OPINION: Apple TV+ is sorely underrated in my opinion. Unlike other streamers which rely on a library of titles, or license content from other studios. It’s a bastion of original content, and long may that continue.
It doesn’t get everything right. There are plenty of misfires to go with the successes. One of its biggest successes was Ted Lasso, not a show that everyone liked or fully understood its sense of humour, but a series that put Apple TV+ on the streaming landscape.
Regardless of how you felt about how the third season ended, it did end with a sense of finality, and it drew things to a close; which makes me trepidatious about the announcement of a four season. Just like in football, there are times when you shouldn’t go back to your former club. It doesn’t often end well as Romelu Lukaku might tell you.
The announcement of a fourth season is disappointing because it shows that Apple is a) not only not ready to move forward but b) doesn’t look too confident about what it has to offer in the here and now. A streamer that’s confident about its upcoming slate would be looking forward, but clearly Apple needs a statement to show it has big hitters along with every other streamer.
Apple TV+ has been in existence for five years now, the same amount of time as Disney+ has existed, and how their fortunes have turned out couldn’t be more different. Disney+ reportedly has a userbase of 153 million subscribers; while Apple TV+ is hovering around the 44 million mark.
Obviously Disney has a bigger pull in terms of cultural impact than Apple, but Apple is one of – if not the – biggest tech companies this planet has ever seen, and yet it seems to have struggled turning its very loyal customer base into paying Apple TV+ subscribers. That can’t just be down to Apple not having its own version of Lord of the Rings, right?
Because if that were true, that would reflect in a disappointing manner on the tastes of customers, and while not (actively) trying to throw shade on people, we’re always complaining of the same old franchises but only turn up for things that we recognise. It’s frustrating that all the top ten of 2024’s highest grossing movies are sequels to something that already exists, but how did get to the point of having those sequels? Because someone, at some point, dared to create something new and different from what came before.
I think it’d be wise for Apple to keep that in mind as it prepares it trip back to the Nelson Road Stadium, rather than shovelling something we’ve already seen. Sometimes homecomings work out, other times they’re a crushing disappointment.
