Deadline reports that Apple has ordered the half-hour musical romantic dramedy Little Voice from Emmy Award-winning producer J.J. Abrams (Westworld, Lost, Castle Rock) and singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (upcoming co-host of the 72nd annual Tony Awards). The series was given a straight-to-series 10-episode order and will feature original music by the Grammy and Tony Award nominee.
Little Voice is a love letter to the diverse musicality of New York, and it shares the title of Bareilles’ breakthrough album. The series explores the universal journey of finding your authentic voice in your early 20s. It is described as a fresh, intensely romantic tale of the search to find your true voice… and then the courage to use it.
Bareilles will executive produce alongside Jessie Nelson (Waitress, I Am Sam, Stepmom) with Bad Robot’s Abrams and Ben Stephenson. Nelson is set to write and direct the first episode and will serve as showrunner for Little Voice, produced by Warner Bros. TV and Abrams’ studio-based Bad Robot Productions.
Bad Robot’s upcoming slate includes the Stephen King-inspired drama Castle Rock for Hulu and the drama Lovecraft Country, as well as the current hit HBO drama Westworld.
Bareilles’ hit 2007 song “Love Song” reached No. 1 in 22 countries and landed her Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy nominations from her major-label debut album, Little Voice. The singer is arguably best known for her hit single “Brave,” which earned Bareilles two Grammy nominations. The singer reunites with Nelson as the duo teamed up on Bareilles’ Broadway debut, Waitress, based on the 2007 movie. Bareilles wrote the music and lyrics while Nelson wrote the book for the musical, which earned four Tony nominations in 2016.
Apple’s other upcoming series includes three from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine: a morning-show drama starring Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, Are You Sleeping starring Octavia Spencer, and a comedy led by Kristen Wiig. Apple’s slate also includes Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Amazing Stories reboot, a Ronald D. Moore space drama, a Damien Chazelle series, world-building drama See from Steven Knight and Francis Larence, an M. Night Shyamalan psychological thriller, and the comedy Dickson starring Hailee Steinfeld.
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