Remember when “Ted Lasso” was a sitcom? The show may have included too many unintended paths and fast cuts of single-camera production, but its first season was still an accessible fish-out-of-water about an optimistic American football coach (Jason Sudeikis). The comedy is set up. England in a time of personal crisis, to try their hand at football. It felt like Apple TV+ took the core of a network-TV project and, using strong characterization and well-chosen profanity, polished it into a streaming gem.
In Its Third and Possibly Final Season, There Are Still Aspects of “Lasso” That the Network Missed
Television – although not always comedy. The first four episodes of its 12-episode season run about 50 minutes, closer to the length of a speedy network drama than a supersized-by-streaming sitcom. And now that Ted has become more acclimated to his job and temporary home, the show’s framework is less fish-out-of-water and more back-to-school.
That’s the excitement of the Season 3 premiere episode, anyway, as Ted sends his young son back to America after a six-week off-screen vacation in England, and then returns for a new stint coaching Richmond Football Club. . Fellow coaches Beard (Brendan Hunt) and Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) come out as other faculty members, club owner Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) serves as the competing principal, and young soccer players take on the role of the student body. – Kind. Another way that “Ted Lasso” now feels like a school-set show is that it often feels like its viewers are in need of moral instruction, or perhaps affirmation of their better nature.
This is especially true whenever the show handles Nate’s (Nick Mohammed) heel turn, something Season 2 featured a lot. His journey from humble kit guy to valuable member of the coaching team to validation-craving, status-seeking jerk has never really been played for laughs, and the first episode of season 3 provides a compare-and-contrast, When someone missed the point last time. Nate is lured to coach at West Ham United by Rebecca’s caddish ex-husband Rupert (Anthony Stewart Head), and he revels in pre-season predictions for West Ham that have placed the lowest possible finish for their new Richmond rivals. Expectations are also set. It shouldn’t count as a spoiler to say that Ted ultimately continues to handle this rift gracefully, without the poor sportsmanship that Nate gives in as he wrestles, along with his demons. Nate isn’t the focus of every episode so far, but a third of the way into the season, the show adds several more goofs-and-galant lessons to its already long line up.
Unfortunately, Nate’s story isn’t the only example of the show not trusting viewers to have the capacity for both serious-minded characterization and genuine, you know, humor. In the opening girl-talk scenes between Rebecca and her model-turned-PR-mogul bestie Keeley Jones (Juno Temple), any potentially snappy dialogue between the two is slowed down so that the characters exchange jokes with admiring glances. But can smile and laugh. It seems as though somehow, after two full seasons, viewers won’t understand that these two people like each other without constant reassurance. For the first few episodes, both the supportive bonding and the laugh-out-loud angst take precedence over the comic timing.
In the season’s third and especially fourth episodes, “Ted Lasso” begins to resemble a comedy series again rather than a warm-over dramedy, especially as it introduces a new star player who raises Richmond’s fortunes. is, while pompous, quasi-spiritual performance. (It’s a serious struggle, but not a self-serious one.) The episode’s running time is still shocking, but they at least use the extra time to accommodate the character-based laughs that the show has had in its run. Presented so subtly to the extreme. ,
Even beyond that peak, “Lasso” still has plenty of charm; It’s a tribute to what the series has done
creators Sudeikis, Hunt, Bill Lawrence, and Joe Kelly that this joke can survive for long depending heavily on audience investment in their characters rather than density. Sudeikis is one of the most purely endearing comic leads on television, and because Ted’s personality includes a cheerful face even in dire situations, he’s the best-equipped to handle a consistently funny character and heavy material. Hunt, as always, makes an impeccable sidekick.
But really, none of the cast is at fault. Goldstein’s husky Roy Kent still cuts through the molasses, and Temple and Waddingham show considerable range. It’s hard to shake the feeling that “Ted Lasso” has veered into late-stage “Parks and Recreation” a little too fast — that it’s taking more than its characters’ personal and professional well-being (and their ability to impart life lessons) Worried. !) Nothing beats hilarity, compared to crafting stories of genuine wonder.
There is no doubt that this season finale will be an emotional one. But is it too much to ask that it remains funny along the way?
Ted Lasso Season 3 premieres Wednesday, March 15 on Apple TV+.
