The long-awaited fifth season of Slow Horses premieres on Apple TV+ on September 24, offering fans a new dose of intrigue and espionage. The series, featuring the stellar performance of Gary Oldman as the incomparable Jackson Lamb, promises to maintain its irreverent and thrilling character by following the work of a group of spies with peculiar personalities. The ponies that don’t walk In this season, which consists of six episodes, Lamb’s team will have to face a series of strange events and terrorist plots that shake London. The narrative focuses on the investigation […]
The highly anticipated fifth season of Slow Horses premieres on Apple TV+ on September 24, offering fans a new dose of intrigue and espionage. The series, featuring the stellar performance of Gary Oldman as the incomparable Jackson Lamb, promises to maintain its irreverent and thrilling character by following the work of a group of spies with peculiar personalities.
The ponies that don’t walk
In this season, which consists of six episodes, Lamb’s team will have to face a series of strange events and terrorist plots that shake London. The narrative focuses on the team’s investigation into the connection between these puzzling incidents and how they could influence national security and their own survival.
The combination of the series’ characteristic dark humor with the inherent tension of the situations faced by the protagonists ensures that this new installment is equally thrilling and unpredictable. Gary Oldman, known for his ability to portray complex characters, returns once again to bring to life Lamb, an unconventional leader who challenges the norms of classic espionage.
Slow Horses has been critically acclaimed for its clever script and the depth of its characters, making it one of the standout productions on Apple TV+. With the creative direction of its creators, the series has managed to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, and the fifth season does not seem to be the exception.
Fans of the series can expect a plot rich in unexpected twists and a continuous development of the characters as they explore the dark corners of British espionage. Undoubtedly, the return of Oldman and his team of spies promises to be a must-see event for genre enthusiasts.
If you talk to any TV series fan, they will tell you: the best platform currently is Apple TV+. Severance, The Morning Show, Ted Lasso, Slow Horses… Practically every series they upload is ensured to be meticulously crafted, with an interesting script, measured cinematography, and a renowned cast. There is just one problem: no one recommends the platform. When asked, they might talk about Netflix, Disney+, or Prime Video, but almost no one, outside of the free trial or specific moments (when they release their big formats, for example), watches Apple. Can anyone tell why? Little Apple half […]
If you talk to any series enthusiast, they will tell you: the best platform currently is Apple TV+. Separation, The Morning Show, Ted Lasso, Slow Horses… Practically every series they upload is ensured to be meticulously crafted, with an interesting script, measured cinematography, and a renowned cast. There is just one problem: no one recommends the platform. When asked, they might talk about Netflix, Disney+, or Prime Video, but almost no one, outside of the free trial or specific moments (like when they release their big formats, for example), watches Apple. Can anyone explain why?
Half-bite Manzanita: the series
When blockbusters fail at the box office, there is always a refrain that some repeat over and over on social media, trying to convince a few deluded people of a falsified reality: “If it’s good, people will see it”. Obviously, this is not true: yes, there are many bad movies that fail, but even more masterpieces that go unnoticed in theaters or even on streaming services. Because the general audience doesn’t want “something good,” they want simple, easy entertainment to disconnect. To put it simply, something they can later criticize at will but would gladly consume two or three more sequels of.
Yes, Past Lives, Aftersun, or Portrait of a Lady on Fire are great, but do you know how those modern masterpieces would improve? With a superhero or a dinosaur. Let’s be clear: nowadays, what matters is not the quality of a movie or a series, but to be in favor and not to be tired yet of the current franchise. Because no, apparently, after 7 installments we are still not fed up with Jurassic Park. What you want is something to watch with the kids, something to talk about at the coffee machine, to recommend (perhaps ironically) to someone. To be in the loop, you know.
And that is the problem with Apple TV+. It may have the most incredible series in the world -in fact, it does-, but if it doesn’t have advertising on billboards, no one knows of its existence, it doesn’t do good marketing on social media and its series remain in an environment exclusively for fans, it will never take off. And that’s how it’s going: in March, it was announced that it was losing a billion dollars every year and that its subscribers only reached 45 million worldwide. That sounds like a lot (it’s more people than live in Canada, for example)… until you compare it with its competitors.
Slow horse, the better horse?
Netflix, the absolute queen, has 340 million customers, Prime Video 240 million (although it has a trick by being included in the Prime package), Disney+ 125 million, HBO Max 122 million, and even Paramount+ adds up to 79 million. Next to them, Apple TV+ has fallen very, very far behind. No matter its quality, talent, or innovation: at this point, the only thing that matters is that it is unable to take a step forward, separate itself from the junk, and demonstrate, with a tough marketing campaign, why they have come to stay.
Instead, the experts at the company have decided to trust that the public will arrive gradually and based on word of mouth, relying on that “If something is good, people will go to see it”. Not realizing that the phrase is more than worn out: if something is famous, people will go to see it. If it is well promoted, if it generates buzz, if it allows for discussion in various podcasts, if it has a presence on social media, if influencers are invited… Who knows? It might be saved. After all, it’s Apple! It should have hundreds of fans by its side just celebrating the name.
However, it is not happening, perhaps because, beyond the brand and the “wearable,” the symbol of prestige, Apple is not creatively interesting. Why would it be interesting? What has it done, beyond its ads, to prove that it is a decisive factor in hooking us to a series? Has that been the problem from the beginning, that it doesn’t have a background like HBO or Disney? I’m afraid we have little time left to find out, because even the patience of the richest company in the world has to run out at some point when they see that a billion dollars end up, yes or yes, in the nearest trash can repeatedly. Either they close and sell the series to the highest bidder, or we will see a 180-degree change.
