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

[Dorv]

"The Mandalorian" is a must see for a lot of Disney+ users. No must see show in Apple's lineup now (or in the near future). Wait until those exclusive Marvel shows come to Disney+…

I can see for a lot of viewers, the Morning Show being must see (Those that made Big Little Lies insanely popular) -- especially for those who purchased a new device this year and are getting the steamer for free.

For me, I knew I was going to be all in the minute they said that the creator of BSG would be doing a space-race historical fiction.

 

[Rychiar]

sounds about as I expected from their programming. I def wouldn't pay for it

 

[smaffei]

Apple has already spent $6 Billion on these DOA shows…

They were better off having game shows and giving the money away to the audience. At least people would have watched that…

 

[Glockworkorange]

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?

Could it be:

• Dickinson: Men have been keeping us down and we're as good if not better. Damn patriarchy.
• For All Mankind: Women become astronauts and save the day---YAY WOMEN! SCREW the patriarchy!
• Morning Show: I can see one of the stars complaining about not being paid the same as men, or men having all the control or "we might be rivals, but we need to stay together because patriarchy." Also, morning show men being rape-y, like Matt Lauer.

I haven't seen the political slant of See---but I bet there will be some people, a small number but vocal, complaining about the way the show depicts blind people...oh, sorry. Non-sighted people.

This is all conjecture---we'll see! But not a great start according to these critics.

 

[springsup]

That's not an atypical amount of episodes to be provided early on. It's a fair amount to give someone an idea what kind of show it will be, at least of the season in question.

Which isn't to say you should make up your own mind, but it shouldn't invalidate the critic's viewpoints either.
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You get that these shows, had Apple not bid on them, would have landed at other steamers right? That they weren't developed, soup-to-nuts in Cupertino? Let's slow our roll a little, please.

It's what a lot of viewers will judge it on, too. They'll start the show on episode 1, and maybe carry on through episode 2, but if it isn't engaging enough after that they'll usually look for something else.

 

[Schizoid]

Cookie will enjoy this tax write-off regardless of how crap it is.

 

[warpdrive]

I have to rely on others to figure out if a show is worth picking up because my time is limited and I can’t afford to watch 3 or 4 episodes in the hopes it will get better.

So far I haven’t read anything that makes me want to pick up these shows...I will probably spend more time finishing off the shows I’ve already invested in.

I don’t place too much value in critics reviews so I will have to see any of the word of mouth is also positive....I was looking forward to The morning show and See but if they don’t hit it out the park in the first three episodes, then they are a hard pass

Good tv is hard so it wouldn’t be surprising if these shows are hit and miss despite they threw a lot of money and talent into them

 

[2010mini]

A lot of us are going to get a year of this subscription for free anyways so we’ll see how it goes in the long run.

 

[decypher44]

It's what a lot of viewers will judge it on, too. They'll start the show on episode 1, and maybe carry on through episode 2, but if it isn't engaging enough after that they'll usually look for something else.

I have a 3-episode rule. I’ll sit through three eps of a new show. If I’m not hooked by then, I move on.
But that’s only for shows that have an appealing premise to begin with. The only one on Apple TV+ that I would have been interested in giving the 3-ep chance was “For All Mankind”. But I’m not going to pay just to give one show a chance.

 

[waquzy]

Big shock that the streaming service launching with only a handful of shows isn't worth the money. What are you doing, Apple? Fortunately Netflix exists and D+ is only 2 weeks away.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Give it some time my friend

 

[nikaru]

When it comes to TV shows I don’t pay a lot of attention to reviews. Reviewers usually love stuff I end up hating.

There are shows that are objectivly good (Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, etc) and then, there are shows that are objectivly bad. Yeah, there may be a very small chance where everyone hate something and you find yourself enjoying it, but then you will be in this small % of people, that wont gent a new season and do not drive profits. Reading some of the reviewes, it is apparent that these shows are mediocre based on this generic universal taste thats grouping the vast majority of the audience. Stadistically, probably you want likely it either.

 

[Rogifan]

There are shows that are objectivly good (Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, etc) and then, there are shows that are objectivly bad. Yeah, there may be a very small chance where everyone hate something and you find yourself enjoying it, but then you will be in this small % of people, that wont gent a new season and do not drive profits. Reading some of the reviewes, it is apparent that these shows are mediocre based on this generic universal taste thats grouping the vast majority of the audience. Stadistically, probably you want likely it either.

I’m going to give it a try. But hearing that Aniston and Witherspoon are being paid $1M per episode I expect great, not meh.

 

[nikaru]

I have a 3-episode rule. I’ll sit through three eps of a new show. If I’m not hooked by then, I move on.
But that’s only for shows that has an appealing premise to begin with. The only one on Apple TV+ that I would have been interested in giving the 3-ep chance was “For All Mankind”. But I’m not going to pay just to give one show a chance.

Well, appreantly you have too much free time or high tolerance. If the first episode does not intrigues me Im out.

 

[springsup]

You get that these shows, had Apple not bid on them, would have landed at other steamers right? That they weren't developed, soup-to-nuts in Cupertino? Let's slow our roll a little, please.

Or not. Maybe the other streamers didn't think much of the shows, and that's why they didn't bid more for them? Apple decided these shows were big enough to launch their new platform with, which looks like an enormous error of judgement given the universal critical disdain.

