Ted Lasso writer and actor Brett Goldstein has revealed that the huge and unexpected success of the Apple TV+ comedy didn’t change how the show was written going into season 2. The show stars Jason Sudeikis as the relentlessly optimistic Ted Lasso, an American coach recruited to manage Premier League football team AFC Richmond despite knowing nothing about the sport. Ted Lasso was a surprise hit when the first season premiered on Apple TV+ in August 2020, with critics and audiences alike praising its warm and positive energy and surprising emotional depth.
Appreciation for Ted Lasso has only grown over the past few months as anticipation steadily builds for the second season, which premieres on July 23rd. It has quickly become one of Apple TV+’s flagship series, with Sudeikis’s performance, particularly earning the comedy award nominations across the board. The series recently racked up a record number of Emmy nominations – in the “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series” category, an unprecedented four out of seven nominations are for Ted Lasso’s supporting cast. Goldstein is nominated for his performance as Roy Kent, AFC Richmond’s aging and hot-tempered captain.
Now, Goldstein has explained why the second season of Ted Lasso hasn’t been affected by all the hype surrounding the comedy. In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, the actor and writer spoke about the “unexpected and wonderful” success of the show and how it didn’t change the plan for season 2 in the works even before the first season premiered. Goldstein says that "surprising" audiences is what made season 1 great, “so the aim for season 2 is to keep surprising people.” Read his full quote below:
“We started writing it before season one came out, so [it's] this amazing thing that people have even watched it, and that people seem to like it. It is really, really unexpected, and wonderful. But it didn't change how we wrote it, because we already had a plan and we've stuck to the plan that we had. I think we're all proud of that, because if you end up writing to what people want, then I think ultimately... The thing that was great about season 1 is it surprised everyone. So the aim for season 2 is to keep surprising people. You don't want to just give people more of the same, so that was good.”
Goldstein also gave a rare glimpse into the Ted Lasso writer’s room, revealing that the plans for character arcs and plotlines “haven’t changed” since “day one” – “I have to say, I don't think the stories have changed. As in the plots that we have and the arcs for the characters, I'm pretty sure - other than a slight twist and turn here and there - they're going where we had set day one in the writer's room for season 1.”
Given all the praise for the quality of the show’s writing, it makes sense that the plans for Ted Lasso have been clear-cut since the very beginning of development. Fans can be reassured that the writers are proud of the second season – and the actors are too, with star Hannah Waddingham comparing season 2 to The Empire Strikes Back. The series will undoubtedly continue to be full of surprises throughout its second season, with a third already commissioned by Apple. Though it won’t be “more of the same,” Ted Lasso is sure to continue to spread the same joy, hope, and optimism that made it so great in the first place.