I don’t remember this ever happening before, but three streaming shows I really love all ended (for good?) in the same week. They are very different, and they each said “adios” in their own respective, distinctive styles. I’m going to miss them all, and while I loved them all, I have varying feelings about the point at which each one left. Let’s take a look.
Barry, HBO
I was bummed but not surprised to learn that season four would be the end for this unique dramedy. I loved the tone. I loved Bill Hader’s creative voice and development right before our eyes into an amazing director. I loved all the performances. I loved that this weird, quirky little show connected with people the way that it did.
I mean, this scene…just perfection. “King of Suckballs Mountain” is an all-time piece of dialogue. That guaranteed that this was a show I would get invested in. It felt like it might exist in the same universe as some Coen Brothers movie like The Big Lebowski. There was no way that this story was going to have a pat, happy ending, but still, some moments of the finale felt a little…abrupt? Harsh? But that’s clearly by design.
Ted Lasso, AppleTV+
This show came along at the perfect time for me, as it did for so many other people, which is why I think it hit the way that it did. A little bit of optimism and positivity was sorely needed back in those early COVID-era days.
The creators have been non-commital about the show’s end, and I don’t think anyone has outright declared that this was a “series finale.” I would bet good money that the Richmond AFC Universe continues in one form or another, because…trying to avoid spoilers here…the way some things were positioned after the end of Season 3 clearly leaves some options open for that. Jason Sudekis said that this was the end of the story that they were telling, and I believe that. But a new story is just begging to be told.
Some viewers had major criticisms of aspects of Season 3, and I can see why. At its core, Ted Lasso is a fish-out-of-water workplace comedy, and splitting that workplace aspect of it into not one, not two, but three different locales for this season really changed the dynamic of how several of the characters interact with each other. At times, it almost felt like there were two spin-off shows happening alongside the main one, and I don’t know how much I would have enjoyed watching Nate the Great or KJPR on their own merits.
Another absolutely valid complaint, and a stylistic choice I don’t really understand, was having some of the season’s most important moments happen off-screen. These varied from odd to jarring for me, and some of them just don’t make sense. We knew that Ted was torn between his life in London and the one that he missed back home, and that was a vital, ongoing theme of the show. So not seeing him discuss this or address at all for us to watch was strange, to say the least.
I don’t think this show needs to be over. I love these characters, and there is plenty of fertile creative ground left for them to explore. I hope we get to see most or all of the Richmond AFC gang onscreen again soon.
Succession, HBO
I was a latecomer to this show, as I didn’t give it a chance until a couple of seasons had already aired. I’m not sure why, because it is an all-timer. The show's tone is almost singularly its own, because it is a drama with absolutely hilarious moments while being played totally straight. It’s a credit to the writing and the incredible acting performances across the board, because the slightest flaw in any of that could just ruin what this show is all about. I dread the inevitable, pale imitations of Succession that are destined to follow due to its creative and critical success.
Again, addressing the finale without spoiling much, the show ended on just the right type of note. But it ABSOLUTELY did not need to end. I have complete respect for a show wanting to go out on its own terms and at the top of its game, but it truly feels premature in this case. The season could have gone exactly how it did—including the final episode—and it would have been an incredible season finale, leaving us wondering exactly how the Roy siblings would react to what had happened, letting us speculate about how each one would address it.
Season five could have been fantastic. The departure of this one really feels like it was too soon, and that’s almost never the case with any TV series. At best, you generally hope to feel like “Yup, that was great, this was a good time to wrap it up.”
Well…Succession was great and there was no need to end it yet. This one still stings, because I don’t think there will be anything like it to fill the void anytime soon.
On the surface, these three shows don’t seem to have much in common. But I do see a thematic thread: defining success and happiness. Barry would never be happy after certain things he had done in his life. He couldn’t get past those and he was fully aware of it. The show began with him making a conscious effort to shift away from the man that he used to be, but by the end, he had clearly resigned himself to just who and what he truly was.
Winning, losing, and everything in-between was a huge, ongoing theme for Ted Lasso. Simply put, it showed us that sometimes a win isn’t really a win, a loss is more than a defeat, and a tie isn’t always like kissing your sister. Ted himself was never all about the scores of the games, and having Coach Beard care much more about that was a great creative choice. But the team and its players were never defined just by their successes in the standings. Life is not black and white or as clear cut as “W” or “L” and this wonderful show demonstrated that in an emotional and meaningful way.
And then we have the Roy family, who, despite their billions, will never be satisfied—not a single one of them. It’s the legacy that patriarch Logan left for them in his own unintended manner, I think. They will never be able to get out of their own way, or each other’s, and no amount of money or power will be enough to satiate their egomaniacal narcissism or greed. And that’s because they all feel they never got the love or the respect they deserved from their father. And now they never will.
Hmm. Maybe that’s why this show connected with me so hard…
Goodness, what will you watch now?