Ted Lasso (2020) is a comedy-drama series on Apple TV+ which is about an American Football college coach getting hired to move across the pond and coach AFC Richmond, an English Premier League Soccer team that is down on its luck. I always find it fascinating when an entertainment property sinks its hooks into me and doesn't let up even though I'm not a fan of the setting and/or the backdrop. Some of the best examples off the top of my head I can give are the films Rush (2013) and Ford v Ferrari (2019), both of which take place in the realm of professional car racing, something I never had an interest in and yet I absolutely loved both of them. Similarly, I've never been a fan of watching Football (both versions) yet I adored watching Ted Lasso.
The premise itself has enough of a draw to grab your attention at the start giving a fish-out-of-water type situation for the titular character, Ted Lasso, who knows nothing about Soccer (and not a lot about England either) and yet he is now in charge of a Premier League team. That alone, though, wouldn't have been enough to carry the entire series as the novelty can die out after a while which is where the strong writing comes in. Having a great set of main, secondary, and tertiary characters who all have varying levels of depth to them interwoven with a clever, witty, and wholesome plot while maintaining a sense of realism and profundity makes this a wholly entertaining watch.
Jason Sudeikis is an actor I have enjoyed in his various comedic outings from the past but I never would have thought that he would be in a role like this let alone absolutely killing it as the lead and giving one of the best performances I've seen recently. The thing about Ted Lasso is that while he is optimistic, looks at life from a positive angle, and is in the business of not simply coaching a team but coaching YOU as a person to become a better version of yourself, he is also flawed who has to wrestle with his own insecurities and demons reinforcing his character and he never comes off as too preachy or overindulgent to the point of annoyance as can be the case of characters who are supposed to be positive. Throw in several speeches and monologues with great wisdom+badass moments and you can't help but love the guy. We all could use a Ted Lasso in our lives.
Joining him are a plethora of characters who might come off as caricatures at first glance whether it's the partner coach who is always there to help yet is mysterious played by Brendan Hunt, the experienced and aged sportsman looking at the last of his days in the sport played by Brett Goldstein, a younger talented sportsman who lacks wisdom played by Phil Dunster, a model who dates footballers played by Juno Temple, a CEO with misaligned intentions played by Hannah Waddingham, a secretary who gets laughed on by everyone played by Jeremy Swift, the locker room worker who gets picked on played by Nick Mohammad and so on but as the episodes progress, you can see the underlying strong writing and they all grow, expectedly or unexpectedly with Ted Lasso acting as the crux that makes it all possible and it's genuinely wonderful to have multiple stories every episode with characters you grow to like or love in an overall wholesome wrapping. It also helps that everyone is on the top of their game with great performances all around.
A good comparison I read in a comment about Ted Lasso is that it's like Bojack Horseman but in reverse. Whereas the latter has a nihilistic viewpoint with lots of comedy yet it surprises you with gut punches and realism, the former has an optimistic viewpoint with lots of comedy that also surprises you with its gut punches and real-life lessons. I think it kinda fits. Also, PSA, watch Bojack Horseman if you haven't, it's a masterpiece.
As for the negatives, I'd say some plot points weren't as engaging, particularly in Season 2 which without knowing where they'll take them, could turn out to be better or worse in retrospect. Season 2 as a whole didn't feel as strong or tight as Season 1 even though it had some of the highest highs of the series so far. There is also a lack of prolonged thrilling matches, something you'd expect in a series revolving around Football to have.
All in all, this is a MUST WATCH. A series I'll highly recommend to everyone whether you're a fan of the sport or not. It's the kind of entertainment that everyone needs some time, something that's uplifting, something that's wholesome, something that is chicken soup for the soul, something that'll give you escapism from your troubles of life and bring you back lighter and brighter. This series also has the best use of Rick Roll (Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley) I have ever seen. And if I were to rate it, I'd give Season 1 a 9/10, Season 2 an 8/10, and the overall experience so far of both seasons an 8.5/10.
The premise itself has enough of a draw to grab your attention at the start giving a fish-out-of-water type situation for the titular character, Ted Lasso, who knows nothing about Soccer (and not a lot about England either) and yet he is now in charge of a Premier League team. That alone, though, wouldn't have been enough to carry the entire series as the novelty can die out after a while which is where the strong writing comes in. Having a great set of main, secondary, and tertiary characters who all have varying levels of depth to them interwoven with a clever, witty, and wholesome plot while maintaining a sense of realism and profundity makes this a wholly entertaining watch.
Jason Sudeikis is an actor I have enjoyed in his various comedic outings from the past but I never would have thought that he would be in a role like this let alone absolutely killing it as the lead and giving one of the best performances I've seen recently. The thing about Ted Lasso is that while he is optimistic, looks at life from a positive angle, and is in the business of not simply coaching a team but coaching YOU as a person to become a better version of yourself, he is also flawed who has to wrestle with his own insecurities and demons reinforcing his character and he never comes off as too preachy or overindulgent to the point of annoyance as can be the case of characters who are supposed to be positive. Throw in several speeches and monologues with great wisdom+badass moments and you can't help but love the guy. We all could use a Ted Lasso in our lives.
Joining him are a plethora of characters who might come off as caricatures at first glance whether it's the partner coach who is always there to help yet is mysterious played by Brendan Hunt, the experienced and aged sportsman looking at the last of his days in the sport played by Brett Goldstein, a younger talented sportsman who lacks wisdom played by Phil Dunster, a model who dates footballers played by Juno Temple, a CEO with misaligned intentions played by Hannah Waddingham, a secretary who gets laughed on by everyone played by Jeremy Swift, the locker room worker who gets picked on played by Nick Mohammad and so on but as the episodes progress, you can see the underlying strong writing and they all grow, expectedly or unexpectedly with Ted Lasso acting as the crux that makes it all possible and it's genuinely wonderful to have multiple stories every episode with characters you grow to like or love in an overall wholesome wrapping. It also helps that everyone is on the top of their game with great performances all around.
A good comparison I read in a comment about Ted Lasso is that it's like Bojack Horseman but in reverse. Whereas the latter has a nihilistic viewpoint with lots of comedy yet it surprises you with gut punches and realism, the former has an optimistic viewpoint with lots of comedy that also surprises you with its gut punches and real-life lessons. I think it kinda fits. Also, PSA, watch Bojack Horseman if you haven't, it's a masterpiece.
As for the negatives, I'd say some plot points weren't as engaging, particularly in Season 2 which without knowing where they'll take them, could turn out to be better or worse in retrospect. Season 2 as a whole didn't feel as strong or tight as Season 1 even though it had some of the highest highs of the series so far. There is also a lack of prolonged thrilling matches, something you'd expect in a series revolving around Football to have.
All in all, this is a MUST WATCH. A series I'll highly recommend to everyone whether you're a fan of the sport or not. It's the kind of entertainment that everyone needs some time, something that's uplifting, something that's wholesome, something that is chicken soup for the soul, something that'll give you escapism from your troubles of life and bring you back lighter and brighter. This series also has the best use of Rick Roll (Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley) I have ever seen. And if I were to rate it, I'd give Season 1 a 9/10, Season 2 an 8/10, and the overall experience so far of both seasons an 8.5/10.