- 3 months ago
This time on TV+ Talk, Charlotte Henry and Chuck Joiner discuss whether Netflix or Apple TV+ is better value. They also unpack the kind of movies Apple makes...and Hollywood doesn't. Meanwhile, Charlotte gets excited about Gavin and Stacey creators James Corden and Ruth Jones getting back together for a new project.
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00:00Hello, hello. Welcome to TV Plus Talk, where me, Charlotte Henry, and him, Chuck Joyner,
00:19discuss everything in the world of Apple TV Plus. We're doing this on quite a fun day,
00:24actually. We're recording this just an hour, less than an hour, before we start hearing
00:29all the latest, what we assume is Apple iPhone stuff. I'll be very interested to see, well,
00:36not just because I need a new iPhone, but also because I'll be interested to see if we get any
00:41TV Plus stuff, what the deals are. They normally at least put a deal in for TV Plus when you get a
00:47new iPhone, and so on. So it'll be very interesting to see what part, if any, TV Plus plays in the
00:53upcoming event. We'll obviously unpack it in the next show. But hello, Chuck. How are things going?
00:58Are you excited for this Apple event? Oh, Charlotte, you have to be excited for every
01:04Apple event. Sometimes it feels like all the spoilers and all the leaks and all those articles
01:10that are out, especially in the last week or two before an event, kind of spoil some of it. So I
01:16try to avoid it. But at the end of the day, Apple often, not as like they used to be able to, but
01:23often pull out a little surprise. And I'm hoping there will be something here.
01:29Yes, listeners, Chuck didn't like it when I started trying to find out what was happening
01:33at events. When I was reporting for the Mac Observer, Chuck always got annoyed at me when
01:37I was trying to find out what was going on and whack out what was going on ahead of the events.
01:41I was told I was spoiling all the fun. But anyway, what's a reporter meant to do if you're not
01:46all the fun? Yeah, that was your job. Just because I didn't like it didn't mean you shouldn't do it.
01:52Just because he boycotted all my work for weeks doesn't mean, you know.
01:56Well, you know, there's some truth to that, not just yours. But, you know, when I see something
02:01this is latest leak, I just ignore it. Because, you know, it's not real. It's all clickbait.
02:09You know, so I want facts, not speculation. Use name. I would never produce clickbait.
02:15You didn't disappoint me, Charlotte. You just went for that bait right away.
02:20Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Always.
02:24Interestingly, we'll crack on with the TV Plus stuff, because we've got some data on the most
02:29popular shows. I think it's all through Just Watch. I have to tell you, I don't know what your
02:34take is, Chuck. I'm always slightly surprised when I see what the popular shows and series and films
02:43on Apple TV Plus are. So I know that there's a thing that on Netflix is not always the big hits that
02:52you think are the most popular, that actually get the numbers, right? It's often the mediocre stuff
02:57that people have on in the background while they've got TV, you know, while they're doing
03:01some work or the ironing or something. As you and I have discussed before, that Apple kind of doesn't
03:06do that stuff. So it's interesting to see what's in the top 10. Can you guess what the most popular
03:16show in August was on Apple TV Plus?
03:19I'm cheating because, of course, I've seen the article.
03:23Oh, I was going to, I wondered if you were cheating. Go on.
03:26Yes, well, I have it right here. Yeah, Chief of War was number one, which didn't-
03:32I mean, listen.
03:36Well, go ahead. Sorry.
03:37Jason Momoa's, no, I was just going to say Jason Momoa's arms are always going to get viewers,
03:41right?
03:41Okay. I'm sure he'd be happy with that.
03:45That's just the world we live in.
03:46That's the end.
03:47Well, but it also, I believe, with the possible exception of Foundation, I think this is the
03:54most recent one to be released. I'm not sure whether Foundation came, pardon me, Chief of
04:00War came first or Invasion came first.
04:03Sure.
04:03But Chief of War is brand new.
