The Best Animated Show No One Was Watching Just Got Canceled

Save for “Ted Lasso” and maybe “Severance,” the average person likely can’t identify which shows are on Apple TV+ the way even people without Netflix know that “Stranger Things” and “Squid Game” are on the platform. There are still no reported numbers on how many people actually subscribe to the Apple TV+ service, with the tech giant instead pushing forth the narrative that Apple has over 1 billion paid subscribers, but that includes Apple iCloud, Apple Care, Apple Arcade, Fitness+, News+, and Apple Music … or, you know, the services utilized by people with an iPhone.

I have no idea how many people actually use Apple TV+, but considering I have to metaphorically bang pots and pans together while screaming “PLEASE WATCH ‘SHRINKING’ AND ‘PLATONIC’ FOR THE LOVE OF GOD” at even fellow entertainment writers, I can’t imagine the numbers are anywhere near where Apple wants them to be.

And it’s a shame because on average, Apple TV+ has some of the best original offerings of any of the streaming platforms. They certainly don’t have the quantity of Netflix or Hulu, but their quality is undeniable. “Central Park” was their flagship animated series, and it’s frustrating to know that if the show had been, for example, included in the animation domination lineup on Fox the series would have gotten the attention and audience it deserved. Alas, the writing had been on the wall for quite some time, with Gad mentioning last fall that he hoped one day the cast would be able to perform together in a live performance — citing how the pandemic and busy filming schedules of the star-studded cast on other projects have prevented them from being in the same place at the same time. His dream now reads like Gad was already anticipating the worst.