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Apple TV+ Series Review Roundup: The Morning Show, See, Dickinson, and For All Mankind

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Ahead of Apple TV+ launching on Friday, reviews are now out for some of the first series premiering on the streaming video service, including The Morning Show, See, Dickinson, and For All Mankind.

apple-tv-plus-series-banner-800x450.jpg

Most reviews have panned The Morning Show and See, opinions were mixed about Dickinson, and For All Mankind was acclaimed.

The Morning Show

- Variety: "Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston can't salvage this politically muddled, underthought, and underwhelming streaming misfire."

- The Hollywood Reporter: "After a brutally dull pilot and a meandering second episode, there are distinct hints in the third hour of a more satisfying and confident The Morning Show, one that actually gets value out of leading ladies Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon."

- Rolling Stone
- Vanity Fair
- Entertainment Weekly
- The Telegraph
- TVLine
- TV Guide
- Deadline
- Decider
- CNET
- AppleInsider
- CNN

See

- Variety: "Spiraling away from narrative control as its first three episodes unreel, this series, about a post-apocalyptic future in which nearly everyone is blind, wastes the time of Jason Momoa and Alfre Woodard, among others, on a story that starts from a position of fun, giddy strangeness and drags itself forward at a lugubrious pace."

- The Hollywood Reporter: "As you'll find is a trend with this first batch of Apple TV+ originals, See isn't close to a good show thus far, but it does just enough to make you believe that under the right circumstances, there might be a good show here somewhere, eventually."

- The Telegraph
- TVLine
- TV Guide
- Deadline
- Decider
- CNET
- AppleInsider
- IndieWire
- The Guardian

Dickinson

- Variety: "Given the show's scattered narrative and stylistic approach to Emily's life and work, its biggest strength by a long shot is its star [...] Even when the show around her starts to crumble under its own ambitious weight, [Hailee] Steinfeld usually finds a way to carry it."

- The Hollywood Reporter: "The writing is well-informed by historical research, with episodes based on many real events from her early life. But in wanting to be both a serious teen drama and a black comedy simultaneously, the half-hour show instead comes off as tonally incongruous, awash in wry hipster flatness."

- The Telegraph
- TVLine
- TV Guide
- Collider
- Deadline
- Decider
- CNET
- AppleInsider

For All Mankind

- Variety: "Of the original series launching Apple's streaming TV service Monday, 'For All Mankind' is by far the strongest, especially because it makes the most of its budget and subsequent capacity to dream a bit bigger than most."

- The Hollywood Reporter: "The Apple TV+ series is a solid effort at epic, alternate-history storytelling, but feels a bit derivative and moves too slowly."

- The Telegraph
- TVLine
- TV Guide
- Deadline
- Decider
- CNET
- AppleInsider
- Collider
- IndieWire

Apple TV+ is Apple's upcoming subscription-based streaming video service, launching November 1 in over 100 countries and regions.

Apple TV+ will be available on the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, and other platforms, including online at tv.apple.com, for $4.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. Since September 10, customers who purchase any iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch, or Mac can get one year of Apple TV+ for free.

Article Link: Apple TV+ Series Review Roundup: The Morning Show, See, Dickinson, and For All Mankind
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/10/28/apple-tv-plus-show-reviews/
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I don’t think I’m going to pay too much attention to the reviews. I’m definitely excited to check out ‘The Morning Show,’ ‘See,’ and ‘Dickinson’ this Friday! Apple’s other shows in development (‘Servant’ and ‘Truth Be Told’) also look promising.
 
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bbeagle said:
And...

Verizon giving Disney+ away to Verizon customers means that Disney+ is bad too?
AT&T giving HBO Max away to AT&T customers means that HBO Max is bad too?

Your logic makes no sense.
Click to expand...
My logic makes perfect sense - Apple are launching their TV show with a handful of shows with poor to average reviews. People won’t pay for it so the bulk of subscribers will be getting it for free with Apple devices.

Disney + has the most incredible back catalogue. Yes, Verizon are giving it away but it will have more paid subscribers vs free ones.
 
