We’re truly in a renaissance of modern television, and while the various streaming services vying for our subscriptions can take a toll on our bank balance, it would be hard to choose one to get the boot. Whether it’s stumping up to watch The Boys on Amazon, Squid Game on Netflix, Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+, or The White Lotus and The Last of Us on HBO, they all have some amazing shows that put the average blockbuster movie to shame.

Among the big hitters is Apple TV+, and while some of you might sleep on it as just that service that comes with a free trial when you buy a new iPhone, it has some stellar shows on there. From the comedy of Mythic Quest to the apocalyptic dread of Silo, there’s also the tense thriller of Slow Horses and whatever the hell is going on in Severance with goats and eggs.

Still, it’s the Jason Sudeikis-led Ted Lasso that has a special place in many people’s hearts. Created by Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly, Ted Lasso is based on a character that the Horrible Bosses actor portrayed for a series of commercials for NBC Sports to promote its coverage of the Premier League.

The show follows the titular American college football coach when he’s hired to coach an English soccer team.

Nearly two years later, Ted Lasso season 4 has been confirmed (Apple TV+)

Also starring Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, and Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso became an overnight sensation that even saw the cast invited to the White House to present Joe Biden with his own AFC Richmond jersey.

While Ted Lasso season 3 seemed like a suitable way to round off the story, there’s been much chatter about season 4 since the credits rolled back in May 2023. Nearly two years later, Sudeikis has finally confirmed that Ted Lasso season 4 is on the way.

In the official announcement statement, Sudeikis gushed: “As we all continue to live in a world where so many factors have conditioned us to ‘look before we leap’, in season 4, the folks at AFC Richmond learn to LEAP BEFORE THEY LOOK, discovering that wherever they land, it’s exactly where they’re meant to be.”

As well as Sudeikis returning in front of and behind the camera, Modern Family‘s Jack Burditt will also serve as an executive producer as part of an overall deal with Apple TV+.

Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV+, was similarly full of praise and added: “Ted Lasso has been nothing short of a juggernaut, inspiring a passionate fan base all over the world, and delivering endless joy and laughter, all while spreading kindness, compassion and unwavering belief.

“Everyone at Apple is thrilled to be continuing our collaboration with Jason and the brilliant creative minds behind this show.”

With Season 3 sending Ted back to Kansas to coach his son’s junior football team, we’re guessing something lures him back. Either that or the entire AFC Richmond team is relocating to the USA.

Sudeikis has also confirmed we’ll get payoff on the dangling plot thread of Keeley (Temple) wanting to start the AFC Richmond Women’s team. Teasing a different direction for Ted Lasso, Sudeikis told the New Heights podcast: “Ted’s coaching a women’s team, so there, that’s it.”

Refusing to answer whether he’ll be going back to the USA, the lead concluded: “That’s too many questions.”

Considering the whole show has an impressive 90% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and an equally impressive 86% from fans, let’s hope season 4 can return to the highs of season 2’s jaw-dropping 98% rating.

There’s no word on when Ted Lasso season 4 will air, but with the old gang surely getting back together, we hopefully won’t be waiting for too long.

It’s been nearly three years since we first entered the elevator and headed down to the Severed Floor of Lumon Industries – stepping inside the retrofuturistic office of the Macrodata Refinement Division.

Giving us on a cliffhanger worthy of Game of Thrones, fans were on tenterhooks to see what happened to Mark S. (Adam Scott) and the rest of his team next.

A lot has changed in the world since Severance first aired, but even back when season 1 debuted, the hit Apple series found itself embroiled in an artificial intelligence argument where artist Oliver Latta had to confirm that no generative AI was used in creating its titles.

Companion podcasts have become the norm for TV shows old and new, with the likes of Talking Sopranos, The Always Sunny Podcast, and Office Ladies proving popular among the fans.

The much-anticipated return of Severance has also birthed The Severance Podcast, where Scott and executive producer Ben Stiller discuss all things Lumon during a watchalong.

The Severance Podcast serves as the perfect companion to season 2 (Apple TV+)

Having binged through the nine episodes of season 1 at the start of January, the pair are now dissecting season 2’s new episodes on a weekly basis.

There’s a bit of controversy surrounding The Severance Podcast, with a growing number of listeners honing in on an invasive ad for workplace productivity software from the Australia-based Atlassian. Scott promotes Confluence, saying: “A space where AI streamlines the things that normally eat up their time, letting teams generate, organize and deliver work faster.

“In fact, with Confluence, teams can see a 5.2 percent average boost in productivity in one year.”

Others on Reddit and X have spotted that Confluence is a sponsor, and it seems it’s all gone a bit meta. The basic premise of Severance is that people can ‘sever’ their work selves from their ‘Outie’ selves, meaning a whole version of your physical form exists solely to work without you having any conscious of it. Severance deals with the contentious issues of severance, and at a time when AI is threatening to take our jobs, it all feels very real.

Discussing the Confluence ad, one critic complained: “I am listening to the Severance podcast and it has a bunch of really annoying ads for Confluence and it’s a bit weird to me that Confluence wants to sell itself as being a real world equivalent to the technological slavery depicted in the show.”

Someone else chuckled: “I’m now at the point where I think the show creators are just constantly taking the p*ss at these kind of companies.”

