Ted Lasso: Wrangling in our Hearts
By Shane Olesen
Minor Spoilers Ahead
Finishing up from a long day of work, after being stuck in traffic you arrive home to see your wife cooking dinner, your daughter in the living room watching some tv, your son in his room playing with some toys, you let out a sigh of relief. “This is it” this is what you’ve always wanted, it isn’t much but it’s all you truly need or ever wanted. That feeling is what Ted Lasso brings to all its viewers.
Starting as a commercial to promote NBC Sports having Premier League Soccer, Ted Lasso has evolved into a show that we could all really use currently. Bill Lawrence, creator of Scrubs another favorite of mine, with the help of character creator Jason Sudeikis, give us a show with heart oozing from every pore. Following the titular character, Theodore “Ted” Lasso, as he, a former Division Two Football coach, take leadership over Richmond AFC, a struggling franchise with an owner who only wants to see it crumble. Even without knowing the true reasons for why he has been brought over to coach, nothing can slow Ted down as he tries to better this team in more ways than one.
It’s fitting that the series opens not with Ted being offered the job, or with Rebecca discovering her discouraging motives, but instead with our team, practicing(or training depending on which side of the pond you are on). That is one of the messages this show tries to convey to us the viewers. Its not about the individual, but the entire team. It’s not about the one, but the elven, something Ted tries to convey, and successfully by the series end, to Jamie Tart. The young brash phenom the team has, who’s ego gets the better of him time and time again, but by the end of the season we find ourselves proud of his growth and excited to see more of him, on either side of the pitch.
That is another main driving force behind this series, growth. Many of our characters go through a substantial growth. From our aging legend, Roy Kent, as he learns that his prime is past him, but he can still lead and inspire the men around him to attempt something that no one believes they can do. Nate, a lonely kit-man we meet in the first episode who gains confidence throughout the series from the help of Ted and Coach Beard (brilliantly played by co-creator Brendan Hunt) to becoming a coach himself. We see Rebecca’s icy exterior melt away throughout the shows run as she see the person she has become. A ruthless owner who wants nothing more than to hurt her ex, but at the cost of losing herself. Its not till finding new friends herself, in that of Keely Jones, does she begin to see how much she has changed and inevitably must try and mend the bridges she has burned.
Even Ted himself grows. A character who could easily have come off as a one-note, Jason Sudeikis gives a layered performance of a man who, simply put, is trying his best. He is trying to be the best coach he can be, the best friend he can be, and the best husband and father. But as many of us know, you can do everything right and still fail. It is what we do after our failure that define us. And Ted does what we would all hope we could do. He keeps moving forward, and eventually grows to be a stronger coach. Ted early on believes winning doesn’t matter, that it’s his obligation to better the players as men first, and help them win second, by the end though he has accepted that sometimes winning is what matters, and pushing your players and yourself into uncomfortable positions is sometimes to only way to move forwards and succeed.
I haven’t even touched on the wonderful comedy, the nuanced drama, lovable side characters, the young Nigerian witchcraft believing Sam, the overly enthusiastic Danny Rojas, or my personal favorite Trent Crimm: The Independent. Ted Lasso has plenty to offer and more. A show I am currently on my third playthrough as of writing this review, doesn’t seem to be losing any of its magic as I relive is best moments. With a second season already greenlit, for the first time in my life I can’t wait for more football. Do not miss out on this show, or it would be like missing out on fresh baked cookies from mom, a sin.
A perfect show if you ask me, I give Season 1 of Ted Lasso 10 out of 10