Time Bandits, an Apple TV Plus series inspired by the 1981 movie, will not see a second season on the network. Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris and Taika Waititi created the show, which has Lisa Kudrow in the cast. 

There are 10 episodes. 

Time Bandits premiered July 24. Apple TV Plus called it “an unpredictable journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history buff named Kevin. Together, they set out on a thrilling quest to save the boy’s parents — and the world.”

Terry Gilliam directed the 1981 Time Bandits movie. 

The series is produced by Paramount Television Studios, Anonymous Content’s AC Studios and MRC. Clement, Morris and Waititi executive produce, write and direct select episodes, with Clement and Morris co-showrunners. Garrett Basch and Tim Coddington also executive produce along with Jane Stanton, who exec produces for Handmade Films. 

Criminal Record, a London-set drama with Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo playing detectives, has gotten a second-season order at Apple TV Plus. 

The show premiered in January. Capaldi plays Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Hegarty and Jumbo portrays Detective Sgt. June Lenker. 

In Season 2, June is the senior officer on the scene when far-right counterprotestors attack a political rally. The clash leaves a man dead and June is desperate to bring the unknown killer to justice. Her best hope is Daniel, a key figure in the shadowy world of police intelligence. 

Apple TV Plus calls the show “a powerful thriller set in the heart of contemporary London, featuring the return of the two brilliant detectives clashing once more in a complex murder investigation.”

Criminal Record is produced by Tod Productions and STV Studios. Paul Rutman executive produces with Capaldi, Jumbo, Elaine Collins and Chris Sussman. Before the show launched, Rutman told B+C how Capaldi’s and Jumbo’s characters offer different perspectives on issues the series touches on.  

“The story lends itself to looking at the world of London from two very different lenses,” he said. “Their different world views drew us into drilling into issues and questions about gender and institutional racism. We hold a magnifying glass up to what it feels like to be in those moments.”

The Billy Crystal thriller Before debuts on Apple TV Plus Friday, October 25. Two of the 10 episodes will be out that day. 

Crystal portrays Eli, a child psychiatrist who, after recently losing his wife, Lynn (Judith Light), encounters a troubled young boy, Noah (Jacobi Jupe), who seems to have a haunting connection to Eli’s past. As Eli attempts to help Noah, their mysterious bond deepens.

Also in the cast are Rosie Perez, Maria Dizzia and Ava Lalezarzadeh. 

Apple TV Plus calls the series “an atmospheric, character-driven psychological thriller.”

Paramount Television Studios produces Before. Sarah Thorp created the show and is showrunner and executive producer. Crystal and Eric Roth are also executive producers, with pilot director Adam Bernstein and producing director Jet Wilkinson. 

Following the two-episode premiere, new episodes will come out Fridays, with the season finale set for December 20.

Crystal's resume includes the movies When Harry Met Sally, America's Sweethearts, Monsters, Inc. and Mr. Saturday Night. He was in the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1984-1985 and has hosted the Oscars nine times. 

After recruiting new executives and beefing up its advertising division earlier this year, Apple reportedly held talks with the U.K.’s TV ratings body, Barb Audiences Ltd.

According to The Telegraph, executives from Apple met with Barb in recent weeks to discuss potential data-collection options for tracking advertisements on Apple TV Plus.

Barb is known for publishing viewing stats on the U.K.’s four major broadcasters — BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky — and already provides Apple with similar streaming data.

While Barb records ratings for the streaming service, as well as other major U.K. programmers, monitoring advertising results would require additional, more complex data tracking.

If Apple wants to follow in the footsteps of its competitors and attract a higher volume of curious customers, though, selling advertisements on Apple TV Plus in exchange for a reduced price tag is likely the way to go.

In fact, a report published earlier this month by Bloomberg indicated that Apple TV Plus generates less viewing in one month than Netflix does in one day.

The lack of an ad-supported plan for curious customers also is partly to blame for the streaming service's stagnant subscriber growth, according to Bloomberg.

The Telegraph didn’t specify whether Apple is considering a cheaper tier than its standard $10-per-month subscription, or whether it intends to introduce ads to existing subscribers.

The meeting comes just a few months after the tech giant hired Joseph Cady, a former advertising executive at NBCUniversal to pad out its ad division.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple TV Plus has given a third-season renewal to its comedy series Loot, starring Maya Rudolph. 

The series follows Rudolph’s character, Molly Wells, who takes over a philanthropic organization after her very public divorce from tech billionaire John Novak. The series also stars Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Nat Faxon, Ron Funches and Joel Kim Booster.

According to the streaming service, Season 3 picks up after the prior season’s finale, with Molly and her trusted and unhinged assistant Nicholas (Booster) boarding Molly's private jet following an awkward exchange with a colleague (Faxon). 

“With each season, Loot continues to deliver joy, laughs and endearing characters for audiences around the world,” Apple TV Plus head of programming Matt Cherniss said. “We are excited to partner with Maya Rudolph and the entire cast and creative team behind Loot to create even more heartfelt moments with an ensemble of fan favorite characters in Season 3.“ 

Loot is executive-produced by Rudolph, Alan Yang, Matt Hubbard, Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Dave Becky and Natasha Lyonne.  

More than a year after the last episode of its only signature hit, Ted Lasso, dropped, Apple TV Plus continues to run in place, quietly used by only around 11% of U.S. streaming households, according to the latest quarterly All Things Streaming report from MoffettNathanson. 

The equity research firm, along with HarrisX, interviewed around 8,500 U.S. household decision-makers, determining usage of Apple TV Plus  remains flat and is falling behind most of the other major U.S. subscription video-on-demand services. 

Approaching the fifth anniversary of its launch in early November, Apple TV Plus has never had an official subscriber count published. 

The fastest riser right now remains Peacock, which is now used by around 21% of U.S. households, surpassing Warner Bros. Discovery’s moribund Max. 

Also increasing quickly in usage is Paramount Plus, which now narrowly trails Disney Plus in reported household consumption. 

Peacock also seems to rising in regular engagement, based on this graphic that tracks frequent household usage.

Peacock ended Q2 with around 34 million subscribers, up by about 10 million users year over year. 

The return of Netflix's Cobra Kai for its sixth and final season, as well as the launch of Apple TV Plus drama Lady in the Lake lead the list of original series, specials and documentaries debuting this week. 

Cobra Kai, a spinoff of the Karate Kid theatrical film franchise, will debut its sixth and final season on July 18 with the first of three parts consisting of five episodes each, according to the streaming service. Ralph Macchio and William Zabka star in the series along with William Zabka, Martin Kove, Jacob Bertrand, and Mary Mouser. 

Apple TV Plus' seven-episode drama Lady in the Lake premieres July 19 and stars Natalie Portman as a Jewish housewife seeking to reinvent herself as an investigative journalist after the disappearance of a young girl in 1960s Baltimore. Moses Ingram, Y'Lan Noel and Noah Jupe also star in the series. 

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of July 15-21. For some, viewer discretion is advised.

July 17, The Ark (returning series), Syfy

July 17, Simone Biles Rising (sports documentary), Netflix

July 17, Unprisoned (returning series), Hulu

July 18, Kite Man: Hell Yeah! (animation), Max

July 18, My Spy: The Eternal City (movie), Prime Video

July 18, Those About to Die (drama), Peacock

July 21, Snowpiercer (returning series), AMC

A month after it premiered, crime drama Presumed Innocent has gotten a second season order from Apple TV Plus. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a prominent prosecutor. 

David E. Kelley and J.J. Abrams are producers. 

Ruth Negga, Bill Camp, Elizabeth Marvel and Peter Sarsgaard are also in the cast. 

Gyllenhaal’s character Rusty, a husband and father, is romantically linked with a co-worker who is murdered. “The series takes viewers on a gripping journey through the horrific murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorney’s office when one of its own is suspected of the crime,” Apple TV Plus says. “The series explores obsession, sex, politics and the power and limits of love, as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together.”

There are eight episodes in season one, which shows its finale July 24. 

Scott Turow’s novel Presumed Innocent came out in 1987 and the movie, directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Harrison Ford, was released in 1990. 

Kelley, Abrams, Gyllenhaal, Rachel Rusch Rich, Dustin Thomason and Matthew Tinker are executive producers on the show, and Turow is a co-executive producer. Kelley is the showrunner. 

Bad Robot Productions and David E. Kelley Productions produce Presumed Innocent in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Apple TV Plus said its Emmy Award-winning series Severance will return for its second season on January 17, 2025. 

Apple also released a video offering a sneak peek at what follows last season’s frantic finale.

Season 2 has 10 episodes, and Apple will be releasing them once a week on Fridays through March 21. 

Severance is a workplace thriller about a company whose employees have undergone a procedure on their brains that separates their memories of their home from work. The nature of their work is a mystery, as are the consequences of trying to pierce the severance barrier.

The cast of Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman, John Turturro, Christopher Walken and Patricia Arquette returns, joined by new series regular Sarah Bock.

The complete first season of Severance is available to stream on Apple TV Plus.

Severance is executive-produced by Ben Stiller, who directs five episodes this season. Also directing Season 2 episodes are Uta Bresiewitz, Sam Donovan and Jessica Lee Gagné.

