Story perspectives

Ben Stiller Leads Apple TV’s ‘Protective Custody’ Comedy

5/23/2026

43 10

Summary

Ben Stiller Stars

Ben Stiller will star in and executive-produce the Apple TV comedy series Protective Custody.
The series will be Stiller’s first leading comedy role.
Protective Custody follows a disgraced financier in protective custody who must navigate prison politics while awaiting trial.
Mike Judge, Steve Hely, and Dave King will co-write and executive-produce Protective Custody.
John Lesher, Ben Silverman, Howard Owens, and Nanette Burstein are executive producers.

Summary

Apple Elevates Series

Apple elevated the series to a priority development title after reviewing early scripts, signaling a strategic push into original comedy.
The series originated as a Ben Silverman-Propagate Content pitch described as “Hogan’s Heroes meets The Office.”
Mike Judge had been developing a jail-set comedy concept before joining Steve Hely and Dave King.
Red Hour, Propagate Content, and 3 Arts Entertainment are jointly producing the show.

Summary

Apple Streams

Apple TV will stream “Protective Custody” in over 100 countries and on more than 1 billion screens.
The subscription costs $12.99 per month with a seven-day free trial before charges begin.
Viewers can watch the series on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, major smart-TV brands and platforms such as Google TV, PlayStation, Xbox, Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
Ben Stiller previously released the Apple-produced documentary “Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost.”

History

Historical Context

Apple introduced its Apple TV+ streaming service on November 1 2019, launching flagship dramas such as The Morning Show. After appointing Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg in 2017, Apple had already spent over $6 billion on original programming by August 2019, leveraging its worldwide device base—including the Apple TV app and later Vision Pro—to challenge Netflix and reached over 100 countries at launch.

1 of 4

Ben Stiller Stars

Ben Stiller will star in and executive-produce the Apple TV comedy series Protective Custody.
The series will be Stiller’s first leading comedy role.
Protective Custody follows a disgraced financier in protective custody who must navigate prison politics while awaiting trial.
Mike Judge, Steve Hely, and Dave King will co-write and executive-produce Protective Custody.
John Lesher, Ben Silverman, Howard Owens, and Nanette Burstein are executive producers.

1 / 4