04:05Kind of similar time, wasn't it?
04:07Yeah, yeah. So, but they're in the top three. Foundation is number two. So, and Foundation,
04:14you know, the new, sorry, the new season just started. So, I was not surprised to see those
04:21first three. Just, it felt very logical.
04:27Sure. I agree with you. Let me just rattle quickly through the top 10 shows. It's Chief of War,
04:31Foundation, Invasion, as you've said. Then number four is Platonic. Number five is Smoke. Six
04:36is Severance. Seven is the studio. Eight is Murderbot. Nine is Slow Horses. Ten is Stick.
04:43In, there are some shows that have hung around a bit, right? I mean, I'm sure Apple is very
04:47pleased that Slow Horses keeps up the numbers. Severance keeps doing numbers. You know, those
04:53investments are kind of paying off, right?
04:55Yes, definitely. And to your point about Netflix, when you see some of those other, some of
05:03those less popular shows or at least less visible shows, I feel like sometimes they're
05:09almost just like comfort food. To your point, they put them on as almost audio and video
05:14wallpaper and back. And Apple TV+, this list to me validates something we've been saying
05:21for a while, that this is TV that people are paying attention to more than just letting
05:27a drone on somewhere. So, and maybe I'm just interpreting it the way I want to, but I mean,
05:34what here has been around for a long time? Slow Horses has multiple seasons, but that's
05:42not a good kind of show that just you leave on in the background.
05:45No, I don't really think any of these shows are kind of, I don't think you'd get very
05:51far with Foundation or Severance or something on in the background. So, I think you're right
05:58that that's not what's happening with these shows. Quickly, let's look at the movies that
06:02are doing the best numbers on Apple TV+, from August, was The Gorge, Killers of the Flower
06:08Moon is still there, Fountain of Youth, Echo Valley Coda is still there, Tetris, which you
06:13and I loved, Napoleon, The Family Plan, Wolves, and Fly Me to the Moon. Now, those have kind
06:20of hung around a bit longer, haven't they?
06:23They have.
06:24A lot of those.
06:25Yeah, they have. And I don't know, I guess I view movies as a little bit different kind
06:33of watching experience as the series. So, I do want to point out that The Gorge, you heard
06:40it here first. You know, we picked The Gorge quite a while back when nobody had seemed to
06:45hear of it because it got, it seemed to get so little publicity. And now, all of a sudden,
06:49there is the top of the list. And it's, if I recall correctly, it's up for some awards.
06:54You know better about that than I do. Napoleon is still hanging in there. I know we disagreed
07:00on Napoleon, but, you know, it's, it's there too.
07:04Yeah, just on The Gorge, it's got, as we said at the time, you know, amazing cast, got Sigourney
07:09Weaver in there, if you don't mind. And also, it's got music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. So,
07:17you know, I am a Trent Reznor fangirl, so.
07:22Yeah. Tetris, I was surprised to see is still around. Because that's been for quite a while.
07:28Yeah, it is. It has been. Go back to the episode where Chuck and I discussed it,
07:33because we both really liked it. And if you haven't seen it, you should. It kind of brings
07:39us nicely to one of the main things we want to discuss, which we do keep coming back to,
07:44but we've got a bit of time to dive into it, which is, there's an article on Maxwell,
07:49Mackwell talking about dropping Netflix for Apple TV+. It's been floating around a while,
07:55this discussion. So, the question is, is Apple TV+, better value than Netflix?
08:03It depends.
08:06You've said before, for you personally, it is.
08:08Yeah. And I think that, to your point about the, we're talking about audio, video, wallpaper,
08:15Netflix may be a better choice, because it's got a much deeper back catalogue of comfort shows.
08:21But if you're looking for new things to watch that are not quite as formulaic as a lot of content that
08:29seems to be out there right now, it's, I just, I think it depends on you. I think it depends on
08:36your household. Do you have kids in the household or not? You know, does your significant other have
08:41a different viewing style or viewing habits than you do? But I think they're both, they're both fine
08:49choices. It just depends on, you know, which, which one suits you better at any given moment.
08:56We should also know there's quite significant price differences. You know, for Apple TV+,
09:03is still, even depending on whichever way you get it, cheaper than the comparable Netflix tier.
09:11Right. Right. And so-
09:14Which, you know, does matter.
09:16Yeah. Oh, it absolutely does. It absolutely does. And again, I come back to my old formula
09:20of, you know, what, how many hours per month are you watching? And what is it costing you per
09:27month to watch it? And, and I've, I'm quick to say, really watch it. You know,
09:32we're back to the discussion of, you know, how much are you really paying attention or do you just
09:37have it on the background droning on? So, you know, do some quick math and figure out what,
09:43you know, what is most important to you. And then the answers will magically appear.
09:50Yeah. And there's also the thing of bundling. So I get Apple TV+, as part of an Apple One bundle.
10:00So the overall price of both Apple TV+, and the Apple One bundle is pretty good for me. It works out.
10:08It's not cheap. I'm playing £37 a month now for the top tier bundle, which is, you know,
10:13not insignificant, but you're getting a lot for that. Basically, if you get any Apple One bundle,
10:21you get TV+, thrown in there. It's the basic thing. So in a way, Netflix will always be a sort of
10:29extra. I actually have it thrown in with a TV bundle I have. But for the, if you're an Apple
10:35user, a Mac user, an iPhone user, using services like iCloud, maybe even Apple Music, instead of,
10:43instead of Spotify, it's actually a pretty competitive price point within the bundles.
10:49And I think people, when they're talking about streaming services,
10:55neglect, when they're talking about Apple within the world of streaming, let me put it that way,
11:00because there's a lot of discussion about bundling in streaming. But when they're talking
11:04about Apple, they neglect it as perhaps a part of the whole, and those various bundles and services.
11:12Yeah. And the bundles and services really do, I mean, in some ways, it just confuses the consumer
11:19because, okay, I picked that bundle up. And I, sometimes I think if I remember correctly, like
11:24the discounts last for maybe three months and then they kick over to normal. Others, you buy a bundle
11:30every time. Yeah. And so it really is difficult to do an evaluation of what, of what you're getting
11:37and how much it's really costing you. Because, you know, okay, so we pick up a bundle with
11:42Apple TV Plus and Peacock and I don't know what else. And, you know, so which one am I watching
11:49more? Am I watching more Peacock? Am I watching more Apple TV Plus?
11:53Which one is free?
11:54Well, yes, exactly. Exactly. And I need to put a date on my calendar when my streaming service
12:01deal expires to make sure that all of a sudden I don't go from maybe $10 or $15 a month to $40
12:08or $50 a month. So, you know, it, it, it's a challenge.
12:14You and I could do a whole show, I think, on streaming or the subscription management and
12:20bundle management and all those things. I think you and I could do a long conversation on that.
12:25But I think there's still the perception that there is not much on Apple TV Plus. You and I
12:32have highlighted lots of times that there is. I think that those two lists that we just read out
12:37show that there is plenty to watch on TV Plus. I still think people think there's just so much
12:43more on Netflix and you just kind of, quote unquote, have to have Netflix. I think there's
12:49still that perception. And when I looked into the data, when I was writing my book, Streaming Wars,
12:55October the 3rd in the UK, October 28th in the US, when I looked into the data for that book,
13:02it showed that basically people are picking Netflix and one other service. People seem to have Netflix
13:10as their basic core service still.
13:13Yeah. Interestingly, this is sort of, not related, but it's a good example, I think. I'm helping a good
13:23friend move into a new home. And as a result, they're getting...
13:27You're a good friend.
13:28What?
13:29You're a good friend to agree to do that.
13:31Yeah, well, and they're evaluating, they're getting a new cable service, moving to a new town,
13:37so getting a new cable service. And so the one bundle that was offered to them was 120 channels
13:43plus, as internet, 120 channels, interestingly, Apple TV Plus and Peacock for unlimited time.
13:54Okay, great. You know, I was happy to see Apple TV Plus in there. And Peacock is fine for what they,
14:00for what some of what they deliver. But when you look at the list...
14:03Is that inclusive on Peacock?
14:07I believe so. Not sure, but I believe so.
14:10Yeah. But where I really, what really got me is, okay, here's this list of 120 channels.
14:16And there are like 100 of them that I've never heard of at all.
14:21Sure.
14:21And there are 20 that I've heard of, and probably about six of those would be watched.
14:28And yet, in theory, you're paying for at least something for all of those channels.
14:33Part of your money is going to all those channels.
14:35Of course.
14:37I mean, this is the classic thing about the cable bundle, isn't it? This is the conversation that's
14:42ongoing around cord cutting. And now, hence the reason why we make this show, Apple is part of
14:49that discussion, the cord cutting discussion. You know, if you're a baseball fan, you can watch
14:56baseball on, well, we discussed the last show, you might not be able to do that for much longer.
14:59But at the moment, you can watch baseball, it looks like you're going to be able to get
15:03Formula One on Apple. So, there's one part of your cord cutting.
15:08Netflix, you know, people have started to do their DIY bundles, of which Apple is a part.
15:14But I think people are going to want to go back to the more simplistic thing of, I pay X amount a
15:21month. Yeah, it's quite a bit, but I'll get everything and I don't have to think about it.
15:26And I've seen that happen to people where, you know, they're paying three or 350 a month,
15:32300 to 350 dollars a month. And yeah, they get everything. Oh, isn't that wonderful? And it's
15:37like, okay, but what channels and how much are you really watching? And then they start to do the
15:43math. And it just, it's like, oh my God, do you, do you understand? That's 350 dollars a month.
15:49Yeah, a lot of money.
15:50I mean, if we do, if we keep it simple and say 12 months at $300, what is that? $3,600?
15:57$3,600 for cable or bundling or call it whatever you will. That's insane.
16:07But the thing that Apple does, and I want to return to this point, because what we were really talking
16:10about was Netflix versus Apple and value for money. So one, yes, it's the programming is part
16:16of that discussion, but also the associated services. So as I said, I think if you're using
16:23a couple of Apple services or have an Apple device that, you know, if a Mac and an iPhone
16:30are your daily drivers, it is economical sense, I would say, to get an Apple one bundle and that
16:38throws in Apple TV plus with it. And therefore that is good money. There is a different discussion
16:46discussion if you're just buying Apple TV plus separately to watch on your big screen TV at
16:51home. That is a different discussion.
16:55It's a different discussion, but it's still a valid, it's a valid point that Apple TV plus
16:59may be an alternative to Netflix.
17:01Sure.
17:03Because where I was going with the 120 channels, Charlotte, was what you just said about Netflix
17:08being the basic, that everybody says, oh, I have to have it. I mean, a number of years ago now
17:13when cable TV was making its inroads, well, you just, you had to have it. You had to buy
17:19their package. And most, most people bought the top package because they just had to have
17:25everything. And I, I think now we've, we've hit a point where you, unless you just have
17:31money to burn, you have to be just a little more discerning and a little more intelligent
17:36about what you subscribe to.
