For the first time since “Friends,” Jennifer Aniston is returning to TV with a brand new show about morning TV in New York. Reese Witherspoon, who just got an Emmy nomination for the “Big Little Lies” HBO TV series, is also starring in the project. What’s more interesting about it is that both Apple and Netflix are bidding for it.
It was the Financial Times that first reported that Apple is bidding on the new drama, with Netflix also being one of the contenders.
Apple recently hired two former top Sony execs to bolster its original TV content plans, with a recent report saying that Apple will invest no less than $1 billion in its own shows this year.
So far, the Cupertino-based tech giant produced two TV shows that received lukewarm reviews. “The Planet of the Apps” and “Carpool Karaoke” are shows Apple chose to get its feet wet, but it’ll have to do a lot better than that to really compete against Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Hulu and everyone else making amazing original streaming content.
The fact that Apple came out in the 11th hour with a pro-net neutrality opinion that’s stronger than ever is also a clear indication that the streaming business is a major part of its future business plans.
As for the unnamed Aniston-Witherspoon show, The Hollywood Reporter explains that it’s based on an original idea from former HBO head of drama Michael Ellenberg, while Jay Carson (“House of Cards”) is going to write the script and exec produce.