Apple TV just did something new. The streamer picked up worldwide rights to “Small Prophets,” a British comedy-drama that already built a loyal following on BBC Two. That marks a real shift in strategy, since Apple has spent years developing shows internally rather than buying finished hits after the fact.
Apple’s usual approach looks nothing like this deal. The company typically develops projects from scratch, gives them their first release on Apple TV, and only later licenses them elsewhere if a deal makes sense. The BBC’s “Trying” followed exactly that path, debuting on Apple TV first before eventually moving over to BBC. Apple has occasionally licensed finished foreign-language titles too, including “Drops of God,” which is a French-Japanese drama. “Small Prophets” breaks new ground on two fronts: it’s an English-language series, and Apple only stepped in after the show had already proven itself as a hit somewhere else.
That earlier success looks hard to ignore. The show delivered BBC Two’s best performing 28-day comedy launch since 2022, earned a perfect 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, and picked up the International Panorama award at the Series Mania festival held earlier this year. Deadline first broke news of the acquisition, which runs through distributor Sphere Abacus on behalf of production companies Blue House, Hot Olives, and Mackenzie Crook’s own Treasure Trove Productions.
“Small Prophets” arrives on Apple TV worldwide on October 7, with one notable exception. UK viewers will continue watching through BBC iPlayer for now, since the show already has a home there, before it eventually makes its way to Apple TV sometime next year.
Comparisons to “Ted Lasso” have already started circulating, and the connection makes some sense on the surface. Both shows favor warmth and serialized storytelling over rapid-fire sitcom jokes, though “Small Prophets” carries its own distinct tone shaped heavily by Crook’s writing style. “Ted Lasso” recently kicked off its fourth season as Apple TV’s biggest premiere to date, so pairing “Small Prophets” with that comparison signals real confidence in how this acquisition might perform.
