There is something about the innate positivity that pours out of Ted Lasso’s (Jason Sudeikis) pores that set off an explosion of universal adoration that’s rare—even during this titanium era of television. Ted Lasso stars SNL veteran Sudeikis as the most unlikely of football coaches charged with injecting a team steeped in history with a winning mentality that has been sorely missing.
Throughout season one, despite a litany of landscapes that would have even the most saintly souls reaching for the pessimism, Lasso illustrates why he has been successful as an American football coach. Let’s just say it has less to do with the inner-workings of the game itself versus inspiring those who play the game.
Hannah Waddingham’s Rebecca Welton was not aware of that fact when she hired Ted. In fact, she thought hiring an American football coach to lead a soccer team when he’s never even played the game would lead to the destruction of the one thing her billionaire ex-husband adores—his AFC Richmond, i.e., the ultimate diss.
She desperately wants to dislike Lasso, but as he brings her shortbread cookies each morning (which she finds divine), at a certain point in season one, she stopped trying to resist his magic and instead embraces his unlikely pathway to success.
There are so many endearing layers to Ted Lasso, it’s hard to know where to start and conclude the lauding. Juno Temple, for example, is impeccable as Keeley Jones. She began the first season as the eye candy girlfriend of the star player Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) and finished it as the social media manager for the club and a girlfriend of veteran footballer Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein). Not to mention a budding friendship with the team’s owner.
What Ted Lasso achieves with each episode is beyond refreshing. It is inhabited by an ensemble that we feel we know ever more so with each passing show. For a (roughly) 30-minute comedy, it is an astounding achievement. Keep in mind also, that this is a program with an enormous (and sublime) cast. Each gets their due with each episode and more importantly, over the course of the entire season.
The Ted Lasso creative team has even taken that a step further. New characters have been added, and as should be a surprise to no one, their addition has enriched and already rich show. Initially, new pieces to the Ted pie seemed risky.
After all, like a winning sports team, why add anything that could influence or affect the chemistry? This is Ted Lasso after all, where everything is perfection. So, the addition of characters to an already hefty ensemble reminds of that old adage—if some is good, more is better. In this case, more is pure bliss.
A welcomed addition to the team (literally and figuratively) is sports psychologist Dr. Sharon Fieldstone (Sarah Niles). Can’t—and do not want to—get into specifics with her interactions with players and coaching staff. It’s so bloody brilliant to see how organically it happens, one must discover it on your own. Let’s just say this, she works her way effortlessly into the AFC Richmond family and provides a vital role in ways you will not see coming.
Niles is a fantastic actress and her touch on Fieldstone is pitch perfect. Yeah, you might notice that the word “perfect” will be used every five seconds when it comes to describing the world of Ted Lasso.
The thing that also must be pointed out is one must not be a fan of soccer (or football, depending on where you live) to enjoy or even simply appreciate what Sudeikis and his producing team (including Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence) have achieved with Ted Lasso.
Being an appreciator of the world’s most popular sport certainly will have you bringing your own sports-centric view to the program. But the thing is, Ted Lasso is about people—who just happen to work for and around a professional English football team.
Its observations and innocent commentary on humanity and those who inhabit it are rich, spot-on, and most importantly, never judgy. People are who they are, and it is so refreshing to inhale a show that is never having characters who try to alter each other or influence them in any manner.
Don’t miss our exclusive interview with Ted Lasso’s casting director!
Sure, people change and are capable of great and wide-spanning alterations of who they are and what they are about—but it is our friends and colleagues who know us best who influence us by who they are and not who they want us to be. That is Ted Lasso in a nutshell. Inspiration flies left and right on this show and to soak in its genius is such a rare treat, you may never want it to end. I know I don’t.
Sudeikis may have been the big selling point in season one with his fish out of water storyline and his issues on the home front. Of course, if you’ve had the utter pleasure of witnessing season one, you know that the show is clearly about much more than the head coach. We were introduced to that heavenly ensemble and figuring out how they all interact and influence each other.
Season two is broader still and has Sudeikis taking his place as an important spoke in a wheel that has many of them. This writer is a huge fan of the SNL veteran and by the close of this latest season, he isn’t even my favorite character.
That honor goes to Roy Kent. Goldstein (who also writes for the show) has crafted a character that is as hard-nosed as they come, what with his constant F-bombs and leer that would kill if it could. But as Goldstein plays Kent, he wins you over with his actions and yes, his heart of gold.
What’s so stunning is how the actor so naturally wins the viewer over without any kind of moment of zen. It would be tempting, and many a sitcom and drama have done exactly that to one of its characters, to do that exact thing. Not so with Ted Lasso, as Kent navigates an uncertain world in season two.
Kent has retired from the sport he has played since he was yay high. His relationship with Keeley is endearing, yes, but that’s not even how the heart softens for Kent. He’s an inspiring figure who is a self-made man and keenly knows who he is and never apologizes for it. Proof of that arrives watching him with his elementary school age niece. She adores him and he absolutely cherishes her and spends a lot of time with her. But if you think he holds back on those F-bombs when he’s around her, then you don’t know Roy Kent.
Nate “the Great” Shelley (Nick Mohammed) is back as well. The now assistant coach has his own deeply moving issues and insecurities and as played by the actor, are beyond appealing. The show goes deep with Nate in its sophomore season. The fan favorite embodies so much of the inner doubt that ricochets through our own heads and how he handles it and finds personal elevation will make you want to stand up and cheer.
Waddingham’s Rebecca Welton has quite the season two as well and to watch the actress do her thing as the team’s owner is also, yes, perfection. She commands the screen every moment she’s on it, but never claims or demands the spotlight.
Rebecca has evolved from scorned ex-wife to beloved friend (her kinship with Keeley is delightful) and in the second season she is every bit of the role model that a character like hers would be. After all, she is the owner of a professional sports team that is dominated by men. The way in which she earns (and warrants) respect from her players, coaching staff and players is handled with such precision that it is yet another example of how insanely astounding Ted Lasso is and will continue to be given the team in front and behind the camera.
Season Two Grade: A+