Watch Issa Rae In Sneak Peek Clips From Apple TV+ Anthology Series, ‘Roar’
Apple TV+ is excited to share three sneak peek clips from “Roar” premiering globally on Friday, April 15 with all eight episodes. An anthology series of darkly comic feminist fables, “Roar” spans genres from magical realism to psychological horror, these eight stand-alone stories feature ordinary women in some pretty extraordinary circumstances. In “Roar,” women eat photographs, date ducks, live on shelves like trophies. And yet, their struggles are universal.
From creators and co-showrunners Carly Mensch and Liz Flahive (“GLOW”), “Roar” features an all-star cast including Academy, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”), who also executive produces; Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”); six-time Emmy Award-nominee Issa Rae (“Insecure”); Emmy Award winner Merritt Wever (“Unbelievable”); SAG Award nominee Alison Brie (“GLOW”); three-time Emmy Award-nominee Betty Gilpin (“GLOW”); and Meera Syal (“Yesterday”), Fivel Stewart (“Atypical”) and Kara Hayward (“Us”).
Based on a book of short stories by Cecelia Ahern, “Roar” offers an insightful, poignant, and sometimes hilarious portrait of what it means to be a woman today. Featuring a unique blend of magical realism, familiar domestic and professional scenarios, and futuristic worlds, these eight stories mirror the dilemmas of ordinary women in accessible yet surprising ways. How they emerge from their respective journeys speaks to the resiliency that exists within themselves, and with all women.
Notable guest-stars including Nick Kroll (“Big Mouth”), Judy Davis (“Nitram”), Alfred Molina (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”), Daniel Dae Kim (“Lost”), Jake Johnson (“New Girl”), Jason Mantzoukas (“Big Mouth”), Chris Lowell (“GLOW”), Ego Nwodim (“Saturday Night Live”), Peter Facinelli (“Twilight”), Simon Baker (“The Mentalist”), Hugh Dancy (“Law & Order”), Jillian Bell (“Brittany Runs a Marathon”), Bernard White (“Evil Eye”), the voice of Justin Kirk (“Weeds”), and more.
EPISODE DETAILS
“The Woman Who Disappeared”
Starring: Issa Rae, Griffin Matthews and Nick Kroll
Written By: Janine Nabers
Directed By: Channing Godfrey Peoples
A young black author with a hit book on the best-sellers list is about to have her big break in Hollywood. But when she comes out for her big Hollywood meeting, she discovers their adaptation isn’t exactly what she had in mind. A timely cautionary tale about the commodification of black art in the wake of BLM
The Woman Who Ate Photographs
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Simon Baker, and Judy Davis
Written By: Liz Flahive
Directed By: Kim Gehrig
With a son about to leave for college and a declining mother who has been diagnosed with dementia, one woman begins to obsessively eat her family photographs to preserve the past.
The Woman Who Was Kept On A Shelf
Starring: Betty Gilpin and Daniel Dae Kim
Written By: Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch
Directed By: So Yong Kim
The wife of a famous business mogul is so strikingly beautiful, her husband literally keeps her on a shelf for the world to admire. But when he begins to ignore the wife he once worshiped, she decides to step down from her trophy case. What will she discover of the world, and of herself, in this new freedom?
The Woman Who Found Bite Marks on Her Skin
Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Jake Johnson, PJ Byrne and Eric Lange
Written By: Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch
Directed By: Rashida Jones
A successful venture capitalist goes back to work after the birth of her second kid and soon after discovers strange bite marks on her body. As the bite marks worsen, she is forced to grapple with her own feelings of maternal guilt.
The Woman Who Was Fed By A Duck
Starring: Merritt Wever, Justin Kirk (voice), Riki Lindhome, Jason Mantzoukas
Written By: Halley Feiffer
Directed By: Liz Flahive
A single woman enters into a relationship with ... a duck. When the duck turns out to be an emotionally abusive partner, our protagonist is forced to reevaluate her sense of self-worth and identity.
The Woman Who Solved Her Own Murder
Starring: Alison Brie, Hugh Dancy, Chris Lowell, Jillian Bell and Ego Nwogim
Written By: Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch
Directed By: Anya Adams
A comic feminist twist on the male detective genre as told through the POV of the murder victim.
The Woman Who Returned Her Husband
Starring: Meera Syal, Julie White, Peter Facinelli, and Bernard White
Written By: Vera Santamaria
Directed By: Quyen Tran
An older Indian immigrant feels stuck in her lackluster marriage. Her solution: To simply return her husband to the store from which she bought him. But will her decision bring her closer or farther from discovering her true self?
The Girl Who Loved Horses
Starring: Fivel Stewart, Kara Hayward, and Alfred Molina
Written By: Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch
Directed By: So Yong Kim
A feminist twist on the Western revenge tale told through the lens of two teenage girls. One, avenging her father’s death, the other, an old friend intent on stopping her. The two forge an unlikely bond as they take on this picaresque adventure and decide for themselves what justice should look like.
ABOUT “ROAR”
Based on a book of short stories by Cecelia Ahern, the series is the first to be released under “Roar” creators and co-showrunners Carly Mensch and Liz Flahive’s (“GLOW”) overall deal with Apple TV+, and features an all-star cast including Academy, Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”), who also executive produces; Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”); six-time Emmy Award-nominee Issa Rae (“Insecure”); Emmy Award winner Merritt Wever (“Unbelievable”); SAG Award nominee Alison Brie (“GLOW”); three-time Emmy Award-nominee Betty Gilpin (“GLOW”); and Meera Syal (“Yesterday”), Fivel Stewart (“Atypical”) and Kara Hayward (“Us”).
In addition to starring, Kidman executive produces alongside Per Saari and their Emmy Award-winning Blossom Films. Emmy Award-winning producer Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Allie Goss executive produce on behalf of Made Up Stories. Creators Flahive and Mensch serve as executive producers and co-showrunners. Author Cecelia Ahern executive produces through Greenlight Go. and Theresa Park executive produces for her Per Capita Productions. “Roar” is produced for Apple by Endeavor Content.