Apple TV+ announced: A new video streaming service to take on Netflix

Apple TV+ is a new video streaming service from Apple that hopes to become an alternative to cable, by mixing shows from renowned names like HBO or Showtime with dozens of its own TV+ original series, all from the comfort of the new Apple TV app, online or offline.

With the new Channels service there, Apple will bundle your existing subscriptions, and personalize and curate the shows you might like, gleaning from the subscriptions or preferences you already have shown by renting iTunes movies and TV shows. Those will now also be folded into the new Apple TV app, coming in May.

Apple TV+ will include content from HBO, Starz, SHOWTIME, CBS All Access, Smithsonian Channel, EPIX, Tastemade, Noggin with new services expected down the line.

Access Channels and TV+ from the new Apple TV app

The service would be reaching 100+ global markets and will be available not only on Apple iOS devices but also coming to the Mac, Roku streamers, and even Samsung, LG, Sony or Vizio smart TVs.

While revealing that the service will be available this fall, Apple has not unveiled its "ad-free" price,

Apple TV+ new original shows list at launch

Apple has already poached plenty of entertainment industry names, too, so it finally seems bent on building a proper media empire. Here are all the shows Apple said its streaming service will be launching with:

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah has entered a "multi-year content partnership" with Apple to produce, original content for the service.

Steven Spielberg "Amazing Stories" reboot

Apple will be rebooting Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories" hit from the 80s, with M. Night Shyamalan attached as a producer.

Reese Witherspoon

Apple's comedy and drama orders reportedly continue with multiple shows brought on by Reese Witherspoon. One is a morning news TV series drama (or, maybe, we should stop calling them TV shows) with Jennifer Anniston and Steve Carell, and scripted by the House of Cards' Jay Carson. Another Reese Witherspoon mention is as a producer, this time for a "You Think It, I’ll Say It" scripted comedy by Apple, starring Kristen Wiig, of which there are reportedly 10 episodes already ordered.

"Are You Sleeping?" with Octavia Spencer and Aaron Paul

Aaron Paul, of Breaking Bad fame, will be playing a convicted murderer in an Octavia Spencer drama called "Are You Sleeping?" No, with this lineup, Apple doesn't seem to be sleeping at all.

Comedy series with Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney from "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

Apple has a potential hit under its belt, a straight-to-series comedy by everyone's favorite good-for-nothing's Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney from "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia." This alone makes the show an immediate hit among us in the office, but there is more. Charlie and Rob's comedy series takes place in a video game studio (sweet!), and also features the Oscar-winning F. Murray Abraham, plus a number of other up-and-coming actors like Charlotte Nicado, David Hornsby, Imani Hakim, Ashly Burch, and Danny Pudi.

"Little America" series

Dubbed "an anthology for immigrants," a new show is being developed for Apple by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, co-created with the Master of None's Alan Yang. These will be half-hour episodes based on true stories about "the funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring and unexpected lives of immigrants in America, at a time when their stories are more relevant than ever."

"For All Mankind"

Produced by Sony Pictures Television and Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica), For All Mankind explores the future of a fictional global space race. Jodi Balfour will play pilot Ellen Waverly, joining previously announced Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, Altered Carbon), Michael Dorman (Patriot, Wonderland), Sarah Jones (Damnation The Path), Shantel VanSanten (Shooter, One Tree Hill) and Wrenn Schmidt (The Looming Tower, Outcast).

"Dickinson" is an Emily Dickinson comedy (of all things) with Hailee Steinfeld

This coming-of-age comedy will be set during the great American poet Emily Dickinson’s times from the viewpoint of Emily (Steinfeld). The retro environment will mix modern questions about gender's places in society, family relationships and the writer who is well ahead of her times. This show stars Hailee Steinfeld (Pitch Perfect 3, True Grit) and produced by Alena Smith (The Affair, The Newsroom). "Dickinson" will likely be a harbinger of what's to come in Apple's new streaming service - curated shows that won't be a dime a dozen to see what sticks like the Netflix approach.

"See" series with Jason Momoa

The Aquaman Jason Momoa has been cast in a lead role for the Apple original series "See". Mankind, or what is left of it, is now blind, and the show sounds like an epic survival drama in the future. Momoa will be playing Baba Voss, a fearless warrior, and leader.

Thriller series from M. Night Shyamalan

Spotted filming in Philly, the new thriller series from renowned director M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Glass) employs Rupert Grint from Harry Potter fame. Apple’s upcoming psychological thriller series will follow parents Dorothy (Ambrose) and Sean Turner, who have hired young nanny Leanne to help care for their newborn child. Grint will play Julian Pearce, Dorothy’s (Ambrose) younger brother.