Apple Makes the Pilot Episode for Its Latest Series ‘The Afterparty’ Available to Watch on YouTube
In what I believe to be a first for Apple TV+, the full pilot episode of a premiering series has been published on YouTube to the official Apple TV channel.
The Afterparty is the latest series to come to Apple’s streaming service, which is one of the only services not to feature a free tier. They do offer generous free trial periods, three months with any new Apple product that can play their movies and shows, but it’s a one-time deal. That’s why posting an entire episode to YouTube is so notable. Now anyone can watch the first episode, whether or not they’ve ever tried or paid for Apple TV+.
I’ve been looking forward to this show, the first three episodes of which are available to watch now on Apple TV+. It’s directed by Christopher Miller and has an all-star cast. I’ve got Knives Out vibes from the trailer, not just from the murder mystery genre, but also the laugh-out-loud humor. It’s going to the top of my watch list.
The video’s description shows that this YouTube premier will be short-lived and points viewers to Apple TV+ to continue watching the series:
Watch the first episode of The Afterparty, a new whodunnit comedy from Lord Miller starring Tiffany Haddish, Ben Schwartz, Sam Richardson, Ilana Glazer, Ike Barinholtz, Zoe Chao, and Dave Franco. Continue watching the next two episodes, available now on Apple TV+ and don’t miss Xavier’s final EP and music video for “Imma Live Forever” dropping February 1 https://apple.co/_TheAfterpartyEpisode2
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Available on YouTube until February 6 at 11:59p PST
Apple has made their streaming content freely available before, but not in full on another platform — you always had to figure out how to get to Apple TV+. I could see this being the start of a new strategy to hook potential subscribers on a new show by meeting them where they already find new video content, and that’s YouTube.