Apple in Bidding War for J.J. Abrams Sci-Fi Drama [Updated]

[MacRumors]

Apple and HBO are embroiled in a bidding war for a new sci-fi drama television series penned by J.J. Abrams, reports Variety.

Little is known about the series at this time, but it's said to deal with a "world's battle against a monstrous, oppressive force," and it marks the first television series Abrams has written since "Fringe" in 2008.

Most recently, Abrams wrote "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and he is working on the upcoming and as of yet untitled "Star Wars: Episode IX." In the past, Abrams has worked on shows that include "Lost," "Felicity," and "Alias."

Abrams would serve as executive producer on the sci-fi series, alongside Ben Stephenson, head of TV for Abrams' Bad Robot Productions. The series would be produced by Warner Bros. Television, and while Variety says Apple and HBO are the top bidders at this time, the studio is open to other bidders.

Apple already has two other sci-fi shows in the works, including a revival of 1985 Steven Spielberg sci-fi series "Amazing Stories" and an untitled space drama developed by Ronald D. Moore, known for "Battlestar Galactica."

Update 2/1: HBO ended up winning the bidding war for a new sci-fi drama from J.J. Abrams, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The upcoming show is called "Demimonde," and it is about a family (a mother who is a scientist, her husband, and her daughter) who get into a car crash. The mother winds up in a coma, leading the daughter to begin digging through her experiments in the basement. The daughter is transported to another world where she must battle against a monstrous, oppressive force. HBO describes the series as "an epic and intimate sci-fi fantasy drama."

Article Link: Apple in Bidding War for J.J. Abrams Sci-Fi Drama [Updated]

 

[RogerWilco]

Abrams knows scifi about as well as fish understand bicycles.

 

[Naraxus]

Lovely. Bid for a guy who was handed the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises and managed to flush them both down the toilet. Pass.

 

[Appurushido]

J.J. Abrams does what Apples does best, rehash things and make them better.

 

[robertcoogan]

Um...a "monstrous, oppressive force"....???? Ok.

 

[Naraxus]

J.J. Abrams does what Apples does best, rehash things and make them better.

Did you not watch The Force Awakens or the Star Trek movies he did?

 

[heifetz7]

well for everyone's sake, hopefully Apple does not win, because their tv platform is not available on any third party devices, so you'll either have to pirate the series or have an apple tv to watch it (unlike if it was on netflix, amazon or HBO)

 

[ActionableMango]

I thought Fringe was excellent, once they got past the "monster of the week" episodes in the first season.

This was also prior to his "lens flare" stage of life.

 

[_Refurbished_]

Trek Wars Karaoke: A Last Hope

 

[chucker23n1]

Did you not watch The Force Awakens or the Star Trek movies he did?

He made no Star Trek movies. He made action blockbusters set in space which happened to have Star Trek branding.

 

[Scottsoapbox]

Ugh. Force Awakens was terrible.
Surprised he is still getting work after that.

 

[djcerla]

All of the rumored shows are super-appealing to me, likely a sign that the target audience are 40-somethings.

 

[BornAgainMac]

I thought Apple was going to buy Star Wars from Disney after seeing Last Jedi.

 

[Mac32]

J.J. Abrams is terrible, and is emblematic of all the SJW virtue signalling, political correctness and Cultural Marxism that runs through Hollywood these days. I guess Tim Cook is into that stuff. I would love a new high quality and intelligent sci-fi show, but with Abrams at the helm? No thanks.

 

[Dranix]

sure Apple buy from him, as least he won't be able to destroy something different in the meantime, like Star Trek and Star Wars before...

 

[keysofanxiety]

sure Apple buy from him, as least he won't be able to destroy something different in the meantime, like Star Trek and Star Wars before...

What else is left for him to bastardise with lens flare and vacuous script writing?

Hopefully they’ll keep Westworld under lock and key...

 

[GFLPraxis]

J.J. Abrams is terrible, and is emblematic of all the SJW virtue signalling, political correctness and Cultural Marxism that runs through Hollywood these days. I guess Tim Cook is into that stuff. I would love a new high quality and intelligent sci-fi show, but with Abrams at the helm? No thanks.