The series is written, created and executive produced by Dan Erickson.

Severance Season 2 is also executive produced by John Lesher, Jackie Cohn, Mark Friedman, Beau Willimon, Jordan Tappis, Sam Donovan, Caroline Baron, Richard Schwartz, Nicholas Weinstock. In addition to starring, Adam Scott and Patricia Arquette serve as executive producers.

Season four of Trying, with Rafe Spall and Esther Smith as a married couple with two adopted children, has begun on Apple TV Plus. The season jumps ahead six years, and daughter Princess is focused on finding her birth mother. 

Spall said the six-year jump stops a show from getting set in its ways. “It’s a way of shaking things up a bit,” he said in an interview. “Pushing the envelope, moving the story forward in a way which is fresh and interesting.”

Nikki and Jason’s relationship has been redefined as they’ve evolved into parents. “Inevitably, because of their different roles to each other now in a household,” said Smith, “they’ve become less of just being each other’s partners.”

Nikki is a romantic, added Smith, and has to deal with “the loss of who they once were with each other.”

The actors said they hear from viewers who relate to the show, whether they have adopted, have been adopted, or have battled fertility challenges. Smith mentioned DMs she gets on Instagram. “People share really personal stories with how much they feel they’re represented by the show or feel less alone,” she said. “That’s such a lovely thing to read.”

The 1% Club, an offbeat game show with Patton Oswalt as host, starts on Fox June 3, following its premiere on Prime Video. The show is not so much about answering trivia questions, but how quickly the players can use logic to come up with an intelligent answer. 

“It has nothing to do with education or trivia or information,” Oswalt said. “It has to do with, how does your brain work in the moment? How fast are you on your feet with logic and intuition and, especially, listening and putting things into context?”

Oswalt had no game show host experience previously. He was sent episodes, loved the format and saw how much interacting the host does with the 100 contestants. “The fact that it dealt with so much crowd work, thinking on my feet,” he said, “I thought, ‘This could be energizing for me.’ ”

Asked about game show hosts he’s enjoyed, Oswalt mentioned a couple from Family Feud. Richard Dawson “brought a very distinct, almost un-game-show-like personality to a very structured show,” he said. 

Steve Harvey, meanwhile, “is having fun and making it his own thing,” he said. 

Oswalt also mentioned Drew Carey on The Price Is Right: “He’s so clearly having a ball.”

Did Oswalt ever see himself joining the host club? “It had never crossed my mind in a million years,” he said. “And I love it.” 

Apple TV Plus has ordered a second season of period comedy Palm Royale. The show, with Laura Dern and Kristen Wiig in the cast and producer ranks, debuted March 20.  

Set in high society Palm Beach in 1969, Palm Royale follows Maxine Simmons (Wiig) as she attempts to break into Palm Beach high society. 

“We are so thrilled to hear about season two,” said executive producer Dern. “Jayme [Lemons] and I (with Jaywalker Pictures) have been dreaming up this project for so long in hopes that audiences would have delicious fun with the radical ride that is the world of Palm Royale. We all can’t wait to get started!”

Besides Wiig and Dern, Allison Janney, Ricky Martin, Josh Lucas, Leslie Bibb, Amber and Chardae Robinson are also in the cast. Guest stars include Bruce Dern and Carol Burnett. “Palm Royale has delighted global audiences and we are thrilled that viewers will have the opportunity to spend more time with this highly entertaining, iconic cast, from Kristen Wiig to the incomparable Carol Burnett,” said Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV Plus. “We can’t wait for everyone to experience the next brilliantly witty chapter in the lives of the Palm Beach high society set that Abe Sylvia, Kristen, Laura Dern and this incredible team behind the show have brought so vibrantly to life.”

Palm Royale is written, executive produced and showrun by Abe Sylvia for Aunt Sylvia’s Moving Picture Company. The series is executive produced by Wiig, Dern and Jayme Lemons for Jaywalker Pictures, Wiig, Katie O’Connell Marsh, Tate Taylor and John Norris for Wyolah Films, Sharr White, Sheri Holman and Boat Rocker.

Only 28% of Max users have been signed up for the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service for at least six months, according to Antenna.

In its latest report, the research company (methodology explained here) also described Apple TV Plus (32% enlisted for under six months), along with Hulu and Peacock (35%) as having user bases that are similarly "uncommitted." 

So where is Antenna going with this?

Service bundling is top-of-mind right now, with Disney and WBD partnering to combine Disney Plus, Hulu and Max, and Comcast/NBCU launching on Wednesday a discounted package that includes Netflix, Peacock and Apple TV Plus. 

By Antenna's reasoning, services with users who churn in and out frequently, often based on what programming is currently available, benefit by hooking their wagons to other subscription platforms. 

Conversely, for Netflix, "two out of every three individuals who have ever subscribed to the service are currently subscribed with a tenure over six months. Bundles represent more cannibalization risk, with less upside potential," Antenna explains in its Unpacking Streaming Bundles report.

But it goes deeper. 

Antenna says good bundling candidates have a lot of "curious" customers. This bucket includes not only subscribers who have been with the service six months or less, but also those who have cancelled the service in the past. 

Meanwhile, Antenna also describes good bundling mates as services who don't have a lot of overlapping subscribers. Based on the graphic below, for example, Apple TV Plus might choose not to bundle with Max because its customers are already 2.53 times likely vs. the general population to also have Max, anyway. 

"It could be interpreted from a high rate of overlap that particular services are strong candidates to be bundled together because consumers have shown interest in each," Antenna says in its report. "But, while high overlap indicates an affinity between the two services, it also could indicate that a discounted bundled offering might be cannibalistic because many consumers already are willing to pay full price to each service."

History’s documentary series The Great War highlights a light schedule of original shows set to debut during the Memorial Day holiday week.

The two-part The Great War premieres May 27 and chronicles the U.S. involvement in World War I in 1918, according to History Channel. The four-hour series, executive produced by Robin Roberts, concludes on May 28.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of May 20-27. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

May 20, Stax: Soulville U.S.A., (documentary), HBO

May 21, Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza (documentary), Paramount Plus

May 22, Trying (returning series), Apple Tv Plus

May 23, The Blue Angels (documentary), Prime Video

May 23, Evil (returning series), Paramount Plus

May 23, Tires (comedy), Netflix

May 24, Atlas (movie), Netflix

May 24, The Beach Boys (documentary), Disney Plus

May 25, Gaga Chromatica Ball (documentary), Max

May 27, Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter (documentary), ID

Apple TV Plus has announced a July 10 premiere date for its new comedic drama series Sunny, produced by and starring Rashida Jones.

Jones stars in the 10-episode series as an American woman living in Japan who, after her husband and son disappear in a plane crash, receives a domestic robot named Sunny to help fill the void in her life. Initially rejecting the robot, she eventually builds an unexpected friendship with Sunny as she investigates what really happened to her family.

Along with Jones, who also starred in Apple TV Plus’s Silo series, Sunny is executive-produced by Katie Robbins, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Joanna Sotomura, Judy Ongg, YOU, annie the clumsy and Jun Kumimura. The series is produced by A24. 

Sunny is the second collaboration between Apple TV Plus, A24 and Jones following the film On the Rocks.

Apple TV Plus has a spinoff of For All Mankind in the works. It is called Star City and details the cosmonauts, engineers and intelligence officers working behind the Iron Curtain to put a man on the moon. 

For All Mankind, for its part, has been renewed for season five. Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert and Ben Nedivi created the show, and Nedivi and Wolpert are showrunners on the spinoff. 

Both series are produced by Sony Pictures Television. 

“With each new season, For All Mankind continues to build out a fascinating world and capture global audiences through high-quality storytelling that has been so skillfully developed by Ron, Matt and Ben,” Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV Plus, said. “There is so much to explore, and we, along with our partners at Sony, can’t wait to dive into this next chapter of the engrossing For All Mankind universe.”

Apple TV Plus calls Star City “a propulsive, paranoid thriller that takes us back to the key moment in the alt-history retelling of the space race — when the Soviet Union became the first nation to put a man on the moon. But this time, we explore the story from behind the Iron Curtain, showing the lives of the cosmonauts, the engineers and the intelligence officers embedded among them in the Soviet space program, and the risks they all took to propel humanity forward.”

Moore, Nedivi and Wolpert executive produce Star City with Maril Davis of Tall Ship Productions.

“Our fascination with the Soviet space program has grown with every season of For All Mankind,” Wolpert and Nedivi said. “The more we learned about this secret city in the forests outside Moscow where the Soviet cosmonauts and engineers worked and lived, the more we wanted to tell this story of the other side of the space race. We could not be more excited to continue building out the alternate history universe of For All Mankind with our partners at Apple and Sony.”

Wolpert and Nedivi are also showrunners on For All Mankind, and executive produce with Moore, Davis, David Weddle, Bradley Thompson, Seth Edelstein and Kira Snyder. 

Season four is set in 2003. 

 The Roku Channel's fantasy series The Spiderwick Chronicles and former late night host Conan O'Brien's return to the small screen leads the list of original shows premiering this week.