The third season of Severance could be near, although Apple TV+ has not yet made any official announcement about its renewal. However, executive producer Ben Stiller has indicated that work has already begun on the initial development of the script, suggesting a promising future for the acclaimed science fiction series. A season finale that leaves more questions than answers The finale of the second season, titled Cold Harbor, left numerous questions about the fate of the characters and the implications of the events that occurred. For example, the future of Irving and Eustice is […]
The third season of Severance could be near, although Apple TV+ has not yet made any official announcement about its renewal. However, executive producer Ben Stiller has indicated that work has already begun on the initial development of the script, suggesting a promising future for the acclaimed science fiction series.
A season finale that leaves more questions than answers
The finale of the second season, titled Cold Harbor, left numerous questions about the fate of the characters and the implications of the events that occurred. For example, the future of Irving and Eustice is uncertain, as their storyline culminated in a confusing manner and without a clear resolution. Likewise, Mark’s actions, which led to a dramatic conclusion, raise questions about how Lumon will respond to the recent events.
Given the long gap of almost three years between the first and second seasons, fans are likely to have to wait a reasonable amount of time for the next installment. It is estimated that the third season could arrive sometime in 2027, although Stiller has mentioned that another long wait is not planned. In this regard, he shared on the New Heights podcast that more concrete plans for the series will be revealed soon.
The public’s interest in Severance is palpable, especially after the success of the second season, which has reinforced its status as one of the best productions on Apple TV+. With so many plots and unanswered questions, the return of Severance would be highly anticipated. According to current indications, it seems that the creators are committed to providing an experience that continues to develop the intricate narrative that has captivated the audience.
Surely you’ve been told more than once in conversations about series (which have fortunately replaced football) next to the coffee machine: the ones that are really good are the ones from Apple. Like Ted Lasso, like Severance, like The Morning Show, like Mythic Quest… And yet, no one ends up subscribing unless it’s with a discount code. How is it possible that everyone agrees it’s the best, but no one wants to pay for it? Does Apple TV+ have a future? And above all, why doesn’t it end up […]
Surely you’ve heard it more than once in conversations about series (which have fortunately replaced football) by the coffee machine: the truly good ones are from Apple. Whether it’s Ted Lasso, Severance, The Morning Show, or Mythic Quest… And yet, no one ends up subscribing unless it’s with a discount code. How is it possible that everyone agrees it’s the best, but no one wants to pay for it? Does Apple TV+ have a future? And above all, why isn’t it working out?
The latest arrival
Apple TV+ was launched on November 1, 2019, and at first glance, it was a perfect time to take advantage of the peak in subscriptions that all online services experienced during the pandemic. Additionally, it launched with very strong series like For All Mankind, The Morning Show, and See, which were soon joined by Servant (by M. Night Shyamalan), the reboot of Amazing Stories, and Foundation. However, as of today, it only has 25 million members worldwide... And with no signs of increasing.
They seem like a lot, but considering that more than 200 million iPhones are sold annually, the number of people interested in the streaming service is frankly ridiculous… Especially considering that it is not something proprietary, but anyone, even from an Android phone, can access the service. In fact, their rates after the 3 free months and the 7-day trial are not excessively expensive, $9.99 a month. So, what? What is the problem?
In reality, it is not just one, but a concatenation of several. The first and most obvious, the oversaturation of streaming services. We have Netflix, Prime Video, Max, Crunchyroll, Movistar, Filmin, SkyShowTime. Add more to the list. Niche streamings, cult favorites, internationally renowned, locally famous. From small, large, and medium series and movies. We have so much entertainment that we are stressed in our free time. And what we need the least is for someone else to come and throw another shovel and a half of series at us. No matter how good they are.
Is there an audience for Apple?
The public loves to get lost in immense catalogs. Finding hidden gems among the thousand and one new series, the licenses from previous years, the movies that no one expected to find there. And Apple TV+ has a small and exclusive catalog, with its own series, not licensed from anyone. And the problem is that, unlike Netflix’s, you can actually finish this one. At five or six episodes a week, it’s not that hard to keep up with the series and, therefore, decide to cancel and wait to binge-watch for a couple of months, saving a hundred bucks along the way.
And precisely because of this passivity of the public, there are also cultural phenomena missing beyond -being generous with the term- Ted Lasso and Severance. There is no Stranger Things, no Squid Game, no Game of Thrones, no The Boys, a series that makes everyone subscribe and navigate out of inertia. It’s a vicious cycle: there is no advertising on the streets, which leads to people not knowing about the service, which leads to no series becoming a phenomenon, which leads to no money for advertising. And back to square one.
Really, the strategy is very smart on Apple’s part, because it aligns with their company: we don’t launch many products, but the ones we do launch are wrapped in an aura of quality. One phone model a year, a couple of series a month. The question is… How long is the tech company going to want to throw money into this bottomless pit? No matter how much they collect 250 million dollars monthly from subscriptions (being generous and not counting the people who cancel to take advantage of another promotion), it is nowhere near enough to maintain so many original series at the same time.
Apple TV+ has a tough time surviving: nobody knows it, those who do are reluctant about streaming, its catalog is short, and the quality doesn’t become pop culture. At least it has a company behind it willing to trust and throw unlimited money into the fire… For now. Whether there is a real future for the brand or not, I’m afraid it’s something even the most ambitious analysts wouldn’t dare to predict. The future of streaming, in general, is quite bleak. Apple’s future is leaning towards a black color. Beautiful, of course, like everything they do. Wouldn’t want it any other way.
