Apple acquires musical dramedy ‘Little Voice’

Apple’s new streaming service has acquired the show, “Little Voice,” a half-hour musical romantic dramedy, Deadline reports.

The show will be executive produced by pop star Sara Bareilles, writer Jessie Nelson, and Bad Robots’ uber-producer J.J. Abrams and Ben Stephenson.

Sharing a title with Bareilles’ 2007 major-label debut album, which spawned the hit “Love Song,” the show is about the journey of finding one’s voice.

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It will use the various musical styles and movements in New York as a platform to showcase the universal search for authenticity and courage in one’s early 20s.

Bareilles will write original music for the series. Nelson will function as the showrunner and will be responsible for writing and directing the first episode of the 10-episode series.

The pair recently teamed up to create the Broadway musical Waitress, based on the 2007 film of the same name. Nelson wrote the book while Bareilles was responsible for music and lyrics. The show received multiple Tony nominations, including Best Original Score for Bareilles.

Musicals are often a tough sell with TV audiences. While many shows have turned a single episode into a musical, a whole show devoted to the format that includes original music tends to be a rarity.

The only show on the air that currently fits that description is The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Although that show is critically acclaimed and its lead, Rachel Bloom, has won a Golden Globe for her work, its ratings have always been low.

Of course, Apple is a streaming service, so its standards for what will make the show successful will be different from the metrics used for a typical network show.

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In addition, when it comes to media content, Apple is currently most associated with music. So having a musical on its slate may be the perfect bridge between its musical platform, iTunes, and its movie and TV streaming service.

Are you excited about the dramedy “Little Voices”? Are you looking forward to Apple’s upcoming streaming service? Have your say in the comments!