With the release of new streaming service Apple TV+ on the horizon, excitement is mounting about the upcoming content. Indeed, the provider has been working on some huge projects and spending plenty of money on its all-new original lineup for the content library. When comparing streaming providers both new and existing, it’s safe to say Apple TV+ will need to work hard to stay on par with competitors in the streaming wars. However, one show will be missing from the books, due to some disagreements which have gone on behind the scenes.

A project which would have starred Richard Gere, called Bastards, has failed before the new streaming provider has launched. The show was set to be eight episodes long and would feature Gere as part of a duo of Vietnam veterans who are also best friends. Their lives take a turn when a woman they were both in love with 50 years ago passes away. After living lives full of regrets and secrets, plus experiencing a resentment of millennials, the two decide to go on a shooting spree. The show featured Howard Gordon, Homeland, and Warren Leight, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as co-writers and co-showrunners.

The disagreement began after Gordon and Leight had worked on two scripts for the show and received comments from Apple about their tone, plus the vigilante justice seen in the plot. While Gordon wanted to place more emphasis on the darker parts of the story, with production studio Fox 21 backing his decision, Apple wanted instead to look more at the friendship shared by the two veterans. This resulted in Leight leaving the series, and Apple wanting to pursue writing which focused on heart, friendship and emotion.

In light of Leight leaving and Fox 21 choosing to remain on Gordon’s side, Apple decided to pass on the project. There is a chance Bastards could end up with another streaming service, but this isn’t an outcome that’s set in stone. This lack of agreement is the first time an ordered project has been axed by Apple – and Bastards had received a straight-to-series order from the media giant.

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