Apple TV+ lands ‘The White Darkness’ with Tom Hiddleston & ‘Pachinko’s Soo Hugh

Tom Hiddleston

Apple TV+ has made a series order for The White Darkness, starring Tom Hiddleston (The Essex Serpent) who will also serve as executive producer.

The show is based on David Grann’s nonfiction work of the same name and will be a co-production between Apple Studios and Universal Content Productions (UCP), having been developed by Soo Hugh (Pachinko).

Hugh will also be showrunner alongside Mark Heyman (Black Swan), with both also attached as exec producers. Theresa Kang-Lowe (Pachinko) will executive produce through her company Blue Marble Pictures, which is currently in an overall deal with Apple TV+.

The White Darkness is inspired by the true life account of Henry Worsley, a devoted husband, father and former soldier who makes an epic journey crossing Antarctica on foot. It will be made available globally via Apple TV+.

The show marks the second partnership for Hugh, Blue Marble Pictures and Apple TV+ following the recently premiered Pachinko, which Hugh wrote, produced and showran, and which Kang executive produced. Apple TV+ previously worked with Hiddleston on fellow drama, The Essex Serpent.

Apple lights up ‘The Big Cigar’

Apple TV+ has also landed Black Panther drama The Big Cigar, from Warner Bros. Television.

The six-parter, executive produced and written by Jim Hecht (Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty), is based on the eponymous Playboy magazine article from Joshuah Bearman (Argo), who will also serve as executive producer.

The story tells the almost-too-good-to-be-true story of how Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton relied on his best friend and Easy Rider producer Bert Schneider to elude a nationwide manhunt and escape to Cuba while being pursued into exile by the FBI.

Other executive producers include Janine Sherman Barrois, Don Cheadle, Jim Hecht and Joshuah Bearman, with André Holland in discussions to star.