Apple TV+ highlights for the month of April include Slow Horses, Pinecone & Pony, Roar, They Call Me Magic and Shining Girls.
Slow Horses
New series
Starring Academy Award winner Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses” is a new six-episode espionage drama adapted from CWA Gold Dagger Award-winning Mick Herron’s first novel in the “Slow Horses” series. The series follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 – Slough House. Oldman stars as Jackson Lamb, the brilliant but irascible leader of the spies who end up in Slough House due to their career-ending mistakes. Joining Oldman is a decorated ensemble cast including Academy Award nominee Kristin Scott Thomas, Academy Award nominee Jonathan Pryce, BAFTA Scotland Award winner Jack Lowden, and Olivia Cooke.
“Slow Horses” will premiere Friday, 1 April with the first two episodes, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday.
Pinecone & Pony
New series for kids and families
Based on the book The Princess and the Pony by New York Times best-selling author Beaton, and hailing from DreamWorks, “Pinecone & Pony” is an eight-episode animated comedy for kids and families about a young warrior-in-training and her best friend ‘Pony’ who, by helping each other, learn to challenge their expectations and break the mold. After all, when you keep an open mind and an open heart, you’ll discover that nothing is ever as it first appears, the world is full of possibilities, and life can be a fun-filled adventure if you let it.
“Pinecone & Pony makes its series premiere on Friday, 8 April on Apple TV+.
Roar
New anthology series
“Roar” is a new Apple Original anthology series that offers an insightful, poignant and sometimes hilarious portrait of what it means to be a woman today. Featuring a unique blend of magical realism, familiar domestic and professional scenarios, and futuristic worlds, these eight stories mirror the dilemmas of ordinary women in accessible yet surprising ways. How they emerge from their respective journeys speaks to the resiliency that exists within themselves, and with all women.
Based on a book of short stories by Cecelia Ahern, “Roar” is created by co-showrunners Carly Mensch and Liz Flahive, and features an all-star cast including Academy, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Nicole Kidman, who also executive produces; Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo; six-time Emmy Award nominee Issa Rae; Emmy Award winner Merritt Wever; SAG Award nominee Alison Brie; three-time Emmy Award nominee Betty Gilpin; and Meera Syal, Fivel Stewart and Kara Hayward.
All eight episodes of “Roar” will premiere Friday, 15 April on Apple TV+.
They Call Me Magic
New Documentary event series
“They Call Me Magic” is the highly anticipated four-part documentary event that takes an illuminating, holistic look into the life and career of one of the world’s most iconic figures, Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
For global sports icon Earvin Johnson, “Magic” has many meanings. It’s the sparkle of his megawatt smile and dazzling style of play that forever changed the game of basketball. It’s the magnetic connection that led him to the love of his life. It’s the shock of an HIV diagnosis that he transformed from grief into triumph — shifting global dialogue about the disease and overcoming its staggering odds. It’s his transcendence from sports superstar to business titan, blazing new trails for former athletes and revolutionising the way corporate America does business in Black communities. Featuring intimate interviews with Magic and an all-star lineup, “They Call Me Magic” charts the cinematic life of one of the biggest cultural icons of our era with unprecedented access in a definitive four-part documentary series.
All four parts of “They Call Me Magic” will make their global debut Friday, 22 April on Apple TV+.
Shining Girls
New series
A new, eight-episode metaphysical thriller starring and executive produced by Emmy Award-winning actress Elisabeth Moss, and based on Lauren Beukes’ bestselling novel, “Shining Girls” follows Kirby Mazrachi (Moss) as a Chicago newspaper archivist whose journalistic ambitions were put on hold after enduring a traumatic assault. When Kirby learns that a recent murder mirrors her own case, she partners with seasoned, yet troubled reporter Dan Velazquez (played by Wagner Moura), to uncover her attacker’s identity. As they realise these cold cases are inextricably linked, their own personal traumas and Kirby’s blurred reality allow her assailant to remain one step ahead. In addition to Moss and Moura, the gripping drama stars Phillipa Soo, with Amy Brenneman and Jamie Bell rounding out the ensemble cast. The series is adapted for television by showrunner Silka Luisa,
The first three episodes of “Shining Girls” premiere Friday, 29 April, followed by one new episode weekly every Friday.
