Apple TV+ Is Already Renewing Its Shows With Second Seasons Of 'Dickinson,' 'See,' And More
Apple TV+ hasn't even launched yet but Apple has already renewed four of its original series for second seasons. The Jason Momoa-starring apocalypse drama See and Hailee Steinfeld's historical comedy Dickinson are among the Apple TV+ shows renewed for a season 2 prior to the streaming service's launch in November.The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Apple TV+ has renewed four of its shows before they have even debuted on the upcoming streaming service. The four shows include Steven Knight's post-apocalyptic drama See, which stars Jason Momoa as a blind warrior in a world where the human race has lost their sight; Dickinson, an anachronistic coming-of-age comedy series starring Hailee Steinfeld as the literary icon Emily Dickinson; the anthology series Little America; and the Hilde Lysiak drama Home Before Dark.
According to THR, production for Dickinson season 2 started soon after the first trailers stirred up some online buzz. Apple has already poured truckloads of cash into See, with a whopping $240 million already spent for the first two seasons of the series. Knight pens the series with The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence helming season 1, though it's uncertain if he will return for a second season as THR notes a "change at the top" may be in the show's future.
Meanwhile renewals for Little America, an anthology series executive produced by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, and the Jon M. Chu-executive produced Home Before Dark based on the life of young journalist Hilde Lysiak were given less fanfare.
But while Dickinson and See have high-profile stars and creators attached, it's still a big risk for Apple considering none of these shows have debuted yet. Apple is still untested as an original content producer and doesn't have the brand recognition that Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, or streaming newcomers like Disney have. Of all the forthcoming streaming platforms, Apple TV+ is the only one without an archive of prior titles to fall back on, and thus have a lot riding on these new original series. It's an expensive investment but perhaps a mega-tech company like Apple can afford any potential losses.
Apple TV+ launches on November 1, 2019.