- 4 weeks ago
As 'Ted Lasso' ends its iconic run on Apple TV+, the show's creative team tells THR what it was like to work with Jason Sudeikis behind-the-scenes on the Emmy-winning comedy and why it's an experience they won't forget.
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00:00Jason always said it was going to be a three-season arc so I think we were all just treating this as
00:09our three seasons and and we all left it on the field this last season for sure. To believe in
00:15yourself, to believe in one another, man that's that's fundamental to being alive. For me
00:22personally having worked on Ted Lasso just before going into lockdown was a huge privilege and it
00:32and it did help so many people it gave people medicine it was the perfect timing to be released
00:39really. You know I think it's a signal to change in the way we make comedy maybe. What do you say
00:45to a cocktail Coach Lasso? Oh same thing I'd say to Diane Sawyer if she ever asked me out on day.
00:49Yes, please. A lot of comedy is mean a lot of comedy there's the butt of the joke and a Ted Lasso
00:54there were no butts of the jokes. The jokes were about things we could all relate to but there
01:00weren't nobody was being laughed at. It's it's hard not to be anything other than moved by the
01:07effective Lasso. I'm glad you like them. You know what I'll start bringing these to you every morning
01:11called biscuits with the boss. That really isn't necessary. Okay well mark this down is the first
01:16time we disagree then. When the script came to me Jason was obviously on board to play Ted Lasso and
01:25Brendan Hunt was on board to play Coach Beard but apart from that we had to cast everybody else.
01:31They got me on early to really focus on Rebecca Welton the female lead.
01:36Do you have lunch plans? As a matter of fact I do. I don't care Ted. You're coming to lunch with me and my
01:44mother. Okay sounds great. She's a complicated creature Rebecca Welton so she had to have a lot
01:52of range many different facets. Originally there was some sort of hope from the studio perhaps that
01:59we might cast someone who was known to an international audience and so we sort of did a lot of work going
02:09through names on lists of sort of more starry people but no one quite worked out and then when
02:18we were finally able to audition some ladies took quite a while and then Hannah Waddingham walked in
02:25finally and it all made sense. Football isn't just a game. With Rebecca's look I kind of had it in my
02:32head and Hannah and I were always on the same page and Jason that if you've just been through a nasty
02:40breakup and you especially if you've got to face the world and a world like you know the Premier League
02:45you want to put your wall paint on so from day dot we were always like when we first see Rebecca she
02:51has to look extremely polished because you know she's very much in the public eye and she didn't want
02:55to be seen to be breaking down publicly and then if we ever had the opportunity to show her at home
03:01broken down a little bit we always took that opportunity where we would take the hair out
03:06take the makeup off and all that kind of thing and I think as her friendship with Keely progressed
03:13and as she fell more in love with Richmond and her friendship with Ted progressed those walls start
03:19to come down a bit and she's slightly less polished. I was trying to get an idea of the feel
03:25of Rebecca and you know a professional strong woman and what her kind of space might be and what her
03:34kind of choices would be and it was quite it was quite a tricky thing to get right but I think it
03:40was a really nice mix of different elements of gold and dark browns and wallpaper and paint
03:47and it seemed people seemed to like it and the sofa being one of the major elements that she could then
03:55not only be behind her desk but also be quite kind of less formal with people and sat and discussing elements.
04:03I respect that you need to go home.
04:06The scene where Hannah suggests to Ted that he stay on and think of England as his home was always going to be a big scene for those two to do
04:14and it mirrors a scene where Ted and Roy have a conversation and they literally want to sit in the same seats.
04:21Jason was very adamant, I want to sit in those same two seats.
04:23So visually we knew where we were going, we knew, you know, this was a much longer scene than that.
04:29I think a lot of us are feeling how Rebecca's feeling, like we want you to stay and everything she says in the stands
04:36when they're having their heart-to-heart and she asks them to stay.
04:40That was, you know, that scene in particular, I think my first cut of it, you know, there was more tears.
04:45When Rebecca, she kind of breaks and says, please stay Ted.
