It’s perhaps unsurprising that Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” became a critical hit two years after a Mister Rogers renaissance and a few months after the final episode of “Schitt’s Creek” premiered. “Ted Lasso,” returning for its second season July 23, filled a goodness void. Not treacly, sitcom-y, audience-goes-“awwwwwww” banality but a positive attitude rooted in characters who experience hard knocks but rise above them.

For viewers who lived through and even appreciated the darker storytelling centered on anti-heroes like Tony Soprano, Vic Mackey, Don Draper or assorted characters on “Animal Kingdom” and “Succession,” Kindness TV offers a diverting balm. It’s not new obviously — “Friday Night Lights” and “The West Wing” are in the Kindness TV Hall of Fame — but after two decades of buzzy dark shows led by morally ambiguous characters, Kindness TV delivers a refreshing palate cleanser.

It’s also good for business. Apple TV+ doesn’t release viewing data but the buzz alone suggests “Ted Lasso” is the nascent streaming service’s most popular series. Awards recognition for “Ted Lasso” — 20 Emmy nominations and five Television Critics Association Awards nominations this month — will likely entice more viewers to check out the show that follows American football coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) as he relocates to London to coach a soccer team.

If season one was about establishing the characters, their relationships and Lasso’s fish-out-of-water status, season two goes deeper as it explores the characters’ insecurities and strengths. “Ted Lasso” remains funny and focused on kindness. A wealth of compassion for its characters courses through the show’s writing, particularly in episode five (of 12), which is the point where a potential end game for the series starts to come into focus.

For those who have read interviews where Sudeikis says “Ted Lasso” will run just three seasons, it’s possible to see the track being laid for ways the show could end. And while it will be sad to see this version of “Ted Lasso” go — executive producer Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs”) has said he’s game to continue telling stories about Ted and/or some of the other characters in a follow-up series — there’s also value in setting out to tell a story and sticking to that plan. Not every TV series should run seven seasons or more.

‘Behind the Attraction’

A valid take on Disney+ series about Disney amusement parks, including “The Imagineering Story” and the new “Behind the Attraction,” is that the shows are nothing more than ads for Walt Disney World, Disneyland, etc.

But for millions of Disneyphiles, these insider accounts of the most magical/happiest places on Earth could be legitimate programs of value.

While “The Imagineering Story,” which premiered with the Disney+ streaming service in November 2019, focused on innovative Imagineering at work in Disney parks worldwide, “Behind the Attraction” gets more granular, devoting each episode to a different, specific theme park attraction.

The first five episodes, now streaming, are devoted to Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Star Tours, The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Space Mountain. Another five will premiere later this year.

How worthwhile these episodes are varies not only based on their individual content but also how much knowledge a viewer has going into the episode. Disney fans who have consumed unofficial books, blogs, podcasts and YouTube videos may find themselves bored and not learning anything new. More casual Disney aficionados will likely fare better overall.

As someone who falls between those two camps, the Haunted Mansion episode proved most interesting. It had more depth and story to tell probably because that ride had a long gestation period and more history behind it. Same is true for the Space Mountain episode.

The creation of Star Tours was more straightforward to the point that the episode gets padded with a look at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, making this installment feel more like a commercial for the latest attraction at the Florida and California parks. Similarly, the Jungle Cruise episode sometimes drifts into advertising for the new Disney film of the same name.

One thing that helps “Behind the Attraction” avoid the patina of tightly controlled Disney messaging is the tone employed by executive producer/director Brian Volk-Weiss, who previously produced “The Toys That Made Us” for Netflix in 2017. Paget Brewster brings a playfulness to her narration, which isn’t afraid to occasionally poke fun at the House of Mouse. This is especially true when “Behind the Attraction” throws side eye at an imagineers’ insistence that Space Mountain is a “thrill ride,” not a roller coaster. (It’s a roller coaster.)

“Disney+ chose our style because they know our style,” Volk-Weiss said during a June Disney+ virtual press conference. “We have done some other shows that have this comedic yet informational (tone). One of the things I’ve always had a problem with is docs that are dealing with fun and happy and light subjects, but treat them like its the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.”

Kept/canceled

Paramount+ renewed its “iCarly” reboot for a second season and “The Good Fight” for a sixth season.

NBC scrapped its planned “Law & Order: For the Defense” series.

Channel surfing

“Design Star: Next Gen,” which premiered in February on discovery+ featuring Pittsburgher Tony Allgeier, makes its cable debut on HGTV at 9 p.m. Aug. 25. … A subscription CNN+ streaming service will launch in 2022. … Netflix will add video games as a free add-on to its subscription video service. … The British remake of French series “Call My Agent!” will be available in the U.S. on streamer Sundance Now. … The Letterkenny Live show that was scrapped in March 2020 due to the pandemic has been rescheduled for Feb. 25, 2022 at Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall. Get tickets to see the stars of the Canadian TV comedy at librarymusichall.com/event/letterkenny-live. … PBS’s 10th season of “Call the Midwife” will air at 8 p.m. Sundays Oct. 3-Nov. 21. … The 44th edition of CBS’s “The Kennedy Center Honors,” airing on an undetermined date during the 2021-22 TV season, will honor Justino Diaz, Berry Gordy, Lorne Michaels, Better Midler and Joni Mitchell. … Stephen Colbert will executive produce weekly late-night show “Tha God’s Honest Truth with Lenard ‘Charlamagne’ McKelvey” (10 p.m. Sept. 17).

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