Apple TV+ has revealed both a first look at The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey and The Beanie Bubble, both adaptations of bestselling books.
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is a limited series executive produced by and starring Oscar-nominated Samuel L. Jackson and based on the acclaimed novel (check price at Amazon) by best-selling author Walter Mosley, who adapts the story for the screen and serves as executive producer.
The six-episode gripping series about family, memory, and legacy will debut globally on Friday, March 11, on Apple TV+, with the first two episodes followed by one new episode weekly, every Friday.
Hailing from Apple Studios, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey stars Jackson as Ptolemy Grey, an ailing man forgotten by his family, his friends, and even himself.
Suddenly left without his trusted caretaker and on the brink of sinking even deeper into a lonely dementia, Ptolemy is assigned to the care of orphaned teenager Robyn, played by BAFTA Award nominee Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah).
When they learn about a treatment that can restore Ptolemy’s dementia-addled memories, it begins a journey toward shocking truths about the past, present, and future.
In addition to Jackson and Fishback, the Apple Original series features Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (Coyote, Real Husbands of Hollywood), Damon Gupton (Black Lightning, Bates Motel), Marsha Stephanie Blake (I Am Your Woman, When They See Us), Walton Goggins (Justified, The Unicorn), and Omar Miller (The Unicorn, Ballers).
Alongside Mosley and Jackson, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is executive produced by Mosley’s producing partner Diane Houslin, Ramin Bahrani, Eli Selden, and David Levine for Anonymous Content, and LaTanya Richardson.
Apple Original Films has also landed The Beanie Bubble, a new film hailing from Imagine Entertainment that will be co-directed by Emmy Award nominee Kristin Gore (Saturday Night Live, Futurama) and Grammy Award winner Damian Kulash (OK Go).
The movie stars Emmy Award winner Zach Galifianakis (Between Two Ferns, Baskets), Emmy Award nominee Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games, Love and Mercy), Emmy and Critics Choice Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Sarah Snook (Succession, Predestination), and Geraldine Viswanathan (The Broken Hearts Gallery, Hala) set to lead the star-studded cast.
The Beanie Bubble is inspired by the story behind one of the biggest speculative crazes that blazed through American culture in the ’90s. It pulls back the curtain on the absurdities and injustices of the American Dream — particularly the female relationship to it.
It’s a celebration of the women who helped power Ty Warner’s success, whose strengths and good instincts shaped and amplified the phenomenon, but whose names are not on the Beanie Babies’ heart-shaped tags.
Produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and Karen Lunder, president of Imagine Features, The Beanie Bubble marks the first film order to hail from an exclusive first-look deal between Apple and Imagine Entertainment for scripted films.
The film is written by Gore, who also co-directs alongside Kulash. The married directing duo developed the story together, and Gore wrote the screenplay, which is based on the book The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute. In addition to starring, Galifianakis serves as executive producer.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills to cover the latest streaming, movie, TV, and game news.