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Herrpod said:
Big shock that the streaming service launching with only a handful of shows isn't worth the money. What are you doing, Apple?
Click to expand...
This article was posted 25 minutes ago. You read all those reviews in that time?
_Refurbished_ said:
I think this article sums up Apple 2019:
Click to expand...
what does that have to do with this article?
 
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But I thought if you spend a lot you get quality. What happened? Great storytelling isn’t supposed to be this boring is the general consensus.

Or can we all just conclude that these shows aren’t much different than any of the dozens that come out (And you glaze over trying to find something interesting to watch) on Netflix? If these were on Netflix the crowd would be pointing fingers and saying what trash it is. Quantity over quality. There’s no Apple magic here. No software/hardware integration stuff. Just Apple showing why they shouldn’t be doing this.

Doesn’t bode well for Apple that they don’t seem to have a hit anywhere in this tepid mix. I wonder what their strategy is for quietly letting this service die.
 
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I hate to say I'm not interested in any of Apple's announced stuff so far. I don't have time to watch a lot of shows so I'm very selective based on either unanimous high ratings (stuff like breaking bad) or specific personal and usually nerdy interest (the next two shows of which will be the Mandalorian on D+ and the LOTR show from A').
 
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Looks like Dickinson, For All Mankind, and Elephant movie are the standout great shows. See is predictably a boring dud, and Morning Show in its first 3 episodes is too sobering. There’s still a chance that Morning Show picks up in its back half but See seems irredeemable (the reviewers hated the premise, and implausibility of the writing, plus bad acting).
 
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cardfan said:
But I thought if you spend a lot you get quality. What happened? Great storytelling isn’t supposed to be this boring is the general consensus.

Or can we all just conclude that these shows aren’t much different than any of the dozens that come out (And you glaze over trying to find something interesting to watch) on Netflix? If these were on Netflix the crowd would be pointing fingers and saying what trash it is. Quantity over quality.

Doesn’t bode well for Apple that they don’t seem to have a hit anywhere in this tepid mix. I wonder what their strategy is for quietly letting this service die.
Click to expand...

I agree with your statement that thee aren't a lot of hit shows on here. It doesn't mean anything about the Apple + service though. Apple will keep it alive for a while.

What I don't get, is that all the other services have deals with other companies (like Seinfeld, Friends or Dr. Who complete series).

Why didn't Apple at least get something like that? Maybe they tried? Apple needs at least 5,000 hours of content to really have a good service. If they don't get that in the next 6 months to a year, the service won't last long.
 
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Well damn. I thought this would be a no brainer at the current price point. I guess I will just stick to HBO. Even with the low price of $4.99, the initial shows is all that matter since there is no other content.
 
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Early reviews
Morning show - Too bland, drama feels forced
See - Not enough going on
Dickinson - Too revisionist, not funny
For all Mankind- Interesting but slow, packed with gender politics

not really surprising. I’ve watched every trailer looking for something that feels marginally compelling, getting little more than “meh” for me.

Also kind of weird that so many of their flagship shows have such a strong political slant. Does that bring in viewership?
 
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FightTheFuture said:
This article was posted 25 minutes ago. You read all those reviews in that time?
what does that have to do with this article?
Click to expand...
I didn't read all of the reviews, I scanned through a lot of them. They were not positive.

That's not really the point.

Did you read the article I linked? Sums up the current state of Apple quite nicely and demonstrates the lack of focus they are exhibiting in 2019.
 
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ChrisMoBro said:
My logic makes perfect sense - Apple are launching their TV show with a handful of shows with poor to average reviews. People won’t pay for it so the bulk of subscribers will be getting it for free with Apple devices.

Disney + has the most incredible back catalogue. Yes, Verizon are giving it away but it will have more paid subscribers vs free ones.
Click to expand...

Disney has the benefit of having characters and universes they’ve spent years building or acquired. Plus they know what they’re doing. Of course Apple can’t compete with that. Not many can.

Apple is very much just tugging on a string and with a toe in the water in comparison. Yep that’s cold water. You sure about this Tim? Lol. I’m sure some at Apple are shaking their heads wondering how they got in this mess.
 
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