Apple TV+ doesn’t release viewer data, but the six-month-old streamer has several notable debuts. The most recent is “Defending Jacob.”
Based on William Landay’s crime novel, “Defending Jacob” is about Andy Barber (Chris Evans), a district attorney whose teenage son Jacob (Jaeden Martell) is accused of murder. Barber is torn between his job and fatherhood — especially as suspicions mount.
According to outside sources, “Defending Jacob” had a big opening weekend and grew by five times in its first 10 days, April 24-May 3, making it one of the fastest-growing shows for the streamer, reports Deadline.
The cast counts seasoned TV pros, including Michelle Dockery, Cherry Jones, Pablo Schreiber, Betty Gabriel and Sakina Jaffrey. Morten Tyldum (“More,” “Jack Ryan”) directed all eight episodes.
Apple TV+ has a specific template: A series’ first three episodes air on its launch weekend, then a weekly episode thereafter.
“The Morning Show,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, is assumed to be Apple’s most popular to date, but “Defending Jacob” is proving a worthy rival.
The show is created and written by Mark Bomback (“Total Recall,” “The Wolverine”).
Apple TV+ launched November 1 in more than 100 countries and has debuted 26 original programs in its first six months.