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When Will iPhone Appear on a TV Series?

Posted August 22, 2007 3:00 AM by Paul Levinson
Categories: Concept 

There’s was a great scene in last night’s episode of Californication - the new, hilarious Showtime series - which really struck me as apt.  Hank is trying to write a blog post, and his computer freezes.  So he goes out to a local Apple store, and writes and sends in the post from there.

This got me thinking: when will iPhone make its first appearance on a television show - in which series?

Well, you know it won’t be Battlestar Galactica, where digital media are banned, lest they be compromised by Cylons.  It won’t Lost, either, which is not quite yet in the present (though you never really know).

Otherwise ... certainly any of the Law and Orders, “ripped from the headlines,” could sport an iPhone, and probably will, sooner or later.  When that happens, I predict it will be in the hands, or at least the view, of John Munch (Richard Belzer’s digitally savvy character).

But, ok, I’ll stop making conditional predictions.  I have no inside information, but I predict the first iPhone we’ll see will be in .... Heroes ... on NBC ... on a late-November episode.

What do you think?

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Comments

  1. Actually, my wife was watching “Big Medicine” on TLC earlier this week.  The younger doctor on the show was making a house call on one of his patients and wanted to take some photos to document problems he was having with excess skin.  If you were watching closely you could see that he snapped the pictures using an iPhone.

    Posted by Chris Wolf on August 22, 2007 9:16 AM

  2. Excellent! We’ll have to change the question, then, to first appearance on a major network or cable series.  But “Big Medicine” will make a good footnote!

    Posted by Paul Levinson on August 22, 2007 9:39 AM

  3. Actually Paul, the iPhone has been on Lost before, or at least a mutant Newton.

    http://www.tuaw.com/2007/04/19/iphone-on-lost/

    Posted by Tanner Godarzi on August 22, 2007 10:16 AM

  4. I’d say the question is more appropriate for scripted television.  When is it used by a character - not a real person.

    I’m not sure when they finished shooting their season and it seems unlikely to show up in the final 2 episodes, but it’s just screaming for a shot on “Entourage.”

    Ari Gold’s office is all Mac and there is no show on television more into early adopter spending on gadgets and style.

    Posted by Aaron H. on August 22, 2007 10:21 AM

  5. I’d like to see an iPhone being used by Jack Bauer on 24.

    Posted by Tenacious MC on August 22, 2007 10:38 AM

  6. Tanner: mutant Newtons don’t count. smile

    Aaron: right: scripted television is what I was getting at.

    Tenacious: 24’s a good choice, but a January start, it’s less likely to be first.

    Posted by Paul Levinson on August 22, 2007 11:33 AM

  7. I just wrote a longer piece about this, with more analysis, over on InfiniteRegress.tv - When Will iPhone Make Its TV Debut ... has a link back to here, which should draw some readers ... and, I mentioned most of your comments with your screen names ... doing my best to make you famous…

    Posted by Paul Levinson on August 22, 2007 12:43 PM

  8. Pretty sure I saw Ari using one on HBO’s Entourage.

    Posted by Migs on August 22, 2007 1:22 PM

  9. Saw one on—can’t believe I’m admitting to this in public—Anchorwoman. It’s hard to see, but the black+chrome bottom is pretty visible. Obviously, this barely counts because it’s only semi-scripted and, aside for the relatively small number of people like me, no one would be able to tell. Here’s another vote for Entourage—there may only be two episodes left in the season, but Apple’s *got to* share some love with that show and would help to get it on, even if it is true that, as The Steve says, that TV producers approach Apple vs. the reverse. Aside from one quickly canceled show on Fox, whose name I can’t remember but had like 25 Cinema Displays in the main office room, Entourage *has* to be the best (current—much love to 24 in the past, especially the first season) display of Apple products and in the best environment—very clean and clearly visible in almost all angles. Sorry for the length, and mention of Anchorwoman. (Oops, there I go again.)

    Posted by Too Embarrassed on August 24, 2007 5:58 AM

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