Ted Lasso returns for a fourth season - and sets back women’s sports a decade
A columnist criticizes the marketing for the fourth season of 'Ted Lasso,' arguing that the show's promotional material relies on sexist tropes. The author also expresses disappointment that the show uses a new women's soccer team as a narrative device to reunite the original male cast rather than focusing on the women's sport.
Why it matters
The piece highlights ongoing debates regarding the representation of women's sports in media and the potential impact of marketing on younger audiences.
Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis and Tanya Reynolds in Ted Lasso. Apple TV/Supplied
There’s a short ad for Ted Lasso ’s new season, which starts on Apple TV Aug. 5, that’s being shown every commercial break as I suffer through Blue Jays losses on Sportsnet+ these days.
The ad begins with that older British male AFC Richmond fan who was always heckling Lasso approaching the sunny American coach on his return to London.
“Welcome back, coach,” he says. “Too bad you’re coaching a bunch of girls.”
Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis, shrugs this sexist comment off with a smile – and then the ad turns into a soulfully soundtracked montage. We see the unreasonably chipper coach and all of the soccer-themed transatlantic comedy’s other main characters cheering, cheers-ing, kissing, hugging and lowering their sunglasses to give goofy, loving looks to one another.
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