04:49You know, she had a take where she was crying more and I remember Jason being like, we're going to do that at the end in the airport.
04:56Jason had written the scene and it was always going to be a very pivotal scene because he turns her down.
05:01She says, this is the point where you say you've got to think about it and tomorrow we have the exact same conversation.
05:05You say no, but he wasn't even, you know, she didn't need to wait for that to happen.
05:09She knew his answer.
05:11I still think I'd be underpaying you for what you mean to this club.
05:14Uncle Roy, can we get ice cream?
05:17No.
05:19Sorry.
05:20Season one, I was in the cutting room saying, I love Roy Kent.
05:24This guy is amazing.
05:25The character of the bad boy with a heart of gold and the way he just was so endearing and finding those little nuggets that softened him where he would, you know, know the lyrics to let it go and seeing his relationship with his niece.
05:41Truth is, they just want to feel like they're part of our lives, little idiots.
05:45What's this?
05:45Phoebe, do you want to come to my podiatrist appointment later?
05:49Yes, please.
05:49Roy Kent, the character, was originally based on Roy Keane, who's an Irish footballer.
05:56And so, you know, we were seeing lots of Irish people, lots of comedians, and then word came back from the writer's room.
06:03Oh, you know, Brett wants to put his hat in the ring.
06:05Great.
06:06And he just came back with his tape and created this amazing character that is so unlike how he is as a person.
06:14Does my face look like it's in the mood for shape-based jokes?
06:17No, Roy, it does not.
06:18You know, Brett is the sweetest, softest, loveliest guy that you could possibly meet.
06:25And so he is nothing of the gruffness of Roy Kent.
06:28When I first met Brett, he said, what do you want to do with me?
06:31I said, well, to be honest, you're about as close to perfect as perfect can get.
06:35I mean, I knew his story arc.
06:37So I knew he should never have a very full beard because he was going to be stood next to Coach Beard.
06:43And he should never have a moustache on its own because it's not, you know, it's a Ted look and it's not kind of he's a London trendy footballer.
06:52Brett was really up for whatever we wanted to do.
06:55He was really easygoing with it.
06:57And I think we went the right path.
06:59I love that we could let his beard grow at the start of season two when he'd left Richmond and was a little bit sad.
07:04Another opportunity to utilize facial hair to show stress.
07:08But then as soon as he became a football pundit and we were able to, you know, get him back to normal, it then had that impact where people were like, wow, there he is.
07:18And he's so good looking, isn't he?
07:19I mean, the guy like, you can't really go wrong with Brett, let's face it.
07:23I think you are super hot.
07:26But I'm going to dip my toe back into the lady pool.
07:28I can't think of a finer body of water to do it with than you.
07:32I'm fucking with you.
07:35Keeley is the funnest character.
07:37In season three, we had 44 different hair and makeup looks for Keeley.
07:41Juno is just so beautiful.
07:43We definitely, in season three, we definitely wanted to make Keeley a little bit more sophisticated because she's got her own company.
07:48We definitely wanted to push her a little bit more.
07:51But we didn't want to lose the Keeley-ness either.
07:54Oi, it sucks butt that everyone's predicted Richmond to finish last.
07:58I mean, what?
07:59You're not actually worried about that though, right?
08:01No, not really.
08:03Hey, Jamie, come here real quick.
08:06Yeah, there you go.
08:07Yeah, keep them hips loose.
08:09Jamie Tartt, to me, had the largest arc.
08:12I go back and watch season one and see, you know, Jamie was the prince prick of all pricks, as Roy Kent called him.
08:19And, you know, he was also kind of came across as, you know, a bit of an airhead, kind of this cocky guy who didn't know anything.
08:26And then I started to see hints of him changing when I was cutting episode 210.
08:33And I was like, wow, this character is going to go somewhere.
08:36The comedy scene, you know, in the boot room where Roy's like, we need you to be the biggest prick you've ever been in your little prick life.
08:44And then he just breaks down.
08:46So we need you to be the prickiest prick you've ever been in your little prick life.
08:50You understand?
08:51So I don't want you.
