In Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso,” the titular English football coach worships a hand-taped “Believe” sign like it’s scripture, simply cannot resist a folksy metaphor and thinks that a relentless stream of shortbread biscuits is the way to his boss’ heart.
For all of his quirks, Jason Sudeikis’ character Ted Lasso has taught the actor legitimate lessons about parenting, he told Willie Geist during the Aug. 9 episode of Sunday Sitdown.
“I think he’s a very sincere person, he accepts people where they are,” Sudeikis, 50, said.
“It’s made me a better parent,” he said. “I think there’s just a level of accountability that I think we love puttin’ on the show.”
After the Season 3 finale sent Ted back to Kansas City to coach his son’s team — a conclusion many viewers saw as the end of the show’s arc — Season 4 brought him right back across the pond. This time, he’s coaching a newly formed second-division women’s team.
In the new season, which premiered Aug. 5, Ted’s Lady Greyhounds encounter new challenges: sub-par facilities, less funding and skepticism toward women athletes.
Sudeikis acknowledged that “Ted Lasso” is, at its heart, a “silly fun show.” But still, its emotional resonance can carry real weight, he said.
“When a certain moment gets people and makes ‘em feel seen or it makes ‘em want to try or do something differently, it feels like a tremendous responsibility, ‘cause it’s bigger than me,” he explained.
Indeed, beneath the laughs of the first three seasons, Ted and the show’s other characters navigate mental health challenges, experience divorce and learn about what it means to actually lean on one another. The new season addresses other salient topics including the struggles that many women in sports continue to face.
Sudeikis opened up to the TODAY host about why the show pivoted to focus on a women’s team.
Production kicked around a few possibilities, he said, but nothing felt “as gooey” or “as juicy” as the storyline teased in the Season 3 finale, when a pitch for a Richmond women’s squad is first introduced.
The actor’s excitement for the show’s new twist was shaped in part by the women closest to him.
“I know how kick ass little girls are, having one of my own, but also, you know, growin’ up around a couple,” he told Willie.
He also added: “Being an older brother to two wise, funny, silly, authentic, heartfelt women, then-girls, now women — is baked into the enthusiasm for doing this new season.”
Talia Wexler is an editorial intern at TODAY.com and an undergraduate student at the University of Southern California majoring in journalism.
