Apple TV Plus examines the events at a local hospital in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in a trailer for its original drama series Five Days at Memorial, debuting on the streaming service August 12.

The series, based on the book of the same name, focuses on actual events after Hurricane Katrina as exhausted caregivers at a New Orleans hospital were forced to make decisions that would follow them for years to come, according to the streaming service.

The eight-episode series stars Vera Farmiga, Robert Pine and Cherry Jones.  Five Days at Memorial is executive produced by John Ridley and Carlton Cuse.■

A downpour of TV content is forecast for this week on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it unleashed on the Gulf Coast region in general and on New Orleans in particular.

In 2005, cable networks were among the first outlets to show the images of the stunning destruction to property and people’s lives in the days following the storm. Other specials through the years, such as HBO’s Emmy-winning When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, helped chronicle the effects on life on the Gulf Coast in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

This week The Weather Channel is leading the charge with a week of Katrina-themed content, including Katrina 2065, a special that looks at likely scenarios that could take place if Katrina hit 50 years from now. On Friday, Aug. 28, TWC will air a special report, Katrina: 10 Years Later, with Al Roker and Stephanie Abrams.

Also that Friday, TV One will look at the plight of education in New Orleans a decade after Katrina as part of its daily News One Now morning news series hosted by Roland Martin.

BET on Aug. 26 will premiere a news special, Katrina 10 Years Later: Through Hell in High Water, that will chronicle the lives of a diverse group of people who survived Katrina.

On the cable news network front, CNN will debut on Aug. 24 Katrina: The Storm That Never Stopped, in which network anchor Anderson Cooper travels back to the Gulf Coast and looks to reconnect with those residents and people he spoke with a decade ago following the storm.

On the digital front, offerings will include six-part documentary series New Orleans, Here & Now, from Time Inc. and Rampante, debuting Aug. 27 on Time.com and other platforms. It’s about six people living in New Orleans 10 years after Hurricane Katrina and is the first original premium video product from Time. Weather.com on Aug. 25 will stream nine hours of continuous highlights from 2005 Katrina coverage, starting at the same time as the 2005 coverage began and featuring clips from The Weather Channel.

And in real life (apart from TV), FYI has teamed with the affordable housing non-profit Make It Right to build a solar-powered new tiny home in New Orleans for a middle school teacher. On Aug. 28, they will host a house-warming event at the new 469-square-foot domicile in New Orleans’s Lower Ninth Ward, including Tiny House Nation host John Weisbarth.

— R. Thomas Umstead

Think Tank to FCC: Charter-TWC Deal Should Sail Through

Free-market think tank The Free State Foundation has released a paper outlining the benefits to consumers and broadband of a Charter Communications-Time Warner Cable merger.

Free State senior fellow Seth Cooper said the purpose is not to endorse or oppose the deal, but instead to outline the key considerations the Federal Communications Commission should be, well, considering. But Cooper clearly likes the cut of the deal’s jib and suggests it deserves fairly smooth sailing through the FCC and DOJ deal-vetting process.

He said the potential downsides for consumers appear minimal, and maybe nonexistent, and drew a distinction between this proposed merger and Comcast’s earlier play for TWC, abandoned after the Justice Department and the FCC agreed it should not go through.

Concerns about program withholding or broadband domination don’t apply to a Charter- TWC deal, Cooper said (though he does not concede they should have deep-sixed the earlier deal, either). “Whereas Comcast-TWC would have resulted in a nationwide broadband consumer subscription market share of about 30%, Charter-TWC would result in a nationwide broadband market share of about 21%. And those are numbers for wireline broadband only. The broadband market is much bigger: 43% of all broadband connections are now mobile, with next-generation wireless networks increasingly offering consumers three or more competitive mobile video viewing options.”

In any event, he said, the FCC should not look at “static” indicators like market share or concentration, but instead view the deal in the light of free-market dynamism, a light in which the deal looks good for consumer welfare, he said.

Cooper also called for a swift review, which may already be a bridge too far. The FCC at press time had yet to launch the comment cycle or start the informal shot clock on the deal, as it is still mulling the issue of how to treat third-party access to confidential information submitted by the parties involved.

— John Eggerton

Cable networks are gearing up to recognize the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation the storm unleashed on the Gulf Coast region in general and on New Orleans in particular.

