Apple and BBC Co-Producing Comedy Series Starring Imelda Staunton From Harry Potter

Apple is teaming up with the BBC to co-produce an eight-part comedy-drama series with a working title of "Alabama," according to a report from British comedy website Chortle highlighted by Engadget.

imelda staunton

Imelda Staunton

Written by former stand-up Andy Wolton, the show will reportedly star Imelda Staunton, who is best known for her performance in the British comedy television series "Up the Garden Path" and for playing Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter movies "Order of the Phoenix" and part one of "Deathly Hallows."

The series is reportedly in production and is slated to air worldwide next year on Apple's upcoming streaming video service, Apple TV+. Apple and BBC declined to comment on the series, and plot details have yet to be revealed.


‌Apple TV‌+ will feature dozens of original TV shows and movies with stars such as Steve Carell, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Oprah Winfrey. The service is set to launch in over 100 countries in the fall within the ‌Apple TV‌ app on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, ‌Apple TV‌, and Mac.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

Top Rated Comments

HappyDude20 Avatar
86 months ago
She played Umbridge so well I hated that woman.

I wish her the best of luck!
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
owen.meredith Avatar
86 months ago
British TV isn't great.
Is that why major US networks have always tended to do copies of British shows, with HBO practically piggybacking off everything the BBC does now? Hm?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
johnyslats Avatar
86 months ago
British TV isn't great.
"This is a lie" - Dolores Umbridge
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ar40 Avatar
86 months ago
British TV isn't great.
British TV isn't great. It's actually AMAZING.

I find myself routinely enjoying British whodunnits and dramas, and find them superior to most US TV (often on par with HBO).
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kaibelf Avatar
86 months ago
Welcome to the new Macrumors. A Blog about tv, film and the glamorous life of the stars.
No, it's about a huge recurring revenue service play by the company about which this blog is written.
[doublepost=1562950507][/doublepost]
No, it's not a binary choice for Apple, far from it. Services are an important part of their incredible ecosystem, but they are accelerating their hardware and software releases, which are the largest part of the over $1BILLION a month they are putting into Research and Development.
Would that somehow make you need to buy a laptop from them more frequently? Exactly what would be gained by accelerating their hardware and software releases" aside from diluting the offerings? People will not suddenly be excited if there are wild major changes to the platform coming out every 6 months, and it would be a nightmare for any enterprise.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orbital~debris Avatar
86 months ago
Wonder how long until someone misconstrues this as a Harry Potter spinoff…
[doublepost=1562950655][/doublepost]
British TV isn't great.
What programmes (shows) are you basing that statement on? I'm interested, because this doesn't sound like an accurate assessment of British TV.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)