A behind the scenes report by The New York Post says Apple CEO Tim Cook and other company executives are deeply involved with the production of original television shows being produced for their streaming service, which is widely expected to debut later this year.
Apple executives are said to be “difficult” to work with, according to unnamed agents and producers involved in developing the shows.
Shortly after Apple announced its Hollywood ambitions in 2017, Tinseltown’s wheeler-dealers were lining up to work with the iPhone maker. But as the company’s streaming project gets ready for launch, agents and producers can’t stop griping about how “difficult” Apple is to deal with — citing a “lack of transparency,” “lack of clarity” and “intrusive” executives, including CEO Cook.
One of the biggest complaints involves the many “notes” from Apple executives seeking family-friendly shows, sources said.
“Tim Cook is giving notes and getting involved,” said a producer who has worked with Apple. One of the CEO’s most repeated notes is “don’t be so mean!,” the source said.
Cook has reportedly visited the sets of a large number of the shows to be streamed by Apple. Cook is said to have visited the Vancouver set of futuristic sci-fi potboiler See, as well as the Los Angeles shooting location of a drama starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
Apple’s fussiness has caused numerous production delays, irritating production partners. While originally it was expected Apple’s streaming service would debut in spring 2019, the premiere data has not reportedly been pushed back to summer 2019. The service is expected to be unveiled at a big media shindig on March 25.
Sources say the company is said to be unclear in discussing their goals, and that the lack of clarity has caused confusion among the company’s production partners.
“They are making big changes, firing and hiring new writers. There’s a lack of clarity on what they want,” the producer said. “A lot of the product is not as good as they hoped it to be,” he said.
It was previously reported that the iPhone maker was looking to avoid any “mature” content in its shows, while others said Apple was looking for the “next Breaking Bad.”
Apple is said to have well over a dozen TV shows in development, covering numerous genres. We won’t find out for sure what the Cupertino firm will be offering on its service until later this month.