TV Review: Ted Lasso Is The Good Guy We Need Right Now
There is something about the “fish out of water” story that will always be attracting, especially in comedy. We love to see the mishaps and misadventures of someone WAY over their own head, of which Ted Lasso completely checks the mark. While I was expecting a lot more humor from the new Apple TV sitcom, out August 14, it was the show’s heart and overall sweetness that kept me coming back.
Is Ted Lasso funny? Yes. Is it laugh out loud hilarious? Well…….. While Ted Lasso has its LOL moments, the trailer and original short may be slightly misleading. I was expecting a show with gags galore, and cringey situations filled with physical comedy and sheer stupidity. Of course, there are instances when my expectations are satisfied. Yet, instead, Ted Lasso is a really positive, kind story, with Jason Sudeikis’ taking up “This Is Us’ Jack-level” of optimism and “dad awesomeness.”
Ted Lasso – Official Trailer | Apple TV+
Sudeikis is effortlessly charismatic as a really nice coach from Kansas, who genuinely thinks football and futbul are the same thing. Yet, while the trailer kind of portrays this belief as arrogant or aloof, when you see the show, you understand that Ted LIVES in a “can do” mind-frame. Another actor would make Ted Lasso feel annoying, cheesy, and stubbornly unaware of negativity, but Sudeikis makes Lasso a genuinely loving guy. He sees life as something you have to live, that’t it, which means you just have to fix the broken pieces and help your team do the same. Thus, the show’s true strength is not in its comedy, but when it allows itself to be a tender tale of how different people, from different worlds and wounds, learn to get along.
The Return of Coach Lasso: NBC Sports Premier League Film featuring Jason Sudeikis | NBC Sports
It is when Ted Lasso, the man and show, are “soft” that you feel won over by the series, and the jokes become a welcomed addition; while I thought they would be the center. Of course, there are humorous, stand-out characters like Juno Temple’s Keeley as soccer player Jaime Tartt’s unfiltered, ditzy, but warm girlfriend and Jeremy Swift’s Higgins as the typical “henchmen” battling between destroying Ted Lasso and becoming his friend. Also, there is Intelligence’s Nick Mohammed’s Nathan as the team’s meek, awkward equipment manager, and then there is Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca. She is FANTASTIC as the show’s other “heart/” villain. She is another surprise in a series that is much more about characters and not caricatures.
An American Coach in London: NBC Sports Premier League Film featuring Jason Sudeikis
Created by Bill Lawrence and Sudeikis, there is some real nuance to Apple TV’s Ted Lasso. In comedy, at times, you have to heighten things up to get the laugh: from scenarios to sentiments. The series never does that; instead preferring a very easy-going dynamic that allows laughs and drama to play itself out. If you laugh, GREAT! If you feel, FANTASTIC! Either way, what you get is a great story. Again Ted Lasso comes out on Apple TV on August 14.