17:37Yeah. Oh, totally. This is a ongoing theme in a lot that I write about of people managing
17:45their streaming services and the frustration with that. If you're a big movie fan, you have
17:50to keep the track up to date with where things go. If you want different seasons of different
17:55shows, they seem to move from one service to the other. I turned on Netflix the other day
17:59and I'm pretty sure I found Star Trek in there. Whereas I thought that was only on Paramount
18:04Plus. Anyway, that might be a UK thing, but I was confused when I saw Catherine Janeway's
18:09picture jump up on me in Netflix. I'll have to dive into that when I get back to you. But
18:15anyway, I think people are not doing the maths you're talking about. And I think there's still
18:24the perception there's nothing, quote unquote, nothing for me on Apple TV Plus once you've watched
18:29like Ted Lasso. So yeah, I think it is an ongoing discussion. I think if Apple can hold its price
18:37point steady, it will be a really competitive challenger to some of the other services.
18:46I do think that. I wonder actually, now that I'm sort of thinking out loud, I wonder if actually
18:52the comparison that you should do pound for pound or dollar for dollar is not really Netflix.
18:58I think people are just always going to get Netflix, whether it's because of Wednesday or
19:02Stranger Things or whatever else. But I think people, you could have a discussion about, do you
19:07want Apple TV Plus or Paramount Plus, for example, or Peacock? There's various different things,
19:14right? And I think that is where Apple should be competing.
19:18Netflix is the 800-pound Garoba in the room. Let's face it. I mean, Disney's the only,
19:25Disney slash Hulu were the only things that really ever had a chance of challenging.
19:29Disney Plus is the other one.
19:31Yeah. I mean, all these others, they try to bring three or four channels together and create
19:37something new. Paramount took an interesting move and tried to sequester its stuff, as did NBC with
19:45Peacock. And I guess you can argue that to varying degrees, they've been minor success stories, but
19:53Netflix still rules the roost.
19:56Oh, if you look at any subscriber data, it's miles ahead.
20:01Yeah. Yeah. So...
20:03Miles.
20:03I don't know how to say... I want to encourage people to be smarter about the way they spend
20:08their entertainment dollars here. But we're right back to it. I think Apple TV Plus needs
20:14to be a part of the consideration. And as you said, if you are an Apple person and you use
20:22some of the other services, notably iCloud or Apple Music, a bundle is an amazing value.
20:29And you get Apple TV Plus as part of that value.
20:35Okay. Related is there's some story. We read a story on 95 Mac by Ryan Christopher. He headlined
20:44Apple is making the movies Hollywood won't, and it's paying off big, which is interesting. Now,
20:50let's go back to that list we started with about the most watched Apple TV Plus show movies.
20:59You know, Killers of the Flower Moon, that did go into cinemas, as did Coda. I mean, lots of them
21:05have gone into cinemas now that I look at that list, but they needed Apple, and frankly, Apple's
21:11money to get made. I think others would have made Coda, but that's quite serious. And you know,
21:18Apple picked up the best movie, best picture Oscar ahead of something Netflix had tried to do for
21:24years. Every time I'd mentioned Coda, it'd have to be mentioned. Tetris, no one made that movie,
21:29but it's a great movie that's worth jumping into Apple TV Plus for. Those movies do give the TV Plus
21:39service and Apple, by extension, a bit of cultural cachet, doesn't it?
21:42I think it does. I mean, I'm just reviewing the article again here, and something that I tend to
21:51overlook, but if I stop and think about it, but to quote it, sequels, remakes, and IP-based films
21:58now dominate the film market, and originality is struggling. And that's where The Gorge, I mean,
22:07The Gorge was very original, as far as I was concerned, because, and I think I said this when
22:12we first recommended it, that it had three components that I normally would have turned
22:17me off, but they were so well done, and they were so well woven together that it created a very
22:23compelling story and a compelling movie. I think Hollywood is looking for those big hits,
22:32like everybody is, but maybe Apple and their philosophy, maybe they're, if they get one,
22:40great. They certainly got one with F1, but if they can get something that appeals to
22:46a faction of people, that's good enough. And by the way, then they have it to enhance their
22:52streaming service as well. Yeah, there's some really interesting quotes from a Spike Lee and
22:58Denzel Washington interview with Vanity Fair. Denzel Washington said they, Apple, also gave
23:07us a lot of money to make the film, which is, they're talking about highest to lowest. And
23:11it said, so then Spike Lee said, the industry has changed, time has changed, so we've got to
23:16change with the times. This film would not have been made without Apple, that's just the
23:19truth. So that's Spike Lee. The financial clout Apple has, you know, it isn't going to live
23:27or die on the back of a movie release, Apple. What's, it's much more interesting, what's
23:32about the Bachelor Watch once we finish recording this show, which is the iPhone release. That's
23:36what matters much more to Apple. That's what the company builds on. They can afford to give
23:42Spike Lee and Denzel Washington quite a bit of money to make a movie and it's not going to,
23:47you know, it's pocket change almost for a company like Apple. And so they have the capacity
23:53to fund things that Hollywood simply can't. And that is a really fascinating position to
24:01watch. And it seems to be paying dividends for Apple, you know, I say the Oscar F1, you
24:08were right to point out, who knows what was that's going to pick up as the year goes on.