The Spiderwick Chronicles, based on the children's book series of the same name by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, debuts April 19 and follows the Grace Family, whose move into their family's ancestral home unveils hidden mysteries as well as a secret, fantastical world around them, according to Roku. The eight-part series stars Christian Slater, Joy Bryant, Noah Cottrell, Lyon Daniels and Mychala Lee. 

Max's Conan O'Brien Must Go reality series stars the former Conan late-night show as he travels to remote places to visit people who have appeared on his based on his Conan Without Borders travel specials and his Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast. All four episodes of the series debut on April 18.  

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of April 15-21. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

April 15, The Stranger (movie), Hulu

April 16, An American Bombing: The Road to April 19 (documentary), HBO

April 17, Under the Bridge (drama), Hulu

April 18, Dinner With Parents (comedy), Amazon Freevee

April 18, The Upshaws (returning series), Netflix

April 19, The Barnes Bunch (documentary series), WE tv

April 19, Jane (returning series), Apple TV plus

April 19, The Never Ever Mets (reality series), OWN

April 21, The Jinx-Part Two (documentary series), HBO 

April 21, Secrets of the Octopus (documentary), Nat Geo

Franklin, which has Michael Douglas as Ben Franklin, on a secret mission to France, trying to convince the French to help the desperate Americans in the Revolutionary War, premieres on Apple TV Plus Friday, April 12. 

Based on Stacy Schiff’s book, A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, the limited series depicts a side of Ben Franklin many are not familiar with. When Richard Plepler mentioned the idea to him, Tim Van Patten, executive producer and director, said he knew about Franklin and his electricity experiments and writing and publishing background, but not a whole lot more. “I realized I didn’t have a great depth of knowledge about him, probably what most of us had growing up,” he said. 

But the more he researched the topic, the more intrigued he became. “I really fell in love with the world, and the material, and the man,” he said. 

Van Patten said Douglas is well suited to portray Franklin. He speaks a bit of French, as Franklin did, and is “charming, super-smart and funny,” Van Patten said. 

“Michael was, in my mind, the perfect person to play Ben,” he added. “He embodies so much of Franklin’s point of view.”

Franklin, at age 70, arrived in Paris in late 1776 along with his teen grandson. He ended up staying in France for several years. His mission may not get the historical attention it deserves. Van Patten said America probably loses the war if the Franklin visit never happens. “It was really desperate,” he said.

Three episodes are out on premiere day, and five more come out on Fridays through May 17. Also in the cast are Noah Jupe, Thibault de Montalembert, Daniel Mays, Ludivine Sagnier and Eddie Marsa. 

Franklin is a co-production of ITV Studios America and Apple Studios. Richard Plepler executive produces through EDEN Productions, Tony Krantz through Flame Ventures, and Philippe Maigret and Mark Mostyn also executive produce. Stacy Schiff is co-executive producer. 

Franklin shot in France. Van Patten does not speak French, but felt no locale would deliver the true authenticity of France quite like, well, France. “The French is in French,” he said. “In this day and age, authenticity is really important. If you want to make a show about France and the French, you have to have actors who speak French.”

Reviews are lukewarm. One in The Guardian called Douglas’s performance “absolutely compelling,” while its take on the series was more mixed. Variety called Franklin “exhausting.” 

“What should be a sparkling recounting of a pivotal moment in U.S. history is flattened, becoming a mind-numbing and belabored affair of wig-wearing men shouting at each other in dark rooms,” that review reads.

Asked if viewers may imagine a series about Ben Franklin to be not much more than a humdrum history lesson, Van Patten said the sharp writing, “flawless” production design, and Douglas’s performance give the series a distinct vitality. 

“Viewers may be a little nervous that this is going to be a dry history,” he said. “But it is dispelled right away.”

Apple TV Plus debuts Franklin, about Benjamin Franklin venturing to France to get help for the United States in the Revolutionary War, on April 12. Ben was 70 when he made the secret mission, staying a step ahead of British spies, French informers and hostile colleagues. 

Michael Douglas plays Franklin. 

Tim Van Patten, showrunner and executive producer, said the U.S. probably does not win the war if Franklin never makes the trip. “If we did not have the French jumping in, we were done,” he said. “It was really desperate. This whole notion of a republic designed by founding fathers would’ve been sunk.”

The series is based on the Stacy Schiff book A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America. Van Patten enjoyed the research. “The more you learn about Franklin, he’s probably the only one of the founding fathers who could’ve pulled this off,” he said. “You could not send John Adams to do this. He would’ve bollixed this up.”

The series was shot in France. Van Patten admitted he had a pretty basic knowledge of Franklin when producer Richard Plepler mentioned the idea. “I want to take myself someplace I’ve never been, and I also want to take the audience,” he said. “This presented itself as a story I didn’t know, a world I’ve never photographed.”

He added, “I really fell in love with the world, and the material and the man.”

The Express Way With Dulé Hill, which sees Hill trek across America to “explore the transformative power of the arts,” according to PBS, debuts April 23. The four-part series sees him in California, Appalachia, Chicago and Texas, as he connects with activists and changemakers putting their artistic passions to work. 

Speaking at the TCA Winter Press Tour, Danny Lee, executive producer and director, said the series’ mission is to show how art fixes society’s issues. “We all know that we’re living during extremely challenging times — a lot of noise and a lot of clutter,” he said. “We wanted to craft a show that just addresses how art can be the antidote to a lot of these ills.”

As the producers kicked around the locales, they focused on what the problem was in a specific community, and how art is part of the solution. 

Hill’s credits include The West Wing, Psych and Suits. He said The Express Way is the kind of show that never runs out of good stories to tell. “This is a vast country and it’s filled with so many diverse stories,” Hill said. “You can throw a stone and find a million stories to be able to be told. We all have a unique story.”

Legendary Entertainment’s Monsterverse will continue to roar on the small screen as Apple TV Plus has renewed a second season of its Monarch: Legacy of Monsters series.

Along with the renewal, Apple TV Plus said it will team with Legendary to develop multiple spinoffs based on the monster-themed series, according to the streaming service. The 10-episode show, which launched in late November, will continue to chronicle the lives of two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to a secret organization known as Monarch in the aftermath of the appearance of Godzilla and other monsters, according to Apple TV Plus.

“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has left an indelible imprint on the hearts, minds and imaginations of audiences around the world,” Apple Tv Plus head of international development Morgan Wandell said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited for viewers to not only have the chance to experience even more thrills in season two, but to embark on epic, new journeys in the franchise, as we expand Legendary’s Monsterverse."

Also: Why Classic Monsters are on a TV Rampage

The announcement comes on the heels of the box-office success of Legendary Entertainment's theatrical film Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, which has generated $380 million globally in its first two weeks since its late March release, according to Apple TV Plus. The movie is the fifth in the Legendary Monsterverse franchise, following 2014’s Godzilla, 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, 2019’s Godzilla: King Of the Monsters and 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong. 

The second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters will be executive produced by Chris Black, Matt Fraction, Joby Harold, Toby Tunnell, Matt Shakman, Andrew Colfille, Jen Roskind, Hiro Matsuoka and Takemassa Arita.

The producers and cast of Apple TV Plus comedy series Loot promise more laughs and character development for its second season, which debuts on the streaming service April 3. 

Maya Rudolph returns as rich divorced philanthropist Molly Wells, who in season two continues to head up her own charitable foundation but looks to work on her personal life while helping those who work for her. Also starring in the show are Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Nat Faxon and Joel Kim Booster. 

Loot creator and executive producer Alan Yang said at January’s TCA Winter Press Tour that season two will continue to follow Molly’s exploits, but will also feature more of the other main characters. “Just seeing the chemistry of this ensemble and how they played so well together, it made us really want to just go bigger, faster and funnier in season two,” he said. “We went into their personal lives and into their aspirations as characters, and it just felt more and more magical as we progressed.” 

Rodriguez, who plays the foundation’s no-nonsense executive director Sofia Salinas, also said the second season delves deeper into the personalities of the show’s characters, including her own. “In the second season there is more work done in character development, which was fun for us,” Rodriguez told Multichannel News. (Click on the video below to see more of the interview with Michaela Jae Rodriguez.)

AMC’s drama series Parish leads a limited lineup of original shows debuting during the week of Easter.

Parish debuts March 31 and stars veteran actor Giancarlo Esposito as a taxi driver whose dark past is revived after the murder of his son. Also starring in the six-part series are Arica Himmel, Paula Malcomson, and Skeet Ulrich.  

Premiering March 29 is Apple TV Plus' Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces, a documentary film focused on the iconic comedy/actor. Martin Short, Tina Fey and Selena Gomez appear in the two-part profile.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of March 25-31. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

March 27, Dead Hot (comedy), Tubi

March 28, American Rust: Broken Justice (drama), Prime Video

March 28, The Baxters (drama), Prime Video

March 28, We Were The Lucky Ones (drama), Hulu

March 29, Madu (documentary), Disney Plus

March 29, Spermworld (documentary movie), FX

March 29, Renegade Nell (adventure), Disney Plus 

March 31, A Gentleman in Moscow (drama), Showtime

Palm Royale, a dramedy about a lady trying to break into high society in Palm Beach in 1969, premieres on Apple TV Plus March 20. Kristen Wiig plays the woman, Maxine, and is an executive producer. 

