J.K. Simmons takes us to an unsettling new place in this week's episode. Photo: Apple TV+
Things start to get unbearably tense and inhumane as pressure builds on the Barber family in Defending Jacob’s fifth episode, “Visitors.” The show takes a number of risks that may pay rich dividends in future episodes — as long as the showrunners remember not to flinch.
New guest stars — including veteran actor J.K. Simmons — and old vendettas surface in Friday’s new episode. And the Barbers head toward what might turn out to be a moral dead end if they want to stop their son, Jacob, from going to prison. Can we say climax?
Although people generally like Apple TV+, they like rival streaming services more. Photo: Apple
Apple TV+ won an accolade no one wants: it’s the streaming video service viewers are most likely to cancel once it stops being free.
Still, satisfaction with Apple’s offering is fairly high, according to survey results revealed on Friday. But people like almost all its competitors more.
Chris Evans takes on a dramatic role in Defending Jacob on Apple TV+. Photo: Apple
The American crime drama and miniseries Defending Jacob is apparently a hit with Apple TV+ viewers, with reports Thursday that it now ranks among the two fastest-growing series premieres for the fledgling streaming network.
Streaming video quality during early 2020 was above par using Apple TV devices. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
While it might be far down the pecking order of best selling streaming boxes, the Apple TV and Apple TV 4K got high marks in the first quarter of this year for best picture quality speed and shortest lag time in starting videos, according to data collected from billions of sensors embedded into video applications.
The results are a clear sign of how well streaming devices and services performed in a period where more people around the world were homebound due to the coronavirus pandemic and turned to watching television en masse.
Apple TV+ show For All Mankind is currently between seasons — with season one concluded, but season two stalled by the same production challenges facing everyone in Hollywood right now.
To make sure that the retro space drama stays in people’s minds, however, Apple Wednesday dropped a new video providing a narrated tour of one of the show’s locations. Check it out below.
Is the TiVo Stream 4K a worthy Apple TV opponent? Probably, but no Apple TV+ support hurts. Photo: TiVo
After months of anticipation and weeks of social media teasing, the TiVo Stream 4K was released Wednesday, a streaming box that brings together on-demand and live streaming services into one device without having to switch from app to app to find and watch shows.
At an introductory price of $49.99 with no monthly subscription for TV scheduling data, the TiVo Stream 4K will take on the Apple TV 4K with a starting price of $179 and the top-selling Roku streaming device.
The disappointing news for Apple TV app users and Apple TV+ subscribers is that TiVo’s newest product currently will not support the app or integration of Apple’s programming as Apple does not have an Android app.
The club is not a subscription service but simply recommendations of content that can be bought through iTunes for $14.99 or rented through Disney+, Hulu, or HBO for $3.99 each.
Kerry Ehrin is back for a few more years to produce The Morning Show on Apple TV+. Photo: Apple
Apple TV+ executive producer and showrunner Kerry Ehrin inked a multiyear extension of her deal with Apple. Under the new pact, she will continue producing exclusive content, including The Morning Show, which should enter its second season soon.
Apple TV+'s Defending Jacob stays strong in its fourth episode. Photo: Apple TV+
In its fourth episode, stellar Apple TV+ show Defending Jacob shows every member of the Barber family starting to crack as young Jacob moves closer to his murder trial. As the characters head toward revelations and uncomfortable conclusions, they start to stall for time in irresponsible, sometimes dangerous ways.
As the situation unfolds, their relationships with each other start to fray.
Apple adds veteran writer/producer to creative lineup. Photo: Apple
Veteran Hollywood writer and producer Annie Weisman has signed a longterm creative deal with AppleTV+ to develop televisions projects exclusive to the service, according to a published report Friday
Rafe Spall and Esther Smith are not trying hard enough in new series Trying. Photo: Apple TV+
Even during quarantine, you’d really need to not value your time to look beyond the failures of imagination at the heart of Trying. The new Apple TV+ sitcom, created by Andy Wolton and starring Rafe Spall and Esther Smith as a couple who discover they can’t conceive, is sitcom 101.