08:52Just the way they came up with that thing where Phil is putting his hands all over Roy's face.
08:59And that was just out on one or two takes where they discovered that.
09:03Where the f*** are my wings, Roy?
09:04Yeah!
09:07I saw Phil a lot when he came over for the premieres.
09:11And I just told him how, what a wonderful performance he gave.
09:15And I'm so thrilled that he's nominated.
09:17How you been?
09:17Pretty good.
09:18Okay.
09:20Not depressed.
09:20Wow, the real rollercoaster there.
09:22Jason has always said that he looks at editing as the final rewrite, which is, you know, music to my ears as an editor.
09:29There was a great piece of improv when the team is down in the sewer.
09:34And Ted asked the team, said, what are we surrounded by down here?
09:39And Jamie Tartt raises his hand and says, coach, we're surrounded by poopé.
09:43What are we surrounded by down here?
09:46Coach.
09:46Yeah, Jamie.
09:47Surrounded by poopé.
09:49Mm-hmm.
09:49That's right.
09:50That was something that he had come up with.
09:53I think he might have talked about it with Jason, but did not tell the rest of the team.
09:57And I used Phil and Brett's kind of two-shot close coverage.
10:02And Brett Goldstein is standing right next to him.
10:05And I used the take as long as I could before Brett just starts cracking up at that.
10:11And then the whole cast just started laughing.
10:14And so Jason picked up on that later and on his coverage finished the line and said, yeah, that's true.
10:20But there's a whole bunch of poopé up there as well, yeah?
10:24And everybody laughed again.
10:25So those are those little gems that just get discovered on set.
10:28And I love that when we find those because they just have great comedy energy and it's something that's not written and it's just really special.
10:37Thank you, fellas.
10:38That was perfect.
10:39Season three was cutting like 12 individual feature films.
10:50It was really a special season in that way where everyone just kind of took a little bit more risk and gave a little bit more of their creative selves.
10:59Jason had a very solid basis, you know, had a very solid knowledge of where this is all coming from.
11:05When we first spoke, he talked a lot about fatherhood and, you know, what it meant to be a father and toxic masculinity and how bad parenting and bad fatherhood had affected people so much.
11:17And that's so beautifully illustrated in the characters.
11:22I think my favourite scene, and it will be from the very final episode, the belief poster has been torn down by Nate and then Ted rips it up again and we never see it again and it's gone.
11:32And halftime, they're 2-1 down at halftime on this final game.
11:37And he said, I've got nothing to say to you, but I know that you're going to go back out there and be the best versions of yourselves you can be.
11:44Has anybody got anything to add?
11:45And Tahib, Sam of Asanya, reaches into his locker and takes out a piece of paper and it's a sliver of yellow paper and puts it down on the table in the middle of the room.
11:56And then one after another, everybody else does.
11:58And we realise they've all kept a piece of the belief poster.
12:01So some people had it in the shin guards.
12:03Isaac the captain had it under his armband.
12:06Jamie Tartill put it in the book that Ted gave him two years ago, which he's never read, but he put it in the book as a bookmark.
12:12So everybody has kept a sliver of the paper and they all put the piece of paper down and then they look at it and go, oh, and then they all start to arrange it, to rearrange it back into the belief poster.
12:22But my favourite moment was, they all stood around it, Nate was at one end, Ted was at the other end with the other coaches.
12:28And when all the bits of paper were down, all the heads went down and the only two people standing were Ted and Nate, opposite each other.
12:35And there's a beautiful moment between them where they catch each other's eyes.
12:38And you know that the forgiveness is complete, that Ted has completely forgiven Nate and that Nate feels he is back home.
12:46You know, that Richmond is home.
12:52And there it is.
12:54Number four.
12:56Yeah.
12:56For me, season three, although it was bittersweet, the ending, Jason, you know, Ted saying goodbye to the team, having made them that video, we were all there.
13:09That was the very last thing we shot, apart from the, the, him going home to America where a few of us went and shot.
13:16That was the last thing we shot as a whole crew and cast.
