I'd been the type of person who absolutely refused to buy into the idea of streaming TV shows. Particularly on anything that would require paying a monthly subscription.
This is something I have absolutely zero regrets.
HOWEVER...
I finally joined the rest of my family and got my own iPad for Christmas. With it came three FREE months of Apple+.
So I figured... eh, why not? I'll see what all this is about and I had three shows in mind that I wanted to see.
Ted Lasso was the first one I choose and as of writing this post, the only one I continued binging after Season One. More on that later...
I knew nothing about this show going in except that Jason Sudeikis played the title character, he was coaching a soccer team and that it was a comedy.
It didn't take long for me to not only get into this show, but to immediately rate it as one of my favorite series ever. This is not an exaggeration... it had its ups and downs throughout the three seasons (as of this post) of its lifespan, but it had one thing going for that few other series have.
Most of the show was light-hearted and fun, full of memorable characters that'll be staying with me for a long time. And while it wasn't 100% drama-free zone, it handled those bumps in the road without throwing the train completely off the tracks. Between that and all the pop culture references, it was almost like it was tailor-made for me.
Going forward, there will be some spoilers...
I'm mostly writing this post for myself so I have a record of why this show meant so much to me in 2025.
Also- if anyone is thinking of getting an Apple+ subscription or happens to be in the middle of a free trial period, I'd ABSOLUTELY recommend checking this show out.
And in case you're wondering, you do not have to be a soccer fan or even a sports fan to enjoy this show. I still don't know anything about that sport, haha.
With the exception of the World Cup a few years ago when Argentina (led by Lionel Messi) won in overtime, three seasons of this show is the most soccer I'd watched in my entire life.
***.
Ted Lasso is a college football coach from Kansas who is recruited to coach a soccer club in England by its female owner, Rebecca Welton.
AFC Richmond isn't the strongest team in the league, but has a few star players. Notably young upstart Jamie Tartt and seasoned veteran Roy Kent.
But here's the catch: Rebecca recruited Ted for one specific purpose-- to sabotage any chance it has at success.
...like many other people seeing this the first time, I reached the inevitable conclusion that this is essentially Major League, but instead of baseball, it's about soccer. Then more information comes out and we discover there's more going on behind the scenes.
Rebecca's ex-husband, Rupert, had been the club's previous owner and ruining it would be the perfect revenge against him. Once she reveals this to Ted, they have a good conversation and they become allies- to make this team the best team in the league and a much better team than it had been under his leadership.
Even before that, Ted's easygoing Midwestern attitude was winning over the hearts of everyone around him. He'd start each morning making "biscuits for the boss," which she accepted begrudgingly but secretly had Director of Operations Higgins doing recon to find out where he bought them because they were that good.
Another skeptic he slowly won over- Trent Crimm from The Independent. Someone who you think is just another skeptic journalist but Ted wins him over and we get to see more of him as the series goes on.
For a while, it seemed like his only ally was Nate Shelley- the kit (equipment) guy who was full of ideas for how the team could improve and Ted was the first person to take him seriously. Nate's trajectory through the series... if you told me when I started this series the twists and turns that were in store for him, I'd say you were crazy. No matter what went on with him, part of you couldn't help but root for him.
Nearly every character was likable and even the ones that weren't, they often had a redemption arc or a certain stand-out moment in the series that won you over. The only exceptions were probably Rupert and the billionaire from Ghana that butted heads with a bunch of the main characters in season three. The closest things show had that could be considered villains... and karma came for them
Roy Kent had a lot of growth through the series (as well as career changes), but the award for Most Improved definitely goes to Jamie Tartt.
He was notable for being the most prolific player on the team.... mostly because he never let anyone else score the goals. Super arrogant and unpleasant to be around. Then the contract that lent him to Richmond expires and he goes back to his original team, Man City. Then he ditches that team to do reality TV and had to work to regain his former team's respect when he came back to play for them. He's still not my favorite character, but he'd redeemed himself plenty in my eyes in season three.
Roy Kent will probably go down as one of the most iconic characters this show is remembered for. He'd been in the league a long time and clearly dealing with the struggles that come with being an aging athlete. So his soccer career ends after seasons one. After that, he moves from being a talking head on a SportsCenter type show to a solid member of the coaching team at AFC Richmond along with Ted and Coach Beard (Ted's close friend who came along with him when he was recruited).
He's got a foul mouth and is rough around the edges, but he shows throughout the series he is a softie underneath. Especially when it comes to his niece, Phoebe, who he occasionally babysits. One of his finer uncle moments was in a Christmas episode. One of Phoebe's classmates says her breath stinks... and he bets her that he can find a dentist to address her halitosis within 10 doors. And he succeeds.
