Apple Taking Conservative Approach, Rejects Dr. Dre Streaming Series As Too Violent – Report
A streaming series based on the life of hip-hop producer and performer Andre “Dr. Dre” Young was rejected by Apple CEO Tim Cook because of its violent and dark content.
The show, Vital Signs, featured drugs, guns and an orgy, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Cook personally decided against moving forward on it, opting to lead Apple’s proposed content services in a direction different from its competition and toward less-edgy content. The WSJ said the decision was made because Apple was afraid to jeopardize its consumer products sales, an issue not faced by streamers like Netflix and Amazon.
The WSJ also reported that a show featuring Resse Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston was also toned down. Apple also backed off from a Whitney Cummings show about the #MeToo movement (“too sensitive a topic”) and asked director M. Night Shyamalan to remove crucifixes from characters’ homes in his psychological thriller because of fears of alienating religious viewers.
Creatives have been told that violence or gratutitous nudity is not what Apple’s looking for, and a lot of the decisions on what will fly are reportedly being aligned to Cook’s personal tastes, with a preference for family-friendly shows like Madame Secretary and Friday Night Lights, the WSJ reports.
Apple’s streaming service has now been pushed back to March 2019, the WSJ says. It was previously set for the end of 2018 or early 2019.
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