Apple’s Next Original Series Features Will.i.am And Apps

After enlisting Dr. Dre for its first original program, Apple has set its sights on another famed music producer for its next series. The Cupertino-based tech giant tapped Will.i.am, a member of the Black Eyed Peas and tech entrepreneur, to create a new television program exploring the world of apps, the company revealed Thursday. Will.i.am will be joined by executives Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens to produce the new television series, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

"We’ve seen some really, truly inspiring and incredible stories from our developers in what they’ve done, where they come from, how they started and the problems they’ve solved," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, in a statement. Cue oversees the iTunes Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, Siri, Maps and iCloud services.

Will.i.am and Owens — former National Geographic TV president and founder of the production company Propagate Content — pitched the idea to Silverman, the former co-chairman of NBC Entertainment. It's unclear if the original series will feature a broad range of apps or how much coverage will be dedicated to the creation of the iTunes store or Siri. Other details, such as financing, distribution, a potential air date or episode order, were not revealed, the New York Times reported.

The original unscripted series covering the world of apps is not a sign that Apple plans on competing with the likes of Hulu, Amazon or Netflix for original content, according to Cue. "This doesn’t mean that we are going into a huge amount of movie production or TV production or anything like that," he said.

In February, news broke that an original scripted program was being developed by Apple. Dr. Dre, rap icon, Beats co-founder and Apple executive, will star in "Vital Signs," according to the Hollywood Reporter. The show would be semi-autobiographical drama exploring how Dr. Dre's character deals with his emotions in a 30-minute episode. Sex and violence are said to be featured prominently in the series. Distribution for the show was not revealed, but all six episodes would be released simultaneously.