I didn’t think I will like a TV show about Football, one of the many games I have hardly watched, but after starting to see Ted Lasso on Apple TV +, I had to binge-watch the entire season 1 in two days. It was that good. Jason Sudeikis has done the title role of Ted Lasso very well; it was a delight to watch him.
It had all the right ingredients for a TV series: an underdog sports team, a bit of British humour, and inspiring but down-to-earth coach who has absolutely no idea on the game he is coaching, one divorced couple, another divorcing, a broken relationship which leads to a new one, and more.
The show worked for me, as there was only a little about the football game that gets covered, I was able to follow easily. The story and plots were simple but effective. In most episodes, the screenplay moves at a brisk pace to cover the planned plot. There were no sub-plots or distractions, and only a few lead characters who have done their roles well. The series treats the viewers as smart; it doesn’t elaborate on backstories and assumes we will follow the story from the hints in the dialogues. There are no flashbacks on Ted’s broken marriage, the team captain’s speech to the press, or on Rupert’s (team owner Rebecca’s ex-husband) past infidelity and so on. Also, the show doesn’t show players miraculously winning or losing suddenly – it was mostly realistic.
There were many tiny humour bits throughout, like Ted’s disgust for English Tea, his secret recipe Biscuits for the Boss, the superstitions of the two coaches and so on.
Footnote: Watching on Apple TV+ was not as easy as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Apple has a lot of work to do on improving its player app.
Season 2, Episode 10: 27/Sep/2021
Most shows lose their steam in the second season, some regain them in the third – But other than a couple of episodes, Ted Lasso maintains the tempo and keeps you engaged. It was not surprising that the show won the 2021 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, Best Actor award for Jason Sudeikis and other lead actors. I thoroughly enjoyed the recent episode (10) titled “No Weddings and a Funeral” (S02E10), those who haven’t you should start watching the show.
Ted Lasso
Season 2, Episode 12 (Finale): 8/Oct/2021
A perfect finale for Season 2. The new arcs that had been created in this serious and I am curious on how these will get developed in subsequent seasons. An adversary to the charming Ted was great. And to think till a few episodes before, none of us would’ve guessed who that will be!
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