“There’s this person you just have to meet!” How many times have you heard this? Usually it’s with regards to dating, but I have also heard it applied to networking, business, and friendships. This time – it was for…Ted Lasso??
Whenever I hear this, I always smile, nod, and listen to whatever descriptions or explanations come next. Internally though? I’m doing this:
New relationships in my life are always approached with a healthy level of caution. At this age of my life I have learned to be careful and wise with who I let in and how much of myself, my family, and my world that I give.
But how does this apply to a television show?
Much like a new relationship, approaching a new television show, for me, is almost always handled with caution. After all, if I get into a relationship with this show and I start to like it (let alone love it) the network could, at any time, pull the plug. I could find out tomorrow that the show is no more. That makes me cautious about where and when I decide to become a fan and how much time I invest.
If you haven’t seen Ted Lasso yet, here’s a trailer:
A Blind Date with Ted Lasso
So how did my relationship start with this show? Well, I had at least a dozen people tell me I needed to watch the it. Most of them informed me that in real life, I was Ted, so I really should be watching it. This always made me pause. I’m a writer. I’ve created characters. I know how quickly things can go off the rails for fictional characters so hearing that I am one of them? As much as people wanted it to, that didn’t really give me immediate warm fuzzy vibes. It wasn’t until one friend told me that he’d shifted his entire business regimen because he wanted to be more like Ted that I started to take notice. He told me that he loved the entire concept of the show and what Ted was about. Then he followed that up with “Hey Lori, you kinda are Ted Lasso. You might want to watch it.”
At this point, I was still cautious, but I decided to give it a try. I think I finished the entire first season in an afternoon and I was definitely falling in love. Not with Ted or a character, but with the show itself. Yes, I am fully enamored with a television show but to be fair, this show deserves all that love and more.
The Lasso Effect
In the show, the Lasso Effect has a different meaning, but out here in real life, I think it should be applied to the standards of quality that this show has attained.
The writing on Ted Lasso is beyond exceptional. The scripts alone on this show should be a master class for anyone who believes they want to write for a living. There isn’t one single line in any episode of this program that is wasted. Even if you think it might be now, future episodes will hearken back to that line and a light bulb will go off. No line is wasted in this program.
But it isn’t only the writing in the program. Every part of it from casting to acting to music to set design and costuming are all of the highest level quality. This program, for me, is now the standard I would hope to achieve with what I am able to create.
Faith Based Lessons in Lasso
On a spiritual level, though the show is most decidedly not faith based or Christian, it does, in many ways, exemplify the way I have chosen to live my faith out. Ted doesn’t preach at people. When he needs to expound on something, he shares a parable from his life that the people in the room will understand. He gets on everyone’s level and speaks to them where they are. He forgives. He gives second chances. He loves without judgement. He sees everyone for who they are – even with their failings. Again, the show is not faith based, but a lot of Christians might be more effective in their walk if they looked at some of his examples. (And yes, I have finally come to terms with the fact that I am Ted. I have also decided there are a lot worse characters that I could be compared to. I’m good with being Ted – flaws and all.)
Now we’re in season three of this relationship and quite frankly, I’m not sure where we are going. I’m still one hundred percent committed. I trust the writers and creators to take us where they want the story to go. I always equate movies and television shows from a creative perspective to a roller coaster. It’s your choice to get on the coaster, but once you’re on it and strapped in, you go where it takes you. It’s the same way with a show or film. You sit down in front of that screen by choice but where you go? That’s up to the people in charge of the ride and I still trust them implicitly.
Are we breaking up?
I’m not sure if we’re winding down to an end of this relationship. Maybe it was only meant to be a short summer fling. If it was, then I’m okay with that because I believe I’ll be coming out on the other side of it a better person. The show has taught me a lot about how to see and treat others and what to see and change in myself.
The season three finale is set to air next week. If the show should go on after season three, I’m willing to stay on the ride and see where they take us. There’s a lot of criticism, speculation, and even some really ugly theories happening out there. I don’t read those. I choose not to. You see, I’m a Ted Lasso fan and right now, this is my favorite television program and I’m choosing to be curious, not judgmental.
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