Ted Lasso plays overtime on Apple TV+

After a year and a half on the sidelines, Ted Lasso, Apple TV+’s flagship comedy, is finally making its return to cathode grounds. The benevolence, the generosity, the absurd humor which had bewitched when the series appeared in full confinement, remain tasty. However, the candor, the naïve optimism are tinged with a touch of realism and melancholy. No more question for the American football coach, parachuted into the English football championship, to hide behind his pink glasses so as not to see his discomfort. The page of his marriage is turned, his panic attacks are still there. Her maniacal energy, her inalienable faith in human beings, Ted Lasso puts her at the service of AFC Richmond.

Avoid relegation

The London club, which has barely managed to reintegrate into Ligue 1, must avoid relegation and the status of the red lantern in the rankings that all the experts promise it. It’s a matter of honor following the betrayal of sweet Nate (Nick Mohammed). The ex-AFC Richmond manager has become manager of rival West Ham. A kiss from Judas that Nate accepts with difficulty. The first “villain” in the series, his torments infuse unprecedented complexity. In private, Nate is steeped in doubt and suffers from impostor syndrome. But in front of the cameras, he maintains a belligerent and petty rhetoric, like the arrogant owner of West Ham, Rupert Mannion.

Sporting issues and moods

Sporting issues turn out to be easier to resolve than each person’s feelings about their loneliness. Acclimated to the perfidious Albion, Ted Lasso wonders why he stays there while his son is growing up in the United States. “I understand why I came but not why I’m still here“, he is surprised. Perhaps, a metaphor for the feelings of its interpreter. Creator and star of the soap opera, Jason Sudeikis insists that these 12 new episodes (of which only four have been shown to the press) will be the last as far as he is concerned. “Ted Lasso is not a sports series, it’s an office comedy. But sports performance allows a shortcut to powerful emotions and stakes“, he underlines.

learn patience

Promoted to manager of Richmond, irascible former star scorer Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein, king of swearing) must learn patience and forgive old offenses. In particular towards the journalist Trent Crimm, who must write the official club guide and is omnipresent. Roy must also manage the club’s new recruit with the ego, talent and charisma worthy of a Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The turf prima donna arouses the veneration of her younger teammates and the jealousy of former idol Jamie Tartt, who begs Roy, her ex-nemesis, to bring him up to speed.

women in majesty

This notion of collective and fraternity dominates these new adventures. The once interchangeable and faceless AFC Richmond players are now teaming up. The match footage shot in the real Wembley and Manchester stadiums is all the more impressive. Celebrating platonic friendship more than romance, this season puts women in the spotlight. Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), the owner of Richmond, no longer wants to win just to get her ex, Rupert, screwed up. She wants the AFC to cover themselves with glory because she believes in them. And continues to take Keeley under his wing. Far from the bimbo of the beginnings, archetype of the trophy woman of the footballer, the thirty-year-old (Juno Temple) is at the head of her public relations agency. Faced with the reality of the business world, she strives to apply the “Ted Lasso philosophy”. This ethic has guided the actors offscreen. “Go out to meet others, even if they seem closed in on themselves. Treat them as you would like to be treated. Do something meaningful with those who matter to you,” says Hannah Waddingham.

» Follow all the news from TVMagazine on Facebook And Twitter .