Ted Lasso
Cast & Key People
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Our Review
The show that proved kindness could be a premium cable hook. Jason Sudeikis’s mustachioed American football coach taking over an English Premier League club is a fish out-of water setup so old it has barnacles, and somehow it became the warmest thing on TV. Season 1 is a perfect ten hours: Ted’s relentless optimism isn’t naive, it’s armor, and the show slowly lets you see the cracks (the panic attacks are handled with rare care).
The ensemble is deep. Brett Goldstein’s Roy Kent is a legendary entry, and Hannah Waddingham’s Rebecca gives the show its real dramatic weight. The trouble comes later: season 2 drifts into very special episode territory, and season 3 bloats to feature length installments with subplots nobody asked for (say nothing of the Nate arc’s whiplash). But at its best, the darts scene, the Christmas episode, Roy and Keeley, this show is a masterclass in making cynicism look stupid.
Verdict: Watch it. Believe in it a little less after season 1, but watch it.
