As humans we enjoy our entertainment. What the people who study human behavior tell us – that would be the sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, etc. – is that our ability to enjoy our entertainment is likely hardwired into our brains. Understanding what other people are doing and the cognitive ability to grasp another’s viewpoint allows us to occupy a fictional space – thereby allowing us to be entertained.
Thousands of years ago this entertainment likely centered on stories – telling them and re-telling them. Today, we have many, many types of entertainment that allow us to occupy a fictional space. One of those is our beloved television screen.
Over the years in our family, we certainly have watched hours and hours of television. And as the years have gone by there always seems to be one or two television shows that are what I would call generationally-great shows. Shows that allow us to occupy an enjoyable fictional space that really does make you forget that you are watching a “show.” Shows that make you laugh, cry, feel warm fuzzies and also treat you like an intelligent human being.
On my list are shows like M*A*S*H, The Odd Couple, The Wonder Years, Cheers (Night Court), Hill Street Blues, Ally McBeal and NCIS. These were and are shows I sometimes watched with my wife – before kids – or I’ve watched with them since they arrived in our lives.
Currently, there is one such show on television that occupies this rarified status for me. It’s a show that my wife and I initially stopped watching partway into the first episode because she found the language a little questionable. This is one of several content-oriented reasons you won’t find many of the premium cable shows on our list of the greatest TV shows. I’ve never seen more than a few minutes of some of the top shows in most “greatest television shows in history” lists because of what I’ve found as unnecessary or unwarranted content. That’s probably why I consider Casablanca the greatest movie of all time!
In any case, the television show I’m talking about is Ted Lasso.
In the fictional world of this show, the namesake character is the head coach of the D-II Wichita State Shockers football team, wins an NCAA championship and gains notoriety for his team-dancing scene on social media. At the same time, the owner of a Premier League soccer team in England wants to get back at the previous owner, her unfaithful husband from whom she is now divorced, and decides the best way to do this is by having the team lose. As in lose every single game. And the best way for the team to lose every game is by hiring a team manager who knows nothing about soccer. So she hires Ted Lasso.
After my wife and I gave up on the first episode more than two years ago, we didn’t think about it again until the last few months when we were looking through the “Recommended For You” options that pop up on our cable screen occasionally whenever we aren’t watching something specific. In the previous years, we’d heard people mention the show in glowing terms but didn’t pay much attention. So we thought we would give it another go. And we’ve been going ever since.
The show does make you laugh, cry, feel warm fuzzies and treat you like an intelligent human being. There are plenty of “You’ll miss it if you’re not paying attention” moments – the above “Cheers – Night Court” lines being one of them. The actors all inhabit their characters on such a level that it’s entirely believable that they are who they are depicting. It also doesn’t take itself seriously but understands its place in the cultural mélange of today’s society.
It deals with many social issues in wonderful ways – smart, humorous, thought-provoking. It is an entirely interesting show that I’m more than happy to engross myself in. And unlike so many other shows out there, it has never once given me a cringe-worthy moment of dialogue or action that breaks the barrier between screen and reality and makes me want to get up out of my seat and walk out of the room. It is, for me, a generational bit of television. My wife, however, has had some cringe-worthy moments, but appreciates the heartfelt messages underneath.
Obviously I like the show a lot, but if it provides any justification, the primary television awards show in the United States seems to like it as well. In 2022, at the 74th Emmy Awards, Ted Lasso received awards for: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. At the 2021 Emmy Awards, the show received the top awards for: Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series. Somebody out there thinks this is good television.
The only drawback of this show is that it is on Apple TV+ and nowhere else. Meaning if you want to watch it you’ll have to spend a few dollars for their streaming subscription service. As someone who finds it difficult to support anything with the bitten fruit logo on it, I’m not thrilled that I have to pay a few dollars to the empire, but that’s how much I like the show. In other words, I definitely don’t own (at least not directly) Apple stock and stand to gain nothing from you watching and enjoying.
To date, there have been 31 episodes: 10 in the first season, 12 in the second and nine so far of the planned 12-episode third season. The final episodes will release the next three Wednesdays and then, that will be it. Ted Lasso will, theoretically, ride off into the sunset. As with any great television show there are fans who would like to see the show continue and there are certainly enough rumors about whether there will be a fourth season or more. But as of right now, this is it.
So, if you are one of the many folks out there with a brain that can relate to others and occupy a fictional space, can stand a bit of salty language, are looking to be entertained – especially by great stories and interesting characters – and haven’t already watched Ted Lasso, I highly recommend you give it a go. “Footballers” may come to mean a whole new thing for you!