Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe are returning for a third season of Apple's football podcast "After the Whistle," launching June 7 and running the length of the 2026 World Cup. New episodes drop multiple times a week, in the hours after the biggest matches. For anyone who's been through the tournament before, that turnaround matters — the World Cup moves fast, and yesterday's shock result is old news by breakfast.
Hunt — actor and co-creator of Ted Lasso — and Lowe, who fronts NBC Sports' Premier League coverage and co-hosts Fox Sports' World Cup broadcast, are a pairing that actually works on paper and apparently works in practice too. They're not two celebrities dropped into a football show. These are people who care about the game and have the receipts to prove it.
What to actually expect
Hunt put it plainly: "The World Cup is always unpredictable except for one thing — it's guaranteed to repeatedly leave me an emotional wreck." That's not promotional copy. That's anyone who's ever watched a penalty shootout at 2am.
Lowe, for her part, leaned into the chemistry: "When Brendan and I get together to talk about the beautiful game, it usually includes hysterical laughter, a few tears, or something in between." A World Cup co-hosted in North America, with all the noise and chaos that brings, gives them a lot to work with.
The podcast will be available in both audio and video formats across Apple News, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms — so no excuses for missing it regardless of how you consume content.
The bigger Apple football picture
This isn't Apple dipping a toe into football coverage. They've been building steadily — MLS streaming rights, Ted Lasso as a cultural moment, and now World Cup podcast content anchored by two credible voices. The tournament landing in North America makes it a commercial no-brainer for a company with serious US market ambitions.
Meanwhile, Ted Lasso Season 4 hits Apple TV in August, with Jason Sudeikis coaching a second-division women's club in Richmond. So Hunt goes from breaking down World Cup matches live to back on set almost immediately after the final whistle. Busy summer.