In practice, he's very hardcore- one highlight was an ill-advised teamwork experiment where he had players paired up and tied to each other by their... let's just say a part of the male anatomy. It goes about as well as you'd expect. Meanwhile, he is laughing this really distinct laugh on the sidelines... thinking about that now still has me in stitches but yeah, do not try this at home.
Keeley does a lot of advertising and PR work for the team and later gets her own PR firm. Her friendship with Rebecca is a great example of female friendship. Despite the age gap, they're almost as close as sisters. Recently, Barbie dolls were made of the two of them to pay homage to that.
Sam Obisanya gets more of a chance to shine after Jamie leaves the team and he winds up getting a lot of the bigger storylines in the series. His family is from Nigeria so that factors in a number of times. Keeley sets him up with a sponser but after hearing about their role impacting the land back home, he stages a boycott and everyone falls in line to support him. He also sets up a restaurant to bring the cuisine of his country to England and it has a lot of success. It's also the victim of vandalism after he has a Twitter spat with a politican who blocks his countrymen from seeking asylum in England.
His storylines are among the heavier on the series, but I liked how they were handled.
Dani Rosas... three words- "Football is Life!"
It's funny... among the many references now I understand thanks to watching this show, I don't think anything can top the moment I put two and two together with this particular State Farm ad. As in "omg, I know that guy, he's from that show"
He was introduced later in season one and became a regular very quickly. He has a very happy-go-lucky attitude and super fun to be around.
I'd be remiss if I didn't devote a paragraph to the series's namesake.
I don't think I've seen a role yet where Jason Sudeikis didn't played a likeable character. But man... Ted Lasso is a role he played to perfection. Such a likeable sweet guy. Plus he had tons of good pop culture references and jokes to go along with them. The writing that went into his lines is the kind of stuff I really love... and there was only maybe one or two references where I honestly didn't know what he was talking about.
But as the series progresses, we see there's more beneath the surface. How he struggled with the loss of his father at a young age. His continuing difficulties of working across the pond from his son, whom he misses terribly. Struggling with his divorce and his wife potentially finding love elsewhere...
Sports psychatrist, Dr. Sharon Fieldstone, was introduced in season 2. Despite his usual optimistic attitude, Ted was a huge skeptic of her methods... in retrospective, I can understand why. Somewhere along the line, they not only become friends, but she helps him out a couple of jams... when panic attacks start happening.
Another interesting moment was Season 3 when Richmond managed to recruit sports legend Zava to join their team. I don't know much about soccer, but I know the tendancy for certain players to be divas. Faking injuries and so on. So I thought he was going to be another Reynaldo type character... once again, I was wrong and he became a great asset to the team. Until they started not doing so well...
I didn't do the math on this, but I'm sure if you sorted out Richmond's record throughout the series, they probably lose slightly more games than they won. They aren't completely helpless but definitely prone to long losing streaks.
Another episode highlight that comes to mind is Amsterdam... where the whole Richmond staff go to get away for a little while.
Roy has been helping with Jamie special training and this continues while they're on vacation. Then the shoe goes on the other foot when Jamie teaches Roy how to ride a bike so they can take them to find a windmill.
The rest of the team, meanwhile, spend most of the night in the hotel lobby trying to figure out how to best spend their time... I can't remember if they ever decided on anything, haha.
Rebecca has a chance encounter with a guy who owns a homeboat. They get along well but part ways with neither learning the other's name.
Ted has an interesting time at the Netherlands' interpretation of an Americana restaurant... something about a hot sauce induced epiphany where he finds the key to ending the team's latest losing streak.
***
I'm sure there's plenty of other highlights that'd come to mind but this is a pretty good cross-section. I'm going to miss this show... chances are by the time I finally discontinue my membership, season 4 will drop. Right now, they just say it'll be coming late 2025 or early 2026.
So far, this is one of three series I'd checked out on Apple+
"Lessons in Chemistry" only had the one season, but I would've done more if more existed... although it did take a while before it got good.
Then "The Morning Show"- I knew nothing about it other than the two main cast members. There'll be a post on that in the distant future, but I got the end of season one and decided in that moment that I'd had enough. The season finale was what I'd consider an ideal ending and I had no desire to continue forward to see how that gets ruined. Not to mention the subject matter... I hadn't experienced it personally but through one of its characters, it felt real enough.
I figured after one season, I'd check these other series out, just in case I get too comfortable with Ted Lasso and everything else will pale in comparison.
Spoiler alert-- it didn't matter what order I watched any of these, Ted Lasso would still be my favorite.