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.
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.
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.
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.