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Octavia Spencer to Star in Apple Series From Reese Witherspoon About Our True-Crime-Podcast Obsession

Yes, please. Photo: Lars Niki/Getty Images for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Official Academy Screening

Further investing in the hope that soon we’ll all watch TV on Apple, Reese Witherspoon is developing a new series for the tech company turned Netflix rival. Octavia Spencer is set to star in a show about a book about a podcast. Stay with us now: Are You Sleeping is based on Kathleen Barber’s novel of the same name, which follows a murder case that’s reopened thanks to renewed interest in the mystery after a podcast about it goes viral. More broadly, it’s a story about our cultural true-crime-podcast obsession and what happens when the pursuit of justice becomes fodder for entertainment. If that description sounds extremely familiar, yes, Serial’s Sarah Koenig will be a consultant on the show.

Are You Sleeping is the first show Apple has chosen to develop, having previously ordered three other shows straight to series, including the morning-show drama we deserve starring Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. Witherspoon, your new favorite TV mogul in the making, will also executive produce the show.

Octavia Spencer to Star in Show About True-Crime Podcasts