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Apple’s first original TV show will be about app developers

Apple is making its biggest push yet into original programming, teaming with producer Ben Silverman to create a new TV show based on the world of app developers.

While the tech giant has flirted with original content, this is first time Apple has backed a full-blown series. The Cupertino, Calif.-based has been making the Hollywood rounds in recent months, sparking speculation that it was plotting such a move.

The show with Silverman is designed to boost interest in Apple’s own App Store, while also making Hollywood inroads with producers and studios.

“We’ve been focused on a lot of content around Apple Music, video is a big part of it and we’ll do more of those [shows]. This was another opportunity right up our alley with apps,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, told The Post.

Apple will distribute the series across its devices, he said. Investing in original programming is one way to get consumers to use its iTunes service and could also form the basis for Apple’s long-rumored bid to offer a cable-like TV bundle.

Apple’s move into entertainment also sets it up for a potential showdown with other streaming juggernauts such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.

When asked if Cue was taking on Tinseltown as well, he quipped: “Yes, we’re going after Disney. Just kidding.”

Although Cue declined to comment on whether the company is financially backing the series, which is currently in pre-production, he hinted there was more than just a handshake.

“This is not us lending our name, it’s more than that,” Cue said.

Silverman just exited Barry Diller’s IAC and is busy lining up financing for his latest venture.

Meanwhile, Apple has been taking baby steps into streaming video. The company invested in a new scripted series from Apple employee and former NWA member Dr. Dre. The autobiographical show about the rapper is called “Vital Signs.”

Earlier this week, Apple said it also making a six-part music series called, “The Score,” in partnership with Vice Media.

Apple which has been trying for years to figure out a way to package TV channels and deliver them to customers. So far, that effort has largely been a failure despite enthusiasm from programmers.

The company now seems to be taking a different tack, getting behind individual shows. A source told The Post that Apple has been having discussions all over Hollywood to figure out what it can do in the space.

Cue said he first worked with Silverman to help promote “The Office,” in the Apple iTunes store more than 10 years ago.

“All these great developers haven’t yet had their stories told,” Silverman said. “It was dependent on having a partner in Apple which created this eco-system.”