Like millions of others, I've spent a lot of time in front of a television because of COVID-19. Though in the last few weeks, my eyes have mostly focused on what's happening on HBO Max and the recently introduced Peacock TV, Apple TV+ has never been far from my mind.
The premium streaming service was never going to offer that much original content during its first year even before the pandemic hit. Now, like everywhere else, Apple TV+ is facing delays, both to new seasons and not yet released content. This reality is especially troubling for Apple since its service relies almost exclusively on original programming.
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Despite this, the new "For All Mankind" second season trailer has convinced me the iPhone maker has no plans of playing a game of cut and run with Apple TV+, nor should it.
One of the first shows on Apple TV+, "For All Mankind," presents an alternative reality where the Soviet Union, not the United States, was the first country to send people to the Moon. The onscreen twist radically changes the U.S. space program, politics, and society, in a fictionalized version of the 1960s, then, after a surprising time jump, the 1970s.
Apple hasn't announced when the second season of "For All Mankind" will begin airing or whether some episodes might be delayed because of the virus. When it does return, the science fiction drama will once again skip a few years, this time to the 1980s.
"For All Mankind's" first season showed us a world where Chappaquiddick never happened, thereby paving the way for the presidency of Sen. Ted Kennedy. The timeline change didn't affect the presidential election of Ronald Reagan, as new trailer include images and the voice of the former president. And yet, we don't know when the former Hollywood actor became president or whether he directly succeeded Kennedy in the White House.
Because there is no Watergate in "For All Mankind," we can safely assume a President Ford never happened. Jimmy Carter's ascension to the top job in 1976 might have also vanished, but there's no way of knowing for now. In real life, Reagan beat then-President Carter in 1980.
What's all this have to do with Apple TV+? Plenty.
When Apple first announced "For All Mankind," it was presented as a fictional space drama set in the late 1960s. The full first season and second season tease proves the series is much more than this. The broader fake timeline has already touched upon real-life events that affected millions of real Americans, including Vietnam and the Equal Rights Amendment. The basis of the new season seems to focus on the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. fighting a physical Cold War on the Moon. Where the outcome of that event takes us in later episodes of season two is anyone's guess. Nonetheless, I trust it will be an exciting and surprising ride that's packed with real-event slightly altered to make us think.
Back in late May, I suggested Apple would be wise to keep its video streaming service free for new device owners for another year. I still take this position as the pandemic has continued unabated.
Apple, who wasn't a player in Hollywood even five years ago, is spending millions to bring original content online. And yet, there's not enough time this first year for it to compete, quantity-wise, with other services like Peacock TV and Disney+. Therefore, while it's pumping out exciting new content (hello, Sea Dragon), it should continue to eat most of the cost, at least for another year. Otherwise, cash-strapped consumers might have no choice but to drop Apple TV+ from their list of entertainment expenses and that would be a shame.
Apple hasn't announced a release date for the second season of "For All Mankind" or whether there will be a third season. Stay tuned.
What do you think?
What are your favorite Apple TV+ series? Are they enough for you to continue subscribing? Let us know in the comments below.
100% exclusive content for the price of a cup of coffee.
With TV+, you can watch well-produced, big-budget TV shows from famed directors, and starring award-winning actors and actresses across all your Apple devices and with up to six members of your Family Sharing group.
