In April, we reported that Apple was working on developing a TV series based on Isaac Asimov's highly influential Foundation series of science fiction novels. Today, Ars has confirmed not only that Foundation was in development, but it has now been given a full series order—meaning we're definitely going to see it.
As previously reported, David Goyer (screenwriter for The Dark Knight and Batman Begins) and Josh Friedman (creator of the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and screenwriter for Steven Spielberg's 2005 War of the Worlds film) will be the showrunners and executive producers. The series is being produced by Skydance Television, and Skydance CEO David Ellison will be an executive producer for the series (he is the son of famed Oracle executive Larry Ellison). Isaac Asimov's daughter, Robyn Asimov, will also executive produce, along with Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross.
Foundation takes place over more than a thousand years, and the story tracks a group of exiles who are fighting against the Galactic Empire in order to save it. It is a highly influential work of science fiction; its impact can be felt in Star Wars, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and many other sci-fi films, books, and video games. Several previous failed attempts have been made to bring Foundation to the screen—including ones by Independence Day director Roland Emmerich and Westworld's Jonathan Nolan.
Apple has built a large development team out of its office in Culver City, California—a municipality within Los Angeles County (pictured above) that is home to many entertainment studios across television, film, and video games. The company has been asserting itself as a dealmaker as new series have been shopped around to major networks, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and others. The video division is called Apple Worldwide Video, and though Apple has not officially confirmed extensive details of its long-term plans, it is believed that the company plans to launch a TV and movie streaming service next year.The exact nature of that service—whether it will be part of Apple Music, tied to the Apple TV, or a completely new service, for example—is still unknown. Most of what we know about the efforts of Apple Worldwide Video we know from reports from elsewhere in the industry. However, this is not the first time Apple has made a series order. The company is also working on a drama from Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Outlander producer Ronald D. Moore, a reboot of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories, the Octavia Spencer vehicle Are You Sleeping, and more.
Skydance Television has recently been behind several hit streaming shows of late. It has previously produced Netflix's Grace and Frankie and Altered Carbon, as well as Amazon's Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan.
Listing image by Samuel Axon
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