Allison Janney, Laura Dern, Ricky Martin and Josh Lucas are also in the cast and Carol Burnett is a guest star, as is Bruce Dern. (Laura Dern and Bruce Dern play, fittingly, a daughter and a father.) There are 10 episodes, and three stream on premiere day. 

As Maxine attempts to cross that line between the haves and the have-nots, the show asks, “How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?” 

Palm Royale was featured in a panel at the TCA Winter Press Tour in January. Abe Sylvia, showrunner and executive producer, was asked about balancing the comedy and drama in the show. “I think the world is so delicious and all of these people are so delicious that we could spend three hours an episode with them and still be wildly entertained,” he said. 

Sylvia credited Wiig with deftly balancing the laughs and the heartache. “She is a once-in-a-generation talent who is able to thread the loop between comedy and silliness, and then break your heart in the next moment,” he said. “There’s real pathos to what she does and it’s a unique talent.”

The series is loosely based on the novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel. 

Besides Sylvia and Wiig, the executive producers are Laura Dern and Jayme Lemons for Jaywalker Pictures, Katie O’Connell Marsh, Tate Taylor and John Norris for Wyolah Films, Sharr White and Sheri Holman. 

Burnett said she took on the project in large part because of the cast. “All I had to do is hear who was going to be in it. Kristen, Laura, Ricky, it’s just an incredible cast,” she said. “I didn’t even have to read the script. I just wanted to work with these people and get to know them, and go out to dinner, and have some fun.”

Burnett added: “Of course, in the first few episodes, I’m in a coma, and I still got paid. So, I mean, it was a slam dunk.”

Palm Royale offered some unique sets, Burnett noted, that she was sorry to depart. “Just the look of it is incredible, the scenery and all, and then with all the costumes, I have never seen anything …” she said. “It's better than any great, big motion picture that you would see. It is eye candy.”

Palm Royale reviews have been mixed. USA Today said, “There are too many ideas, and the series can't focus on any one successfully.”

The Guardian said, “finally, a proper outlet for Kristen Wiig’s talents.”

Like Burnett, The Washington Post loved the show’s sets and cast, but not much else. “Gorgeous sets. Great cast. So-so story,” it said. 

While 96% of U.S. consumers recently polled are familiar with Apple TV Plus, only 51% can explain the difference between the subscription streaming service and other major SVODs. 

Netflix, meanwhile, boasts 100% "brand awareness" and an industry-leading 88% brand "understanding," according to Hub Entertainment Research, which surveyed 1,600 consumers or its 2025 Evolution of Video Branding report.

In most cases, Hub notes, brand understanding lags significantly behind awareness for most big U.S. SVOD services. 

And without brand understanding, the research company says, users tend to sign up for SVOD services based on their desire to see a specific movie or TV show. 

Notably, in 2024, fewer users signed up for Max and Disney Plus to see a specific program, a dynamic, Hub claims, that could be tied to both services significantly scaling back on content. 

Conversely, Peacock -- which has seen increased investment, including NBCUniversal's decision to pay the NFL $100 million to put a playoff game exclusively on its streaming service -- has seen an uptick in sign-ups driven by specific content.

“As big streamers aim to be all things for all people, viewers are struggling to identify what distinguishes them from each other,” said Hub consultant Jason Platt Zolov, in a statement. “Until streamers develop more brand-defining features, viewer loyalty is at risk and consumers will continue to churn as they chase shows across services.”

Apple TV Plus has ordered a comedy that has Owen Wilson leading the cast and executive producing. Wilson plays Pryce Cahill, an over-the-hill golfer who loses his job at a sporting goods store. When his wife walks out on him, he throws his weight behind a teen golf phenom. 

There will be 10 episodes. The series does not yet have a title. 

Jason Keller created the show and will executive produce as well. Keller’s credits include Ford v. Ferrari and Escape Plan. 

Wilson’s credits include Loki, The Royal Tenenbaums, Midnight in Paris and Bottle Rocket. 

Directors on the golf show will include Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who worked on Fleishman Is in Trouble. Executive producers, in addition to Wilson and Keller, are Propagate Content’s Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens and Rodney Ferrell, Entertainment 360’s Guymon Casady, Piece of Work’s Lee Eisenberg and Natalie Sandy and Chris Moynihan. 

Peacock's mystery drama Apples Never Fall, and Netflix's debut of music-themed series Girls5eva lead the list of original content debuting this week. 

The seven-episode series Apples Never Fall -- based on Liane Moriarty's bestselling novel -- debuts March 14 and follows a seemingly perfect family whose lives get turned upside down when the matriarch goes missing and family secrets begin to surface. The series stars Sam Neill, Annette Bening, Jack Lacy and Alison Brie.

The third season of music comedy series Girls5eva debuts on Netflix March 14, after Peacock streamed the series' first two seasons. The new season will continue to follow the exploits of a one-hit wonder girl group who reunite hoping to resurrect their musical careers.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of March 11-17. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

March 12, Boat Story (drama), Amazon Freevee

March 12, The Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War (reality), Netflix

March 12, The Lionheart (documentary), HBO 

March 13, Little Wing (movie), Paramount Plus

March 14, The Girls on the Bus (drama), Max

March 15, Manhunt (drama), Apple TV Plus

March 17, In Restless Drama: The Music of Paul Simon (music documentary), MGM Plus

Apple TV is kicking off its second season offering MLS Season Pass.

Apple and Major League Soccer signed a 10-year deal in 2022 — which also happened to be the year star Lionel Messi moved to MLS franchise Inter Miami CF.

Apple is marking the return of soccer with MLS Is Back week, which starts with Messi and Miami taking on Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. (ET). Pre-match coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with a special 90-minute edition of MLS Countdown/MLS La Previa.

Also Read: Apple Helped Lure Messi to Miami With Piece of 'MLS Season Pass' Revenue

Apple has upgraded its interface, making it easier for Apple TV users to see when games are scheduled and how to find their favorite teams.

“We’re thrilled to kick off the 2024 season and build upon this game-changing partnership, which is bringing Major League Soccer to its largest global audience ever while showcasing the next-level athleticism and electric fandom of the league,” Apple senior VP of services Eddy Cue said.

Fans will be also be able to watch 2023 MLS playoff highlights on Apple Vision Pro with 8K 3D video and spatial audio.

Apple Podcasts will have several shows about soccer, including Offside With Taylor Twellman.

Messi has put together a playlist of songs he listens to before matches for Apple Music. “For as long as I can remember, music has played an important part in my life, especially on match days,“ Messi said. “Music quiets my mind, helps me stay calm and relaxed.”

MLS Season Pass on Apple TV is available in more than 100 countries and gives fans access to every MLS game with no blackouts.

The package costs $14.99 a month, or $99 a season. There’s a discount for Apple TV Plus subscribers, who can get Season Pass for $12.99 a month or $79 a season.

Tracker has Justin Hartley, last seen as Kevin on This Is Us, as lone-wolf survivalist Colter Shaw, who roams the country as a reward seeker while dealing with his own dysfunctional family. The CBS drama was on after the Super Bowl on February 11 and slid into its regular time period a week later. 

Hartley and executive producer Ken Olin both worked on This Is Us. Summing up Hartley’s goals after playing Kevin, Olin quipped at a CBS press event, “Justin wanted to carry a gun and get in fights.”

The show is based on the Jeffrey Deaver novel The Never Game and initially had that title. The name change was so that the show would not be confused with video games. “I didn’t want people to watch and see the guy rescue someone,” Olin said, “and wonder when the game would start.”

A difficult childhood has influenced Shaw and his odd career pursuits. “He grew up with a very fractured family,” Hartley said. “There are secrets.”

TV’s Colter Shaw is a bit more animated than his novel counterpart. “Justin is so good with humor,” Olin said. “The character in the book was much more of a silent kind of character.”

The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin premieres on Apple TV Plus March 1. Noel Fielding portrays Turpin, a legendary British highway robber from the 18th century. 

Executive producer Kenton Allen said Turpin was made into something of a romantic hero in British novels, but that was not the true dude. “Dick Turpin was a pretty awful individual,” he said, “basically a cutthroat murderer and horse thief.”

In the show, Turpin leads a band of outlaws and battles with corrupt lawman Jonathan Wilde, who bears the ominous title Thief Taker. Hugh Bonneville, who played the Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey, portrays Wilde. “He’s very skillful, very subtle, with great timing,” Fielding said. 

Turpin is well known in the United Kingdom, Allen said, thanks to those novels and the Adam and the Ants song “Stand and Deliver.” “He’s definitely in the popular culture here,” he said from London. “Globally, we’re about to find out.”

Allen and Fielding cited Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Princess Bride and Blackadder as influences. “The Holy Grail has quite a good atmosphere,” Fielding said. “It’s got that spooky British thing about it. We tried to get a little of that.”

The Completely Made-Up Adventures is set almost 300 years ago, but Allen believes it is timely today. “The world is a challenging place at the moment, with lots of very, very grim things,” he said. “Going on adventures with Dick Turpin and his gang is a great escape.” 

Apple TV Plus on Monday opened the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour with a robust slate of original scripted series set to debut this year. 

