Apple is thinking about getting into the scripted TV business, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Ever-mysterious "people familiar with the matter" tell the Journal the shows would be offered to Apple Music subscribers, and the company is talking to both "veteran producers" and "experienced marketing executives" to create and promote those shows. The shows could be released by the end of this year.
The report also says Apple is looking into making movies, but it describes those efforts as "more preliminary."
Apple is already dabbling in some unscripted TV, including an app developer competition series called Planet of the Apps and a half-hour version of Carpool Karaoke. Another previously announced project, a scripted "dark semi-autobiographical drama featuring at least one orgy scene," stars Dr. Dre, the rapper and producer whose name just happens to be attached to the Beats headphones Apple sells.
The other scripted TV referenced in the WSJ report presumably will not star Apple employees (though I personally would probably watch a buddy cop show where Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi teamed up to solve crimes).
Apple is a big company with many resources, but this would be a step into a crowded market that it has little experience in. Streaming-only companies like Netflix and Amazon, basic cable networks like AMC and FX, hybrid companies like HBO, and traditional broadcast networks are offering a wider range of scripted TV programs than ever before. According to FX's research, there were 455 scripted TV shows across all these providers in 2016, up from 349 in 2013 when pioneering Netflix shows like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black had their premieres. The "Peak TV" phenomenon is driving huge growth in the TV industry, but failed projects like Yahoo Screen show that success in a market already overflowing with options can be hard to come by.
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