Jason Sudeikis Inspires Laughs and Cheers in Apple TV’s ‘Ted Lasso’ 

Alci Rengifo

There are goofballs who easily inspire sympathy because they truly mean well. We can roll our eyes at their aloofness, but grin at their sincerity. Apple TV’s new comedy “Ted Lasso” is precisely all about that kind of character. Jason Sudeikis returns as a persona he first played in a series of hilarious NBC Sports promos from 2013, essentially a clueless American coach hired to lead the U.K.’s Premier League. It was meant as a way for NBC to promote its coverage of the League, while poke fun at the average American’s ignorance of football soccer. “Ted Lasso” expands the concept into lighthearted fun, with a few vicious bits of comedy thrown in. But like its origins, much of its charm is in the idea of a Yankee in the Queen’s playing field.

In this version of the Lasso saga, the always smiling Kentucky college football coach is hired to lead Premiere League team AFC Richmond, which has a terrible track record. The team is owned by Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), who is seething with rage at the tabloid exploits of her now ex-husband, who used to be the team’s original owner. Welton brings in Lasso with the idea that the American coach, who himself does not have the most stunning record except for one trophy, will get AFC Richmond into shape. Lasso arrives in London with his right hand, Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt). What they find is a team with little enthusiasm and stuck in a frat-like atmosphere, even the shower heads in the locker room don’t work. But Lasso, despite knowing nothing about soccer and with the English public hostile and skeptical, brings such a positive, genuine attitude that it’s hard to bring him down. This will make Welton’s real plan more difficult: Her hope is Lasso will bring about the downfall of AFC Richmond as a final, vengeful blow against her cheating ex-husband.

Developed by Sudeikis and “Scrubs” creator Bill Lawrence, “Ted Lasso” works as a pleasant transition from skit to television. Instead of just trying to expand the skit itself to episodic length, it turns Lasso into a broader character with, dare one say, more complexity. His journey to London coincides with marital problems at home, and during a sad phone call he assures his wife he’s giving her some space she is asking for. When he receives a box of crafts from his son, he shares some with a subtly annoyed Welton, but we sense the sadness in the man. This kind of writing helps the show a lot, because it turns Lasso into someone we care about as opposed to a mere joke good for a quick laugh. Sudeikis’s nuanced take on the character also helps him rise above some of the show’s less well-developed elements. For example we rarely get to see how Lasso truly grapples with having to coach a sport he knows nothing about. He makes the team do specific drills (“this is the exorcist!”) and attempts to get them pumped by doing efforts in enthusiasm, such as fixing the showers, or celebrating a player’s birthday.

Yet the show is also enjoyable as a fun jab at infamous American ignorance. We are a land that believes “football” as a term only applies to yards and inches, touchdowns and helmets. “Ted Lasso” gleefully drops an all-American into London, where he faces the press and admits he didn’t realize football soccer doesn’t have quarters, and admits Renaldo is the only soccer player he knows by name. Lasso can’t stomach British tea and nearly dies from trying Indian cuisine. He even has to learn what “wanker” means. Moments like these give the show a welcome charm, especially since Lasso isn’t some stubborn, self-righteous American, he really does want to learn about his surroundings. He’s a likeable goof, and soon his team can’t resist his aura.

Speaking about the team, they too are an example of how characters are the best feature of “Ted Lasso.” The soccer players have their individual roles and personalities, as one would expect. But they work to entertaining, satirical effect. Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) is the team star and an egomaniacal jerk, prone to staring at himself and picking on the team’s equivalent of a waterboy. Jamie’s girlfriend, Keeley (Juno Temple), fools us at first into believing she’s a typical, airheaded model trophy, but with progressive episodes she becomes sort of endearing. One of the best performances from the team is Brett Goldstein as Roy Kent, who is a slightly older player Lasso knows could be the players’ natural leader. He has a short temper and can’t stand the immaturity around him, but when Lasso hands him a copy of “Wrinkle in Time,” his outlook begins to change. It will be up to Roy to put the obnoxious diva Jamie in his place. 

Key to a good comedy is the sense that the actors feel comfortable in their characters’ skins, giving off the impression they are actually having a blast. Hannah Waddingham almost gives off a sense of real pleasure in playing the sneakily diabolical Welton, who is obsessed with ruining her ex. She’s a fantastic contrast to Sudeikis, because at the heart of the plot’s dilemma is that Welton wants Lasso to become an object of scorn, but he is just too damn nice. When she lures a snarky reporter from The Independent to interview Lasso, hoping the piece will cement his doom, the complete opposite happens. Some people in this world somehow survive with niceness as a bulletproof vest. Welton warns Lasso the journalist can be a tough cookie, and his reply is, “you know what you do with tough cookies don’t you? You dip them in milk.”

“Ted Lasso” could have easily flopped. Some skits are just not meant to become wider concepts. But Sudeikis and Lawrence, along with fellow showrunners Joe Kelly and Brendan Hunt, have taken a genuinely funny character and turned him into a worthy TV chortle. Like the main character, it is one of the comedies that becomes difficult to hate on.

“Ted Lasso” season one begins streaming Aug. 14 on Apple TV+ with new episodes premiering every Friday.