Everyone’s an MVP in heartwarming ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 2

Say it with us: Football is life.

Too many TV shows lose their charm after a winsome debut, but Ted Lasso is back and better than ever. The show was always about everyone around Ted (Jason Sudeikis) as much as the titular coach, and Season 2 fleshes out the ensemble beautifully. Critics received eight of the season’s 13 episodes, a nonstop ride of joy, tears, pride, and laughter, with gasp-worthy twists and even some football thrown in. Season 2 begins Friday, but the episodes drop weekly, so we’ll let you discover those moments for yourself.

Season 2 kicks off with AFC Richmond not winning a single game — but not losing either, as they weather a maddening string of draws. That doesn’t dampen Coach Lasso’s mood, but it starts to get to his players. In fact, the main obstacle in Ted’s way is a new addition: sports psychologist Sharon Fieldstone (Sarah Niles), who isn’t so much an obstacle as a motivational authority figure that the players quickly turn to for support. Ted is more than a little dubious of therapy, not least because of his divorce (and “modest Midwestern skepticism”), and his ability to charm anyone and everyone stumps him when it comes to Sharon.

Supporting players like Daní Rojas (Cristo Fernández) and Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh) get their own stories while we meet more of the team. Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), Nate (Nick Mohammed), and Keeley (Juno Temple) lean into their new roles at Richmond, while Roy (Brett Goldstein) grapples with retirement and Jamie (Phil Dunster) continues to deflate his ego. Even Brett’s niece Phoebe (Elodie Blomfield) gets more screen time this season, as does the entire Higgins family.

Sports psychologist Sharon (Sarah Niles) greets Nate (Nick Mohammed), Higgins (Jeremy Swift), Beard (Brendan Hunt), and Ted (Jason Sudeikis) in “Ted Lasso” Season 2.
Credit: appletv+

The praise feels redundant at this point, but every cast member is a delight. Waddingham and Sudeikis have a natural chemistry, getting a second crack at Ted and Rebecca’s friendship (now that she’s not destroying Richmond from within). The writers clearly revel in Ted and Beard’s quippy rhythm, packing in pop culture references, puns, and everything else. Goldstein is literally and figuratively the Roy Kent of this show, a foulmouthed and physical comedy legend, and we must protect Jimoh at all costs.

The first season introduced a new kind of masculinity, built on communication, empathy, and kindness as it dismantles notions of “locker room talk” and male friendship. Season 2 doubles down, no longer sneaking in the subversion. Ted tells the team he believes in “rom-communism,” the feel-good movie notion that everything works out while music swells and butterflies soar in your heart. We feel that exact sensation over and over this season, when the players support each other or Rebecca and Ted share a moment or the Diamond Dogs ride again. Who wouldn’t want to believe something so wonderful?

In Mashable’s Season 1 review, Angie Han compared Ted Lasso to Schitt’s Creek and Friday Night Lights — two other shows where you cannot help caring deeply for every single person on-screen. If you’ve watched any Ted Lasso, you know better than to call it a football show (“soccer show” for you yanks); it is a show about the joy of human connection, with the audacity to believe the best in us and the incomparable skill to make us jump off the couch cheering a fictitious goal in the process.

The Ted Lasso Season 2 premiere is now streaming, with new episodes every Friday.