As streaming services continue to grow in popularity, original programming and exclusives are being used to entice viewers. Last year, Apple announced they will begin to generate original content over the next year with a whopping $1 billion budget. The revered company has many ties to celebrity creators and is looking to reel in Hollywood-level direction. The newest addition to their roster is M. Night Shyamalan; known to many for his psychological thrillers and plot twists.
The Unbreakable director is teaming up with Apple to direct a straight-to-series thriller. The 10-episode order is said to embrace Shyamalan's psych-thriller genre and is set to be produced by his company, Blinding Edge Pictures. The director's most recent work is 2016's Split and the Fox series, Wayward Pines which was recently cancelled after its second season. As a storyteller with winding narratives and clues along the way, having the length of a TV series may prove useful.
Shyamalan isn't the first A-lister to join Apple's impending streaming surge. Other names currently attached to upcoming shows include Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Anniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Damien Chazelle. Currently, the aforementioned stars are working on dramas for Apple TV. They will be joining the lighthearted shows, Planet of the Apps and Carpool Karaoke: The Series.
[via Variety]
