Apple is adding a new crime-based original drama series to its collection of original shows.
Are You Sleeping stars Oscar-winning Octavia Spencer from The Help, and is being adapted from a novel by Kathleen Barber about a Serial-style crime podcast which reopens a murder case.
Other names associated with the show include Serial podcast creator, producer, and host Sarah Koenig, who will consult on the project. It is being written by Nichelle Tramble Spellman, best known for The Good Wife and Justified.
The series will be produced for Apple by Chernin Entertainment and Endeavor Content, along with Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine, which previously made Big Little Lies for HBO.
So far, Apple’s other greenlit original programming includes an Amazing Stories reboot from Steven Spielberg, a news-business comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon (bringing her total number of Apple collaborations to two), and a sci-fi drama series from the show runner of Outlander.
Throughout the past year, Apple has been focused on assembling an impressive team for its original content ambitions — which appear to be paying off. Apple reportedly plans spend a $1 billion “war chest” on original programming in 2018, which could rise to $4.2 billion per year by 2022.
No dates have been announced for when Apple will begin debuting its original drama shows, or how it plans to distribute them. Current shows, such as the disappointing Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps, have been exclusives to Apple Music.
Source: Deadline
