The official Ted Lasso Twitter account has humorously compared the character of Roy Kent to one of Star Wars’ most beloved characters - Chewbacca. First hitting screens in August 2020, Ted Lasso is Apple TV+’s breakout comedy. The series follows the titular Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), an American football coach with a sunny disposition that clashes with the English Premier League football team he’s been hired to manage. The first season of the comedy earned a record amount of Emmy nominations, with critics universally praising Ted Lasso’s warm, optimistic tone and hilarious cast of characters.
One of those hilarious and memorable characters is Roy Kent, played by writer Brett Goldstein. Roy starts the series as AFC Richmond’s aging and angry captain, a foul-mouthed midfielder who is past his glory days with Chelsea. However, he softens up slightly under Ted’s mentorship and as his relationship with Keeley (Juno Temple) develops. Roy is forced to retire after a knee injury in the season 1 finale, “The Hope That Kills You,” and works briefly as a pundit before returning to Richmond as an assistant coach at the end of season 2, episode 5, “Rainbow.” The most recent episode of Ted Lasso saw Richmond improving as a result of Roy’s leadership, which is dubbed as “The Roy Kent Effect.”
Now, Ted has compared the so-called “Roy Kent Effect” to “having Chewbacca on your team” in one of the coach’s famous uses of similes. The AFC Richmond Twitter account posted a "post-match" video in which Roy responds to questions about the effect in his trademark deadpan style, complete with usual foul language. The Ted Lasso account responded with the comparison, calling Roy “loud” and “hairy” but also complimenting the character. See the full tweet below:
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Interestingly, this is the latest in a growing list of references to Star Wars that have been made during Ted Lasso’s second season. Hannah Waddingham, who plays Richmond’s boss Rebecca Welton on the show, has previously compared season 2 to The Empire Strikes Back. There have been a number of references to that particular entry in the original Star Wars trilogy, with Higgins (Jeremy Swift) even describing his plans to watch Empire with his sons in the season 2 premiere.
Despite the comedy’s success, the current plan is still to end Ted Lasso after three seasons, so the many references to Star Wars in season 2 fit with the show being seen as a trilogy. Beyond that, the comparison of Roy to Chewbacca is also hilariously accurate, emphasizing why fans resonate with Roy so much as a character. His experience, brutal honesty, and expertise may be traits that he shares with a Wookie (as well as hairiness), but Ted Lasso has proved in just one episode how effective “The Roy Kent Effect” can be.
Source: Ted Lasso