Well, it was really only a matter of time until Apple dipped their toe into the over-crowded public pool that is scripted television programming. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the multi-faceted tech monster is financing a scripted series starring and executive produced by Dr. Dre, an executive at the company.
Vital Signs will consist of six half-hour episodes, presumably to be streamed via Apple Music. There hasn’t been any indication as to whether Apple TV or iTunes will be somehow involved in the distribution of the show, which is said to be autobiographical for Dr. Dre. Each episode will be centered around a different emotion. And don’t think that because it’s a half hour it’ll be a comedy, as is typically the case with shows of that length. The series has been described as “a dark drama with no shortage of violence and sex.” You can assume that a laugh track will not be used.
Dre handpicked Robert Munic, a co-executive producer/writer on Empire, to write the show, as well as executive produce Vital Signs, which be dropped all at once, a la Netflix.
Venturing into scripted programming makes sense for Apple, as diversifying is the name of the game these days. But you have to wonder if this is the right move for their first project. Perhaps it was included in the deal that brought Dre to Apple. You know, the one where and Jimmy Iovine sold Beats to Apple for a cool $3 billion. Yet at the same time, Dre has been playing a hot hand as of late, what with Straight Outta Compton doing as well as it did, and his album of the same name receiving generally positive reviews upon its release last year.
There hasn’t been any word about a release date for the show, as Apple is keeping it under lock and key.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
