State of the Streamers

Apple TV+ Is Turning Into Streaming’s Critically Adored Underdog (Really!)

Beyond Ted Lasso, the streamer has shows like For All Mankind and Mythic Quest that deserve more Emmy recognition than they’ll get.
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Photo illustration by Quinton McMillan. Photos courtesy of Apple. 

In State of the Streamers, Vanity Fair’s Awards Insider goes inside the campaigns of some of this Emmy season’s biggest players—from front-runners to underdogs, on streaming networks both well established and brand new to the game. This entry focuses on Apple, competing with one big front-runner and a bunch of worthy underdogs.

Before you read this headline and yell, “But Ted Lasso!” know that we agree: The Jason Sudeikis breakout will almost surely win the outstanding-comedy-series Emmy along with a bevy of others for its cast and crew. But let’s take a step beyond that show, which tends to absorb all of the oxygen around the streamer’s original programming, for a moment. The bigger picture at Apple TV+ tells a pretty compelling, perhaps surprising story about the kind of programmer this Big Tech–funded streamer is becoming.

Part of this has to do with being new and without precedent. HBO Max functions as a relatively straightforward extension of an established pay-cable brand; Peacock basically works off of what has historically succeeded for NBC. What is an Apple show, though? What defines its programming? As Netflix increasingly takes an all-in-one approach and Hulu and Amazon continue to redefine their relatively niche identities, Apple’s most recent Emmy campaign has been dominated by Ted Lasso, yes—but also a group of critically hailed series that, even in their second seasons, seem to remain way off the Television Academy’s radar. 

For all of these shows, which premiered either when the service launched in 2019 or immediately after, their first seasons seemed overshadowed by headlines around Apple’s disappointing, unexciting programming debut. As if rising to meet the challenge, the shows then evolved greatly. Audiences have taken notice, but industry reception may be slower-going.

Take For All Mankind, from Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore; the second season has been named one of 2021’s best dramas by Vanity Fair’s own Sonia Saraiya and other critics. (Full disclosure: This writer is also a fan.) Praised for its ambitious writing and ensemble cast—second-season performance highlights include Wrenn Schmidt, Michael Dorman, and Sonya Walger—the alternate-history space epic is not expected to make any kind of an Emmy dent. This stings, since the drama field feels so thin this year, especially in terms of traditional, ongoing, narratively driven series in the mold of what this category used to prize, like Breaking Bad and Mad Men. (Also because Apple’s freshman drama, The Mosquito Coast, which wasn’t nearly as well-regarded, is about as likely for significant recognition thanks to a bigger push and starrier cast led by Justin Theroux.)

On the comedy side, growing popularity would ordinarily work in Mythic Quest’s favor; its backstories alone render it worth an awards look. You’ve got creator Rob McElhenney, creator of the longest-running sitcom of all time (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), back with another ambitious work generating a ton of chatter, overdue for his first round of awards recognition. You’ve got Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham (!) with, finally, a new role to really sink his teeth into. And, buoyed by remarkable stand-alone episodes, Mythic Quest has creatively soared too. Compared to For All Mankind, this one’s got a bit more awards momentum, especially with comedy being extremely mysterious this year. Yet it still feels like a climb. (Is the video game setting too far beyond the stuffy Television Academy’s purview?) McElhenney, at least, has been making a pretty passionate pitch for himself.

Beyond that, Apple has yet more sophomore critical hits hoping for long shot love: the innovative Dickinson, starring Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld, and M. Night Shyamalan’s Servant, the horror drama which brought out the most in Emmy and Tony nominee Lauren Ambrose’s gonzo performance for its sophomore run.

And the network’s suddenly booming base of quirky, underappreciated gems is already building for next Emmy season: the spiky and divisive Physical, for which Rose Byrne is doing career-best work, and the forthcoming Schmigadoon!, Cecily Strong’s first major non–SNL series vehicle. 

So: Apple, an underdog, really? In the topsy-turvy streaming wars, we’ve got to call them like we see them.

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