Apple TV has purchased worldwide rights to “Small Prophets,” breaking from the way it usually operates by acquiring an existing English-language hit rather than ordering its own show from the start.
Apple TV has typically developed or, at the very least, commissioned shows in-house and given them their premiere on the service, regardless of where they might eventually end up. This was the model behind the BBC’s “Trying”, which Apple TV+ first produced and then licensed to the BBC once its own broadcast had finished.
Apple has also purchased individual foreign-language titles in the past, such as the French-Japanese drama “Drops of God.” “Small Prophets” marks a novelty since it is an English-language series and had already become a success broadcast elsewhere before Apple intervened.
The acquisition, reported by Deadlinefollows a broadcast on BBC Two which produced the strongest 28-day launch figures for a comedy on the channel since 2022, a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes and the International Panorama award at this year’s Series Mania festival.
“Small Prophets” will stream on Apple TV worldwide starting October 7, with the exception of the UK, where the show debuted on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two earlier this year. UK viewers will be able to continue watching it on iPlayer before it eventually moves to Apple TV.
The series is written, created and directed by Mackenzie Crook, best known for his appearance on “The Office” and “The Detectorists.”
Small Prophets follows Quigley as the eccentric Michael Sleep, an ordinary man who, since the disappearance of his sweetheart Clea seven years ago, works in a hardware store, while visiting his elderly father Brian and hoping for Clea to return. One day, Brian shares an old potion recipe so that a skeptical Michael can create homunculi – magical spirits that can predict the future – to find out if he will see Clea again.
Michael gets help from his young DIY store colleague Kacey and their unlikely friendship blossoms through a dislike for store manager Gordon, while his nosy neighbors obsess over what Michael is doing in the garden shed.
The show, which is set in and around the Manchester suburbs and is infused with Crook’s signature sweetness… includes animated elements to show the more magical elements of the story.
Deadline compared “Small Prophets” to “Ted Lasso,” which recently began its fourth season as the biggest premiere ever on Apple TV, favoring a gentler, more serialized style of storytelling over a traditional sitcom.
