At first glance, "Ted Lasso" looks easy to quantify. A folksy, eternally optimistic football coach from Kansas, Ted Lasso (Jason Sudiekis), is hired to manage a struggling Premiere League soccer team in the UK, AFC Richmond. Nobody likes the idea, not the team, not the fans, and not the media, especially as Lasso readily admits that he knows nothing about soccer. The team's owner, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), clearly has ulterior motives. However, Ted is able to gradually win people over as the season progresses, because of his relentless positivity and shrewd method of coaching.
Jason Sudeikis has finally found his iconic character, and I'm so happy for him. Ted Lasso is the perfect hero for the COVID era, not just a blind optimist, but someone who has plenty of doubts and frustrations, and is very self-aware and discerning. He understands that there is a cost to applying his philosophy to real life, and we watch him struggle mightily with many decisions as the team continues to flounder all season. We can tell that it bothers him when every fan in Richmond rains abuse on him wherever he goes, but he almost never fails to be polite and upbeat. Almost. He's everything we want an American abroad to be - considerate, charming, self-effacing, and truly open-minded. He spouts dad-jokes, Midwestern aphorisms, and a wide variety of cultural references - everything from Kanye albums to Scorsese films. His assistant, Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), is along for the gig, to be Lasso's stalwart best friend and unconditional support - unless Lasso's really doing something stupid.
It's an absolute joy to watch Ted Lasso win over the Brits, person by person, and reveal along the way that the most hostile characters on the show are actually quite sympathetic human beings. AFC Richmond is dominated by two major personalities - conceited rising star Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), and gruff, past-his-prime team captain Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein). Ted is less interested in inspiring them to play better than inspiring them to be better, which drives them crazy. They both know they're being manipulated, especially Roy, but they can't help going along with it anyway. You can predict most of the plot beat by beat, but it's still so much fun to watch these characters come out of their shells, turn a corner, and self-actualize. One of Ted's first successes is with Nathan (Nick Mohammed), the bullied equipment manager who is adopted into the coaching team. Or there's Higgins (Jeremy Swift), Rebecca's corporate toady, who gradually learns to grow an admirable spine.
Speaking of Rebecca, she's the show's other great character, and great performance. Coming off a bitter divorce and still processing a lot of pain, Rebecca has some truly despicable plans for the team. However, the show never treats her as a villain. You can always see the poised, brilliant, capable woman that she is under the thick armor, who is still figuring out who she wants to be. I love Hannah Waddingham's ability to play so many emotions at once. Rebecca's relationship with Ted is one of the show's highlights, and it's a joy to watch it being built on mutual respect and biscuits. The other big female figure on "Ted Lasso" is Keeley Jones (Juno Temple), a model dating Jamie. Far from a gold digger, she's one of the most loveable and mentally healthy people on the show. I'm so happy that she and Rebecca develop a gal pal dynamic, and that she always ends up being the mature one in any interactions with Jamie.
I can't get over how well written Ted Lasso is. It's full of little asides, lines that take a minute to fully register, and all of these beautifully wry, humane observations. Of course there's not time to get to know every member of the team, but the writers slip in these precise little moments of character building that are so much fun - witness Sam (Toheeb Jimoh) explaining he's obsessed with curses, not because he's African, but because he's a "Harry Potter" nut. Or the introduction of Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernández), who constantly has a giant smile on his face and can't stop singing his own theme song. And when you look at the bigger picture, the way that the writers subvert certain parts of the usual inspirational team sports narrative is so effective. The ending of the first season really is one for the ages.
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