Apple in Bidding War for J.J. Abrams Sci-Fi Drama [Updated]

Apple and HBO are embroiled in a bidding war for a new sci-fi drama television series penned by J.J. Abrams, reports Variety.

Little is known about the series at this time, but it's said to deal with a "world's battle against a monstrous, oppressive force," and it marks the first television series Abrams has written since "Fringe" in 2008.

jjabrams
Most recently, Abrams wrote "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and he is working on the upcoming and as of yet untitled "Star Wars: Episode IX." In the past, Abrams has worked on shows that include "Lost," "Felicity," and "Alias."

Abrams would serve as executive producer on the sci-fi series, alongside Ben Stephenson, head of TV for Abrams' Bad Robot Productions. The series would be produced by Warner Bros. Television, and while Variety says Apple and HBO are the top bidders at this time, the studio is open to other bidders.

Apple already has two other sci-fi shows in the works, including a revival of 1985 Steven Spielberg sci-fi series "Amazing Stories" and an untitled space drama developed by Ronald D. Moore, known for "Battlestar Galactica."

Update 2/1: HBO ended up winning the bidding war for a new sci-fi drama from J.J. Abrams, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The upcoming show is called "Demimonde," and it is about a family (a mother who is a scientist, her husband, and her daughter) who get into a car crash. The mother winds up in a coma, leading the daughter to begin digging through her experiments in the basement. The daughter is transported to another world where she must battle against a monstrous, oppressive force. HBO describes the series as "an epic and intimate sci-fi fantasy drama."

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

M3 iPad Air

Apple's Next Two Products Are Coming Soon

Thursday February 12, 2026 11:17 am PST by
Apple plans to release an iPhone 17e and an iPad Air with an M4 chip "in the coming weeks," according to the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple retail employees say that inventory of the iPhone 16e has basically dried out and the iPad Air is seeing shortages as well," said Gurman. "I've been expecting new versions of both (iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air) in the coming weeks."...
Apple Sales Coach App

Apple Launching New 'Sales Coach' App

Friday February 13, 2026 2:01 pm PST by
Apple plans to launch a rebranded "Sales Coach" app on the iPhone and iPad later this month, according to a source familiar with the matter. "Sales Coach" will arrive as an update to Apple's existing "SEED" app, and it will continue to provide sales tips and training resources to Apple Store and Apple Authorized Reseller employees around the world. For example, there are articles and videos...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock

Five iPhone 18 Pro Features Revealed in New Report

Friday February 13, 2026 8:43 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still seven months away, an analyst has revealed five new features the devices will allegedly have. Rumored color options for the iPhone 18 Pro models In a research note with investment firm GF Securities on Thursday, analyst Jeff Pu outlined the following upgrades for the iPhone 18 Pro models: Smaller Dynamic Island: It has been rumored...
iOS 26 Home Feature

Three New Apple Home Products Rumored for 2026

Friday February 13, 2026 4:18 pm PST by
Apple has a long list of new products rumored for 2026, including a series of home products that will see the company establishing more of a presence in the smart home space. Robots are on the horizon for 2027, but the 2026 releases will be a little tamer. HomePod mini We're expecting a new HomePod mini 2 to launch at any time. Apple isn't going to update the device's design, but we could...
m5 macbook pro deal

Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works. We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...

Top Rated Comments

RogerWilco Avatar
106 months ago
Abrams knows scifi about as well as fish understand bicycles.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naraxus Avatar
106 months ago
Lovely. Bid for a guy who was handed the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises and managed to flush them both down the toilet. Pass.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chucker23n1 Avatar
106 months ago
Did you not watch The Force Awakens or the Star Trek movies he did?
He made no Star Trek movies. He made action blockbusters set in space which happened to have Star Trek branding.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naraxus Avatar
106 months ago
J.J. Abrams does what Apples does best, rehash things and make them better.
Did you not watch The Force Awakens or the Star Trek movies he did?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GFLPraxis Avatar
106 months ago
J.J. Abrams is terrible, and is emblematic of all the SJW virtue signalling, political correctness and Cultural Marxism that runs through Hollywood these days. I guess Tim Cook is into that stuff. I would love a new high quality and intelligent sci-fi show, but with Abrams at the helm? No thanks.
I wouldn't even consider that one of Abrams' sins, are you kidding? This is the same guy who included the "Dr. Marcus in underwear" scene. I have never observed over-political-correctness in his films.

Rather, I've observed lazy filmwriting. He does the same things in all of his movies- constant action, little character development, and throwing all of the established universe's rules to the wind. (For example, in Star Wars, you can hyperspace in an atmosphere or from a hanger without calculations suddenly, and in Star Trek, you can get from Earth to the Klingon Homeworld in five minutes instead of weeks?)


J.J. Abrams is the epitome of taking existing scifi franchises and "Hollywood action-ifying" them in a manner that removes substance and makes them generic. I can't stand him. "Political correctness" doesn't even register on my complaint list. Can you name me what 'politically correct' things he's done?
[doublepost=1516147462][/doublepost]
Ugh. Force Awakens was terrible.
Surprised he is still getting work after that.
I constantly complained that his Star Trek movies didn't feel like Star Trek, but more like Star Wars.

Then he made The Force Awakens, and I realized I was being too generous.

Also- he made a lot of the same mistakes, like crazy stretches with faster-than-light drives that violated in-universe rules, or making up cheap outs, and very generic villains with hardly any development.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
106 months ago
J.J. Abrams is terrible, and is emblematic of all the SJW virtue signalling, political correctness and Cultural Marxism that runs through Hollywood these days. I guess Tim Cook is into that stuff. I would love a new high quality and intelligent sci-fi show, but with Abrams at the helm? No thanks.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)