What is the mythic appeal of Ted Lasso? His origin story lies in 2013-14 TV promos meant to draw U.S. viewers into watching U.K. football, i.e., soccer. Ted was a fictional U.S. coach signed to "manage" an English team without knowing it was a totally different sport. (What? They don't wear helmets? OK.) Now he has a series on Apple TV, itself ready to challenge a mythic titan, Netflix. He's done well. What's his secret? The critical consensus is that this is a new genre, "nice TV." Schitt's Creek is another example. "Nice is having a moment in TV comedy," said the New York Times critic.