NYTimes: Filming has wrapped on five Apple shows

Two are in the can. Nine more could be ready for the fall 2019 season.

From John Koblin’s Apple’s Big Spending Plan to Challenge Netflix Takes Shape in Monday’s New York Times:

The [March 25] event at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino is also meant to drive home — for iPhone fans and anyone in Hollywood who hasn’t been paying attention — just how many shows Apple has pulled together. Five series have completed filming. Around a half dozen more are on the verge of wrapping production, according to several people familiar with the shows who were not authorized to speak publicly.

The New York Times’ status report, in abbreviated form:

• Untitled Series With Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston: Shooting for season one is nearly done.
• “Amazing Stories,” a Steven Spielberg Reboot: Expected to wrap soon.
• “Are You Sleeping?” a Mystery Starring Octavia Spencer: Shooting finished late last year.
• “For All Mankind,” a Ronald D. Moore Sci-Fi Series: This one is in the can.
• “See,” With the “Aquaman” Star Jason Momoa: Now shooting.
• A New Shyamalan Thriller: Filming has come to an end.
• “Little America,” From the Writers of “The Big Sick”: Now shooting.
• A Comedy From the “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” Duo: It’s done.
• “Central Park,” a Cartoon Musical: Should be finished in the next few months.
• “Home,” From the Documentary Filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer: Expected to be finished in a few months.
• “Dickinson,” an Emily Dickinson Comedy: Shooting is done.

My take: The two shows in the can aren’t enough—or strong enough—to launch the service. But Apple has plenty of material for trailers, the kind of short-film format at which Apple excels. If next Monday’s show at the Steve Jobs Theater is good—and it better be—Apple will be bathed in positive press next week, starting Monday afternoon.

I’ll be there, live blogging from the cheap seats.

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