‘Ted Lasso’ among the ‘AFI Television Programs of the Year’

“Ted Lasso,” the acclaimed comedy on Apple TV+, has been named one of the “AFI Television Programs of the Year” by the American Film Institute. The TV shows and movies on the list are ““deemed culturally and artistically representative of this year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image.”

Also on the TV list are “Better Call Saul,” “Bridgerton,” “The Crown,” “The Good Lord Bird,” “Lovecraft Country,” “The Mandalorian,” “Mrs. America,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” and “Unorthodox.” The AFI Awards tributes will take place on February 26th on AFI’s YouTube channel.

“Ted Lasso” has also been nominated for three Critics Choice Awards: best comedy series, best actor in a comedy series (Jason Sudeikis), and best supporting actress in a comedy series (Hannah Waddingham). 

In “Ted Lasso,” Sudeikis plays Ted Lasso, a small-time college football coach from Kansas hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite having no experience coaching soccer. In addition to starring, Sudeikis serves as executive producer, alongside Bill Lawrence (“Scrubs”) via his Doozer Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television, a division of NBCUniversal Content. Doozer’s Jeff Ingold also serves as an executive producer with Liza Katzer as co-executive producer. The series was developed by Sudeikis, Lawrence, Joe Kelly and Brendan Hunt, and is based on the pre-existing format and characters from NBC Sports.