Has Ted Lasso ended for good? Almost certainly. The internet might still be rife with rumors of spin-offs and one-off specials, but as far as the cast and key creative team are concerned, they’ve blown the full-time whistle on the adventures of AFC Richmond.
The Jason Sudeikis-starring show has been the jewel in Apple TV Plus' crown, and made stars of Sudeikis’ supporting cast, including Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Hannah Waddington and Nick Mohammed, as it became not only one of the best Apple TV Plus shows, but also arguably the reason people were signing up to Apple's service, certainly in the first season.
As well as the many big laughs that Sudeikis and co have delivered across the three seasons, the show’s heartswelling feel and celebration of perseverance and determination have struck a chord with viewers. It is the ultimate big-hearted show, and has won over people with no interest in the world of football at all normally.
So, to help you survive in a world without Ted, we’ve pulled together six other shows with hearts just as big, or that also make sports interesting to those who wouldn't normally take a look, by focusing on the people, not the spectacle.
Parks and Recreation
If you’ve not seen Parks and Recreation then you need to make sure that you fix it now Ted's gone – it's one of the finest comedies of the last 20 years.
In this show, we find ourselves in Pawnee, a fictional city in Indiana, inside the Parks and Recreation Department where Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat, is desperately trying to convince her team of apathetic, lazy and distracted staff to help improve the city’s fading public realm in the face of an incompetent local administration.
We’re a long way from the soccer fields here, but Amy Poehler’s Knope has the same relentless enthusiasm and will to succeed as Sudeikis’ Lasso, and is easy to fall in love with.
Like Lasso, it’s also packed with brilliant supporting characters, including Nick Offerman’s belligerent Ron Swanson, Chris Pratt’s affable goof Andy Dwyer, and Aubrey Plaza’s eccentric and sardonic April Ludgate.
Where Can I Stream It?
Peacock (US), Freevee (UK)
Welcome to Wrexham
Not a work of fiction, but very much a sporty drama propelled by the same fire and determination as Ted Lasso, Welcome to Wrexham is a delight.
The show is a (usually) light-hearted documentary series and chronicles the journey of Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney, who, in March of 2020, bought struggling soccer team Wrexham AFC and resolved to turn the club's fortunes around.
The documentary follows the pair, from the moment their interest in Wrexham becomes formal, to the nail-biting end of the 2021-2022 season, with all the ups and downs along the way.
Told over 18 episodes and with a second season on the way, the series is a charming, sweeping effort, which will have you fist-pumping every time a goal flies in. If you're wondering how real the regularly appearing Richmond fans in Ted Lasso are, or whether footballers have the same kind of camaraderie and thoughtfulness in reality, you'll get your answers here – it might not be a sitcom, but you'll be rooting for these guys in just the same way as Ted's crew.
Where Can I Stream It?
Hulu (US), Disney Plus (UK)
GLOW
GLOW, or the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling to use its full title, was cruelly cut down in its prime by Netflix, but there are still three wonderful seasons of this comedy drama to get stuck into.
Set in Los Angeles in 1985, the show follows Alison Brie’s Ruth Wilder, an actress whose career is not going the way she wants and needs to make money. With that in mind, she auditions for a fledgling professional wrestling promotion called the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.
Accepted into the squad, Wilder has to adjust her idealistic acting goals as she learns to work alongside GLOW's director Sam Sylvia and how wrestling audiences and theater-goers are rather different…
Much like Sudeikis in Ted Lasso, GLOW is built around Alison Brie, but it actually has a great ensemble cast and showcases the joy of building new relationships, and the strength of collective endeavor. It also has a giant heart and a great soundtrack.
Where Can I Stream It?
Netflix (Worldwide)
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
Another story of pluck, hard-work, determination and never giving in, just with a wildly different setting to Ted Lasso.
The creation of Amy Sherman-Palladino, best known for long-running and much-loved drama Gilmore Girls, this show follows the travails of Miriam 'Midge' Maisel, who begins the show as a homemaker in New York in the 1950s. But, after her husband reveals that he's been having an affair, she drunkenly gets on stage at a comedy club and brings the house down. From then on, she pursues her new calling as a stand-up comic, despite the protestations of her ex-husband, parents and friends.
Led by Rachel Brosnahan, who has been showered with awards for her starring role in the show, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is smart, very funny, incredible moving, and completely compelling. As well as Brosnahan, there are great supporting turns from Family Guy's Alex Borstein as her no-nonsense manager Susie Myerson, Marin Hinkle and Tony Shalhoub as her eccentric and long-suffering parents, and Luke Kirby as firebrand real-life comedian Lenny Bruce, who makes regular appearances.
The show finished its five season run in April, meaning all 42 episodes are there ready and waiting for you to dive into. You will not regret it.
Where Can I Stream It?
Prime Video (Worldwide)
Cobra Kai
The TV spin-off to the classic The Karate Kid movie started its life as a YouTube original, but Netflix snapped it up after season three and has turned it into one of the best Netflix shows.
Set 34 years after William Zabka's Johnny Lawrence was defeated by Ralph Macchio's Danny LaRusso, Lawrence decides to open the Cobra Kai dojo once more to teach a new generation of kids how to fight. Out of this, old rivalries soon return…
Scrappy, nostalgic for sure, but delivered with such conviction, this is a great watch, whether you've seen The Karate Kid or not. And it does some much more interesting things with the idea of the being the hero or a villain than most shows – the person you were as a teen doesn't determine what kind of adult you'll be. There are five seasons to enjoy with a sixth on the way soon.
Where Can I Stream It?
Netflix (Worldwide)
Shoresy
One of the surprise critical hits of the year, this spin-off from long-running Canadian sitcom Letterkenny is a classic Lasso underdog story.
The show follows the titular character, who moves to the small Canadian town of Sudbury to take a role with a struggling Triple A-level ice hockey team, the Sudbury Bulldogs.
After losing 20 straight games and coming bottom of the league, the team is about to be shut down until Shoresy decides to make a bet that the team will never lose again if he's given a chance to take control. Then everything changes.
Like Ted, it's a tale of losers becoming heroes, moving from laughing stock to champions, perfect if you're pining for some Lasso.
Where Can I Stream It?
Hulu (US)
