Malcolm Owen
Jason Katims, the showrunner behind some of Universal Television's hit shows, will be departing the TV studio this summer in favor of a shift to Apple, where he will help produce new video projects as part of a multi-year deal.
The executive producer of "Parenthood" and "Friday Night Lights", Katims and his production company True Jack Productions will be developing content for Apple as part of its ongoing video efforts. The deal, which will see Katims work exclusively for Apple, will commence once his existing Universal TV deal expires in the coming months.
Despite the departure and exclusivity, Katims will still remain actively involved in two projects under Universal TV, the Hollywood Reporter notes, including the Netflix space drama "Away" and "Sisters," currently under development with Fox.
The move to working with Apple reunites Katims with Michelle Lee, an executive on Apple's creative development team who previously served as the first head of development for True Jack Productions. Lee's replacement and current head of development at True Jack, Jeni Mulein, will also be working on the Apple-based projects.
Katims is the latest in a long line of media executives to join Apple's video business, with the list also including Joe Oppenheimer, Dana Tuinier, Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy, Justin Lin, and Kenya Barris. There is also an extensive list of shows currently under development as part of the project, with recent attachments consisting of content from the "Peanuts" franchise, a "limited" series starring Jennifer Garner and produced by J.J. Abrams, and the Israeli drama "Nevelot" as a vehicle for Richard Gere.
Apple has been working on its original video content push for quite some time, with initial reports speculating the initial budget at around $1 billion, but the company could easily spend more. While it has been speculated the first wave of shows as part of the effort will arrive in early 2019, no dates for content releases have been confirmed.
It is also unclear what Apple's goal is regarding video, but rumors suggest content will be provided as part of the current TV app preloaded on Apple devices for free, alongside paid subscription "channels" from outside sources. There is also talk of a subscription bundle that combines Apple Music with the TV shows and other services.
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Which mega vaporware Apple initiative has cost more to date: Project Titan or the Apple streaming service? I certainly hope when these turn into "shipping" products that release cycles will be on par with their rivals.
I'm not criticizing either of these initiatives, but the rumors-to-product ratios for these are unprecedented.
Right, it's not vaporware until it misses the author/vendor/manufacturer ship date.
Last year, Netflix and something like 1500 streaming titles. When I first got cable and HBO was free, they had one movie, were non-raster only part of the day, and repeated that movie several times a day.
I'm guessing that's not how Apple wants do debut their streaming service. And I too am anticipating what Apple's investment will yield.
How many billions did Bezos invest before Amazon became profitable? (And how many will he have a year from now?)