Hailing from the U.K., David Oyelowo wasn’t familiar with the term “government cheese,” the processed cheese given to welfare recipients and to U.S. schools and food banks since the 1940s. But his new Apple Original series, “Government Cheese,” gives the term new meaning anyway.

“It’s a very intriguing title,” Oyelowo tells Variety, previewing the series. “A good title is a very hard thing to find — especially a title that has layered meanings and is analogous to what the show is about.”

Oyelowo stars as Hampton Chambers, the patriarch of a family living in southern California’s San Fernando Valley in 1969. The Chambers – wife Astoria (Simone Missick) and sons Einstein (Evan Ellison) and Harrison (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) — are a quirky bunch pursuing lofty and seemingly impossible dreams.

The plot kicks off when Hampton is released from prison, and, as the series synopsis explains, his long-awaited family reunion...