New scripted series set for the streaming service include The New Look (premiering February 14), which depicts fashion designers Christian Dior, Coco Chanel and their contemporaries as they navigated World War II and launched modern fashion; Constellation (February 21), a space-themed psychological thriller starring Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks; The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (March 1), a comedy-adventure series starring Noel Fielding as the legendary British highwayman; Manhunt (March 15), a conspiracy thriller about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination; and Palm Royale (March 20), starring Kristen Wiig as a woman who endeavors to break into Palm Beach high society.

Also on the docket are Sugar (April 5), a drama starring Colin Farrell that takes a contemporary, unique look at the private detective story; Franklin (April 12), starring Michael Douglas as Benjamin Franklin; Dark Matter (May 8), a sci-fi thriller based on the blockbuster book by author Blake Crouch; Presumed Innocent (June 14), starring Jake Gyllenhaal and following a murder that upends the Chicago Prosecuting Attorney’s Office when one of its own is suspected of the crime; and Land of Women, starring Eva Longoria as an empty-nester whose life is turned upside down when her husband implicates the family in financial improprieties, forcing her to flee the city alongside her aging mother and college-age daughter.

On the nonfiction front, The Dynasty: The New England Patriots (February 16), is a 10-part documentary from Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentaries that focuses on The New England Patriots’ sports dynasty; and documentary Girls Slate (April 5), which first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. 

Returning Apple TV Plus series include Loot, The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy, The Big Door Prize, Acapulco, and Trying. The announcements come on the heels of Apple TV Plus’s second-season renewal of Idris Elba starrer Hijack.

Amid the anticipated dropping of its third and final season, Apple TV Plus series Ted Lasso captured nearly 17 million minutes of viewer engagement in the U.S. last year, more than any other original show or movie in domestic subscription streaming, according to Nielsen. 

Nielsen's data -- limited to sampling of TV screen viewing in the U.S. market -- does not reveal how many addressable homes Apple TV Plus has. For that matter, Apple has never released a subscriber figure for its four-year-old Apple TV Plus service. 

Apple did reveal during its third-quarter earnings conference call back in August that it now has more than 1 billion subscribers across its digital services portfolio. Apple told showbiz union IATSE back in September 2021 that Apple TV Plus had fewer than 20 million paid subscribers. 

When ranking the major SVOD services, most TMT analysts and trade pubs hazard a guess for TV Plus of well under 30 million paid members. 

But given Nielsen's just-released performance metrics, those figures look way too low. 

So how many subscribers does TV Plus have?

Nielsen's weekly streaming rankings still garner regular coverage from the major showbiz trades, but there has been, since their beginnings three years ago, a major distortion in the methodology, which is major differences in platform scale. 

According to Netflix's latest shareholder letter, released last week, the service has 77.32 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, for more than any competitor. This is the major reason why Netflix's films and series fill the rankings on Nielsen's weekly streaming charts. They just have way more addressable viewers. 

Netflix's No. 1 show last year (by its own global tally) was Shawn Ryan's The Night Agent. According to Nielsen, The Night Agent finished second behind Ted Lasso on its 2023 original show rankings with 2.5 million fewer engagement minutes than the Apple show. 

Runtimes and episode counts factor in here, with 10 episodes of The Night Agent running an average of 45 minutes each vs. 30 total episodes of Ted Lasso typically around half an hour in length. 

But the water-cooler fervor of Ted Lasso's final sign-off last May aside, we don't think the show could generate these kinds of engagement numbers if Apple TV Plus didn't have at least, say, 40 million or more addressable viewers in the U.S. 

Then again ... Nielsen's sustained credibility as a measurer of video usage continues to confound us. For instance, as the final five episodes of Ted Lasso generated, by Nielsen's own account, huge viewing engagement last May, Apple TV Plus wasn't even accounted for on Nielsen's monthly viewership tracker, "The Gauge," for the month of May 2023. 

Apple is still offering three free months of TV Plus to purchasers of Macbooks, iPhones and other Apple gadgets.

Back in October, Apple upped the price of its SVOD service to $9.99 a month.

Apple and Ted Lasso aside, Nielsen also said that 13-year-old off-USA Network series Suits was the most watched show in U.S. subscription streaming last year, breaking the engagement record set by The Office.

Nielsen also said that overall streaming engagement was up 21% vs. 2022. 

Musical comedy Schmigadoon! will not see a third season on Apple TV Plus. Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio created the show, and Cecily Strong, Keegan-Michael Key, Ariana DeBose and Dove Cameron are in the cast. 

The second season saw Josh (Key) and Melissa (Strong) in Schmicago, the world of ’60s and ’70s musicals. Season one was an homage to musicals from the ’40s and ’50s. 

“I am sad to share that Apple will not be moving forward with season 3 of Schmigadoon! The season is written (including 25 new songs), but we unfortunately won’t be making it,” said Paul on Instagram. “Such is life. I want to thank everyone involved with the show, our incredible cast & crew & writers, our wonderful supporters at Broadway Video, Universal & Apple, for everything they did to make it happen.

“It’s a miracle we even got two seasons,” he added 

Alan Cumming, Jane Krakowski, Martin Short and Aaron Tveit are also in the cast.

Season two came out in April 2023. 

Paul is the showrunner and wrote all of the original songs. Lorne Michaels and Andrew Singer are executive producers.

The Dynasty: New England Patriots debuts on Apple TV Plus February 16. From Imagine Documentaries and Matthew Hamachek, there are 10 episodes. The series is based on the 2020 book by Jeff Benedict.

Apple TV Plus said the project showcases “the rise of the most dominant sports dynasty of the 21st century.” It features interviews with former quarterback Tom Brady, coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft, along with a variety of other past Patriots, including Adam Vinatieri, Drew Bledsoe and Rob Gronkowski. 

Brady was with the Patriots from 2000 to 2019, then played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2020 to 2022. 

The Patriots are a grim 4-13 this season. Belichick was still the Patriots coach at deadline. 

Others sharing their thoughts on the Pats in the docuseries include Jon Bon Jovi, Rupert Murdoch and Roger Goodell. 

The Dynasty looks at the team’s 20-year “journey” to dynasty status, which includes a half dozen Super Bowls. 

Apple TV Plus shared a trailer. 

Produced by Imagine Documentaries, The Dynasty is executive produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Benedict and Hamachek. Hamachek directs. 

Hamachek directed the 2020 Tiger Woods documentary Tiger. 

Edgy crime drama Criminal Record debuts on Apple TV Plus January 10. Set in London, it is the story of two detectives — an older white man near the end of his career and a Black woman just starting on hers. Peter Capaldi plays Daniel Hegarty and Cush Jumbo is June Lenker. 

An anonymous phone call offers a tip on an old murder case. Lenker suspects the wrong man may be in prison and Hegarty is keen to keep his legacy intact — and leave the case alone. 

“The story lends itself to looking at the world of London from two very different lenses,” executive producer Paul Rutman said. “Their different world views drew us into drilling into issues and questions about gender and institutional racism. We hold a magnifying glass up to what it feels like to be in those moments.”

Executive producer Elaine Collins said Capaldi injects Hegarty with a sense of mystery. “He brings a lot of intelligence to the role — the intellect is clear when you watch him play the part,” she said. 

Rutman said Jumbo, who played Lucca in The Good Wife and The Good Fight, shines as the underdog. “There’s something very, very honest and real and unguarded about the way she acts,” he said. “She’s very good for those small moments.”

True Detective: Night Country premieres on HBO Sunday, January 14. Jodie Foster and Kali Reis play a couple of detectives trying to figure out why eight men at a research station in Alaska have disappeared. They confront the darkness of winter in Alaska and the darkness within themselves. 

Issa Lopez is the showrunner, writer and director of all the episodes, and executive produces as well. From Mexico City, Lopez has a background in horror, including directing the 2017 film Tigers Are Not Afraid. She described the new season as a “modern Western” and said it pushed her way out of her comfort zone. 

“Why not make the thing that scares you the most?” López said at an HBO event in New York that saw her interviewed by Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO & Max Content.

An anthology crime series, True Detective debuted in 2014. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson were the detectives in the first season, set in Louisiana. Season two, in 2015, had Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and Vince Vaughn in the cast and was set in California. Season three, from 2019, featured Mahershala Ali, Carmen Ejogo and Stephen Dorff and was set in the Ozarks. 

True Detective: Night Country has plenty of scares. López hinted at “something incredibly sinister hiding in the shadows that goes deeper than human understanding.” 

Bigger-than-life classic movie monsters such as Godzilla, Gamera and King Kong are once again leaving a big footprint on the media landscape in the form of original series for a new generation of fans. 

Apple TV Plus’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the latest project to feature scary beasts who first thrilled audiences in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s as threats to humanity due to their massive size and destructive power. Much as in their theatrical heyday — when society was recovering from the Great Depression, the devastation of World War II and, later, fears of nuclear annihilation — shows like Monarch and Netflix’s animated series Skull Island and Gamera Rebirth are gaining popularity with viewers looking to be entertained in the midst of uncertainty, observers said. 

