At a recent Abbott and Real Madrid event, which took place at the New York Stock Exchange, Ted Lasso star and SNL alum, Jason Sudeikis, spoke about how Ted Lasso season 2’s focus on the importance of therapy helped fans open up to therapy themselves. Sudeikis also revealed that he’s received letters from viewers, as have other cast and crew members, thanking him for the show’s exploration of mental health.
“I think that we were trying to explore that and personify it in a way and kind of trojan horse that there’s bigger issues in this fun, silly little comedy show. People have really responded to that. And myself and other people in the cast and the writing staff get messages daily from people thanking them for really opening their eyes to what it means to go to therapy and what it means for someone in their own life to go to therapy and just speaking about these things and taking the stigma off of any form of health whether it be nutrition or mental, emotional health. Anything that you can do to help yourself helps those around you.”
While the first season of Ted Lasso served as more of an introduction to the character and presented him as a coach with a “can-do” attitude, the second season of the award-winning show takes a deeper look into the chipper character’s inner workings.
Lasso’s team therapist, Dr. Sharon Fieldstone (played by British actress Sarah Niles), plays a pivotal role, and becomes a real pillar of support for Ted Lasso in the show. Triggered by an event between one of his team players and the player’s father, Lasso reveals a deep dark secret to Dr. Fieldstone that gives the audience more context behind the Ted Lasso we saw in the first season.
Sudeikis’ remarks about therapy have justifiably created a lot of excitement around Ted Lasso season 3. The chemistry among the cast and the well-written dialogue alone are two extremely strong legs that this show proudly stands on, but the Apple TV+ series has been very clear about the flaws of its main character and his pitfall being his inability to ask for help.
“I think [Ted Lasso] is doing a good job of giving you the perspective of someone who doesn’t want to be in therapy,” Jessi Gold, a psychiatrist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis, told Inverse. While there have been instances where it seems like Ted Lasso hasn’t been receptive to his therapy sessions, there is a breakthrough between him and Dr. Sharon that gives us hope for him in the upcoming season.
Ted Lasso season 3 reportedly began production in January. While you wait, read up on how X-Men’s animated series is making a comeback and all the details surrounding a British SNL adaptation.
Photo via Apple TV+
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