Former HBO CEO to produce series, films and documentaries for Apple TV +

Richard Plepler, ex-CEO da HBO

Year in, year out, and Apple continues to attract an incredible variety of important names in the audiovisual industry to its side of Apple TV +. The most recent addition to this remarkable group is that of Richard Plepler, former CEO of HBO.

According to New York Times, the executive recently signed a five-year contract with the company through his new company, Eden Productions. With that, Plepler will produce original films, series and documentaries exclusively for the Apple platform.

Rumors of the executive’s agreement with Apple had been circulating in the specialized press for a few months (the WSJ was the first to raise the possibility, last November), and the contract was closed in the last week. Plepler spent 27 years at HBO, assuming the role of CEO in 2013, and left the giant in February 2019; in the meantime, he was responsible for blockbuster like «Game of Thrones» and «Westworld».

In a statement to the NYT, Plepler claimed to have a great admiration for Eddy Cue, vice president of software and services at Apple; the two started talking about a possible contract as soon as the executive announced his departure from HBO. Plepler also stated that, in this new phase of his career, he will play a very different role – instead of an executive position, he will be a real producer, putting his hands on the creations of his company. As he himself states:

It was immediately clear to me that I had a wonderful and privileged career at HBO, and that I couldn’t replicate that anywhere else. And I didn’t even want to replicate that anywhere else. It became very clear to me that I just wanted to do my own thing.

Plepler will now work directly with Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, the bosses of Apple TV +. The first creations of the executive (and now producer) are expected to be announced throughout this year.

via 9to5Mac