24:13It's really, it's really interesting. Now, I know obviously at some point they want money
24:17back from them and they will start getting money back if these make big box offices or attract
24:22more subscribers, but can only repeat myself. Apple doesn't live or die on box office hits
24:31and TV plus subscriptions. So it can take these risks. I mean, frankly, I don't think Spike Lee
24:40and Denzel Washington are a risk. You know what I'm saying?
24:45Yeah. Yeah. And, and I'll repeat sort of the traditional wisdom that Apple plays the long
24:50game and they're willing to take some risks. They're willing to take some losses up front
24:54to, to build the bedrock, to move forward. Another thing I thought was, was really that
25:00I don't think I, I really knew this. Um, but again, to quote all signs indicate that Wolf's
25:07would have flopped at the box office, but on Apple TV plus it quickly became the streamer's
25:11best performing movie of all time. This is such a fascinating point. It's such a good point because
25:19you're so much more likely to take a punt on a film on a streaming service. I know I am like
25:27sit down and watch it. Even if it might not be exactly what you want. You might say, I'll give
25:33it 20 minutes. See if I get into it. If I don't like it, doesn't matter. Haven't bought a ticket at
25:37the cinema. Haven't spent the time going to the cinema. It's pretty risk-free to watch the first
25:43bit of a film and see if you get into it. Whereas it doesn't. So people have a chance to look at
25:48these films, decide if they're interested in them and carry on or not. And if the movie is good,
25:55well, obviously it pays off for Apple. Yeah. And again, you know, okay. If you throw it,
26:03throw it out to the box office, we've heard different things. We heard that Apple was going
26:09to abandon the box office and just do things for Apple TV plus. And then they kind of broke the rule
26:15with F1 and have had an incredible success. The Killers of the Flower Moon, not so much.
26:24So it kind of goes, how much of a risk is it for Apple to throw it out to the box office
26:30and then bring it to Apple TV plus? You know, it is, is the, is the box office just free money,
26:38no matter how, how great or how poorly it performs because they're really building it for Apple TV
26:44plus. Well, it's free money and it's also the only way you can get into some of the prestigious awards.
26:50Yeah. And again, that's, that's so much your world. And I forget about that part. You're right.
26:55Yeah. It's important. There's a story I'm very excited in Chuck as we come to the end of this
27:00episode that I do have to discuss with you. And that is James Corden and his writing partner on
27:10Gavin and Stacey, Ruth Jones have signed a multi-million pound deal with Apple TV plus,
27:15according to the sun, and it will be their followup to Gavin and Stacey. Now this is,
27:20I don't think it's an affiliated story. I don't think we're going to see, uh, uncle Bryn and
27:24everyone else come back. Well, Gavin and Stacey themselves, but it's, uh, it's going to have an
27:32all British cast. It's going to be a 10 part comedy drama series. Apparently the BBC and Amazon and
27:38Netflix were all interested in getting the pair to write the show, but Apple sealed the deal.
