Apple & Severance: Another Shiny Thing?

So, Apple’s bought

Severance

. Apparently, it’s a big deal. Twenty-seven Emmy nominations, eight wins… Honestly, it sounds exhausting just

thinking

about the acceptance speeches. It’s a dystopian thriller, which, let’s face it, is pretty much reality these days if you look at your portfolio.

It reminds me of Netflix, actually. Netflix, the streaming behemoth. They started by licensing everything, then decided to make their own stuff. A clever move, really. Like deciding to bake your own bread when the supermarket’s run out of sourdough. Except this bread costs billions.

Apple seems to be copying the recipe. Buying

Severance

outright for seventy million dollars. It’s a statement, isn’t it? “We’re serious about TV! We’re willing to spend actual money!” Which is… reassuring? Or maybe just another example of a very large company throwing money at a problem.

Units of Content Acquired: 1. Hours Spent Watching Streaming Services to “Do Research”: 7. Number of Times I’ve Considered Just Reading a Book: 15.

The show itself, apparently, had a bit of a rough ride. Pandemic, strikes… It’s like everything good is determined to be made even more difficult. The third season is supposed to start filming this summer, which is good, I suppose. Though I’m starting to suspect that “summer” is a mythical season invented by marketing departments.

They’re talking about spin-offs, prequels, foreign versions. It’s all very… ambitious. It feels a bit like when you start a new hobby and immediately decide you’re going to be a world expert. It rarely ends well.

Why is Apple doing this? Well, they’re positioning themselves as a “premium” brand. Which is code for “expensive.” They’re not trying to be the biggest streaming service, apparently. They just want to be the

nicest

streaming service. As if that’s going to make a difference when the market crashes.

The problem is, they don’t actually

tell

us how Apple TV is doing. It’s lumped in with all the other “services.” It’s like hiding the bad news in a very large pile of good news. And they haven’t said how many subscribers they have. Industry estimates say 45 million. Which, let’s be honest, is a rounding error in the grand scheme of things. And they’re reportedly losing over a billion dollars a year on it. A billion! That’s a lot of avocado toast.

Apple, of course, has a history of this. Entering markets slowly, building things over time. iPhone, iPad, AirPods… It’s a very patient strategy. And it usually works. But patience doesn’t guarantee success. It just means you have more time to worry.

Netflix has 325 million subscribers. Apple may never reach that number. But they’re hoping to carve out a niche. A small, very expensive niche.

At 33 times earnings, Apple is definitely a premium stock. Which means it’s also a risky stock. But hey, what isn’t these days?

I keep telling myself I’ll become a disciplined long-term investor. I’ll diversify. I’ll avoid hype. But then I see a shiny new tech stock and… well, you know how it is.

It’s just… I suspect the real lesson here isn’t about streaming TV. It’s about the human tendency to chase the next big thing. To believe that this time, it’ll be different. And to ignore the nagging voice in the back of your head that says, “This is probably a terrible idea.”

2026-02-20 11:02

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