Apple TV adds sign language interpretation to its original films

Apple TV now lets you watch some films with a sign language interpreter on screen. The option is called Sign Language, and it sits in the app's settings.

It launches with the global streaming premiere of Being Heumann, a new Apple Original film. It also covers F1, Apple's racing movie.

Both films offer American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL). These are two different languages, not two versions of one.

What's next: Greyhound and Way of the Warrior Kid get the option later this year. Apple says more Apple Original titles will follow, but it did not name them.

You need a recent version of the Apple TV app. On iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro, that means the 27.2 software update. Apple says supported third-party devices need the latest app software.

Here are the steps:

• Step 1: open the Apple TV app settings and turn on Sign Language.
• Step 2: start a supported film. A Sign Language button now appears above the progress bar.
• Step 3: press it and pick ASL or BSL. You can switch it off or change language from the same place.

The setting is hidden by default, so nobody sees an extra button unless they want it.

In real life Think of it like closed captions. You switch it on once, and from then on it is there on every supported film.

A signing interpreter appears in the bottom right corner of the picture. The interpreter is layered on top of the film, and it stays in step with the playback.

Titles that support it get a small hand icon on their page. It sits next to the other accessibility icons, such as the one for captions and the one for audio description (a narrator who describes what is happening on screen).

The language list on a title page also shows which sign languages are available, right beside the usual subtitle and audio options.

Apple says the experience was designed and tested by Deaf and native signers. A native signer is someone who grew up using sign language as a first language.

Each performance is shaped to fit its film. Apple says it worked with a group of directors of artistic sign language, people who guide the interpreter so the signing matches the mood and rhythm of the story.

Daniel Durant, an actor who appears in Being Heumann, directed the sign language interpretation for that film.

"It's incredibly meaningful to see our beautiful language authentically represented onscreen," Durant said in Apple's announcement.

No. Apple is not using AI-generated interpreters. The signing is done by real people.

Why it matters: Apple says that is not what the Deaf community has asked for. Interpreting is more than swapping words for signs. It carries tone, humor and emotion, and that takes a skilled human.

That choice is also a clue about speed. Human interpreters need time and money, so the list of supported titles will grow one film at a time.

The film tells the true story of Judy Heumann, a disability rights activist. It is set in San Francisco in 1977, when she and more than 100 disability rights protesters held a sit-in.

Siân Heder directed it, and Ruth Madeley plays Heumann. Heder also directed CODA, the Oscar-winning film about a hearing teenager in a Deaf family.

So the match is easy to explain. A film about people asking to be included launches a feature about being included.

Being Heumann is based on Judy Heumann's memoir. Heder wrote the script with Rebekah Taussig, and the cast also includes Mark Ruffalo, Dylan O'Brien, Rob Delaney and Ray Fisher.

Apple TV says the film has the largest group of disabled actors ever in one cast. Heumann died in 2023, and Heder had spent two years working with her before that.

The film also ran in select theaters on November 6. The streaming premiere on Apple TV is on November 13, and that is the day the sign language option begins.

The rollout is short and clear, so here it is in order:

• November 13, 2026: Sign Language launches with Being Heumann and F1.
• November 25, 2026: Way of the Warrior Kid debuts. Apple says its sign language option follows later this year.
• Later this year: Greyhound gets the option too.
• After that: Apple says more Apple Original titles will come, with no list yet.

Apple is not the first service to add sign language. HBO Max and Prime Video offer it on some titles. Netflix has interpretation on dozens of kids and family titles, built with a partner called SignUp Media.

That Netflix version works through a Chrome extension, a small add-on for your web browser, which overlays an interpreter. SignUp is also available on some Disney Plus and Peacock content.

Apple's version is different in one way. It is a setting inside the app, built into the title itself. It is not a separate version of the film, and you don't need a browser add-on.

The catch: for now only a few titles are covered. CODA, Apple's own Best Picture winner, is not on the list yet.

Closed captions help many people, but they are not the same as sign language. For many Deaf viewers, sign language is the first language, and reading fast on-screen text is a second choice.

Sign language can show feeling and nuance that captions flatten. A whisper, a joke or a sharp pause looks different in a signer's face and hands.

Sign language interpretation is still rare compared with captions, which are nearly everywhere now. Each big service that adds it makes it a little more normal to expect.

• If you are Deaf or hard of hearing: update your Apple TV app to 27.2 or later, then turn on Sign Language in settings and look for the hand icon.
• If you want to find titles: search "with ASL" or "with BSL", or open the new "Movies & Shows with American Sign Language" collection.
• If you watch with family or friends: the interpreter sits in one corner and can be switched off, so everyone can still share the screen.
• If you want more titles: expect a slow rollout. Apple named four films so far.