This month sees the culmination of two of my favourite TV series of recent years. Both Succession (Sky Atlantic/Now TV) and Ted Lasso (Apple+) have two episodes of their final series left to air. Each of the shows have mantelpieces groaning under the weight of Emmy awards: Succession has won Outstanding Drama Series for each of its previous three seasons: Ted Lasso has similarly won Outstanding Comedy Series for its two previous runs. In total, the programmes have been Emmy-nominated 88 times, winning 24 awards between them.

The two shows, in many ways, are dramatic chalk and cheese. Succession tells the story of media empire WayStar, run with a Rupert Murdoch ruthlessness by patriarch Logan Roy, and with his children, as the title suggests, vying to take over the company once he departs. Ted Lasso, meanwhile, chronicles the travails of the American football coach of the same name, parachuted in to manage fictional Premier League team AFC Richmond.

Although both shows are American, there’s more than a British flavour to each. The WayStar empire might be American, but Logan Roy is Scottish born, as is Brian Cox, who plays him. The show itself is written by British screenwriter Jesse Armstrong, whose previous credits include Peep Show. Ted Lasso, meanwhile, has made household names of British actors such as Brett Goldstein and Hannah Waddington. Both shows, curiously, also feature Harriet Walter in contrasting roles.

The underpinning of each show could not be more different. Succession is one of those programmes where all of the main characters are flawed and compulsively unlikeable. There’s an old-fashioned Shakespearean tragedy feel combined with a very modern telling of a 20th century media empire being overtaken, and taken over, by 21st century tech.

While Succession thinks only the worst of people, Ted Lasso sees only the best. The show’s central character was hired as a no-hoper, by a chairwoman scheming to bring the club down to infuriate her ex-husband. But his good humour, homespun advice and biscuit-making skills win everyone around. Even the darker characters like Brett Goldstein’s Roy Keane-esque Roy Kent turn out to be nice underneath (so much so that Goldstein did a guest spot on Sesame Street).

Ted Lasso and Succession offer sweet and sour takes on humanity, each brilliantly written in their own way. In earlier times, they’d be accruing huge audiences on prime-time TV. Instead, they’re systematic of where the TV landscape now is – siloed away on two of the many subscription apps available. These diminished audiences are then shrunken further by the fact that younger generations prefer YouTube to the telly box. Our top TV shows are arguably better than ever: it’s just a shame not more people are watching.