Movie stars aren't everything in determining a Peak TV show's success

Paste Magazine

"You need more than a movie star to make people want to watch your show," says Amy Amatangelo. "If Captain America himself can’t get people to want to watch Apple TV+, I’m not sure what will. It has long been said that it is the writers who are the most important part of any show. Actors, no matter how good, can only deal with the material that is given to them. Chris Evans’ Defending Jacob was a fine show but not a great one. If it had been on CBS or even HBO maybe more people who have tuned in, but it was certainly not enough to make you subscribe to Apple TV+. (At this point, after the also average The Morning Show—which was the crown jewel of Apple TV+ launch because it starred Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston—the tagline for the streaming platform could be 'Apple TV+ … it’s fine!') Jim Carrey’s Showtime series Kidding was just cancelled after two seasons. And do you even remember Maniac, the Netflix series which starred Emma Stone and Jonah Hill? On HBO, the second season of Big Little Lies fizzled. But, shows such as Dead to Me, starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini and Unbelievable staring Toni Collette and Merritt Weaver, broke through because they were good. Stars aren’t everything; the script is still king."