You might recall that Jason Sudeikis starred in a couple of videos for NBC Sports several years ago as the clueless, yet idealistic, coach Ted Lasso. Well, it seems that those shorts were more popular than I remember as Apple TV has released the first trailer for Ted Lasso, an upcoming sports/comedy which finds Sudeikis reprising the role.
The series finds the small-time college football coach from Kansas heading across the pond when he's hired to manage an English football club — despite having no soccer coaching experience at all. In addition to starring in Ted Lasso, Jason Sudeikis also serves as executive producer alongside Bill Lawrence (Scrubs), with whom he has co-written the series. The series was developed by Sudeikis, Lawrence, Joe Kelly, and Brendan Hunt. Although my initial reaction to anything based on a commercial/promo is one of cynicism (remember the GEICO Cavemen series?), I'll admit that Ted Lasso doesn't look half-bad and that it could prove to be a worthy addition to the Apple TV slate. Will you be checking the series out?
The official synopsis for Ted Lasso:
Jason Sudeikis plays Ted Lasso, a small-time college football coach from Kansas hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite having no experience coaching soccer. In addition to starring, Sudeikis serves as executive producer, alongside Bill Lawrence (Scrubs) via his Doozer Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television, a division of NBCUniversal Content. Doozer’s Jeff Ingold also serves as an executive producer with Liza Katzer as co-executive producer. The series was developed by Sudeikis, Lawrence, Joe Kelly and Brendan Hunt, and is based on the pre-existing format and characters from NBC Sports.
Ted Lasso will premiere on Apple TV on August 14, 2020 with three episodes, with new episodes following every Friday.