When Apple TV+ launched in November 2019, you probably didn’t expect that ted lasso it would become his most successful series. After all, a show about the manager of a small English soccer team doesn’t sound very promising.
Initially, the platform streaming seemed to be betting that dramas like The Morning Show will attract viewers. But it wasn’t until this comedy series premiered that they began to be a major part of the conversation within the world of entertainment.
ted lasso It was one of the best series that premiered in 2020 and was recognized in the Primetime Emmy Awards with a variety of awards for both its actors and the team that works behind the scenes. Its second season would receive even better reviews and equal success at the big award ceremonies.
The series has become one of the most adored by critics and audiences alike, and to convince you to start watching it, here we tell you everything you need to know about it. ted lasso.
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ted lassoa series of unusual origin
As expected, most of the series arise from the idea of one or several people. These people then develop it on paper, present it in front of a group of executives, and finally wait for it to be accepted by the executives. However, the origin of ted lasso it was not that common.
Coach Ted Lasso’s character made his first appearance in 2013, as part of a series of commercials for nbc. The chain for the first time was going to broadcast the matches of the premier league. They had to find a way to make this English league interesting to its viewers, who were more interested in American football.
So it was that comedian Jason Sudeikis was enlisted to play an American hired as a coach by the English club Tottenham Hotspur. Ted Lasso knows absolutely nothing about European football, or rather, he knows nothing about football in general. The original ads even feature appearances by the likes of Gareth Bale and Harry Kane.
The ads were so positively received that Sudeikis even played Lasso on sports talk shows. Lasso’s character would appear in other advertisements sporadically, but it wasn’t until several years later that Sudeikis decided to go further.
Sudeikis has said that it was his former partner, actress and director Olivia Wilde, who came up with the idea to expand on the Ted Lasso story. Olivia noted how much she enjoyed playing the character and how much the audience loved it.
Jason Sudeikis teamed up with screenwriter Bill Lawrence (best known for creating the famous sitcom US Scrubs) to help him develop the series, and together with Brendan Hunt and Joe Kelly they managed to sell the idea to Apple TV+ executives.
The rest, as they say, is history.
The story that made audiences fall in love
Although Ted Lasso was coach of Tottenham Hotspur in the commercials, in the series he takes charge of a much more humble team. This is AFC Richmond, a soccer club that was created for the series but shares many characteristics with the actual Crystal Palace team. In fact, several scenes were recorded in his stadium.
One of them happens when AFC Richmond is on the verge of relegation, which means that they would stop participating in the Premier League and play in a lesser league. For this reason, the club’s fans are not at all happy with the decision to hire Lasso.
ted lasso
However, the club’s new owner Rebecca Welton (played by the amazing Hannah Waddingham) seems to have a lot of faith in him. Rebecca got the team’s tenure thanks to her being married to the team’s previous owner Rupert Mannion (Anthony Head), as she stayed with the team during their divorce.
Lasso’s first day is not good at all, especially as a result of questions from English journalists. During his introduction as Richmond’s coach he reveals how little he knows about the “most beautiful sport in the world” and is immediately seen as disrespectful by the British.
One of the journalists must correct him when he talks about the “four rooms” that a football game has. They also have to explain to him that in this sport you can tie, and he confesses that he doesn’t understand how the offside rule works. Nonetheless, Lasso remains optimistic in the face of insults and a lack of trust.
And that optimism is exactly what makes the series so charming. The odds for success may be stacked against Ted Lasso, but he never lets that get him down. The coach shows that he is willing to learn and that he does it very quickly, and little by little he is gaining the respect of all those who doubted him.
The importance of working as a team
As expected, Jason Sudeikis is the one who has been most acclaimed for playing the titular role. He has even won the Golden Globes twice, the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Emmy Award for his performance. And of course, Hannah Waddingham has also been highly praised for her role as Rebecca. In fact, she received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
However, just like in a football team, a team cannot succeed thanks to a single person. All supporting actors ted lasso They are extremely charismatic, and it can even be said that they are the essence of the series. Although the entire cast is exceptional (which is why it won the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2022), there are a few that deserve to be highlighted.
One of them is Phil Dunster, who plays the talented but arrogant Jamie Tartt, who is at Richmond on loan from Manchester City. On the other hand is Brett Goldstein playing Roy Kent, the team captain who must deal with the fact that his best years are behind him.
Joining them are Juno Temple as model and publicist Keeley Jones, Brendan Hunt as the stoic but sarcastic Coach Beard, Nick Mohammed as timid water carrier Nathan Shelley, and Jeremy Swift as skittish but capable COO Leslie Higgins.
These are some of the most important characters in the story, but even the ones with minor roles are memorable. A great example of this is the Mexican player Dani Rojas, played by Cristo Fernández and remembered for his already iconic phrase “Soccer is life«.
A resounding success for Apple TV +
Even though it’s only been on the air for two seasons, ted lasso already has an avid fan base. Premiering in August 2020, the series represented a major distraction for its audience. As well as a great source of entertainment during the lockdown caused by the pandemic.
The place on-line of vox he even called it “comfort food tv«, comparing it to that food that people cook when they need comfort. This is not only due to his great sense of humor. Also because it is a series that demonstrates the importance of kindness, and how invaluable human relationships are.
Of course, his characters have conflicts with each other, but they always show that absolutely anything can be overcome. Especially if you surround yourself with people who push you to be a better person. Perhaps it’s too much to ask for Lasso to make Richmond the best team in the Premier League, but if he manages to make them a real team, he will be well served.
ted lasso
another achievement of ted lasso it is how it is able to captivate both soccer fans and people who are not interested in the sport. Obviously, football is a very important part of the story, but if Ted himself doesn’t know anything about it, the viewers definitely don’t need to know.
However, if you are a soccer fan, you will surely be able to identify even more with the passion shown by both the players and the Richmond fans.
His portrayal of what this sport can mean to people is so good that he even made legendary coach José Mourinho (who is now the manager of Italian club AS Roma) smitten, and agreed to be part of a series of promotional videos with Jason Sudeikis. before the Champions League final.
What we know about the future of the series ted lasso
Every story has an end and it seems that the journey of ted lasso could reach its conclusion in this third season. This is how Jason Sudeikis reiterated it in a chat with Deadline:
“This is the end of this story that we wanted to tell, that we hoped to tell, that we loved to tell. The fact that people want more and are curious beyond what they don’t even know yet, which is Season 3, is flattering. Maybe by May 31, once all 12 episodes of the season have been released, they’ll be like, ‘Man, you know what, we get it, we’re good. We don’t need more, we understand.’ But until that time comes, I’ll cherish curiosity beyond what we’ve found so far.”
In the third season of ted lasso, newly promoted AFC Richmond face ridicule as media predictions put them bottom of the Premier League and Nate, now hailed as the ‘wunderkind’, has gone to work for Rupert at West Ham United. At the same time, Ted deals with pressures at work and continues to deal with his own personal problems at home as well; Rebecca focuses on taking down Rupert and Keeley navigates being the head of her own PR agency. Things seem to be falling apart both on and off the pitch, but Team Lasso is ready to do their best anyway!
Where to see ted lasso?
The third season of ted lasso will premiere its first episode on March 15, 2023 on AppleTV+. Subsequently, a new weekly episode will premiere every Wednesday until May 31.
The first two seasons are already available on the platform streaming.
