“Ted Lasso” created by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly is an American comedy series that has captured viewers’ hearts worldwide with heartfelt storytelling and endearing characters. The show follows the journey of Ted Lasso, an American football coach who is recruited to manage a struggling English football team. What makes this show unique is its ability to blend humor and heart as it tackles friendship, perseverance, and personal growth.
During the first two seasons, we follow the main character, Ted Lasso, who manages AFC Richmond, a disappointing soccer team in England. Despite his lack of experience with soccer, Ted uses his folksy charm and positive attitude to win over the team and the fans. Throughout season one, Ted faces challenges both on and off the field, including dealing with a hostile team owner, managing the team’s star player’s problems, and navigating his marital issues. Despite the obstacles, Ted’s unwavering optimism and dedication to the team help them return.
In season two, Ted and the team face new challenges, including the aftermath of their previous season’s successes and failures. Ted also grapples with his struggles, including a bout of depression and a strained relationship with his father. Meanwhile, the team’s star player, Jamie Tartt, has been traded to a rival team, and the team’s owner, Rebecca, hires a sports psychologist, Dr. Sharon Fieldstone, to improve the team’s morale.
The first two seasons are an overall success, with rotten tomato scores of 91% and 93% for each season respectively. With such high scores for the first two seasons, expectations are also high for season three. However, after watching the third season in my free time, I feel like the season has been a disappointment due to the lack of character development and plot development. But, I still want to make it clear that the whole season contains 12 episodes and at the writing of this article, only five have been released, so take this article with a grain of salt.
The plot of season three so far is simple. AFC Richmond, after returning to the Premier League, is viewed as an underdog and they are shaky during the first few weeks of league play. But then, a superstar named Zava decides to join their team and they start winning games. However, after a detrimental loss to West Ham, the team starts losing game after gam,e which leads to the eventual retirement of Zava and the whole team has no idea what to do.
My main complaint about the plot is that it feels childish. While I understand that exaggeration is an important part of comedy, every event that is soccer-related seems to be extremized. For example, in one game, AFC Richmond is handed five red cards because they are so energized by a film that the assistant coaches shows them. This event, while funny, seems to lack realism. Not only that, but we have also seen such events so many times in the first two seasons that it is not so funny anymore. The actions of the characters make me wonder whether they are adults or children due to their immaturity.
Another complaint I have about the show is the main characters aren’t in the same story anymore. Their stories aren’t overlapping with each other. Ted is dealing with the emotional trauma of his divorce, Keeley is managing her PR firm which doesn’t involve a lot of cooperation with AFC Richmond players anymore, and the owner, Rebecca, is dealing with her urges to become a mother. While some may see this as a benefit as we get to see a variety of sides from the beloved characters, I disagree as the show is confusing most of the time. Such an increase in the different plots has also directly led to the show increasing from 30 minute episodes to 45 minutes episodes, which may pose a downside to those who want to watch the show.
I would not recommend season three of “Ted Lasso” to you guys. While it is cool to see Premier League teams such as Chelsea or Manchester City and some of the scenes are still funny, the overall season has been a disappointment due to the dull plotlines and repetitive comedy pieces.