“One of the reasons why these monsters have such a lasting impact is they are borne out of a tragedy and a fear of the future, and right now it seems like with the shape of the world, it feels like there’s quite a bit to contemplate,” science fiction author and journalist Richard Newby said. “I feel like a lot of these monsters work really well as allegories.” 

Giant monsters have stomped their way onto TV screens in recent years in shows such as Netflix’s Emmy-winning Stranger Things, HBO’s House of the Dragon and MGM Plus horror series From. But unlike those shows, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Gamera Rebirth and Skull Island feature creatures with name recognition forged from the classic Japanese-produced movies popular at the dawn of television. 

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which follows the descendants of a covert organization created to monitor giant monsters, is a direct spinoff from Legendary Entertainment’s 2014 Godzilla theatrical film, part of its “MonsterVerse” franchise. Along with Godzilla, three other films in the series — Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of Monsters (2019) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) — have grossed nearly $2 billion in global box office.

While the movies have served up plenty of action and epic monster battles tailor-made for the big screen, Monarch delves more into how people are adjusting to the reality that monsters exist, executive producer Tory Tunnell said. 

“The movies have done what they’ve done so well in delivering on those epic monster battles,” Tunnell said. “What we’re looking at are the characters behind those battles and what was happening within the world during this time. We look at our show as our September 12 moment in declaring that monsters are real, so the show allows viewers to have escapist fun. But we also recognize a changed world that we’ve all gone through with COVID and other things that are relevant to humans.” 

Finding New Monster Fans

Newby, author of the science fiction book We Make Monsters, also said the shows let the producers and programmers introduce the classic monsters to a new audience that may not be familiar with the old movies, or who aren’t going to the theaters to watch the new films.

“I think it’s easier to introduce new audiences to the characters through a TV show rather than dozens of movies,” he said. “Especially today, I feel like it’s a bit difficult to convince someone to watch 36 Godzilla movies unless you’re really invested in it.”

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters roared out of the gate for Apple TV Plus. Its November 17 premiere was the most-watched series in TVision’s Power Score ranking of shows on connected TV services for the week of November 13-19.

Also extending Legendary’s “MonsterVerse” to television is Netflix’s Skull Island, where a group of shipwrecked travelers encounters King Kong and other giant monsters on a mysterious island. Netflix also tapped the international market to secure rights to the Japanese-produced animated series Gamera Rebirth, which resurrects the fire-breathing prehistoric amphibian first seen in the 1965 black-and-white film Gamera, the Giant Monster and in several subsequent movies through the 1990s. 

Classic monsters also touched the free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) space this summer, when Pluto TV launched a 24-hour Godzilla channel. It featured classic Godzilla films (more than 27 at launch) from the 1950s through the early 2000s.  

Godzilla remains a draw on the big screen. Godzilla Minus One earlier this month set an opening weekend record for a live-action Japanese release in North America with $11 million in box office. A fifth Legendary “MonsterVerse” movie, Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire, is set to debut in the first quarter of 2024.

More monster mayhem is also slated for the small screen. An FX series prequel to the 1979 horror film Alien is planned to debut in 2025, with Noah Hawley, producer of the series Fargo, fronting the project. 

Movie The Family Plan, with Mark Wahlberg as a husband, father and car salesman in the suburbs with a secret past, premieres on Apple TV Plus December 15. Decades earlier, Wahlberg’s Dan character was an elite government assassin. When old enemies track him down, Dan packs up his wife, played by Michelle Monaghan, his teen daughter and son, and baby, and steers the minivan from Buffalo toward Las Vegas. 

“Determined to protect his family — while treating them to the vacation of a lifetime — Dan must put his long-dormant skills into action, without revealing his true identity,” according to Apple TV Plus.

As she learns of his back story, Dan’s wife Jessica refers to him as “James Bond in a minivan.” 

Simon Cellan Jones directed the film, which is rated PG-13. 

Zoe Colletti, Van Crosby, Said Taghmaoui, Maggie Q and Ciaran Hinds are also in the cast. 

Reviews of The Family Plan are mixed. A review in the NY Times said “Wahlberg is more charismatic than he’s been onscreen in nearly a decade, and his chemistry with Monaghan is the foundation of a plausible marriage — they keep the domestic aspect grounded, even as the assassin stuff gets a touch ludicrous.”

The Chicago Sun-Times called The Family Plan “goofy, occasionally amusing yet tone-deaf and casually violent,” and said the movie “asks us to buy into the premise that going on the run with your family without telling them why and killing a series of foes along the way is a great way to reignite the sexual flames with your wife and bond with your sullen teenage kids.”

Apple TV Plus comedy Platonic has received a season two order. Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen star and executive produce. 

Nick Stoller and Francesca Delbanco created the show and direct. Platonic premiered in May. 

The show follows a platonic pair of former best friends approaching midlife who reconnect after a long rift. The duo’s friendship becomes all-consuming and destabilizes their lives in a variety of ways.

“Since the first episodes of Platonic debuted on Apple TV Plus, global audiences have been charmed by the hilarious, wildly fun and relatable friendship that Rose and Seth have brought to life through their charismatic performances,” Apple TV Plus head of programming Matt Chernis said. “We can’t wait for viewers to see these characters encounter even more comedic mayhem in season two thanks to our partners at Sony and to the brilliant minds of Francesca and Nick.”

Apple TV Plus called Platonic one of the network’s best-performing comedies.  

“We’re so thrilled to have the opportunity to tell more stories with Seth, Rose and everyone at Apple TV Plus and Sony,” said Stoller and Delbanco. “Season two spoiler alert: Will and Sylvia won’t get together this time either.” 

Also in the cast are Luke Macfarlane, Tre Hale, Andrew Lopez and Carla Gallo. 

Platonic is produced by Sony Pictures Television, where Stoller’s Global Solutions has an overall deal. Byrne, Rogen, Stoller, Delbanco and Conor Welch executive produce.

Gary Oldman, star of Slow Horses on Apple TV Plus, sits for an interview at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan December 8. Oldman will be interviewed by MTV correspondent Josh Horowitz. 

Tickets are $15. 

Season three of Slow Horses, about a division of the U.K.’s M15 where staffers who foul up are sent to take on menial tasks and finish out their contracts, debuted November 29. 

The 92nd Street Y said: “For decades, Gary Oldman has brought smoldering energy to glowering onscreen enigmatic characters, from Sirius Black in Harry Potter to Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. In Slow Horses, Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but irascible leader to a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 due to their career-ending mistakes. The series is a mordant farce of the smoke and mirrors world of espionage — and in season three, when a romantic affair in Istanbul threatens the future of the British spy agency, Lamb and his team of misfits are dragged into the fight.”

Horowitz hosts the podcast Happy Sad Confused, and will do a live taping with Oldman for the podcast December 8 at the 92nd Street Y. 

Slow Horses is an adaptation of Mick Herron's Slough House book series. Executive producers on Slow Horses are Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Douglas Urbanski, Gail Mutrux, Will Smith, Jane Robertson and Graham Yost. 

Smith told B+C of the Herron books: “That mix of great spy storylines, action, humor and brilliant characters — this is something different and fresh and original. You could just tell it would make an amazing series.”

Apple said Wednesday that it will raise the price of its subscription streaming service, Apple TV Plus, from $6.99 to $9.99 a month. 

The price of an annual subscription is going up to $99 from $69. 

“We are focused on delivering the best experiences possible for our customers by consistently adding high-quality entertainment, content, and innovative features to our services,” Apple said in a statement. “Since launching four years ago, Apple TV Plus has made history for streaming services by crossing major milestones in a short span of time, thanks to its extensive selection of award-winning and broadly acclaimed series, feature films, documentaries, and kids and family entertainment.”

Of course, Apple is trying to pull it off now that its biggest programming hit, Ted Lasso, has wrapped up its three-season run. 

And it’s the second price increase for Apple TV Plus, which upped its monthly tab from $4.99 to $6.99 in November 2022. So the service has doubled in price over the last year. 

Apple is also raising the monthly price of its Apple One bundle, which features Apple TV Plus, Apple Music, Apple Arcade and cloud storage, along with add-on options like Apple News. 

Apple isn’t the only major U.S. SVOD to raise prices, with Netflix just last week confirming a new round of increases. However, unlike Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and others, Apple lacks an economical ad-based tier to steer price-inelastic customers into. 

Apple has never disclosed a subscriber count for Apple TV Plus since it launched the service four years ago. 

The Problem With Jon Stewart will not return for a third season on Apple TV Plus amid reports that the news program's namesake host balked at Apple’s attempt to intervene with the show's content. 

According to the The New York Times, which first reported the rift between Stewart and Apple, the tech giant grew concerned about series content addressing China and artificial intelligence, controversial topics that the Cupertino, Calif. company has vested interests in. 

Confirming this report, The Hollywood Reporter quoted unnamed sources saying that Apple threatened to cancel the series if Stewart didn't cede to letting the company have some editorial oversight. Stewart reportedly resigned rather than be "hamstrung" by his Apple overlords. Stewart is said to have informed his production staff earlier this week that the show would not be moving forward as planned.

Neither Stewart or Apple have publicly commented yet. 

