As much as Apple TV+ is now considered the prime streaming location for prestige TV, you can’t beat a must-see, cultural phenomenon, mainstream hit to boost subscription numbers.
And, arguably, Apple TV+ hasn’t had one of those before or since Ted Lasso Season 3 ended in May 2023.
With the loose football boot laces tied-up into a nice neat bow at the end of the season, and the star Jason Sudekis repeatedly downplaying talk of the gaffer returning for a fourth season, it doesn’t seem like Richmond reunion is on the cards.
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Indeed, in new comments from Ted Lasso’s co-creator Bill Lawrence, the buck completely stops with Sudekis on whether there will be more Ted Lasso series or spin-offs.
In an interview with Collider, Lawrence said: “Whatever Jason feels like doing and whatever his decision is, we’re all down with it… Not only is he the star, he’s the head writer, and he’s also the dude whose life just has to be completely overhauled and moved to a foreign country with young children. It’s a big deal. So, as a fan, if someone’s like, ‘Oh, it’s gonna happen again,’ I’ll go nuts. As a partner, I’m down for whatever he wants to do.”
That seems to suggest everyone else is up for getting the squad back together, if Sudekis decides he wants to do it. And, as we mentioned above, Apple TV+ could sure use the return of the folksie footy boss.
Recent reports have suggested that, despite critically acclaimed hits regularly landing on Apple TV+, the subscription and viewing figures aren’t reflecting the investment in quality.
A Bloomberg report pointed out that “for all the star power and emphasis on quality, few Apple shows have broken through to the wider public. Over the last five years, the company has only had four series make Nielsen’s weekly list of the 10 most-popular original streaming shows. Apple TV+ released the most-watched streaming show of 2023 — Ted Lasso – but accounts for a smaller share of top 10 hits than any streaming service save for Paramount+”
The new series of Severance for instance, reportedly cost $20 million an episode with Apple now looking to rein in the content budgets for its hit shows, and also looking to supplement the library with cheaper licensing of existing Hollywood movies.
Whichever way you slice it, the one guaranteed way to bring people back to Apple TV+ is another round of biscuits with the boss.
Apple charges $9.99 a month for Apple TV+ now, double its launch price. It’s not an afterthought to carry any streaming subscription anymore, because the price hikes are so regular and across the board. T
he free trials Apple hands out from time-to-time – seemingly whenever you buy anything from them or a product that can host the app – aren’t making the company any money.
Here’s the bottom line: In the era of streaming it is absolutely essential for services to have at least one cultural touchstone or sporting juggernaut airing at any given time to earn that subscription dollar. Or at least something that demands constant repeat viewings (I’ll get to that).
Netflix manages to do it most of the time with its constant meme-worthy shows that exist to trend on social for a week and then disappear into the ether.
Max (formerly HBO Max) might struggle a bit now House of the Dragon is over for a year or two, but has The Last of Us season 2 on deck and an absolutely unmatched archive of shows.
Peacock has the Premier League and WWE, Paramount+ has the Champions League, Amazon Prime Video has The Boys and Fallout and, for better or worse, that terrible Lord of the Rings show. Disney+ is always going to keep people coming back with the keys to the Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar universes.
Apple TV has some really great shows, documentaries and movies, but nothing that’s capturing the imagination of the mainstream. It makes me concerned for the sustainability of the streaming service. The return of Ted Lasso might be just the hot ticket.
