Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis opened up about the reaction to the second season’s most powerful storyline. During Ted Lasso’s sophomore series, the perpetually optimistic football coach started therapy after suffering an anxiety attack during a critical match.
The TV series had hinted in the past that Ted’s smile belied some deep-rooted mental health issues, but it wasn’t the focus of the first season. However, the second season revealed that Ted’s father died by suicide when he was just a child, and it was clear this had left a profound mark on the beloved coach’s psyche. Eventually, with the support of his colleagues, Ted began to seek help for his problems and started therapy. Sudeikis told Us Weekly that this storyline had a profound effect on fans.
“People have really responded to that,” he explained. “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.”
During the same interview, Sudeikis explained that the show has always been about mental health but added it’s only come to the fore this season.
“In regard to the mental health stuff, it was just there. It’s been there forever,” he said. “But it’s really come up a lot in just knowing where the characters were headed and how important it is to work on yourself to help your team.”
He went on to joke that the show was a Trojan Horse that looked like a “fun, silly little comedy show” but was, in fact, an attempt to explore bigger, more important themes.
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