The Problem, which was nominated for five Emmys across two 10-episode seasons, was the fruit of a multiyear deal signed in 2020 between Apple and Stewart, along with the former Comedy Central star’s Busboy Productions. 

In terms of audience performance, Apple is among the least transparent in a streaming business known for hoarding ratings data, so it's difficult to know how many folks have been regularly tuning into The Problem. 

But show has served as a useful platform for Stewart to exert political and cultural influence. For example, Stewart was the leading advocate in the push to have Congress pass a law last year provisioning aid for military veterans exposed to “burn pits“ — which happened to be the topic of The Problem's very first episode. 

Paramount Plus’s reboot of the popular 1990s sitcom Frasier leads a busy list of shows set to debut this week.

Frasier premieres on the streaming service October 12 with Kelsey Grammer reprising the role of psychiatrist Frasier Crane. The series also stars Jack Cutmore-Scott and Nicholas Lyndhurst, with guest appearances from original series stars Bebe Neuwirth and Peri Gilpin. The first two episodes of the series will also air on CBS on October 17.

Debuting on October 13 is the premiere of Disney Plus’s Goosebumps, the latest TV adaptation of the R. L. Stine book franchise. The 10-episode, kids-targeted, horror-themed series will also debut its first two episodes on Freeform on the same night.

Also premiering on Friday the 13th is the fourth season of streaming service Shudder's horror-based anthology series Creepshow. The first episode of the series will also debut on AMC Plus and AMC. 

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of October 9-15. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

October 11: Messi Meets America (sports documentary), Apple TV Plus

October 12: Doom Patrol (returning series), Max

October 12: The Fall of the House of Usher (horror), Netflix

October 13: The Burial (drama), Prime Video

October 13: John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams (horror series), Peacock

October 13: Lessons in Chemistry (drama), Apple TV Plus

October 13: Shining Vale (returning series), Starz

October 15: Billy the Kid (returning series), MGM Plus 

Apple TV Plus will revisit the events surrounding the claimed 1970's Enfield, London, poltergeist haunting in a new docuseries set to debut October 27.

The four-part documentary series, The Enfield Poltergeist, will feature more than 250 hours of rare audio archive and interviews with the people impacted by the case, according to the service. Building a replica of the house where the incidents took place, performers reenact what is heard on the actual tapes, which allows an interplay by the archival voices and appearances of those initially involved in the incident through present-day interviews, said Apple TV Plus. 

The story of the 1977 haunting of an everyday family has inspired fictional versions of the case, including the 2016 film The Conjuring 2, a television series and two stage plays.

The Enfield Poltergeist is executive produced by Al Morrow, Stewart le Marechal, Davis Guggenheim, Jonathan Silberberg and Nicole Stott.

Season 3 of Apple TV Plus’s The Morning Show opened up as the No. 1 show on TVision’s Power Score ranking of streaming shows on connected TV for the week of September 11.

Last week’s No. 1 show, Disney Plus’s Star Wars series Ahsoka dropped to No. 3, while Netflix’s Virgin River (season five) remained at No. 2.

Rounding out the top five were Netflix’s Dear Child and Amazon Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time (season two). 

Seven streaming services placed shows in the Top 20, with Apple TV Plus having its strongest weekly showing since the Spring with five shows on the list.

Netflix had seven series in the Top 20.

New shows on the list included Hulu’s The Other Black Girl, Apple’s Invasion and The Changeling and Netflix’s Spy Ops.

The Power Score ranking is designed to compare streaming shows on an apples-to-apples basis. In calculating its Power Score, TVision, which measures activity across more than 1,000 apps, looks at the amount of time viewers pay attention to the program, the amount of program time available for the season and the program’s reach, as well as the application’s reach.

TVision said it chose that combination of metrics to enable a neutral look at the quality of programming and its unique, inherent ability to draw in viewers — regardless of the scale of the platform or the program’s release schedule.

The debut of AMC’s latest series from The Walking Dead Universe and the return of Paramount Plus’ animated series from the Star Trek Universe leads the list of original show debuts during the first week of September. 

AMC’s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon premieres September 10, with Norman Reedus reprising his role from the original The Walking Dead series as he battles zombies in France, according to the network. Also starring in the series are Adam Nagaitis, Clemence Posey, and Anne Charrier. 

Paramount Plus’s Star Trek: Lower Decks returns for its fourth season on September  7 as it continues to follow the travails of a 24th century starship support crew. Returning to lend their voices to the series are Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Dawnn Lewis and Eugene Cordero. 

 Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of September 5-10. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

 September 5, One Shot: Overtime Elite (returning series), Prime Video

 September 6, I Am Groot (returning series), Disney Plus  

 September 7, Top Boy (drama), Netflix  

 September 7, Virgin River (returning series), Netflix  

 September 8, The Changeling (drama), Apple TV Plus 

 September 8, Sitting in Bars with Cake (movie), Prime Video  

September 10, Dreaming Whilst Black (dramedy), Showtime

Two sci-fi-themed series headline the list of shows debuting during the last full week of August. 

Disney Plus's series Star Wars: Ahsoka premieres August 22 and stars Rosario Dawson as former Jedi Knight Ashoka Tano who investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy after the fall of the Empire, said the streaming service.  The first two episodes of the eight-episode series will premiere August 22. 

Apple TV Plus will roll out the second season of Invasion on August 23. The 10-episode series follows an alien invasion through different perspectives around the world. 

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of August 21-27. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

August 23, BS High (documentary) HBO

August 24, Who is Erin Carter (drama) Netflix

August 24, Mountain Men (returning series), History

August 24, The Hustle of @617MikeBiv (documentary), ALLBLK

August 25, Vacation Friends 2 (movie) Hulu

August 25, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (movie) Netflix

August 25, Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn (documentary series) Apple TV Plus 

Legendary Television and Apple TV Plus will showcase Godzilla and other monsters in its upcoming original sci-fi series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. 

The 10-episode series stars Kurt Russell and takes place after the events of Legendary Entertainment’s 2014 Godzilla theatrical film in which San Francisco is leveled by monsters. 

The series tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch, leading them into the world of monsters, according to Apple TV Plus. The streaming service has yet to announce a premiere date for the series.

Along with Russell, the series stars Wyatt Russell, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski. 

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is executive produced by Chris Black, Matt Fraction, Matt Shakman, Joby Harold, Tory Tunnell, Andy Goddard, Brad Van Arragon, Andrew Colville, Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita.

Legendary Entertainment’s Monsterverse theatrical films, including Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of Monsters (2019) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), have grossed nearly two billion dollars globally at the box office. A Godzilla vs. Kong sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is slated for release in 2024.  

A popular graphic novel has been adapted to a series, as Strange Planet premieres on Apple TV Plus August 9. Dan Harmon is behind the animated show, about a distant world full of blue beings who may not be all that different from their counterparts on Earth. 

There are 10 episodes. Three are available August 9 and the finale transpires September 27. 

Harmon’s shows include Fox animated comedy Krapopolis, Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty and NBC’s Community. 

The Strange Planet voice cast includes Tunde Adebimpe, better known as the singer in TV on the Radio, Demi Adejuyigbe, Lori Tan Chinn, Danny Pudi and Hannah Einbinder. 

Adebimpe wrote the score for PBS Kids program City Island. Pudi played film connoisseur Abed in Community. 

Apple Studios and ShadowMachine produce Strange Planet. Harmon and Nathan W. Pyle, author of the Strange Planet book, created the show. They executive produce with Alex Bulkley, Corey Campodonico for ShadowMachine, Lauren Pomerantz, Amalia Levari, Steve Levy and Taylor Alexy Pyle. 

The Strange Planet book came to be in 2019 after Pyle’s Strange Planet web comics blew up. The book has a 4.33 rating, out of 5, on GoodReads, with over 37,000 people rating it. 

A review of the TV series in the New York Times said Strange Planet “successfully marries Pyle’s wholesome, observational humor with Harmon’s love of cerebral, dark-tinted comedy that unpacks the human experience via eccentric characters. For a show that doesn’t actually include any humans (just these ‘beings,’ as they’re called, and various creatures), it has plenty of humanity.”

One in The Guardian said: “This charming animated series — adapted from the popular web comic — has the potential to be wonderful. Sadly, the 25-minute episodes are full of gimmicky characters and repetitive takes.”

Another review in The Hollywood Reporter was similarly mixed. “Though its feather-lightness makes the series an easy binge, I don’t recommend trying to watch it all at once for the same reason I wouldn’t recommend trying to eat an entire birthday cake in one go: it’s simply too much sugar to be digested all at once,” THR said.

Apple TV Plus said its new comedy Still Up will have its premiere with three episodes dropping on September 22.

Single additional episodes will drop on Fridays through October 27.

Still Up is a romantic comedy set among a group of insomniacs. 

The series stars Antonia Thomas and Craig Roberts. The cast also include Blake Harrison, Lois Chimimba, Luke Fetherston and Rich Fulcher.

Still Up is co-created and written by Steve Burge and Natalie Walter. Bryce Hart also writes on the series

The series is produced for Apple TV Plus  by Various Artists Limited, executive produced by BAFTA Award winner Paul Schlesinger, Emmy award winning Phil Clarke and series produced by Arabella McGuigan. 

John Addis directs.

