Apple today launched its first standalone original podcast series, entitled ‘Hooked’. Apple’s previous podcast releases have all been tied to Apple TV+ properties (such as The Line). Unless Apple announces a TV+ connection down the road, Hooked is an independent audio series.
Hooked is a true crime podcast about the true story of Tony Hathaway, whose opioid addition led him down a career in bank robbery. The show is available for free inside of the Apple Podcasts app.
Hooked is hosted by journalist Josh Dean, featuring clips from years of interviews with Hathaway’s family and law enforcement.
Apple has launched the show with three episodes upfront and new episodes will debut on Wednesdays.
The company’s plans for original podcasts remains somewhat unclear. For instance, it is not known how many original podcast productions Apple has in development. Only one show has been previously reported as ordered to series, an as-yet-unreleased documentary podcast about Siegfried & Roy.
Previous podcasts from Apple have all been branded as an ‘Apple TV+ podcast’, as they have been siblings to an original television project, such as the Foundation or For All Mankind companion podcasts. In a similar vein, ‘The Line’ was launched as a six-part podcast series to accompany a four-part TV+ series premiering later this month.
Hooked is simply branded as an ‘Apple Original podcast’, as there is no apparent link to Apple’s television division. In a sign of how new this is to Apple though, the show has been published by ‘Apple TV+’ in Apple Podcasts, as there is no separate section yet for Apple Original podcasts.
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