We have seen a lot of TV shows in recent years. Some are good some are bad and some are weird. But Ted Lasso which was released in August managed to come out smelling like roses. Why should you watch this successful production, Ted Lasso? How did a football story manage to draw me in?
British author Simon Kuper said, “football is never just football.” I don’t know what was his motivation to write the book but Ted Lasso fits that perfectly. We have seen a lot of TV shows in recent years. There are some good and bad ones. But Ted Lasso manages to come out smelling like roses.
Ted Lasso TV-Show Plot
Ted Lasso taking over the Richmond football club is something to mock about like the British press. And the TV show does that. But after a while, we understand that it is not about football. It looks like a football-related TV show but this is the least important topic. It is more about the characters in the team. Rebecca trying to overcome the trauma of what she experienced with her husband, Nathan who cannot take any action despite his good knowledge about football, Roy who fails in anger management because it is the end of his career, Keeley who wastes her talent and beauty, Higgins who is forced to pay the price of Rebecca’s betrayal and Jamie who learns that arrogance can never be a part of a team game in a hard way.
Football is just a layer added to the cultural conflict experienced by a man who is forced to come to London from the US. The producers manage to turn Ted’s relationship with the British press, food and even tea into comedy. So does the cultural dynamics in the team due to different cultures and players from different countries… We can feel how intrinsic football is in daily life in the UK from the bar conversations to slang on the streets and tribunes. So does our character Ted Lasso.
This takes us to a point to understand why Ted’s excessive optimism and being an American is not frustrating. There is no one as annoying as Ted who has a positive approach towards everything, forgives the evil-doings, finds something to be happy even though the team is in a bad condition, talks about “team spirit”, “belief” and “love yourself” and brings cookies to his boss every morning… But this is the magic of the TV show. Most of them do not work. They do not stop his marriage to end, Rebecca to feel better, Roy’s depression or Nathan overcoming his self-confidence problems. “Belief” does not bring success to the team. Yes, these characters take a long way to overcome these problems but most of them are due to their own efforts. At this point, Ted becomes naive rather than annoying. We understand that he is not just an American hero but a man on his own. He can’t change things but he works to change them.
“Ted Lasso” is one of the best projects of the season with its comedy elements from intercultural conflicts and proving that football is like life… 10 episodes end in the blink of an eye as each episode is 30 minutes. Weekend recommendation…
