Is Ted Lasso based on a true story?
Ted Lasso is one of those series with the extraordinary quality of creating such heartwarming and positive storylines while never straying too far from the real world. The popular show will end after the currently ongoing third season. Jason Sudeikis, creator and lead actor of the series, commented meeting“This is the end of this story that we wanted to tell, that we wanted to tell, that we loved to tell.” But Ted Lasso Fans needn’t despair, as talks about possible spinoffs starring their favorite characters are on the table.
Because the characters and their stories in the show feel so realistic, some people wondered if the show was based on a true story. Many movies and TV shows based on real life are released every year. However, there isn’t just one way to get inspiration from something that pops into your head Ted Lasso is one of those cases. The series doesn’t let real life get in the way of creativity and great fictional storytelling, instead it’s a great balanced mix of influences.
Here’s how Sudeikis used people from his own life and professional trainers to create the funny show, and how sometimes real life is inspired by shows like this.
Is Ted Lasso based on a true story?
Ted Lasso is in the third and final season. The story is about an American football coach, Ted Lasso, who has been hired as the new manager of the English football team AFC Richmond. However, there is only one problem: he has no idea about football since he was a football coach in the USA.
With pure positivism and the ability to read people, Ted not only manages to do his job, but also wins the hearts of the characters and the viewers. The character makes the audience wonder if they could ever see life differently and many wonder if this is based on a true story as there are some sports shows that are based on true events. And although no, there wasn’t an American coach who moved to England to train there, Ted Lasso was based on a few people from the life of the series creator. One of the big inspirations for the iconic mustache Lasso has comes from a few people including Sudeikis’ father.
Emmy-winning actor and author Jason Sudeikis has had a basketball coach since high school: Donnie Campbell. The Real Coach and Ted Lasso share many traits: the mustache and Midwestern heritage, but the most important is speaking in aphorisms. “He was a guy from a small town in Kansas who used aphorisms like, ‘Sudeikis, you look more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs,'” Sudeikis explained Today. His high school coach was also fond of talking about John Wooden’s pyramid of success, which the Sudeikis not only set up in Lasso’s office but also used in real life.
Campbell wasn’t the only coach who inspired the author, as influential coaches such as Jurgen Klopp, Bill Self, Pep Guardiola and Steven Karr also influenced the genesis of the series’ main character and his tactics. The idea of taking players to a karaoke game came from something Klopp did in real life.
Real life inspired by fiction
While the overall storyline of the series wasn’t inspired by anything that actually happened, sometimes it’s the exact opposite. There are many similarities between a current success story and the series. Two Hollywood actors have bought a football team and the results they are achieving after almost three years is nothing short of a season finale Ted Lasso.
In 2020, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought a small football team in west Wales called Wrexham Association Football Club. The side haven’t had their best years: they haven’t played in the English Football League for over a decade. However, one recent game could change everything – and it did. After their opponent scored, Wrexham turned the tables and won in a spectacular and deeply emotional 3-1 result. Reynolds and McElhenney watched the game live and shed a few tears when it was over and the team secured their place in the English Football League.
The actors’ journey with Wrexham was the subject of a documentary. Welcome to Wrexham, produced by Disney+ and FX. Her success with the team and the documentary also helped boost tourism in the small town of Wrexham.
Sports programs based on real life
While Ted Lasso is not quite based on real lifeSome other sports programs focus on depicting reality. For football (or soccer) lovers: The English game is a great watch. The 2020 mini-series focuses on how football was an elite class in the 19th century and on some friends’ journey to popularize the game and become one of the most popular sports worldwide.
However, if you want to watch a program about another sport, Time of Victory: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is another option. The series follows the Lakers in the 1980s and how they became one of the greatest basketball teams of that decade. However, it is important to remember that these shows are a dramatization of what happened and should therefore not be taken literally as a documentary, for example.