13:18Um, and those tears were real.
13:22Jason always loved the editing process because it was just a moment where it was just really me, him, Melissa, and our assistant editors.
13:30And it was just a really tight knit family.
13:33And what we were doing, you know, by season three, the studio and the network just gave Jason so much trust.
13:40Like this is, we all, it was always his show in his head and we were all trying to help him get it to the screen.
13:44But in this moment, it was just really him and, and us as editors.
13:49And that just, uh, something I know he appreciated and, um, to be given the, to be given the privilege to choose amongst all this amazing footage and takes to figure out what are the pieces we're going to use to make that episode.
14:05Uh, that just felt like such an incredible honor and, uh, I won't forget it.
14:10Working on this show has been the culmination of many hopes and dreams since I was a teenager of working in comedy with people at the top of their game.
14:26And I never thought I'd get here, but here I am.
14:31As soon as we started filming season one, I could see there was something really special happening and it has literally changed so many of our lives, so many of our careers, this show.
14:44And I know people say that about a lot of shows, but I do think the message behind Ted Lasso is a little bit different.
14:48And what you see on camera is genuinely what is behind the camera.
14:54That the show is very good and you're making something that people really love to watch is huge rewarding anyway.
15:00But when you're going to work and work itself is a laugh, I mean, it really is a lot of fun.
15:05It was extremely hard work, but every day was a laugh because the stuff is funny.
15:10The people you're working with are really great.
15:12They're a lovely bunch of people and they are very funny.
15:15And to go to work every day and just be having the best old time, it's hard to beat that.
15:20Well, it's been an amazing experience for myself being part of Ted Lasso.
15:24I mean, I've never been nominated for anything before and I've now been nominated for three Emmy Awards in a row,
15:31which this year was even more surprising because we're in a different category.
15:36And I think also I've worked on other shows that have a kind of following or have a kind of fan base,
15:44but nothing to the extent of Ted.
15:46And it's actually been lovely just hearing the stories from people who've been touched so much
15:51or it's helped them through a bad time or they've been ill and they've watched the show
15:55and it's made them feel better.
15:57And also it seems to make people feel a bit better about other people and relationships and life.
16:02And, you know, sometimes you just think, well, you're just working on television or you're just working on a film.
16:08But when it has that effect on people, it's it's amazing.
16:12Love you all to bits.
16:14It really became a big family where we all know each other.
16:18Cast, crew, production, the production designer, our hair and makeup team came by.
16:23Everybody came to L.A. and sat in our room.
16:25So it was really special.
16:27It was a special season because I think we all knew, you know, what we had done together was was something that we that elevated us all.
16:36When Jason, as Ted says, there aren't a lot of places like AFC Richmond.
16:42There ain't a whole lot of places like AFC Richmond.
16:45I really felt like he was talking to all of us on the crew and the cast.
16:52And every time I watched it, I was like, I feel so lucky that I got to do this show for this three seasons with Jason and build this community and have this message.
17:07And it really is.
17:09It's a team and a family.
17:11And I know how rare that is in this business.
17:14It's a gift that I don't I don't take lightly.
17:17I really don't.
17:17Getting to work with y'all these last three years has truly been one of the greatest experiences of my life.
17:23I've loved getting to know each and every single one of you.
17:25You know, when I showed up here, I didn't know one thing about soccer.
17:28But now, now I know at least one thing about football.
17:32I'm just so gosh damn proud to be a part of this team.
17:35And I love you guys.
17:36I love you guys.
17:41I love you guys.
17:41I love you guys.
17:42I love you guys.
17:43I love you guys.
17:45I love you guys.
17:45I love you guys.
17:46I love you guys.
17:47I love you guys.
17:47I love you guys.
17:48I love you guys.
17:49I love you guys.
17:50I love you guys.
17:51I love you guys.
17:52I love you guys.
17:53I love you guys.
17:54I love you guys.
17:55I love you guys.
17:56I love you guys.
17:57I love you guys.
17:59I love you guys.
17:59I love you guys.
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18:02I love you guys.
18:04I love you guys.
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