WhenTed Lassomade its debut at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, the Apple TV+ sports comedy-dramagrabbed seven Emmys, easily sidelining the other nominees in major categories such as Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. But way before the big night, theJason Sudeikis-led series had already established itself as a heavyweight with twenty nominations, attracting the record for most nominations secured by a comedy series in its first season in Emmy Award history. Thankfully, Sudeikis, along withBill Lawrence,Brendan Hunt, andJoe Kelly, who also serve as writers on the show, did not disappoint when Season 2 ofTed Lassodropped in July 2021, with an expanded roster of twelve episodes. Maintaining its winning streak, the show dominated the comedy categories once again,ultimately winning the Outstanding Comedy Series category for the second time in a row– a feat last achieved by HBO’s political satire comedy seriesVeep. However, as Sudeikis and the team ready their tuxedos for the Emmy Awards this time, they might also need to prepare themselves to take ownership of the lackluster Season 3 they put out, which may very well rob them of the opportunity of winning the Emmy statuette for a third time.
With thenominations for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awardsout, it’s quite evident that Apple TV+‘sTed Lassoremains the one to beat in the comedy categories.Ted Lasso’s 22 nominations outweigh its final-season competitorThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which managed to grab 14 nominations, by a considerable margin. Amidst great fanfare,Ted Lassomay still remain the top choice for fans in love with the amazing underdog story of the Greyhounds. However, regardless of whetherTed Lassowill ultimately win another Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series this year, the many fault lines in its turbulent and rough third season suggest that it doesn’t deserve to.
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It’s Not Rupert — Writing Is The Biggest Problem In ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 3
It would be unfair to say thatTed Lassosuffered from a lack of focus. Instead, it could be pointed out that the show’s biggest weakness was not knowing where to direct its focus ultimately when it came to making a choice among the various storylines it had teased for two seasons. As Season 3 progressed, it became quite evident that the writers were struggling to find coherence in the story as much as the fans were struggling to make sense of what they were witnessing. From rushed storylines toincomplete character arcsto predictable character choices, the season was marred by inconsistencies, so much so that when the nearly 75-minute-long season finale finally premiered, it was not surprising that the show achieved little in terms of extending an appetizing resolution in the end.
Great acting performances combined with exciting writing made the show what it turned out to be initially. In all fairness, the cast members, including the likes of Sudeikis, Goldstein, Hunt,Hannah Waddingham,Juno Temple,andPhil Dunster, all seem to be doing their fair bit with what they are served. At the same time, the writing can easily be blamed for not providing the actors with the opportunity to do justice to their characters,especially after all the hullabaloo that was created around the third season being the final one.
‘Ted Lasso’ Did Not Do Justice to its Characters in Season 3
For two seasons,Ted Lassohad beautifully set story and character arcs that had enough conflict in place, only to resolve the tension with easy resolutions,even keeping key moments away from the eyesight of the audience.From the beginning, Nate was placed to be the big bully of the season as he’s seen ridiculing his co-workers at West Ham. His transformation was the show’s major highlight, with him tearing the “Believe” sign in the AFC Richmond locker room proving to be the high point of the Season 2 finale. Initially, it seemed that Nate’s act was a strong protest against everything Ted stood for – which is pivotal toTed Lasso’s existence. While Season 3 gave the impression thatNate and Ted’s complex relationshipcould be the most enticing thread of the season’s storyline, the result was one that was far less exciting.
The penultimate episode of Season 3, “Mom City,” depicts Nate being welcomed into the Richmond fold again by Will (Charlie Hiscock), Colin (Billy Harris), and Isaac (Kola Bokinni). After some initial hesitation, Nate finds himself back in the Greyhounds camp by the time the curtain falls on the season. Amidst all this,Ted LassoSeason 3chooses not to show why the team decided to forgive Nate, after portraying their unforgiving anger in Episode 4, “Big Week,” when Ted’s Richmond is placed up against Nate’s West Ham. In the most defining moment of the episode, Coach Beard and Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) decided to reveal that Nate was the one who tore the “Believe” sign, fueling the team’s anger. Unfortunately, in one among many such instances, the season ended up undoing all the hard work when it chose to skip the scene in which the players at Richmond apparently chose to forgive their former kit man.
‘Ted Lasso’ Season 3 Messed Up Its Romances and Core Relationships
Nate’s arc was not the only one that Season 3 sabotaged ruthlessly. For Rebecca, her entire involvement in the football business isrooted in her anger towards her ex-husband Rupert Mannion (Anthony Head), whom she wholeheartedly hated at one point but had already started forgiving in some sense by the start of Season 3. After making Rebecca pivot away from a search for vengeance towards a search for love and fulfillment, Season 3 shows Rebecca undergo a journey of self-discovery which ends in unison with a stranger she met by chance during her trip to Amsterdam. Apart from her decision to sell off a portion of the club to fans, Rebecca’s character arc ends on a note totally alienated from the emotionally turbulent journey she had. Early on in the season,Rebecca’s struggle with motherhood is also teased– another storyline that Season 3 ofTed Lassodid not end up exploring properly.
Another romance is mishandled by the season when it chooses to sustain the love triangle that had developed among Keeley, Roy, and Jamie. In terms of progression, not only does the entire season fail to achieve anything for the group of lovers,but also it reverses the progress Jamie and Roy’s friendship had achieved.Given the ending, Keeley’s brief romantic interaction with her boss Jack (Jodi Balfour) also feels like another disappointment and wasteful exploration. At best, it only provided a parallelLGBTQ+ storylinewhen the show seemed minutely interested in the life of Colin, who is revealed to be gay early on in Season 3. With even Colin, what could have been a beautiful coming-out story is left unexplored whenColin’s personal struggle with Isaacends up overshadowing the greater struggle Colin faces as a gay man. Along with Colin, Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh) is another AFC Richmond player ignored byTed Lasso. While the season completely chose to ignore his tangent with Rebecca, his struggle as a Nigerian footballer, with a strong political voice, is underplayed significantly. For what it’s worth, Sam’s greatest opposition comes from his own country in the form of Edwin Akufo (Sam Richardson), a billionaire who wished to recruit Samfor the sports league he was planning to start.
At the end of Season 3, Ted’s return home seems to be the only goal that the season had set its mind on, and it somehow manages to achieve that after a long farewell in thepredictable finale. While Ted himself in the end would leave a note for Trent Crimm (James Lance) saying that it was never about him,Ted Lasso’s finale and the way it handled the storylines of all its characters would reflect an entirely different story. If anything, the season’s lack of investment in anything just contributed to the tedious nature of theovertly long episodes, which only added further room for errors as theshow continued to explore even more storylines than before. The resulting confusion only exaggerated the problems that marked the season’s run.
The mistakes thatTed LassoSeason 3 made are only more prominent when compared to what its opponents in the Outstanding Comedy Series category, such asBarryandThe Bear, have achieved. Through Season 3,Ted Lassoproves that there are some things that its protagonist’s radiant optimism cannot find answers to. IfTed Lassoends up missing out on a third Emmy win this season, it would prove that even belief, when placed in the wrong things, culminates in a setback, be it sports or real life.