I wouldn't even consider that one of Abrams' sins, are you kidding? This is the same guy who included the "Dr. Marcus in underwear" scene. I have never observed over-political-correctness in his films.

Rather, I've observed lazy filmwriting. He does the same things in all of his movies- constant action, little character development, and throwing all of the established universe's rules to the wind. (For example, in Star Wars, you can hyperspace in an atmosphere or from a hanger without calculations suddenly, and in Star Trek, you can get from Earth to the Klingon Homeworld in five minutes instead of weeks?)


J.J. Abrams is the epitome of taking existing scifi franchises and "Hollywood action-ifying" them in a manner that removes substance and makes them generic. I can't stand him. "Political correctness" doesn't even register on my complaint list. Can you name me what 'politically correct' things he's done?
[doublepost=1516147462][/doublepost]

Ugh. Force Awakens was terrible.
Surprised he is still getting work after that.

I constantly complained that his Star Trek movies didn't feel like Star Trek, but more like Star Wars.

Then he made The Force Awakens, and I realized I was being too generous.

Also- he made a lot of the same mistakes, like crazy stretches with faster-than-light drives that violated in-universe rules, or making up cheap outs, and very generic villains with hardly any development.

 

[Rogifan]

I’d still like to know what ultimately it’s going to happen with all this content. Is Apple going to create a Netflix style subscription service as part of the TV app? Will it be separate from Apple Music or will they offer one subscription for both?

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Wasn't too much of a fan of the Star Trek effort, but I really liked LOST and Alias. While both shows had some shark-jumping problems at times (and the writers' strike I'm sure didn't help LOST), the great character development and overall mystery made them very entertaining. I guess I'm saying a JJA TV series seems like it might have a better chance at being good if you like character depth and less emphasis on green screens and special effects, though with Sci-Fi, I don't know how good it might end up. LOST had some pretty bad special effects at times for being such a popular show.

 

[TheFluffyDuck]

JJ Abrams is more miss than hit.

What he did to Star Wars was horrible, but not as bad as Rian Johnson. Seriously, thanks to them both for ruining Star Wars for me.

 

[ackmondual]

J.J. Abrams does what Apples does best, rehash things and make them better.

Did you not watch The Force Awakens or the Star Trek movies he did?

No... "make them better" was spot on. The thing is, if we define "make them better" as making money and just that, then that describes both JJ Abrams films and Apple products quite well

 

[robjulo]

Like Apple Maps, or notifications, or Siri, or the podcast app.....

J.J. Abrams does what Apples does best, rehash things and make them better.

 

[Smearbrick]

Lovely. Bid for a guy who was handed the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises and managed to flush them both down the toilet. Pass.
[doublepost=1516145460][/doublepost]
How about bidding for people who actually care about making good computers as well?

Yep, the Star Trek films and the Star Wars film he directed all were financial disasters.

 

[nph]

I dont get you guys. In my book Abrams is a great writer/director. Lost, Alias were great series.
Star Wars the Force awakens for sure beat the crap 1 2 and 3 movies made by Lucas.
Can't understand the bashing of him, honestly, but maybe like someone else wrote it is targeting us around 40!
And since I am over 40 maybe that is why I like his stuff?!

 

[redpandadev]

I don't understand Apple being in a bidding war with anyone over something they want. If they are serious about content and this is something they truly want, they have enough cash to outbid literally any other company without even thinking twice about it. They should show the industry just how serious they are and throw some muscle (cash) around. Maybe they will start to be taken seriously when they start to act like they are serious.
[doublepost=1516152208][/doublepost]

I’d still like to know what ultimately it’s going to happen with all this content. Is Apple going to create a Netflix style subscription service as part of the TV app? Will it be separate from Apple Music or will they offer one subscription for both?

It seems like they are repeating their own history. It all started with iTunes. Then iTunes stayed iTunes but gained Movies and TV, but kept the name. Apple Music is marketed as essentially the evolution of iTunes. My guess is Apple Music will begin (already has) to add Movies and TV and they will continue to be called Apple Music and it will quickly begin to make no sense and get bloated and slow and useless like iTunes has become.

What they should do is use a trademark they already have: Apple TV. Make it a service, not a product (make it both, actually).