Others thought it was all part of the podcast, with another saying: “When this ad popped today it took me nearly until the end of the ad to realize it was not part of the podcast and not another company in the show. Incredible ad and name.”

A fourth concluded: “The Severance podcast getting (Atlassian) confluence as a sponsor is actually the funniest option possible because it also gives me the existential dread I feel from watching the show.”

With many pointing out Severance is one of the most popular shows around (Jeff Bezos is also a big fan), they question why the podcast would ever need a sponsor. Whether Scott and Stiller are in on the joke or they’re genuinely promoting Confluence with all seriousness, we can’t help but enjoy the irony.

Still, with Severance season 2 boasting an impressive 98% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, we don’t think Tim Cook will be losing any sleep over this one.

The cancellation of TV series can stem from many things, from decreasing viewership to poor critical reception to its latest plot developments, but some can simply be axed due to reasons outside of a production’s control.

Unfortunately, for fans of Apple TV+’s The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, season 2 has been the latest in such entertainment casualties.

Although the comedic retelling of the adventures of 18th-century highwayman Dick Turpin was a quiet hit with its first season, the whole show has been scrapped during the filming of its second due to absence of its key star.

Noel Fielding as Dick Turpin (Apple TV+ Press)

Noel Fielding — playing the role of the titular Turpin along with being known for his time in The Mighty Boosh, co-hosting The Great British Bake Off, and roles like Richmond in the IT Crowd — is said to have suffered from an illness. As a result, the 51-year-old actor “failed to come to work”, as first reported by The Sun.

Although filming of The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin had already been underway from the autumn, Fielding was unable to return to production as it resumed after the Christmas holidays.

When talking to The Independent, Apple confirmed that rather than merely pause production until the lead actor was able to come back, the whole show has been scrapped completely.

Even though season 2’s production was already three-quarters of the way completed, this means that all of the episodes that have already been shot will never be released on the Apple streaming service.

In terms of specifics, all of the fellow cast, creatives, and crew members weren’t told anything else along with the unfortunate news except that it was due to “the illness of a key cast member”.

Noel Fielding, Tamsin Greig, and Ellie White in Dick Turpin (Apple TV+ Press)

When speaking to The Sun, a TV insider revealed more on the frustrations that everyone on the production is feeling.

They said: “They were understandably bewildered and infuriated by the bombshell because the shoe show required millions of pounds, months of planning and hours of work”.

“It now effectively means that they are all out of work and looking for new jobs, but they still haven’t had a full explanation”, they further stated.

“Naturally, the rumour mill is in overtime as to what has happened with Noel, but it must have been very serious to axe the whole show”.

However, when a source spoke to The Times, they effectively explained that all other options had been explored. They said: “It’s not a decision that was taken lightly and they wouldn’t have got to this extreme result if every possible solution hadn’t been exhausted.”

The specifics of Noel Fielding’s illness that upended the continuation of Dick Turpin are still yet to be revealed. All that was known about the actor’s status at The Sun’s time of writing on 15 January, was that he had left the country and was somewhere in France.

However, the now-former star of Dick Turpin is still due to return to co-hosting The Great British Bake Off in the spring with Alison Hammond for its 16th season. If any more detail around Fielding’s extenuating circumstances is to be revealed, it will hopefully be then.

Apple TV+ users are unhappy after they blasted the platform as being the ‘absolute worst app ever made’.

The angry viewers went on to complain that they’d suffered recurring issues that had ‘ruined’ episodes that they were watching.

Apple TV+ has been under the spotlight recently after one of its shows received high praise from viewers.

Severance has received high praise from viewers (Apple TV+)

Severance is a dystopian thriller directed by Ben Stiller and stars Adam Scott, who is best known for being in Parks and Recreation, Step Brothers and Big Little Lies.

It follows the story of a workforce where employees have their consciousness separated – or severed – using an implanted chip.

When they’re at work, they have no personal memories and at home, they have no memory of their time at work to ensure that highly classified information doesn’t get leaked.

The show follows a character named Mark (played by Adam Scott) who has been chosen to be severed, splitting his personality into an ‘Innie’ and an ‘Outie’.

Innies never experience going home, so they feel like they’re eternally at work, while Outies have no memory of going to work.

Within the world, the concept of being severed is controversial and there is a strict separation of Innies and Outies.

The show’s first season received critical acclaim, earning it 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.

However, many viewers have expressed their disappointment over the performance of the streaming service, which they say interrupted their viewing.

Severance has received critical acclaim (Apple TV+)

Taking to social media to share their thoughts, one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Severance may be an amazing show, but holy s*** is Apple TV+ the absolutely worst app ever made. Unskippable ads, unskippable promos, a ‘skip intro’ feature that doesn’t work because it’s bound to the same button that pauses the stream – just a complete clown show of an app.”

Another person said: “Tim you have got to improve the Apple TV experience!! The app will stop tracking episodes if I mark them as seen, it will skip ahead in the middle of the episode, ruining that entire show, it doesn’t play the correct episodes when selected.

“By far, Apple TV is the worst experience.”

And a third unhappy viewer added: “That’s just part of my frustration. The main issue being glitches with the app (such as stream quality switching back and forth and audio randomly decreasing) on Apple TV and raising rates unexpectedly by $10/mo. Now the price is no better than any other provider.”