Apple’s Dr. Dre TV Series Will Feature Ian McShane, Michael K. Williams, Orgies

A few months back, word broke that Apple would enter the scripted series game with a new drama loosely based on Dr. Dre’s life, dubbed Vital Signs, though the tech empire had nothing to say. Now, actor Sam Rockwell confirms his presence in the cast, as well as cast members like Ian McShane and Michael K. Williams, as well what we can expect from the surreal new series.

Rockwell let slip a few details in conversation with Entertainment Weekly, following reports of the original series as “semi-autobiographical, with each episode focusing on a different emotion and how Dre’s character deals with it,” as well as “as a dark drama with no shortage of violence and sex.”

Not only did Rockwell confirm Game of Thrones star Ian McShane and and The Wire alum Michael K. Williams among the cast, here’s who they’ll play:

Me, Ian McShane, and Michael K. Williams are aspects of his personality. I play Ego, and Ian McShane is Vengeance, and Michael K. Williams is Negativity. There’s also a character called Prodigy. It’s really aspects of Dr Dre’s personality. It’s a really cool thing. It’s like a series of short films.

Last we heard, music video director Paul Hunter was to helm Vital Signs, with Empire co-executive producer and writer Robert Munic hand-picked by Dre to write all six episodes. Other reports also list Mo McCrae in the cast.

Reports also indicated the series will likely end up distributed over Apple Music, though it remains unclear what involvement Apple TV, the iTunes store or other Apple platforms might have. However it shakes out, all six episodes will supposedly be released at once, similar to Netflix’s model.

Apple still hasn’t issued confirmation or comments, but does Vital Signs sound like an intriguing first entry for Apple into the TV game?