“Have you seen this Ted Lasso on Netflix?” my mom asked on one of our many daily phone calls.
“It’s on Apple TV, Mom. I’ve heard of it but haven’t had the chance to watch it yet,” I laughed in reply.
My mom then launched into a flurry of excitement about the excellence of this program and its value to our society and the impact it could have on all of our lives
So, yeah, I love Jason Sudeikis, and I’ve seen the Ted Lasso commercials this show evolved from. I thought to myself that I’m sure the show was great. I told my mom I’d be happy to give it a try when she sent me the account info so I could log in to Apple TV from my computer. Clearly, my mom was eager for me to begin because I received the credentials 30 seconds after she hung up the phone.
I watched the first episode in the distracted way I do most things these days, checking my phone and often alternating the positioning of my body on the couch. Apple made the decision to release one episode a week, with the premiere of the ten-episode season being Aug. 14. By the time I tuned in, everything was uploaded, so I dove right in.
It was by the end of the second episode that I realized something special was happening here. It wasn’t simply my mom being over excited — there was a magical quality in watching the lives of Ted Lasso, Coach Beard, Nate the Great, Rebecca, Roy Kent and the rest of the cast play out in front of me.
This show capitalizes on a number of ordinary values that have come to feel frighteningly unique in our current global landscape. Ted Lasso portrays a story of leadership fraught with compassion, insight, humor, intelligence, inclusivity, generosity, failure, friendship and joy. Here is a show in all the noise of our lives that demonstrates the incredible power of listening to another person, understanding what they need, and leading in a way that guides people to an answer rather than telling you what to do. It shows a leader we want to follow, someone who makes us want to be better while simultaneously not making us feel bad for where we’re currently at. It’s a picture of people and kindness wrapped up in a feel good cliche of a sports story. It taps into those things on the surface we know we like or feel entertained by but then plunges us so much deeper than we expected to go.
It can be hard to find a show that is smart but kind and funny but never cutting. In so many ways, Ted Lasso fills an ache I didn’t think could be reached for a while. The greatest strength of this show is hope. In a time when so often we feel like things can’t get worse, it’s challenging to find something that allows you to say “I’m hopeful for today.” Hope has been stifled with the global pandemic, with the pandemic of racism, with death, with loneliness, with a terrifying presidential election. But this show reminds you of the decency in people and extends a bright spot of joy amongst months of darkness. In your techniques to hold your head above the water, I hope to offer you the life raft of Ted Lasso.
Writer, creator and executive producer Jason Sudeikis also happens to star as Coach Ted Lasso himself. In a podcast with Brené Brown, he said, “I was concerned about maybe the noise of the world going on, swallowing up this little pearl we were hoping to drop into this mighty ocean of public discourse.” The world needed this pearl. This is when that tiny orb of calcium carbonate shines its brightest. This show can be a powerful tool added into public discourse. It serves as not only a superb model of leadership but an excellent example of humanity at its best. It’s refreshing that this kind of “best” strikes the viewer with its total honesty, vulnerability, and relatability.
As the credits rolled on that last episode, I had that pang you get when you finish a really good book or reach the end of a great night with friends. That sort of quiet disappointment at the end of a great adventure. But I task myself with turning to Ted Lasso, to the example of an individual who leads with his heart first. I know I can always cue up an episode for 28 minutes of distracting happiness. More so, I know that I can think about the elements of hope, compassion, friendship and curiosity and find ways to bring them more into my life.