Apple TV Plus renews four scripted drama for second season

Apple TV Plus has given second season orders to the four scripted drama series that launched the streaming service last week.

Dramas "See," "For All Mankind," "Dickinson" and "The Morning Show" have been greenlit for sophomore seasons. "Morning Show," led by Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, already had a two-season order and is already at work on its next season of 10 episodes.

Apple has yet to release any specific details about subscribers or viewership activity on the service, which bowed Nov. 1. Sources close to Apple say the service to date has drawn millions of users who are spending on average more than an hour on the Apple TV Plus platform. It's unclear how many of those are paying subscribers rather than those taking advantage of the service's seven-day free trial. A knowledgeable source said Apple insiders were impressed by the volume of activity on the platform, which spiked by triple digits this past weekend after the fanfare for the Nov. 1 debut.

According to sources close to Apple say the early numbers indicate that most viewers who watched one episode of the core four series went on to watch at least one more, if not two. Those metrics were well-received inside Apple as a sign that viewers were responding well to the shows. At launch, the core series each had three episodes available with the exception of "Dickinson," which served up all 10 segs of its first season.