Fans wonder why Apple TV's upbeat football comedy Ted Lasso has suddenly turned ... trends now
It is the good-humoured, fish-out-of-water comedy that has become a global hit, thanks to the irrepressible positivity of its chipper title character.
But as Ted Lasso returned for its third – and most likely final – series on Apple TV+ last week, there has been only one question on the minds of fans: what on earth is wrong with Ted?
The exploits of the charmingly optimistic but woefully inexperienced American struggling to coach fictional London football club AFC Richmond usually delight viewers, but many have been turned off by an unexpectedly downbeat tone to the opening episode. 'Dreary,' one fan called it.
And here may be a good reason for that, as the private life of its star, writer and executive producer Jason Sudeikis was in turmoil as the series was being made. At the time he was in bitter dispute with his ex, actress Olivia Wilde, who had left him for former One Direction star Harry Styles.
Soon after the new series of Ted Lasso began shooting in London last year, lawyers acting for former stand-up comic Sudeikis served custody papers on Ms Wilde while she was on stage in Las Vegas.
Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde attend the Don't Worry Darling red carpet at the 79th Venice International Film Festival
Pictured: Jason Sudeikis. The exploits of the charmingly optimistic but woefully inexperienced American struggling to coach fictional London football club AFC Richmond usually delight viewers, but many have been turned off by an unexpectedly downbeat tone to the opening episode. 'Dreary,' one fan called it
She slammed the 'outrageous legal tactics' which she said 'clearly intended to threaten me… he chose to serve me in the most aggressive manner possible'.
The pair's acrimonious split came in late 2020, about the time the third series of the comedy was commissioned by Apple executives who realised they had a hit on their hands. Sudeikis, now 47, and Wilde, 39, had been together for almost a decade and share a son Otis, now eight, and daughter Daisy, six.
Just weeks after they announced their supposedly 'amicable' split, Wilde was photographed holding hands with Styles – who is a decade her junior – having met on the set of her film Don't Worry Darling.
Sudeikis – who at the time was said to be heartbroken – appears to have drawn on his agony to inspire Ted Lasso, as his character went through a divorce, straining the relationship with his son. At the end of last week's episode, he learned that his ex-wife is seeing a new
