'Ted Lasso' stars thought no one would watch Apple TV+

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in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited August 2022
Brett Goldstein and Hannah Waddingham have revealed the concerns they had over whether audiences would find "Ted Lasso" on the then-new Apple TV+ service.




Cast and crew have been marking the end of hit comedy "Ted Lasso." As part of that, Goldstein and Waddingham told Entertainment Weekly that they had talked before its launch about whether it would even be seen.

"No one will watch it, it's on Apple TV," co-star and co-writer Goldstein reports thinking. "I thought no one would watch it."

"You and I were like, 'it's been so nice [making it], we've all got to know each other," adds co-star Waddingham, "but no one's gonna watch it."

Goldstein, who writes the show as well as playing Roy Kent, explains that at the time, "people didn't know how to get Apple TV."

"My parents didn't know, I didn't know," he says. "So I was like, even if it was amazing, no one's going to watch it."

But then Waddingham, who plays Rebecca Welton, says watching the finished first episodes was amazing. "Once you see it all beautifully spliced together," she said, "you're like 'Oh my God, I'm in something that's really going to change things.' And especially when it kind of accidentally came out during the worst time in modern history."

"I remember watching it, because I don't like watching myself in things," she continued, "so I was zipping through me, getting to all this lot and thinking, 'Oh my God, for the first time ever I'm a fangirl of something that I'm in.'

"Ted Lasso" went on to be a tentpole show for the still new Apple TV+, a series whose immense success raised awareness of the service. The show has also raised the profile of London, helping attract tourists back after COVID.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    h4y3sh4y3s Posts: 83member
    Nice background subject for AI to share. Thanks!
    sconosciutobyronlAlex_Vwatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 8
    The actors have plenty of company there. Hot take on internet tech blogs at the time (including AI): Apple is too late to market with ATV+/Amazon & Netflix have too big of a lead. 
    edited August 2022 sconosciutoAlex_Vwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 8
    AppleTV+ gonna be up there with Disney and Netflix. Never count out Cupertino. Ever.

    Project Titan will be the next monster that nobody saw coming.
    byronliOS_Guy80Alex_Vwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 8
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,281member
    AppleTV and HBO max are my must-haves
    SpitbathAlex_Vwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 8
    JWSCJWSC Posts: 1,203member
    Who forced William Gallagher to write about Ted Lasso?  What method of coercion was used?  What did they have on William?  Inquiring minds want to know. 😆
    lolliverTRAGwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 8
    lolliverlolliver Posts: 494member
    JWSC said:
    Who forced William Gallagher to write about Ted Lasso?  What method of coercion was used?  What did they have on William?  Inquiring minds want to know. 😆
    TO be fair it is a story about a pessimistic outlook for the initial viewership  of the show. So that would be right up his ally.  :D
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 8
    payecopayeco Posts: 581member
    “Raised the profile of London”

    I know you’re right but on paper it sounds absurd to say something like that about one of the few truly global cities. 😂
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 8
    Love ATV+ shows, but the Apple approach to having so many things called ATV even bothers me (a guy who has his retirement entirely in Apple). Do I need a hardware device, is it on the web, where is it on my iPad, etc. Miserable marketing/naming/structure. But wow, some great shows. 
    watto_cobra
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