Apple TV+ Show 'Ted Lasso' With Jason Sudeikis Launching August 14

Actor and Saturday Night Live alumnus Jason Sudeikis's "Ted Lasso" series is set to launch on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 14.

The original Ted Lasso content

Sudeikis played Ted Lasso for the 2013 NBC Sports English Premier League coverage, and now he is reviving the character for his new television show.

Sudeikis plays Ted Lasso, a small-time college football coach from Kansas hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite having no experience coaching soccer.

In addition to starring in the series, Sudeikis is also an executive producer alongside Bill Lawrence, known for his work on "Scrubs."

Apple has been adding new television content to ‌Apple TV+‌ on a regular basis, yesterday premiering "Central Park," a new animated series from Loren Bouchard and earlier this week adding all of the old episodes of "Fraggle Rock."

Top Rated Comments

ipedro Avatar
39 months ago

I don't understand these types of thing. I can't imagine it will sell more hardware, but seems like it's something that helps retain who they have in their walled garden.
To understand the need for AppleTV+, you just have to understand how Apple has always functioned, controlling the entire experience: "We make the whole widget" said Steve Jobs famously. Back then, Apple made the hardware, the operating system and they made reference apps while allowing third parties to follow behind and offer their own apps on the platform.

Today, the time spent on Apple's devices, that used to be on apps, has been superseded by a different kind of content: video. And it's not even close. Video content is now by far the number one use for these devices. For Apple to continue to "make the whole widget", they have to move beyond just apps and also produce their own video content on par with the content giants. It doesn't mean restricting others, just offering that reference model that enables others to compete against.

With people spending more and more time inside of streaming services' own apps and user experiences, that UI begins to become what Apple users are exposed to the most. Had Apple not created AppleTV+, those giants would begin to increasingly influence how Apple devices are used and you'd have your Apple experience determined by outside third parties in the same way that Facebook had sought to create an internet within the internet, apps within their own apps, taking over the default experience. For an example of how that was already happening, look no further than the way Netflix had started pushing Apple around and dictating their own terms, preventing Apple from building the TV app the way they had liked to.

With AppleTV+, that upper hand has been levelled. Apple is now an emerging threat to Netflix' model, just enough that they'll have to play Apple's game if they want to continue to compete. I think that looking ahead, we'll have healthy competition with a set of services all offering content in Channels in the AppleTV app, AppleTV+ being just one of them.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
imnotthewalrus Avatar
39 months ago
Looking forward to this. Sudeikis is a talented actor, and was a favorite of mine in his SNL years.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Krokanrull Avatar
39 months ago
About Football:
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FightTheFuture Avatar
39 months ago

I don't understand these types of thing. I can't imagine it will sell more hardware, but seems like it's something that helps retain who they have in their walled garden.
Definitely a value add for Apple device owners. Similar strategy for Prime Video, helps reason with the $120/year cost of Amazon Prime.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngstyKylo Avatar
39 months ago

I don't understand these types of thing. I can't imagine it will sell more hardware, but seems like it's something that helps retain who they have in their walled garden.
I haven't heard anyone mention watching something on Apple TV here in the UK, having said that it was kind of the same with Netflix only 7 years ago, House of Cards and other supposed must watch content changed all that.

It won't be free with new devices if it takes off, otherwise they'll carry on stealth charging people for something they don't really need. Personally an option to take £60 off a new Apple iPad or iPhone if you have no desire for it would be good. I thought getting things for free was being the product...
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
39 months ago

oh god I can only imagine this...

I hope in the first 30 seconds of his character being in England somebody informs him that NOBODY refers to football as Soccer...
Which is weird since the word “soccer” is a British invention.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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