ESPN is reporting that earlier this week, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff presented the conference’s governing body with several offers for the league’s TV and streaming rights when the group’s current television contract expires after this school year. However, the report notes that a “primarily subscription-based Apple streaming deal” was clearly on top of the pile.

The deal is expected to be a relatively short-term contract with Apple kicking off in 2024-25 as a subscription package separate from an Apple TV Plus subscription, along the lines of what Apple has done with Major League Soccer.

While the financial terms were not disclosed, sources said that the renumeration would initially be relatively low compared to the league’s hopes but would grow incrementally based on reaching certain subscription milestones, “and potentially be competitive with its peers in the Big 12 and ACC down the road.”

Also Read: Pac-12 in Talks With The CW on New National TV Rights Deal

With seemingly limitless coffers, Apple has been snapping up major sports streaming rights in recent years. In March 2022, the company acquired the rights to stream Friday Night League Baseball from Major League Baseball.

In June 2022 the company inked a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal to stream Major League Soccer. The company also kicked the tires on NFL Sunday Ticket, but came away empty-handed.

In June, Apple was instrumental in luring Argentinian World Cup soccer megastar Lionel Messi away from a $430 million Saudi Arabian offer to play for Inter Miami, offering the player a percentage of revenue from new MLS Season Pass signups.

However, the Pac-12 offer may be a Hail Mary pass, as the conference is currently facing a bit of a meltdown.

Deadline is reporting that rival college athletics conference the Big Ten is evaluating expansion just as numerous reports suggest that as many as four Pac-12 colleges — Oregon, Washington, Stanford and the University of California — may be ready to jump ship. Just last week Colorado voted to return to the Big 12.

Meanwhile, the Arizona Board of Regents is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss the fate of Arizona State and Arizona Athletics in light of Colorado’s decision and the uncertainty surrounding Pac-12.

With UCLA and USC set to desert the league in 2024, it’s unclear how much more attrition the league can withstand, or if Apple’s offer is generous enough to entice any of the teams to stay.

FX’s Reservation Dogs and Apple TV Plus’s Physical are among several series returning to television with new seasons during the first week of August.

Reservation Dogs on August 2 will launch its third and final season on Hulu. The Taika Waititi-produced series, which follows the lives of four teenagers in rural Oklahoma, is the first TV series to feature all indigenous writers and directors. Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Lane Factor, Paula Alexis, and Zahn McClarnon. 

Apple TV Plus's Physical is also launching its third and final season on August 2. The series stars Rose Byrne as an insecure 1980s housewife who decides to make her own way through the world of aerobics. Zooey Deschanel joins the Physical cast that also features Rory Scovel and Diedre Friel.

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of July 31-August 6. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

July 31: Breeders (returning series), FX

August 3: Heartstopper (returning series), Netflix

August 3: The Lincoln Lawyer (returning series), Netflix

August 4: The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (drama), Prime Video 

August 6: The Chi (returning series), Showtime

August 6: Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (returning series), HBO

HBO and streaming service Max — led by shows Succession and The Last of Us — drew the most nominations for 2023 TCA Awards, the Television Critics Association said Friday.

HBO and Max garnered a combined 20 nominations for the TCA Awards — which spotlight exceptional performances, series, creators, and stars spanning across all genres and platforms — to lead all distributors, according to the TCA, which represents more than 200 journalists who cover television for publications across the U.S. and Canada.

FX finished second with 10 nominations, followed by Disney Plus and Peacock, with nine nods each. 

HBO’s Succession and The Last of Us earned an industry-high five nominations each, tied with FX's The Bear. ABC series Abbott Elementary and Peacock’s Poker Face tied with four nominations.

Abbott Elementary will look to repeat in the category of Outstanding Comedy series as it competes with HBO’s Barry and Max’s The Other Two, as well as FX's Reservation Dogs and What We Do In The Shadows; Peacock's Poker Face; and Apple TV Plus's Shrinking. 

In the Outstanding Drama category, Succession will also look to repeat last year's win against 2019 category winner, Better Call Saul (AMC), as well as Disney Plus’s Andor, HBO/Max's The White Lotus and The Last of Us; Paramount Plus’s The Good Fight; AMC's Interview With the Vampire and Showtime’s Yellowjackets.

 “The 2023 nominees for the TCA Awards boast an eclectic lineup from across the entertainment spectrum,” TCA President and TV Critic for Salon.com Melanie McFarland said in a statement. “This season truly had something for everyone — from innovative comedies and gripping dramas, to immersive documentaries and refreshingly cerebral storytelling set in a galaxy far, far away. I am eager to see which stars and series our members have chosen to honor when the winners are revealed.”

Winners for the 39th annual TCA Awards will be announced August 7. Below is a complete list of nominations.

Outstanding Achievement in News or Information

• 30 for 30 — ESPN
• Free Chol Soo Lee — PBS
• Frontline – PBS (eight-time winner in category)
• Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? — Netflix
• Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence — Hulu
• Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi — Hulu
• The 1619 Project — Hulu
• The U.S. and the Holocaust — PBS

Outstanding Achievement in Reality

• Couples Therapy — Showtime (2021 Winner in Category)
• Jury Duty — Amazon Freevee
• RuPaul’s Drag Race — MTV (2014 Winner in Category)
• The Rehearsal — HBO | Max
• The Traitors — Peacock
• Top Chef — Bravo
• Vanderpump Rules — Bravo
• Welcome to Wrexham — FX

Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming

• Alma’s Way — PBS Kids
• Bluey — Disney Plus
• Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood — PBS Kids (2016 Winner in Youth Category)
• Donkey Hodie — PBS Kids
• Eva the Owlet – Apple TV Plus
• Molly of Denali — PBS Kids (2020 Winner in Youth Category)
• Ridley Jones — Netflix
• Sesame Street — HBO | Max (2018, 2011 & 2001 Winner in Youth Category)
• Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures — Disney Junior/Disney Plus

Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming

• American Born Chinese — Disney Plus
• High School Musical: The Musical: The Series — Disney Plus
• Jane — Apple TV Plus
• Love, Victor — Hulu
• Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur — Disney Channel
• Ms. Marvel — Disney Plus
• Never Have I Ever — Netflix
• Star Trek: Prodigy — Paramount Plus
• The Mysterious Benedict Society — Disney Plus

Outstanding New Program

• Andor — Disney Plus
• Interview with the Vampire — AMC
• Jury Duty — Amazon Freevee
• Mrs. Davis — Peacock
• Poker Face — Peacock
• Shrinking — Apple TV Plus
• The Bear — FX
• The Last of Us — HBO | Max

Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials

• A Small Light — National Geographic
• Beef — Netflix
• Black Bird — Apple TV Plus
• Daisy Jones & The Six — Prime Video
• Fleishman Is in Trouble — FX
• Mrs. Davis — Peacock
• The Patient — FX
• Weird: The Al Yankovic Story — The Roku Channel

Outstanding Achievement in Drama

• Andor — Disney Plus
• Better Call Saul — AMC (2019 Winner in Category)
• Interview with the Vampire — AMC
• Succession – HBO | Max (2022 & 2020 Winner in Category)
• The Good Fight — Paramount Plus 
• The Last of Us — HBO | Max
• The White Lotus — HBO | Max
• Yellowjackets — Showtime

Outstanding Achievement in Comedy

• Abbott Elementary — ABC (2022 Winner in Category)
• Barry — HBO | Max
• Poker Face — Peacock
• Reservation Dogs — FX
• Shrinking — Apple TV Plus 
• The Bear — FX
• The Other Two — HBO | Max
• What We Do in the Shadows — FX

Program of the Year

• Abbott Elementary — ABC (2022 Winner in Category)
• Andor — Disney Plus
• Better Call Saul — AMC
• Poker Face – Peacock
• Succession — HBO | Max
• The Bear — FX
• The Last of Us — HBO | Max
• The Other Two — HBO | Max
• The White Lotus — HBO | Max

Oustanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch

• The Amber Ruffin Show — Peacock
• A Black Lady Sketch Show — HBO | Max (2020 Winner in Category)
• I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson – Netflix (2022 Winner in Category)
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — HBO | Max (2021, 2019 & 2018 Winner in Category, and 2015 winner in News & Information)
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — NBC
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — CBS
• Saturday Night Live — NBC
• Ziwe — Showtime

Apple TV Plus’s Emmy Award-winning drama series The Morning Show will return to the streaming service for its third season on September 13.

The 10-episode third season will continue to follow the exploits of the on-air personalities and staff of a network morning-news show. The series stars Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston.

Apple TV Plus described the third season as one in which the future of the network is thrown into question and loyalties are pushed to the brink when a tech titan takes an interest. “Unexpected alliances form, private truths are weaponized and everyone is forced to confront their core values both in and out of the newsroom,” Apple TV Plus said.

Along with Aniston and Witherspoon, the series stars Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Nestor Carbonell, Karen Pittman, Greta Lee, Jon Hamm, Nicole Beharie and Julianna Margulies.

The Morning Show is executive produced by Aniston, Witherspoon, Michael Ellenberg, Kristin Hahn, Lauren Neustadter, Mimi Leder and Charlotte Stoudt.