There isn’t anything inherently wrong with the premise, but neither is there much to recommend it. Wolton and company seem content to do the bare minimum.
Trying is the first British comedy to debut on Apple TV+. Photo: Apple TV+
With coronavirus lockdown, new streaming TV content is more appreciated than ever. Fortunately, Apple TV+ has loaded up on new content for another packed week of new shows. Debuting Friday are all eight episodes of the first season of new comedy series Trying.
There’s also episode four of the excellent Chris Evans-starring drama series Defending Jacob. That should be enough to fill at least part of the weekend!
The Morning Show stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. Screenshot: Apple
Apple released three new advertisements for its streaming video service on Thursday. These highlight the big stars that appear on Apple TV+, as well as the original stories told by the over two dozen shows and movies that have debuted since autumn.
The author of Defending Jacob is excited about bringing his novel to Apple TV+. Screenshot: Apple
Before it was an Apple TV+ series, Defending Jacob was a bestselling novel. In a new Apple video, author William Landay talks about seeing his book adapted for the small screen.
Chris Evans, Jaeden Martell and Michelle Dockery portray a family fighting suspicion in Defending Jacob. Photo: Apple TV+
With a hot cast and a true-crime sheen, Defending Jacob is one of the most highly anticipated Apple TV+ series so far. It’s based on a best-selling novel. It’s helmed by an Oscar-nominated director. And the first three episodes arrived Friday, primed for a literally captive audience seeking its latest obsession.
Apple calls its fledgling streaming service “the new home for the world’s most creative storytellers.” And for the first time, Apple TV+ has delivered a show that lives up to the hype — at least judging by the first three episodes.
Chris Evans stars as a man whose son may or may not have committed a murder. Photo: Apple TV+
Defending Jacob, a new Apple TV+ murder mystery show starring Chris Evans (Captain America), debuted Friday on Apple’s streaming TV service.
The show tells the story of a small-town assistant district attorney whose family is turned upside down after his 14-year-old son is accused of murder. Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery plays Evans’ wife, while Jaeden Martell from It plays the titular Jacob.
Beastie Boys turned hip-hop on its head, and a new doc captures the magic. Photo: Apple TV+
Beastie Boys Story, director Spike Jonze’s endearing Apple TV+ documentary about the first white rap phenoms, proves as powerful as it is screamingly funny.
Jonze, a confidant and collaborator of the group since the Beasties’ experimental mid-career, exhibits an easy candor with his subjects. That familiarity allows all of them to open up, which is important when it comes to discussing their failures and losses.
Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell appeared in the Anchorman movies, and now these brilliant comedians are headed for Apple TV+. Photo: DreamWorks Pictures
Apple TV+ picked up a comedy starring a couple of household names on Thursday. Apple gave a straight-to-series order to The Shrink Next Door, a new, eight-episode limited series starring Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd.
Sell today to earn even more! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
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Find out how much your old iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and other Apple devices are really worth — and use our promo code to get even more.
It's been almost eight years since the last iMac redesign. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
A redesigned iMac, a more affordable HomePod, and a powerful new Apple TV are just some of the products Apple has planned for 2020, according to one reliable reporter.
Bloomberg’sMark Gurman also revealed expectations for the 5G iPhone lineup, scheduled to launch this fall, and for a 14-inch MacBook Pro during a Twitter Q&A with followers on Tuesday.
Apple TV+ adds a new shortform cartoon with little notice. Photo: Apple/Jim Henson Co
Apple TV+ has picked up the shortform adventure series Fraggle Rock: Rock On from the Jim Henson Company and in an unusual move, released the first episode Wednesday with little notice.
Coming this year or next? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Apple is developing its own game controller for Apple TV and iOS devices that will launch this year or next, according to claims from one tipster, published on Monday. It is said to be part of a big push to improve Apple Arcade.
The information comes from the same source who accurately predicted Apple’s plans for the 2020 iPad Pro refresh and the second-generation iPhone SE.