RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from CBS News — Top — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 2 sources
This is an updated version of a story first published on March 13, 2022."Ted Lasso" is one of the most beloved comedy shows of the decade. It\u0027s a fish out of water story about an American football coach from Kansas, who moves to England to take charge of a professional soccer team, despite knowing nothing of the sport. When it debuted a few months into the pandemic, fans flocked, and critical acclaim followed. Over three seasons it received 61 Emmy nominations.Not bad for a show that started out as a commercial. The improbable tale of Ted Lasso changed the game in Hollywood and the lives of its stars. So when production for the third season was about to begin, back in 2022, we went to London to meet as many members of the ensemble cast as we could, including Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso\u0027s mastermind and alter ego, to find out how the show scored.Norah O\u0027Donnell: Did you set out and say I want a character that\u0027s all about positivity and kindness and can transform people, bring out the best in people?Jason Sudeikis: To play the character was intentional. To play someone that was kindhearted, that didn\u0027t swear-- be like Teflon towards people\u0027s negativity or-- or-- or sarcasm, 100% intentional.Norah O\u0027Donnell: --kindness and positivity can be transformative.Jason Sudeikis: Yeah. And so can the opposite. But I mean, if you had to choose one at the-- at that point of writing it and wanting to play it, I\u0027d much rather try to view the world, you know, as Ted Lasso.Jason Sudeikis told us the comedy in "Ted Lasso" rolls onto the screen like a Trojan horse. Sometimes farcical, often profane, carrying with it homespun wisdom and warmth.The show defied not just the dark times of the pandemic, but sometimes logic itself.As coach of the fictional soccer team known as AFC Richmond, Sudeikis likes to say Ted Lasso is the best version of himself. One quality both character and actor share is curiosity.\u00a0Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso:I saw this quote by Walt Whitman, it was painted on the wall there and it said, "Be curious, not judgmental." I like that.Walt Whitman never wrote or said, "be curious, not judgmental," yet it\u0027s become more than just a catchphrase.Jason Sudeikis: My mom\u0027s parish-- in the South Side of Chicago, Christ the King, you know, had, like a bible study class.Norah O\u0027Donnell: And what was the bible study about?Jason Sudeikis: Probably, like, be curious, not judgmental. The gospel according to Ted Lasso, something like that, maybe, I think. It mighta been something like that.\u00a0The show\u0027s success is even more extraordinary when you consider its origins. \u00a0More than 10 years ago, long before Ted Lasso became gospel, he began as an arrogant, in-curious commercial.NBC sports needed a buzzy ad campaign to promote soccer\u0027s English Premier League in the U.S. So they called Sudeikis, who was finishing-up a ten-year run on "Saturday Night Live."\u00a0He said the job sounded like fun, especially when he was allowed to invite two old friends along for the ride.Norah O\u0027Donnell: So before you guys created "Ted Lasso," you were actually best friends.Jason Sudeikis: I don\u0027t know, best, I mean--Joe Kelly: Lotta people in our lives.Brendan Hunt: Overstatement--Jason Sudeikis: Yeah, I think we-- we got along well--Joe Kelly: We\u0027re fine.Jason Sudeikis: Yeah, yeah, yeah. (LAUGH)Norah O\u0027Donnell: How-- so how would you describe your relationship?Jason Sudeikis: Best-- I think best friends I think. If I had to\u2026 (LAUGHTER)\u00a0"Ted Lasso" co-creators Joe Kelly and Brendan Hunt have known each other and Jason Sudeikis for more than 20 years.After the commercials, the trio developed Ted Lasso into a more complete character who shed his arrogant swagger for humble curiosity. \u00a0In the show, Ted Lasso also deals with divorce and mental health challenges. All while bringing a feminine approach to a typically masculine job.Bill Lawrence: If anybody claims that they thought this show or knew this show was gonna work, they\u0027re fibbing a little bit. No one was sure.\u00a0The three friends got a boost when veteran television producer Bill Lawrence joined the project. \u00a0Norah O\u0027Donnell: What was in Jason\u0027s pitch that convinced you?Bill Lawrence: He knew from the start that this was a guy that was putting out a-- optimistic face. And that would be one note if he wasn\u0027t also aware that that was covering up somebody that needed to learn about self-care and\u2013 being proactive in facing whatever demons they might have.Brendan Hunt: It got moving once Bill was involved.Norah O\u0027Donnell: But Bill said this is not a soccer show.Jason Sudeikis: Right.Joe Kelly: Yeah.Brendan Hunt: He basically-- pounded the-- the table and-- shouted at a very early\u2014writer\u0027s room session, "This is not a soccer show. This is-- a workplace ensemble comedy." But that\u0027s kinda been a guiding principle, you know? It takes place in the soccer world, but it\u0027s not-- it\u0027s never about the soccer at all.Jason Sudeikis: Yeah, the thing that I would say, in, like, the pitch meetings when Bill and I went out was like, "This show\u0027s as much about soccer as, like, Rocky is about boxing."Norah O\u0027Donnell: What happened when you shopped around "Ted Lasso" here in Hollywood? What was the reaction?(RASPBERRY SOUND)Jason Sudeikis: That-- (LAUGHTER) no.Brendan Hunt: What-- what\u0027s the opposite of a bidding war?Jason Sudeikis: It was like, er, "we\u0027ll take it"Streaming service Apple TV+ decided to take on "Ted Lasso"\u2014which is produced by Warner Bros.Norah O\u0027Donnell: Do you think you had more freedom because it was Apple?Joe Kelly: We went into filming feeling like the underdogs that Richmond were. Like, we weren\u0027t coming on the heels of a bidding war. We weren\u0027t coming on the heels of, like, "Here we go with this monster show." And I felt like it helped the-- the process, the tone,...
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.