Apple is stepping into the TV industry with an original dark drama series called "Vital Signs," starring musician Dr. Dre.
Considering how the Cupertino brand has been extending its reach to other sectors such as the automobile market, entering the content production foray shouldn't come as much of a surprise. In fact, industry watchers expected the company to do so about a year ago.
This move could be seen as Apple following Amazon and Netflix's footsteps, two companies that found huge success in "Transparent" and "Narcos" respectively. It's also worth noting that the pair is pushing their efforts further by acquiring streaming rights to new movies, spending millions at the Sundance Film Festival.
The news did not seem to affect Apple stocks, staying at a solid $93. If anything, the company's declining stock price, which went down by 20 percent from $115 three months ago, is attributed to the economic complications in China and reduced future iPhone expectations.
Meanwhile, it could be argued that "Straight Outta Compton" is basically a story about the origin of Dr. Dre. Seeing how well the movie was received, there's a possibility that the Cupertino brand is banking on the rapper and the interesting stories he has to tell.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Vital Signs" is billed as semi-autobiographical, and it's centered on how Dr. Dre's character responds to various emotions. The show features everything a person would expect out of a dark drama, including adult and violent scenes. It reportedly even has one orgy scene.
Apple is funding the production, and aside from being in the main cast, the Beats co-founder is the executive producer of the six-episode series. Each episode is said to last approximately half an hour. Notable actors Sam Rockwell and Mo McCrae are believed to be part of the ensemble as well.
Financially speaking, the company isn't risking much with this, as "Vital Signs" is relatively short and is not as heavy to support compared to traditional TV series.
Filming has already begun in Los Angeles, where Dr. Dre's wife, Nicole Young, was said to have seen the "shenanigans" on set, including extras in their birthday suits who were simulating sex in a mansion.
As for distribution, it's said that Apple will premiere the whole shebang in one go on Apple Music. However, the specifics have not been cleared up yet, as it remains unsure whether it will land on other Apple platforms such as the Apple TV and iTunes Store or even air on traditional TV. Both the company and a rep for Dr. Dre declined to comment about this matter.
Interestingly, Apple has already dabbled with videos on Apple Music, using a visualized radio show of DJ Khaled and a concert video of Taylor Swift.
Apple having Dr. Dre at the helm of an original series was more or less expected, as the rapper and his partner Jimmy Iovine did sell the Beats franchise to the company for a whopping $3 billion in 2014.
To boil things down, Apple is set to venture into more different industries, penetrating the content creation game with "Vital Signs" and Dr. Dre.