27:45Now this is particularly exciting for me as a Brit. You, you seem relatively unmoved by this, but
27:52I can't express to you how big the Gavin and Stacey finale was. So the finale that was shown at
28:00Christmas was, has been watched by 19.1 million people. So that is approaching one in three people
28:09in the UK watched it. That's, you know, that's huge. It basically, yeah, it kind of shut down
28:18that hour on Christmas day. Um, it's worth noting and it's picked up in this son's story
28:25that James Corden, of course, had a relationship with Apple already because Carpool Karaoke,
28:32when he was doing the late night show, used to go out through Apple as a separate thing.
28:37So it's quite interesting. He's obviously happy working with Apple, uh, and he'll be coming
28:43back to work with them again. How's James Corden perceived in the U U S after his, um, his late
28:50night stint?
28:50I, I can't answer that. Charlotte, I, I've, I did not watch the late night show. Um, I don't,
28:59I don't think he was late, late show. Wasn't it recording? I guess it was the late, late show.
29:03Um, but I, I just, I have no frame of reference that I, the only James Corden I've ever paid
29:09any attention to for any amount of time was Carpool Karaoke. And that was definitely not
29:14my thing. And so, and, and, and, and I'm sorry, I hope this won't offend you, but I don't know
29:20anything about Gavin and Stacey. So we'll talk about it off air. Well, maybe, I mean, give it,
29:27give for the folks that are like me, give us just like a 30 second summary of Gavin and Stacey.
29:31And you know, what is it?
29:3330 seconds. Okay. So Gavin and Stacey, particularly at the beginning were the front line characters.
29:40Uh, one is a sort of Essex boy. One is a little girl from the valleys of Wales.
29:46They fall in love, but both have to go to their different places to leave. You can imagine how
29:50it goes. Uh, in amongst it are their best friends, Smithy played by James Corden and Nessa played
29:58by Ruth Jones. Obviously one is Welsh, one is English. And the whole thing comes together
30:05with their friends, their families. And this is an ongoing show and it got hugely, hugely
30:08popular culminate. I don't know what spoilers do. It culminated in the finale at Christmas.
30:16There was one finale, which we thought was the end, but left people quite unsatisfied. Um,
30:21and so they came back over Christmas and did the special to finish it off, uh, which I think
30:26people were a bit happier with how it ended. And so they're coming back together. And as
30:31I say, it was a huge classic British sort of comedy drama. Some really, there were some
30:36very famous moments, um, including James Smithy ordering a curry takeaway, which is all I can
30:45say. But if you ask anyone about Smithy's takeaway order, most people in Britain can recite what
30:50that order is. Um, I'll leave the link in the show notes cause it's a funny moment, but yeah,
30:55it was a huge hit. It's interesting that Corden can do the sort of, and he gets quite a lot of
31:02stick here. He's kind of not treated that nicely in Britain. He's often mocked in Britain. Um,
31:08not something I particularly had much sympathy for. I think he's kind of quite clever at what
31:13he does, but anyway, he's often not been sort of castigated in Britain, but seems to be quite
31:19comfortable in the U S quite comfortable working with U S companies. The deal seems to be about
31:258 million pounds this shot for this show, and it will be due in 2027. So that's a hell of a lot
31:32of money that Apple are putting up for it. Um, it will be, it'll be interesting if they kind of
31:37repeat the Gavin and Stacey formula. I'll be very interested to see how they play this out and I'll,
31:42I'll definitely be watching it, but we've got sort of 18 months from two years until then.
