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Apple's 'See' director clears up rumors about show's budget

Executive producer and director, Francis Lawrence, discusses the making of "See," and clears the record on how much the series cost to produce.

"See" takes place 600 years in the future, after a viral apocalypse had eradicated much of the world's population. The humans who survived were rendered blind, reverting to a primitive, tribal-like culture.

Jason Momoa ("Aquaman", "Conan the Barbarian") plays series lead Baba Voss. Voss' wife gives birth to twins, the first humans in six centuries who are born sighted. He must protect his children and tribe against a powerful queen who believes the children will herald in the destruction of their world.

As it turns out, a post-apocalyptic world takes a fair amount of planning. According to Lawrence, they had to think critically about all of the show's intricacies.

"We had a think tank with blind consultants and an evolutionary biologist and a survivalist and all these different people come in to brainstorm ideas," Lawrence said.

It had been reported that the show would cost $240 million for two seasons, or roughly $15 million per episode. In an interview with Business Insider, Lawrence said that while the series is expensive, the budget had gotten blown out of proportion.

"It's an expensive show," he said. "People have thrown around that it's the most expensive show. I can guarantee you it's not."

In the interview, Lawrence goes on to talk about how it was important to the creators to incorporate blind and low-vision actors into the show. While the cast is primarily sighted, they plan on scouting additional actors for future seasons.

"See" launched at Apple TV+'s debut on November 1, along with titles like "The Morning Show," and "Dickinson," and many more to come shortly after launch.

Apple TV+ is priced at $4.99 a month, though if you buy new hardware, such as a new Apple TV, iPhone, or Mac, you'll get a year for free. Additionally, even if you don't own any Apple devices, you will be able to watch Apple TV+ from your favorite browser at tv.apple.com.



25 Comments

SpamSandwich 19 Years · 32917 comments

He really didn’t clear up anything, but the show is watchable and not as bad as some critics have claimed. Yes, it’s a bit of a mess storywise, but I think that will improve.

ihatescreennames 19 Years · 1977 comments

He really didn’t clear up anything, but the show is watchable and not as bad as some critics have claimed. Yes, it’s a bit of a mess storywise, but I think that will improve.

I haven’t watched it yet but I will. Others in my household were more interested in The Morning Show. I only saw the last few minutes of the first episode and didn’t think much. Then I watched the next 2 episodes and we all like it. As with everything else, I’ll make my own decisions on what I like and not let a reviewer decide for me. 

randominternetperson 8 Years · 3101 comments

So far I've watched For All Mankind, See, and The Morning Show.  They are all strong shows and I'm looking forward to the next episodes to drop.  If I could only pick one, it would be For All Mankind, but they're all right up my alley.  I think Apple TV+ is going to get some pretty good buzz and give Amazon a run for the money as the next subscription after Netflix and Disney+.  Having said that, it's going to be free for millions of people just as Amazon Video is, so it will not suffer from the lack of an audience.

apple ][ 13 Years · 9225 comments

I haven't gotten around to watching this show yet, I'm still on for all mankind, but I look forward to eventually seeing See.

I also pay no attention to any reviews about anything Apple TV+ related at all. I am the sole decider when it comes to determining what I think of a series or movie.  I've seen many comments online where the people had obviously not even watched a single second of anything, yet they're declaring everything to be bad, because it's from Apple of course. Many of the comments and predictions have been factually wrong.

Probably the same asshats who laughed at the iPhone and dismissed the iPad as big iPhone and the same people who criticized the Apple Watch for not being round and the same people who just don't get it, and they never will.

Apple is in it for the longterm when it comes to Apple TV +, and there will certainly be some missteps along the way and not everybody will like every show of course, but that's not a big deal, because Apple can afford a few missteps, and I think that in a few years time, Apple TV+ will have established itself very nicely.