I put off watching "Ted Lasso" for a long time. I didn't want to watch a show of poorly observed jokes about football or British life, which I what I feared the show would be. When I finally relented, I discovered that, though those elements are a small part of it, really it's a warm hearted and amusing comedy, in the vein of something like "Parks and Recreation".
Having won her husband's prized football team as part of a divorce settlement, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) sacks the manager and appoints Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) in an attempt to sabotage the first team and get back at her husband. Lasso, who recently found some success and internet fame with a collegiate American Football team, does not know anything about football, a fact that his players and the media crucify him for. However, his earnest attitude and man management skills eventually win him friends and supporters, if not necessarily football matches.
Much like the other characters in this interesting anglo-american hybrid it's hard not to be won over by Ted Lasso. What immediately feels like an almost Ned Flanders-esque caricature begins to be stripped away as Lasso's strategy of unlocking the potential in the players comes to the fore and as the reasons for him taking a job, in a sport he doesn't understand, thousands of miles away from home are made apparent, so the hidden depths of the show are revealed.
Like most quality comedies, it soon becomes an ensemble. Juno Temple wonderfully plays a seemingly vapid It girl, who is aging out of model /trophy girlfriend phaseand the two relationships she has play a big part in the series. Nick Mohammed and Jeremy Swift both play characters that UK audiences will have seen them play before, but both get an opportunity to show their talents to a much larger audience. Mohammed especially is a star on the rise.
Admittedly the actual scenes of football look pretty terrible, and some other aspects of that side of the show, such as the squad visiting a pub near the ground, the fitness levels of some of the rest of the team, allowing journalists unrestricted access to the training ground or celebrating goals in training all feel a little bit erroneous - but it's a comedy that's funny and heartfelt and that's more than enough to forgive those moments.
Having won her husband's prized football team as part of a divorce settlement, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) sacks the manager and appoints Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) in an attempt to sabotage the first team and get back at her husband. Lasso, who recently found some success and internet fame with a collegiate American Football team, does not know anything about football, a fact that his players and the media crucify him for. However, his earnest attitude and man management skills eventually win him friends and supporters, if not necessarily football matches.
Much like the other characters in this interesting anglo-american hybrid it's hard not to be won over by Ted Lasso. What immediately feels like an almost Ned Flanders-esque caricature begins to be stripped away as Lasso's strategy of unlocking the potential in the players comes to the fore and as the reasons for him taking a job, in a sport he doesn't understand, thousands of miles away from home are made apparent, so the hidden depths of the show are revealed.
Like most quality comedies, it soon becomes an ensemble. Juno Temple wonderfully plays a seemingly vapid It girl, who is aging out of model /trophy girlfriend phaseand the two relationships she has play a big part in the series. Nick Mohammed and Jeremy Swift both play characters that UK audiences will have seen them play before, but both get an opportunity to show their talents to a much larger audience. Mohammed especially is a star on the rise.
Admittedly the actual scenes of football look pretty terrible, and some other aspects of that side of the show, such as the squad visiting a pub near the ground, the fitness levels of some of the rest of the team, allowing journalists unrestricted access to the training ground or celebrating goals in training all feel a little bit erroneous - but it's a comedy that's funny and heartfelt and that's more than enough to forgive those moments.