The bidding war is over for America's sweethearts -- Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston -- and Apple won.
I see that blank look on your face, so let's cover the basics.
In addition to being a huge, global, giant, mega-tech company, Apple has finally launched its own streaming service to compete with the growing number of others out there.
Apple is also joining the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in producing its own TV shows that will be distributed exclusively on Apple platforms, such as iTunes. Compelling, must-see shows that earn Emmys and are featured on magazine covers act as incentives (or bait) to lure subscribers to the service.
Incentives are needed because most of the filler stuff on TV, including the streaming services, is bland and boring.
Fortunately, broadcast TV and cable have enough magnificent programming to keep us from turning off the set. Now the streamers are competing for our attention and they begin by spending the big bucks to produce good original programming.
For example:
Hulu has The Handmaid's Tale, which cleaned up at the Emmys this year with eight. They included outstanding drama, and outstanding lead actress in a drama for Elisabeth Moss.
Netflix (the leading streaming service) has the groundbreaking comedy Orange Is the New Black and the once-intriguing political drama House of Cards, which has imploded due to the increasing sexual abuse accusations against recently fired star Kevin Spacey.
Netflix also boasts the critics' latest buzz-worthy series, Stranger Things. Welcome back, Winona Ryder. We missed you.
Amazon Video has Transparent, which has won eight Emmys.
All of the above is one reason Apple wanted to make a splash with its first original series. It could be a very large splash since Apple won the rights to the new drama that will star Witherspoon and Aniston.
Sight unseen and betting on star power alone, Apple has agreed to two seasons with 10 episodes each.
When I mentioned America's sweethearts to a co-worker, she scoffed and said, "All Aniston has done lately are a bunch of commercials for Aveeno lotion."
OK. Sure. Maybe Office Christmas Party and Horrible Bosses 2 weren't all that memorable. But We're the Millers was a laugh riot. And we'll always have Friends (1994-2004). Aniston's syndicated series is running somewhere 24/7.
I first met Aniston in 1994 shortly before Friends debuted. It was my first press tour to Los Angeles and she struck me as down-to-earth. I believe that quality is what made her the standout star as Rachel. Her fans have never been "on a break."
I'm betting those Aveeno commercials pay the bills in between projects. And they also keep Aniston's face out there, which looks years younger than 48. Thanks, Aveeno.
The new series? Aniston has teamed with Witherspoon for a behind-the-scenes drama set on a morning TV show such as Today or Good Morning America. That's just about all we know, except the ladies also will be executive producers.
Jay Carson, Hillary Clinton's former press secretary, will be the unnamed series' showrunner.
Finally, CNN media reporter Brian Stelter, author of Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV, will be a consultant to ensure they get the morning show experience correct.
Apple says the series will be "an inside look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning, exploring the unique challenges faced by the women (and men) who carry out this daily televised ritual."
Aniston may currently only have the ubiquitous skin care commercials going on, but the Oscar-winning Witherspoon (Walk the Line) is flying high thanks to Big Little Lies, the limited HBO series she starred in with Nicole Kidman.
The series won eight Emmys, including one for the 41-year-old Witherspoon as a producer.
Trivia: The new series will be a TV reunion for these two. Witherspoon played Rachel's spoiled youngest sister, Jill, in a Friends episode in 2000.
• Gobble, gobble. Before the turkey and the football, some folks just can't enjoy their Thanksgiving without a parade. Here are a couple of choices.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs from 9 a.m. until noon on NBC. The annual route goes from Central Park West to Herald Square and features 50-foot balloons, celebrity performances, dancers, marching bands and Santa at the end.
Sick of New York? McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade runs from 8 to 11 a.m. on WGN. It's the 84th annual and runs along Chicago's historic State Street.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Weekend on 11/23/2017