Apple's new Apple TV+ streaming service will hit New Zealand on November 1 for $8.99/month as part of its 100-country launch.
Along with Aniston, Aquaman star Jason Momoa and Oprah Winfrey will also star in new Apple programmes. The company has splurged US$6 billion on original content to see them enter the same league as the likes of Netflix and HBO.
One of Apple's flagship programmes will be The Morning Show, a "cutthroat drama" starring and executive produced by Aniston and Reese Witherspoon and co-starring Steve Carell.
From left, Steve Carell, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. Photo / AP.
Fifteen years after saying goodbye to her Friends character Rachel Green, Aniston's new role will see her play a news anchor dealing with ageism, sexism and her co-host's misconduct.
Her return to the small screen comes as the 50-year-old enters what she describes as, "one of the most creatively fulfilling periods of her life".
"I've been doing this for 30 years and I feel like it's just about to really bloom," Aniston told the New York Times.
"It's taken time for me to get where I am and I put a lot of work into my craft. I've failed. I've succeeded. I've overcome. I've, you know, I've stayed around. I'm still here."
Jason Momoa will star in an epic new drama called See to debut on Apple TV+. Photo / Getty Images.
The launch of Apple TV+ will also see Momoa star in See, an epic drama also featuring Alfre Woodard, set 600 years in the future after a virus has decimated humankind and rendered the remaining population blind. When all humanity has lost the sense of sight, humans must adapt and find new ways to survive.
Winfrey will front a show that sees her join the world's most compelling authors in conversation. The iconic talk show host will build a vibrant, global book club community and other projects to connect with people around the world and share meaningful ways to create positive change.
Oprah Winfrey will star in a new show on Apple TV+. Photo / AP.
Other all-new exclusive original Apple TV+ shows include:
• Dickinson, a darkly comedic coming-of-age story, explores the constraints of society, gender and family through the lens of rebellious young poet, Emily Dickinson.
• For All Mankind, a new series from Ronald D. Moore, imagines what would have happened if the global space race never ended and the space program remained the cultural centrepiece of America's hopes and dreams.
• Helpsters, a new children's series from the makers of "Sesame Street," stars Cody and a team of vibrant monsters who love to help solve problems. It all starts with a plan.
• Snoopy in Space, a new original from Peanuts Worldwide and DHX Media, takes viewers on a journey with Snoopy as he follows his dreams to become an astronaut. Together, Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts crew take command of the International Space Station and explore the moon and beyond.
• Ghostwriter, a reinvention of the beloved original series, follows four kids who are brought together by a mysterious ghost in a neighbourhood bookstore, and must team up to release fictional characters from works of literature.
• The Elephant Queen, an acclaimed documentary film and cinematic love letter to a species on the verge of extinction, follows a majestic matriarch elephant and her herd on an epic journey of life, loss and homecoming.
More Apple TV+ originals will be added to the Apple TV app each month, including:
• Servant, a new psychological thriller from M. Night Shyamalan, follows a Philadelphia couple in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home.
• Truth Be Told, a gripping new series starring Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer and Emmy Award winner Aaron Paul, explores America's obsession with true crime podcasts and navigates urgent concerns about privacy, media and race.
• Little America, inspired by the true stories featured in Epic Magazine, brings to life the funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring and surprising stories of immigrants in America.
• The Banker, a feature film inspired by a true story, stars Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson as two African American entrepreneurs who try to circumvent the racial limitations of the 1950s and quietly provide housing loans to the African American community in Jim Crow Texas. Nia Long and Nicholas Hoult also star.
• Hala, a feature film and official selection of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, follows a high school senior struggling to balance being a suburban teenager with her traditional Muslim upbringing.
Apple TV+ will be available on the Apple TV app for $8.99 inc per month with a seven-day free trial starting November 1 on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, Apple TV HD, Apple TV (3rd generation), iPod touch and Mac. To subscribe to Apple TV+, customers must update to iOS 12.3 or later, tvOS 12.3 or later and macOS Catalina. The subscription will automatically renew at NZ$8.99 inc. GST per month at the end of the seven-day free trial.
Subscribers can watch Apple TV+ originals both online and offline, ad-free and on demand, on the Apple TV app. Customers can also sign up and watch Apple TV+ originals on the web at tv.apple.com.
Starting today, viewers can watch trailers and add Apple TV+ series and movies to Up Next on the Apple TV app, so they can be notified when the first episodes become available. At launch, most Apple TV+ series will premiere with three episodes, with one new episode to roll out each week, while full seasons of some series will be available all at once.