In 2005 cable networks were among the first outlets to show the images of the stunning destruction to property and people’s lives in the days following when Katrina hit New Orleans and other areas on the Gulf of Mexico Coast on Aug. 29 (it had made landfall in Florida on Aug. 25). Other specials through the years such as HBO’s Emmy winning When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts and the HBO drama series Treme helped chronicle the effects on life in the Gulf in the immediate aftermath of the storm. 

Tonight (Friday, Aug. 21) at 10 p.m. ET, Fox News Channel has slated a one-hour special, Fox News Reporting: Timeline of Hurricane Katrina – 10th Anniversary, looking at the timeline of devastating events and the roles played by local, state and federal decision makers, all the way up to President George W. Bush. Anchors and correspondents including Shepard Smith, Bill Hemmer, Greta Van Susteren, Geraldo Rivera, Rick Leventhal, Steve Harrigan and Phil Keating will be featured.

CNN on Monday, Aug. 24, will premiere Katrina: The Storm That Never Stopped, in which network anchor Anderson Cooper travels back to the Gulf Coast and looks to reconnect with those residents and people he spoke to a decade ago in the aftermath of the storm.

Al Jazeera America on Sunday night (10 p.m. ET) airs a new original documentary, Only New Orleans, by filmmaker Vassili Silovic, exploring the role of music in New Orleans and how the city used its roots in jazz, R&B, rock 'n' roll, soul, funk, reggae and hip-hop to re-build spirits after Hurricane Katrina. Anchor Joie Chen will host two special programs from New Orleans on Friday, Aug. 28, and Saturday Aug. 29, at 10 p.m. ET, including reporting from Soledad O’Brien in two hard-hit neighborhoods. And on Monday, Aug. 24, at 6:30 p.m. ET, science and technology program TechKnow investigates the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the results of $12 billion spent to rebuild, re-engineer and re-think the way New Orleans is protected.

The Weather Channel has a week of Katrina-themed content lined up, including Katrina 2065, a special that looks at likely scenarios that could take place if a similar hurricane hit 50 years from now. On Friday, Aug. 28, TWC will air a special report Katrina: 10 Years Later, with Al Roker and Stephanie Abrams. Roker and Abrams will anchor Wake Up With Al live from New Orleans that morning while Jim Cantore (pictured during Katrina) returns to Gulfport, Miss., where he covered Katrina in 2005 for live reports throughout AMHQ. TWC's “Hurricane Week” will air live and long-form programs and specials during the week, as well.

On Friday, Aug. 28, TV One will look at the plight of education in New Orleans a decade after Katrina as part of its daily News One Now morning news series hosted by Roland Martin.

BET on Wednesday, Aug. 26, will premiere a news special, Katrina 10 Years Later: Through Hell in High Water, that will chronicle the lives of a diverse group of people who survived Katrina. 

ESPN has a week of cross-platform content planned, including on digital and in ESPN The Magazine. SportsCentercoverage begins on Sunday morning (Aug. 23, debuting at 10 a.m. ET), with tributes to the city (“Dear New Orleans”) from the likes of Archie Manning and Steve Gleason. New Orleans native Stan Verrett, whose childhood neighborhood was devastated by the effects of Katrina, will host afternoon segments of SportsCenter from his hometown on Friday, Aug. 28, and contribute pieces during the week including one on his return with his mother, Dr. Joyce Verrett, to his parents’ home and neighborhood.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines will feature Hurricane Katrina-related content on Friday, Aug. 28. And the documentary Wuerffel’s Way, about former University of Florida and New Orleans Saints quarterback Danny Wuerffel leading recovery efforts for the Desire Street Academy in New Orleans, will premiere on the SEC Network on Tuesday, Sept. 1, at 9 P.M. ET. The documentary focuses on the journey of former University of Florida and New Orleans Saints quarterback Danny Wuerffel – from winning the Heisman Trophy and a National Championship to spearheading, and then leading recovery efforts for that community outreach program after the devastation of Katrina.

And in real life (apart from TV), FYI has teamed with the affordable housing non-profit Make It Right to build a solar-powered new tiny home in New Orleans for a middle school teacher. On Friday, Aug. 28, they will host a house-warming event at the new 469-square-foot domicile in the Lower 9th Ward, including Tiny House Nation host John Weisbarth.

Kent Gibbons contributed to this article.