In the season one finale of Ted Lasso, Jason Sudeikis’s Ted vowed to bring AFC Richmond back from relegation. That winning campaign supplied the backbone for a heart-warming season two. To kick off the Apple TV Plus series’ ambitious third run, Richmond owner Rebecca (the show’s most reliable delight, Hannah Waddingham) reminds Ted, rather inconveniently, that his promise was actually an audacious two-parter: Richmond is back in the Premier League, yes, but the coach still owes her some silverware.
Inconvenient, because the odds of a team that just about managed promotion going on to win the league, or any competition for that matter, are minimal, even in Ted Lasso’s London, a sunny land where kids are precocious, jokes are one-liners, and aphorisms get amusing little tweaks. (“One man’s grope is another woman’s gain” won’t be as creepy when you hear it in context). Still, it’s in the show’s relentlessly American, unabashedly folksy DNA – and Ted’s – to try, try, try with all your might, especially when the going gets tough, the chips are down, etc.
