How Ted Lasso Changed the Game
A common theme in today’s media environment is how pessimistic it all seems. From movies, to TV shows, to the news, everything is filled with negativity. In a world with as many problems as ours has, it’s important to look on the bright side of our lives. An old Blink 182 song I think says it best, “this world’s an ugly place, but you’re so beautiful to me.” With so much conflict in the world, people yearn for a little hope, a little optimism, a little positivity. And it’s exactly the reason one show has captured our hearts. It’s quite a shock that an NBC Sports commercial, that became a meme, is now a hyper popular TV show. Ted Lasso stormed his way into the English Premier League and into the hearts of all of us. But what exactly makes this show so good? And how can other shows and films replicate its success? Join me dear viewer, as I dive deep into the world of the English Premier League and its hero Ted Lasso.
During the deepest part of the pandemic, when things looked at their most grim, along came a show that provided hope. I remember escaping the city and going to my parent’s house right before things got eerie in New York. In the suburbs, I got to spend time outdoors, riding my bike and walking my dog. But in the evenings, when I’d usually go out with friends, I was stuck at home. My mom and I went through several excellent shows, from Turn to Halt and Catch Fire, we binged TV until the wee hours of the night. But one show captured our hearts and imagination.
Ted Lasso’s first ever appearance was in an NBC Sports commercial to advertise the English Premier League here in the states. What made the commercial so funny and successful was a new and fresh take on the old “fish out of water” trope. Taking a boorish, culturally unkempt man from middle America and plopping him into the culturally cosmopolitan metropolis that is London made for some funny moments. “Manchester United, everybody either loves them or hates them. Dallas Cowboys.”
Everyone thought that this outstanding advertising campaign would remain so, much in the same way as the Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World” advertising campaign. But Apple TV came along with different plans for the character. In an effort to build up their fledgling streaming service, Apple made a meme into a viable TV show starring the lovable Midwesterner with a heart of gold.
Over the past three seasons, we’ve seen this “fish out of water” story evolve into a heartwarming comedy with some dramatic elements. When we first meet Ted Lasso way back in season 1, he’s still learning the ropes of English football. But by season 3, he’s evolved into his own and still wrestling with very common themes such as divorce and feeling inadequate. It’s exactly these themes that resonate with audiences because they are grounded in reality and are done in an intricately positive way.
The show also respects the American Midwest by not ridiculing it. Over the past few decades, people in the Midwest have felt abandoned by the coastal cities which made fun of them, calling them fly-over states. People in the Midwest don’t like to feel lesser than their coastal city brethren. But the show takes care to respect that audience which in turns drives them to watch the show. As I mentioned in my review for Top Gun Maverick, Tom Cruise coming out before the start of the film to thank audiences for attending showed a level of respect that Hollywood has very sorely lacked during the Dark Age of Cinema. The showrunners for Ted Lasso show this respect by portraying their titular character as honest, caring, and nurturing.
Ted Lasso is an eternal optimist and deep down a good person. Like all people, there are things he struggles with. In season 3, we learn that his wife began dating their couple’s therapist, which makes him question everything leading up to their divorce. Throughout the series, mental health is shown in a nuanced and compassionate way. Ted struggles with anxiety, often wrought on by his feelings of inadequacy. He doesn’t feel good enough for his wife and he doesn’t feel good enough to be a coach. These are issues that many, many people in society deal with which is why the show resonates with such a wide audience. These are age old themes and problems that humanity writ large has dealt with for thousands of years.
It seems that everything in the world today aims to drag individuals down. From online trolling to real life bullying, the world is a harsh place. The show does not avoid this reality. But rather it tackles it with honesty, positivity, and overall optimism. Whenever the world seems to bear down on Ted, his outlook on life remains positive. He approaches situations much in the same way a doctor would, “so how can I help.” Ted Lasso as a coach sees the best in people and drives them to unlock their true potential. He doesn’t view the world in a competitively adversarial way. He drives people together through hard work, grit, and determination all while doing it in a paternal nurturing way. As I mentioned in the first installment of my Dark Ages of Cinema series, viewing the world in an adversarial way is toxic and ultimately drives audiences away.
In a world with such division and hatred, Ted Lasso is a shining beacon of hope. He is an ideal we should all strive to be. Much in the same way as Captain America is the embodiment of honor and honesty. Both Ted Lasso and Steve Rogers show audiences that you may get knocked down over and over again, but the true meaning of life is how you rise from those failures. Ted Lasso shows the audience that it’s okay to fail, even to fail repeatedly. But he also shows people that you can rise back up after failure to achieve success. He does this all in an eternally optimistic way. And this is the lesson of the show. Ultimately, this is the kind of lesson that movies and shows need to portray in their stories. It’s healthy lessons like these that people can apply in their everyday lives. And such lessons are ultimately very inspiring, which resonates with audiences.
Overall, Ted Lasso is a show that resonates with audiences not only because of its positivity, but also because it teaches us the healthy lesson of recovering from failure. It shows us that as idealistic as Ted is, he is still flawed, yet he works through those flaws in genuinely healthy ways such as seeing a psychologist about his anxiety. During the pandemic, this was the show that told its audience, “there, there now, everything will be all right,” which is something the world needed at the time and continues to need it. As season 3 wraps up, I’ll be curious to see how the showrunners will tie up the loose ends they left throughout the series. And since there is yet no indication that the show will be renewed for a fourth season, I hope they tie it up as positively as when they started the series. Give this series a try, it’ll certainly pick up your spirits, and maybe also your soccer knowledge too.
If you liked this piece, check out my youtube channel for even more deep analysis of cinema: