Jason Sudeikis Just Revealed The Cynical Inspiration Behind Ted Lasso
Jason Sudeikis was inspired to bring back his Ted Lasso sketch character in a less cynical, warmer portrayal by Donald Trump.
We are only a couple of weeks away from the ultimate finale of the award-winning comedy that has inspired both sides of the Atlantic—Ted Lasso, created by Jason Sudeikis, is scheduled to wrap up its third and final season at the end of this month. So, unless Sudeikis is ready to take Brett Goldstein up on his pitch of making a “Ghost Lasso” season where the titular character dies and comes back to haunt the locker rooms as a motivational phantom, we’re coming to the end of this feel-good sports comedy.
While doing an interview with The Guardian to promote the final season, Sudeikis let us in on a bit of weird trivia, revealing that Donald Trump actually inspired the happy and uplifting TV show.
It’s pretty strange to think of a man who has inspired so much negativity in the world was also the inspiration for a happy-go-lucky underdog sports story about an American football coach who is enlisted to manage a struggling soccer team in London, but it seems that was kind of the point.
Jason Sudeikis says that in 2015 he was considering bringing back a sketch comedy character he’d created years before. This particular character was originally more “belligerent,” but after Donald Trump came onto the political scene, Sudeikis decided to make the character warmer, creating the Ted Lasso we all now know and love.
Despite not having much of an online presence, Jason Sudeikis found himself being affected by the tumultuous political climate. Then, Trump took that fateful ride down the golden escalator as he announced his run for the presidency, and that moment changed everything for the actor.
“I was like, ‘OK, this is silly,’ and then what he unlocked in people… I hated how people weren’t listening to one another.”
Ted Lasso became Jason Sudeikis’ resolution to the problem. He created the character to be completely uncynical and warm, the opposite of what many people were seeing on TV at the time.
Despite the golden escalator ride taking place nearly eight years ago, it took a bit of time for Jason Sudeikis to bring the idea of Ted Lasso to life. The sports comedy series first aired on Apple TV+ in August 2020 and is currently in the middle of its final season this month. While the series has only run for three seasons, it has made a significant impression on viewers all over the world and, as one of the most inspiring narratives on TV, has brought its cast all the way to the White House.
Discussing his recent trip to see President Joe Biden, Jason Sudeikis discussed how it was strangely not weird to show up in the Oval Office. Having been a cast member on Saturday Night Live and having played multiple politicians for the sketch comedy series (including Biden himself), Sudeikis had set foot on a fake Oval Office many times before, making it feel almost normal to step into the real one—a sentiment his Ted Lasso castmates didn’t agree with.
Goldstein, the British actor who plays ex-footballer Roy Kent in the series and is the one who wants Lasso to come back in a new season as a ghost, said he was freaking out the entire time and couldn’t figure out what to do with his hands.
To commemorate the occasion, the White House pinned Ted Lasso’s motto, “Believe,” above the door to honor the positivity the series inspires. “It’s nuts, man,” Jason Sudeikis said, going on to say that he hasn’t been able to look at any of the photos from the event because he wants to remember the moment as it was in his head instead of remembering the fact that he wore sneakers to meet the president.
Jason Sudeikis ended his interview with The Guardian by saying how lucky he has been to play Ted Lasso these past three years, saying, “I have no complaints. Leave that to the experts.”
