The first episode of Planet of the Apps — Apple’s Shark Tank-esque reality TV show about app developers — is now available on Apple Music and iTunes. Anyone will be able to watch the first episode via the company’s streaming service, but subsequent episodes will only be available to Apple Music subscribers, who’ll be able to keep up with the show every week.
The company premiered the episode tonight at its WWDC event in San Jose, before making it available on Apple Music for all at midnight ET. The show focuses on a collection of app developers, each of whom is trying to impress a panel made up of actors Jessica Alba and Gwyneth Paltrow, musician will.i.am, and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk.
Contestants have to do a literal escalator pitch
Apple announced that it was working on an unscripted reality TV show early last year, and clarified its intentions soon after. The company put out an open casting call for “100 of the world’s most talented app creators," who would be trying to pitch their app to the panel. A new trailer released tonight, shortly before the episode aired, detailed exactly how they’d be doing that — with a literal escalator pitch that gives contestants 60 seconds to explain their idea while being slowly brought down to the stage.
Just to really hammer home the app connection, the advisors then do a Tinder-like swipe left or right to specify whether they like the idea. Those who do get the nod will be funded so “they can take the next step to creating one of the great apps of all time.” Expect new episodes of the show — nine more of them after today’s premiere — to air on Tuesdays via Apple Music.