'Pachinko' hits Apple TV+ today, but it almost didn't make it
What you need to know
- A new series of interviews explain how Pachinko ended up on Apple TV+.
- Pachinko was made five offers but Apple TV+ won out.
- Initial funding fears meant the show was getting offers but not at the level required.
Apple TV+ will see the debut of Pachinko today and while it's launching at a time where Korean shows and movies are popular, that was absolutely not the case when it was being shopped around. In a new interview, the people behind Pachinko explain how it landed at Apple TV+ after a five-company battle for it.
Pachinko is an ambitious intertwining of three timelines that also include just as many languages, all happening at the same time. That's a big project in itself, and executive producer Michael Ellenberg tells Variety that the team was "insane" to even try to sell Pachinko to TV and streaming outfits.
While Pachinko did have interest from buyers, the main problem was getting the funding required. Plans required money on the level of Succession and The Crown, but getting that level of backing wasn't easy according to executive producer Theresa Kang-Lowe.
Eventually, five offers were made for Pachinko and it was Apple TV+ that won out. The company has made a name for itself for throwing money at projects and that seems to have been the case here. As is often the case with these things, Pachinko fans have Apple's deep pockets to thank for its arrival.
You can read more about how the new Korean show came to Apple TV+ in the original Variety interview piece.
If you want to enjoy Pachinko in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.
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Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.