Ted Lasso (2020-Present)

a.k.a. The Reason Why I Got Apple TV+. I’m not sure what it is about sports-themed shows/movies—I have absolutely zero interest in actual sports, but I can enjoy a well-made show or movie about sports thoroughly, and Ted Lasso might be the best that I’ve ever seen. At least, it’s probably my favorite in that genre, hitting all my buttons and feeling like the fictional equivalent of an old friend getting in touch out of the blue just to see how you are.

When Rebecca gets divorced, she ends up with ownership of AFC Richmond, her ex-husband’s beloved Premiere League football team. Her first act as the new owner is to fire the head coach and hire Ted Lasso, a Division I American football coach from Kansas. Everyone from the players to the fans are horrified at the move, but the tenaciously-optimistic Ted is prepared to win them over one by one.

Jason Sudeikis, who plays the titular Ted, and Brendan Hunt, who plays his number-two Coach Beard, are two of the masterminds behind the series, along with Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence. While Ted Lasso is most definitely its own show, I can also recognize familiar elements that I loved about Scrubs, such as the excellent shifts between comedic and dramatic beats and the way the repertoire of entertaining side characters is slowly but surely built up.

Sudeikis’s Ted anchors the show with folksy charm and an infectious can-do attitude, caring just as much about the emotional well-being of his players as their physical performance, and he’s surrounded by an entire ecosystem of great characters. Both on and off the pitch, the characters deliver humor and heart, wordplay and wit, and top-notch interpersonal dynamics. While I of course have my favorite individuals and pairings, it feels like there are near-endless possibilities of watchable scene partners to put onscreen.

Even though I’m a latecomer to the show, I remember the splash it made when it premiered in 2020, the whole “the show we need for These Times” narrative, and I get that. It’s a series that, while grounded in positivity and good will, also explores mental wellness, especially in men. There are a number of really lovely relationships, and it’s great to see these characters grow and change, realizing how they’ve hurt people and trying to be better. The two main women in the show quickly dispense with any rivalry or slut-shaming and become best friends, building each other up in the ways that they need. While different characters flirt with “villain” roles at times, they’re rarely static, and eventually, nearly everyone is brought into the fold with understanding and patience. It’s a feel-good series in the truest sense of the word.

In addition to Sudeikis and Hunt, both of whom are excellent, the cast is filled with new faves for me. I’m not very familiar with many of them, but just about everyone sparks onscreen and brims with chemistry with everyone around them. Hannah Waddingham (who I only really knew as the “Shame Septa” on Game of Thrones) is an engagingly complex Rebecca, and I really love Juno Temple as Keeley, a model/footballer’s girlfriend turned fledgling boss bitch. On the team, Brett Goldstein is the standout as the gruff veteran Roy Kent, and I also really enjoy Phil Dunster as the showboating himbo Jamie and Toheeb Jimoh as the earnest sweetheart Sam. A couple familiar faces pop up as guest stars, including the always-frosty, always-welcome Harriet Walter as Rebecca’s mom and a thoroughly-slimy Anthony Head (Giles!!) as Rebecca’s ex.

Warnings

Language (including the C-word,) sexual content, scenes of violence, drinking/smoking, and strong thematic elements (including discussion of suicide.)