‘Severance’ Is Fantastic, but Apple TV+ Still Has One Big Problem

The introduction of Apple TV+ into the great streaming war could have sent our endless desire for content — good content, that is — into hyperspeed. But instead, it’s kind of left us floating in orbit. Despite Netflix never really having sacrificed its quantity over quality approach to its service, Apple TV+ still hasn’t been able to distinguish itself as the streamer with the best shows in the eyes of the people. Or, to reframe this as one of the most annoying consequences of a content-driven system, Apple TV+ hasn’t been able to convince viewers that their great shows are worth watching over Netflix’s OK shows. It’s become a deeply frustrating thing to see as countless excellent shows on Apple TV+ fail to get the attention they deserve.

Now, Severance Season 2 is set to release on January 17. Unfortunately, it would seem that we have lost the opportunity for a great TV dialogue to happen alongside it, at least at the level it used to happen. Severance should be treated like Lost for a new generation of sleuths, only this time it’s the present, and we don’t have to sit through something old people used to know as ‘commercials’. This isn’t Apple TV+’s fault; it’s just the direction we’ve been heading for years. Only the more shows like Severance slip through the cracks, the more we remember the so-called golden age of TV as more of a distant memory than a continuing renaissance.

It speaks to a larger problem in streaming that viewers are starting to take notice of. It’s more than filling the attention economy; it’s about how prestige TV is viewed in a system that assumes you won’t even watch it properly because you’ll be distracted by your phone. How can Apple TV+ set itself apart from this? Is Severance the show to do it? Why has Apple TV+ failed to match its rivals? Here’s what you need to know.

Apple TV+ Isn’t Properly Platforming Its Content

When Apple TV+ first hit the scene, it was already playing a massive game of subscriber catch-up. Not only that, they had to fit into a game that Netflix and Prime Video were dictating the flow of. The content stream was being released at their will, more or less, so Apple TV+ made the wise decision to focus on the quality over quantity route, something that wasn’t being done. The problem was that they weren’t just creating prestige shows with great casts; they were doing it as the brand Apple. It was painfully obvious they were jumping in because there was money to be made, but on the surface, this doesn’t have to be a problem if the shows are good.

Apple TV+ fundamentally doesn’t fit into the market because its shows aren’t accessible enough for what streaming has become. This isn’t to say that every streaming show is bad or lacks depth, but Apple treats its service like Netflix did a decade ago. Now, Netflix has made a name for itself with its originals, even if they’re not good.

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Shows that take longer to make are being criticized by viewers who have been conditioned to quick, accessible content that they can switch their brains off to watch. Stranger Things has been mocked for its slow release schedule, whilst shows like The Bear get even more praise for coming out quickly and maintaining quality. Apple TV+ showed up late to the party, and now it’s kind of in a corner regarding the content its base expects.

How Can Apple TV+ Increase Its Brand Visibility?

There’s no fix to this, and streaming services need to find a USP for themselves quickly. Apple TV+ shouldn’t start churning out content to gain success, but as a service, it lacks an identity outside the tech brand it’s mainly known as. When Disney+ came along, it didn’t feel like a stretch because we all know Disney for movies. We know Apple for phones, meaning it didn’t have a creative identity to bring over to the streaming landscape. It wasn’t making shows for us; it was making shows for the market.

By the time it joined, streaming had already gone through several iterations, and Apple TV+ didn’t have a style to fall back on like Disney+ did to make their job easier. To increase visibility separately from the tech conglomerate it’s better known as, Apple TV+ might have to lower its expectations and, frustratingly, copy its competitors a bit more. Their service should be respected for pushing out original, quality content. But the truth is, we don’t always want just prestige TV. Sometimes, we want to guess which celebrity is singing in a funny costume. To cater for one style of streaming is to cater to nobody, especially on the scale Apple TV+ is aiming for.

Is ‘Severance’ the Show to Give Apple TV+ More Attention?

Severance is one of the few shows to break into the mainstream, along with Ted Lasso. But shows like Presumed Innocent, Black Bird, Lessons in Chemistry, or Sugar have been buried. Severance is a perfect show to bring a collective online conversation with its puzzles and mysteries, but not enough general audiences are watching it. Severance is a great show but is stuck on a service without the brand identity to support its big vision.

via Digital Trends

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Say what you will about the damage Netflix has done, and it has done plenty, but the few great shows gain more cultural traction because they stand out among the trash. It’s always a bigger story when Netflix finds a hit compared to when Apple TV+ has another great show, which ironically belongs to an old era of TV streaming when services were treated how they should be and not content farms. Sadly, that’s how it works, but Apple TV+ brought themselves into this fight, and somehow, from a subscriber standpoint, they’re losing with a gun while everyone else is using sticks.

For the sake of the sparse original content we have left, Apple TV+ should be applauded for its work. But if Netflix is winning more people over without even needing them to look at the screen the whole time, who knows if Apple TV+ should even try to take the phone away completely? Maybe they need to embrace the bad to make their good seem better and stand out in the content pile. Severance Season 2 is streaming on Apple TV+ on January 17.