Jason Sudeikis: “Viewers are eager for some light in so much darkness”

By Maria Estevez, MWN

The second season of ‘Ted Lasso,’ the successful series produced by Apple+ about the coach of college-level American football team who is unexpectedly recruited to coach an English Premier League team, AFC Richmond, is finally here. 

It comes a week after the series became the most nominated comedy of the year at Emmy Awards, including Best Comedy Series, Best Actor Comedy Lead (Jason Sudeikis), Best Supporting Actress in Comedy (Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham), Best Supporting Actor in Comedy (Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed, and Jeremy Swift) and several nominations for Best Screenplay and Direction.

“If the first season is Ted Lasso’s journey, then the second season is everyone else’s. I can’t give too much away but in the new season other characters reveal themselves more, going through their own existential discoveries,” Sudeikis, who plays the main character, explained.

Metro chatted with Sudeikis to learn more. 

How was the show conceived?

By design, by hopeful design. The intention behind the show is exactly what people are picking up. It is exactly what we talked about when Brendan and Joe talked about it and it is exactly what I pitched to Bill Lawrence. The whole philosophy of the series emerged in 2015 and a lot has changed since then.

I would like to think that the things we talk about mattered then and that they will do so now. Because we are not the ones who invented forgiveness, empathy or cooperation. If you offered people a little light, a little hope that they needed, it’s flattering. But if I had to choose between the success of our series and the fact that people could have continued to hug each other, I would not have doubted it. It was 2015. And six years later, here we are. It wasn’t something that happened overnight. But I think every element of this trip has made the series better.

Why do you think Ted Lasso is so successful?

Ted is an egoless cipher who touches the planet Earth as Michael Landon or an angel. He is a midwestern guy, a coach from Kansas. While he doesn’t know the sport of football, he knows people and understands that everybody’s life is a comedy, a drama and a tragedy as Mark Twain said. 

It seems that Apple hit a jackpot with ‘Ted Lasso.’

Yes. I noticed that. One of the things that I gathered from my time working overseas was how similar we are as human beings. We all have our stereotypes or assumptions about one another, and some of those are just societally fun and correct, and some are awful and wrong. ‘Ted Lasso’ is as much about football as ‘Rocky’ is about boxing. ‘Rocky’ is one of the greatest love stories ever told, and it also happens to be about a boxer. This is the same idea. Sports are a great metaphor for life, especially a game like football that has flow and openness.

What can you say about the second season?

We wanted this season to be about the characters, about their problems. Sometimes the best way to help others is to help yourself, take time for yourself, force yourself to look inside yourself and fight with some demons, or at least get to know that you have them.

How much did the pandemic impact the show?

We had to meet online, we had to write online and reshape everything. The viewers are eager for some light in so much darkness, even if that light comes in the form of television fiction.