Yes, very sad to be a $1T company with the peanut gallery calling for failure before the service has even launched.

Your view isn't confirmed from a couple preliminary reviews. Maybe the show will suck, but will be very popular...tons of shows that fall into that category.

Think of this as a pilot for Apple. If it doesn't work, they'll fix it or buy the content they need with their unlimited cash.

Is that what we expect from Apple? Low-quality content propped up by fat budgets? No. That's not what Apple is about. It's not just "a couple of preliminary reviews" - there are lots of outlets reporting the same things. Nobody seems to think any of these shows are any good.

And while it is true that Apple have lots of cash, that doesn't mean they can afford to throw any amount of money at any problem. That would be utterly stupid management. These new business units need to show that they deliver value to investors - through their direct profits (production and infrastructure costs vs. subscription revenue) or by enticing more users to enter or stay in Apple's ecosystem. So far, it doesn't look like they're off to a good start, and that's worrying for the entire project.

 

[waquzy]

I’m going to give it a try. But hearing that Aniston and Witherspoon are being paid $1 per episode I expect great, not meh.

Money won’t guarantee you quality, most of the cast from The Big Bang we’re getting paid that much per episode in the last few seasons, but the series was utter rubbish towards the end

 

[VulchR]

Anybody remember when Apple was, you know, a computer company?

 

[nikaru]

I’m going to give it a try. But hearing that Aniston and Witherspoon are being paid $1 per episode I expect great, not meh.

They can get paid trillions of dollars, but even the greatest actor cant save a bad script and storyline from ruining a show. IMDB will speak soon. Personally, I have too little free time to spent on meh content.

 

[smaffei]

That's not an atypical amount of episodes to be provided early on. It's a fair amount to give someone an idea what kind of show it will be, at least of the season in question.

If a show doesn't grab me in the first 2 episodes, then I bail. There's so much to watch now that I can't devote any more time than that. I think most people are that way these days.

It's the same reason why I couldn't stand HBO's "Westworld." People told me it gets better around episode 6… I've got to devote 6 hours on a show to find out if it gets better? Um, then that means it's not good.

 

[Ghost31]

With only 3 episodes available to critics I think I’ll ignore the reviews and make up my own mind. Roll on Friday!

Remember when critics didn’t like Dave Chappell’s last special or the joker movie? Yeah. I don’t listen to critics. I listen to word of mouth and make up my own mind
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Apple still has yet to say exactly how the free year for this will work. Is it just automatic if you bought a device in that timeframe, and somehow their system will just know? Is there a site to register for it? Is it just a year if you bought any of the devices, or do you get an additional year if you bought multiple Apple devices after September?

I’m curious about this as well. Just bought an iPad Pro and wouldn’t mind a free year

 

[DoctorTech]

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.

I think Apple has close to a year. Tens of millions of people around the world will have a free year of Apple TV+ due to the their purchases of new iPhone, iPads, etc. I agree their catalog is going to be pretty small at launch but I think that is the whole reason Apple is giving away a free year to customers who buy new products. A year from now, as that first free year is about to expire, Apple is going to have to have impressed viewers enough with their growing catalog that people will be willing to start paying for the service.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Got a "free" subscription (wife got an iPhone 11), so I'll give it a try. So far, the only one that interests me is "For All Mankind", but I fear that it will go the predictable way.

 

[Ar40]

If a show doesn't grab me in the first 2 episodes, then I bail. There's so much to watch now that I can't devote any more time than that. I think most people are that way these days.

It's the same reason why I couldn't stand HBO's "Westworld." People told me it gets better around episode 6… I've got to devote 6 hours on a show to find out if it gets better? Um, then that means it's not good.

Westworld is amazing from episode 1.

 

[GermanSuplex]

I will have the free subscription, and I really wanted to enjoy it, seeing as I'm an Apple fan and user through and through, but I've been pretty unimpressed with recent offerings. I'll save the software gripes for later, but when it comes to Apple Music exclusives I've been pretty unimpressed (the service as a whole is fine, its just the exclusives I don't like) and Apple TV + looks to be the same. None of the shows sounded remotely interesting to me. Just one boring premise after another. I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised, but the reviews all read exactly like my first impression of the descriptions of the shows.

 

[nikaru]

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?

Apple will learn their lesson the hard way. If you want great content, you need nudity, violance, profanity. There is not a single top show in the last decade that did not had plently of these. Apple looks for neutral, politically correct content because they think that a show can damage their brand which is absurd. It is like thinking that Discovery channel are nazis because they have a documentary on Hitler or that HBO tolerate violance just because a woman is raped in one of their shows.

 

[GermanSuplex]

If a show doesn't grab me in the first 2 episodes, then I bail. There's so much to watch now that I can't devote any more time than that. I think most people are that way these days.

I kind of disagree with that analysis, though its completely subjective. I tried to watch The Sopranos a few times and couldn't get past the first two or three episodes. After a couple years, I binged the series in no time once I got into the story. Sometimes, shows start off slow to introduce you to the characters, then takes off. Its hard to explain, but I'd rather a show start slow and get better than to start strong and devolve, like Lost or Dexter.