The cast and creators of Ted Lasso are in agreement — if Ted himself were to win an Emmy, he’d let the rest of his team do all the celebrating.
Much like the tone of the show, optimism was in the air Thursday night at the season two premiere of Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso, where the cast and crew gathered to celebrate the release of their sophomore run. Coming hot off a triumphant week of 20 Emmy nominations, the Lasso team had more than one cause for celebration.
Set on the rooftop of West Hollywood’s Pacific Design Center, on the night L.A. County announced an impending return to indoor mask-wearing for the vaccinated, the premiere featured a blue carpet long and wide enough to accommodate for social distancing. While masks were required for staff and press, talent walked the carpet mask-free, as they all received rapid COVID-19 tests upon entry.
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And while the rest of the world can’t get enough of the show, the cast and crew sang the praises of the man behind the title — Sudeikis himself. They pinned Sudeikis as their very own Ted Lasso, as he leads the ship with an unwavering positivity, not much unlike his character.
“He sets the tone,” said Brendan Hunt, who serves as an executive producer on the show, in addition to playing Coach Beard.
“And he’s just way too talented. It’s very annoying,” added cast member Jeremy Swift, who plays Higgins. Hunt and Swift both received Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series.
Marcus Mumford, lead singer of folk-rock band Mumford and Sons, was also in attendance, celebrating his recent Emmy nomination for outstanding original main title theme music. Mumford composed the show’s music along with composer Tom Howe and revealed that it was his friendship with Sudeikis that led to his involvement on the show in the first place.
“I said yes [to the show] because of the person Jason is,” the musician said, citing Sudeikis’ optimism, truthfulness and complexity as some of the many qualities the actor brings to the Lasso character. “And I love him to bits.”
Clearly, the cast and crew really do like each other.
“It’s the Ted Lasso way,” said Hannah Waddingham, who stars on the show as Rebecca. “There’s no competition, we are the most lowkey gaggle.” Waddingham also joins the group of Lasso’s Emmy nominees, having received a nod for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series.
As for Ted’s own celebration in the event of an Emmys victory, Sudeikis claimed that he doesn’t think the character would indulge at all.
“I think he’d let [the team] celebrate and just enjoy and clamor around them,” he said. Executive producer Bill Lawrence agreed, stating that Ted “would be happy that the people around him were happy, but he wouldn’t care all that much.”
“He’d probably break off pieces of the statue and give it to everybody,” Jamie Lee, co-writer on the show chimed in.
And for Sudeikis’ own potential Emmy wins come September, the actor-comedian said he “won’t even think about that until the moment it happens or doesn’t happen.”
“I’ll live in the moment,” Sudeikis — wearing a black sweatshirt with the names “Jadon, Marcus and Bukayo,” a reference to Black English soccer stars Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka who have faced racist social media abuse following England’s loss in Euro 2020 — affirmed.
“Part of the Ted Lasso deal is not getting caught up in the winning and losing and the hoopla,” Lawrence added. Past works for Lawrence include hit comedies Scrubs, Cougar Town and Spin City.
Regarding future seasons and storylines for Lasso and the AFC Richmond team, executive producer and writer Bill Wrubel claimed it’s all under wraps — in Jason Sudeikis’ head, that is.
“The only way to retrieve that information would be to do a brain scan of Jason Sudeikis, so if you can somehow make him unconscious and, like the movie Inception, get inside his head, that’s how you can do it,” Wrubel joked.
However, Lawrence confirmed that season three has been mapped out, but not yet fully written.
“We had mapped out all three seasons before the first season premiered, so now we have to fight any instincts to change anything because of the way people are reacting,” Lawrence said in reference to the positive critical reception to the show. “So far, we’re just gonna go with the way we wrote it and hope for the best.”
The second season of Ted Lasso starts streaming on Apple TV+ on July 23.
