Sunday Reboot: Apple TV dating, Matchbox, and Lasso hope

In this week’s Sunday Reboot, Apple TV’s dating docuseries could lead to new content areas, an unexpected Mattel movie, and the hope of even more “Ted Lasso.”

Sunday Reboot is a weekly column covering some of the lighter stories within the Apple reality distortion field from the past seven days. All to get the next week underway with a good first step.

Dating docuseries is a big departure for Apple TV

On Thursday, Apple announced it was bringing out a new documentary series about dating. This is good news for the streaming service.

The eight-part show with the semi-melodramatic title “The Last Person on Earth” will be pairing up people that, at first glance, are polar opposites. But, as the great Paula Abdul opined back in 1988, there is a chance that opposites attract.

It’s also not just a case of shoving the human equivalent of chalk and cheese together and observing from afar. There will be people providing guidance, such as NYT bestselling author and relationship expert Esther Perel, and a bunch of therapists.

As for the format, it seems to be treading the same path as shows like “Married at First Sight,” which also paired people together and used experts to smooth things over.

This is not a show that I will be watching by any stretch of the imagination. I’m not one to watch dating and romance shows, and I think of watching an episode of Love Island as potentially being against the Geneva Convention.

That said, I think this is progress for Apple TV.

Relationship expert Esther Perel will be on “The Last Person on Earth” – Image credit: Apple

Just a month ago, this very column went over Apple’s inability and unwillingness to make a decent game show. Part of it was based on the belief that Apple would err towards quality programming, rather than the relatively cheap and quantity-based “shiny floor game show.”

If you look at the rest of the Apple Originals roster, the vast majority of it is for narrative programming. There are documentaries, sure, and animation, kids shows, and the rare competition show like “Kpopped,” but the bulk of it is gunning for quality factual content or well-told stories.

This dating show is not a game show or competition show. It’s also holding onto the “documentary” part of its description with a very loose grip.

It seems very different from the self-created pigeonhole that Apple TV has formed over time.

This show gives me hope that Apple is willing to try more in this direction, with more entertainment that doesn’t need a grand stage and more extras than a small school.

Sometimes, popcorn programming is OK to watch. Not exactly deep or thought-provoking, but just entertaining.

I wish Apple made more of it. Hopefully, if this is successful, it’ll make more.

Sci-fi, sports, and branded off-brand ‘Fast and Furious’

Apple had a lot to talk about when it comes to Apple TV this week. To be fair, it’s San Diego Comic-Con weekend, and Apple had to fill up its two-hour panel somehow.

That resulted in a slew of announcements and news items about the service.

In terms of officially announced news, Apple trotted out a bunch of trailers for upcoming shows. The second season of the reality-jumping “Dark Matter” was shown off, as well as the trailer for the long-awaited “Neuromancer.”

But then things go sideways with “Matchbox The Movie.”

To be clear, I didn’t know about the movie existing before the trailer appeared. My immediate thought was something similar to the well-handled “Barbie” movie, or even a pastiche of Disney’s “Cars” but for another Mattel property.

Instead, we’re given an action film that’s got the same fast-cars-and-stunts attitude of the “Fast and Furious” franchise. One fronted by John Cena playing an undercover CIA agent.

It’s very different from what I imagined, and it could’ve easily been using Mattel’s other toy car brand, Hot Wheels. That has a movie in development with J.J. Abrams.

It’ll be interesting to see if they can pull more reasons to use the Matchbox brand other than the protagonists having played with the toy cars in their childhood.

There was a downbeat in the week, though, as “The Morning Show” will be ending in 2027. Concluding after five seasons, the Jennifer Aniston and Reese WItherspoon drama will finish eight years after it was first announced by Eddy Cue.

It will be missed by fans, but it had a good run.

Lastly, with the return of “Ted Lasso” on August 5, the comedy-soccer show has been ramping up its publicity. It turns out that it may not be a one-season revival after all.

Jason Sudeikis said in an interview that, while Apple hasn’t commissioned a fifth season, the plan is still to get the writers together at the end of August to come up with ideas. He also wants a second three-season arc, bringing the total up to six seasons.

Me too, Ted. Me too.

Last week’s Sunday Reboot talked about the small model hope of PrismML, and how it can boost Apple’s on-device AI advantage.