Apple’s morning show drama adds Steve Carell to the cast

Apple’s still-untitled morning show drama already has some serious star power, with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon as its leads. Now it’s adding Steve Carell to the cast.

This will be Carell’s first regular role on a TV show since his seven seasons starring in the U.S. version of “The Office.” He’ll be playing Mitch Kessler, a morning show anchor who’s struggling to stay relevant. And no, it’s not the first time he’s playing a news anchor.

The series will focus on the world of morning TV, drawing material from reporter Brian Stelter’s book “Top of the Morning.” (Stelter serves as a consultant.) It was one of the first shows that Apple announced as part of its push into original streaming content, with two seasons of 10 episodes each already ordered. The company plans to start production in Los Angeles next week.

Aniston and Witherspoon (who’s working on more than one show with Apple) are both serving as executive producers, as is director Mimi Leder (who directed many of the best episodes of “The Leftovers”) and showrunner Kerry Ehrin (who previously co-created “Bates Motel”).

In other Apple streaming news, regular TechCrunch readers may be aware that I am extremely excited about the upcoming adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” novels. Well, I’m even more excited with today’s announcement from comics writer and fantasy novelist Saladin Ahmed that he’s joining the show.

Still unclear: What Apple’s streaming service will be called, and what, if anything, it will cost viewers.