their Apple TV without having to use the controversial Siri Remote that comes with the set-top box. It let users navigate Apple TV with touch gestures, quickly enter text using the keyboard, ask Siri to find things to watch, and more.