Apple TV+ Set To Launch With Poetic Premiere

Apple TV+ has premiered a lavish period costume drama at the Tribeca TV Festival as the first show to headline its new fledgling service.

The star-studded series will shed a modern light on iconic American poet Emily Dickinson.

The prolific bard is played by Hailee Steinfeld, the pop star noted for her vocal performance in Pitch Perfect 2.

Dickinson is portrayed as a firebrand who writes poetry furiously into the night and flirts with Death, a character played by rapper Wiz Khalifa, all the while feeling constrained by the expectations she faces as a woman in 1850s New England.

Apple plans to spend US$2 billion on original programming for its new streaming service this year. The service begins in the USA in November at a cost of US$4.99 a month.