The premise of Ted Lasso certainly didn’t sound like a formula for award-winning television: Take a goofy character from an old TV ad and build an entire show around him; make it about soccer, a sport most Americans don’t care about; and fill it with a bunch of actors nobody knows. Then stick it on a subscription service that was less than a year old, with few subscribers, from a company known mostly for smartphones, watches, and laptops. Give it a title that makes it sound like it’s about a rodeo clown.
I was repeatedly encouraged to watch Ted Lasso and was too stubborn because it airs on one of the many streaming services I didn’t already subscribe to. (I am a subscriber now.) When there was a free AppleTV+ weekend last January I finally took the leap and binged all 3 seasons in just a few days. Ted Lasso now sits alongside my collection of cherished television shows because I purchased the DVDs so I could make my non-subscribing AppleTV+ neighbors watch. After I finished, I craved more: extra features, production notes, interviews, gag reels, etc. No joy on the DVDs. The same person who said I’d love the show told me about this book. Since The Richmond Way by Trent Crimm, is completely fiction, it will have to suffice.
The book is constructed like a game. It begins with warm-ups that introduce the show’s genesis and purpose. The casting choices, the location selection, character developments, and just exactly how Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), felt about eating all those biscuits Ted gave her every day. The answer? Not great until the recipe changed. One of the cast favorites, Roy Kent, is based on former Manchester United captain Roy Keane and is portrayed brilliantly by Brett Goldstein. Watching Roy progress from monosyllabic grunts and a singular repeated expletive to something beyond is damn near miraculous. The First Half and the Second Half of the book include chapters that focus on a key episode. There are discussions similar to a commentary on a movie with multiple people talking about how scenes were constructed, changed, and final decisions were made. The chapters end with answers to the questions: Who Won the Episode, Best Save, Best Assist, Best Line, and Random Stats. The Random Stats are chock full of callbacks and information we would never have known. An example, and not a spoiler, is a scene where bar owner Mae straightens a small portrait of Geronimo and this is revealed to be a tribute to Sam Malone and Coach in the Cheers series finale.
An integral part of the show is the music and the book provided excellent behind the scene stories. A eulogy sung to Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up was even more poignant knowing there was a parallel real life loss with the character. The Rolling Stones approved She’s a Rainbow until the footage it accompanied was altered. When they had to approve it again? The Stones said no more changes. It’s good to have folks with a big checkbook when you’re trying to get the rights to use the iconic Disney song Let It Go for a karaoke scene. Father and Son (Cat Stevens/Yussif Islam) accompanying the season finale and the team performing So Long Farewell from The Sound of Music? Both bullseyes. There are Ted Lasso playlists on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. I’ve watched the entire series twice and am anticipating the fourth season. It will be good to return to Richmond Green although we’re hearing they are filming in Kansas City, home of Ted Lasso/Jason Sudeikis.
Egner, Jeremy. Believe: The Untold Story Behind Ted Lasso, the Show That Kicked Its Way into Our Hearts. Dutton, 2024.
