Oprah Winfrey, Apple And Prince Harry Tap RadicalMedia, Reveal Initial Creative Team For Mental Health Series
Click here to read the full article.
Apple, Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, have set RadicalMedia as creative and production partner on their previously announced documentary series about mental health for Apple TV+.
In addition, the principals announced three key members of the show’s creative team: directors and executive producers Dawn Porter and Asif Kapadia, and showrunner and executive producer Kahane Cooperman. Along with Winfrey and Prince Harry, RadicalMedia’s Jon Kamen and Dave Sirulnick will serve as executive producers on the series, which aims to dispel the stigma surrounding mental health.
More from Deadline
'Mosquito Coast' Series Starring Justin Theroux From Neil Cross & Rupert Wyatt A Go At Apple
'Shantaram': Richard Roxburgh & Radhika Apte To Co-Star In Apple Series
While a premiere date for the mental health project has not yet been confirmed, Winfrey’s involvement with Apple could offer the tech giant a way to stand out from the streaming pack.
Apple TV+ is launching November 1, less than two weeks before Disney+ hits the market. WarnerMedia’s HBO Max and a to-be-named streaming effort from NBCUniversal are planned for next spring, part of a wave of efforts to offer alternatives to Netflix.
Winfrey appeared last March at Apple’s initial tease for the streaming service, announcing she would be tackling mental health in one of her projects for Apple TV+. Prince Harry came aboard a short time later.
Porter is founder of the Emmy-nominated Gideon’s Army, which won an award for editing at the 2013 Sundance FIlm Festival.
She has also directed the film Trapped and the four-part doc series Bobby Kennedy for President. Her other films include Spies of Mississippi and Rise: The Promise of My Brother’s Keeper. and an upcoming one for CNN Films about Congressman John Lewis.
Kapadia won an Oscar for directing Amy, which recounted the story of singer Amy Winehouse using material from her personal archives.
He also directed Senna, which collected several awards in 2011. His latest film, Diego Maradona, was based on more than 500 hours of never-before-seen footage of the soccer star. It premiered at Cannes and will soon air in the U.S. on HBO.
Cooperman is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker who has also earned Emmy and Peabody awards for work including her longtime stint as co-executive producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Her film, Joe’s Violin, about two strangers connected by a donated musical instrument, was nominated for the Best Documentary Short Subject Oscar in 2017.
Cooperman is directing and producing a feature documentary about kindness and decency in America with John Hoffman for RadicalMedia.
Previous series stints included serving as showrunner for The New Yorker Presents and showrunner and a director on Cold-Blooded.
In addition to the mental health series, Winfrey’s overall arrangement with Apple encompasses feature documentary Toxic Labor, which examines sexual harassment in the workplace, and a new iteration of her book club. The club activation will result in interviews with authors being streamed to Apple stores and devices via Apple TV+.
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