31:48Um, but I was just really struck by it being Apple that came and took on these two very
31:54quintessentially British writers. I think that you've hit something that Apple we've watched
32:01Apple do repeatedly. Um, and right now I'm so sorry, I'm drawing a blank, but we see films that
32:08are large, that are produced in native languages and largely subtitled for the U S Apple. Again,
32:15not only do they take a long view, they're taking a global view. They're not just producing shows for
32:20the U S they're there. Well, slow horses is a great example that is not necessarily, um, subtitled,
32:28but I've, I think I know, but we've joked about this on camera and off that there's certain
32:33references, certain idioms that I have to go and look up and say, okay, I want to understand what
32:39that means to a UK audience because it is set in the UK and it, those kinds of things make me work
32:46a little bit, but it's the kind of show that I want to, I want, I don't mind doing that so that I,
32:52I, I expand my horizons a little bit, but more importantly, I enjoy the show.
32:57So yeah. And stepping away from English language, one of the ones that came to my mind was Pachinko
33:02is based on a novel. Uh, but it was, I think it was in Korean man or Japanese and in English,
33:10different bits of it, wasn't it? Um, and that was a, you know, that was quite, uh, I think quite,
33:17you know, a significant show. So yeah, all these things are, are worth happening. It's another way
33:24Apple competes with Netflix as well, because Netflix makes stuff in all global languages and is huge,
33:29uh, in those kinds of regional local shows. So yeah, it's interesting. I don't think, uh, we can
33:35compare what, what Ruth, uh, Jones and James Corden compared to Pachinko, but it, it should be quite
33:43fun. It should bring some warmth. It is, I'm pleased they're kind of working together again,
33:49because they're obviously a good writing team and yeah, I look forward to that and it's kind of
33:5318 months, two years. Well, think about the teams behind, um, Ted Lasso and, you know, and the
34:02characters and some of the, it's almost like some of these actors are creating relationships with
34:07Apple. And to your point, you know, the James, James Corden did, um, Brett Goldstein has to some
34:16degree. Uh, that, that, that to me says that they must be relatively easy to work with. And I
34:23recognize that Apple's not necessarily the, the, the direct studio, but there's a relationship there
34:32that Apple's willing to pay for the talent. The talent seems to like working in those environments.
34:38I suspect the checkbook helps. Yeah. It wasn't Apple, uh, Scarlett Johansson. What was the movie
34:47that she did that they decided not to put in this in cinemas? Oh, I don't remember. What I do remember
34:55is there being stories about how Tim Cook leaving notes. This was years ago, right at the beginning
35:04of TV plus when it was worried, we would see the Apple control freakery, um, leaving notes about,
35:10do they have to swear so much or something? I think a lot of that has gone. So maybe our Apple
35:15are, you know, easy enough to work with us. As I said, I suspect the checkbook helps quite a lot as
35:21well. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And to Apple's credit that you're right. That was a huge concern.
35:27Um, because, uh, in today's world, frankly, just a lot of those kinds of shows wouldn't sell nearly
35:35as well because they appear borderline unrealistic. So lots going on. Yeah. It's, it's, it's fun to
35:44watch and it's fun to, to bat it about and see what happens in a few months. We, we certainly will.
35:51I look forward to hearing more about that. James Corden, Ruth Jones show. Well, Chuck,
35:56we've rattled through a whole load of stuff again. Where can people keep up with you?
36:01They can find me over at macvoices.com. That's where I talk to a lot of interesting people,
36:05have some great, uh, panel discussions and also you can find TV plus talk over there as well.
36:12And on the socials, I'm at Chuck Joyner. Charlotte, where can folks connect with you?
36:16Yes. I'm at Charlotte A. Henry across social media, uh, head over to the addition.net for blog posts,
36:24live blogs, podcasts, some video, and most importantly, the newsletter. I'd love it if you
36:30signed up over there, uh, to get my paid newsletter a couple of times a week covering
36:36all things at the crossover of culture, media, and sport. As I mentioned, I have a book coming out
36:41in October called streaming wars. You can buy it basically wherever you'd like to order your books
36:48from. So if you enjoy our conversation about streaming, you might well enjoy that book as
36:54well. We'll be back in a couple of weeks and we'll see you then. Thanks for watching.
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