The Apple Little America series was rejected by several networks before finally finding a place on Apple TV +, at least according to Kumail Nanjiani, the executive producer.
We have gone to many different places, and the truth is that some of these more traditional networks, which have been around for decades, were a bit reluctant about the series.
These networks must certainly bite their fingers today, after missing this great opportunity. And for good reason, the Little America series has been critically acclaimed and has the highest Rotten Tomatoes score than any other Apple Originals series. An announced success, so much so that Apple has already renewed the series for a second season.
Little America is an 8-episode anthology series that tells true stories of immigrants to America. It was developed by Nanjiani and Emily Gordon, writers of The Big Sick, and former writer and producer Lee Eisenberg.
Nanjiani went on to talk about networks:
They were all stuck in their old ways. Some even said to us: “Wait, you want to make a series which has no stars, which has a non-white majority in our main networks?”… They were a little afraid of a series of this type on immigrants arrived in America.
On the contrary, Apple was immediately very supportive of the project, as confirmed by Alan Yang, one of the executive producers of the series:
When we first met Apple, they still hadn't started missions for their platform. What immediately made it appear that Apple was the right choice was their enthusiasm for the idea in the first place.
When we showed them Little America, they almost immediately “sold us”, trying to convince us why we had to do it with them. The tone and spirit of the show were consistent with what Apple wanted to see on its Apple TV + service.
We remind you that Little America is already available on Apple TV +: