The Definitive Ranking of Every Ted Lasso Character (Season 1)

 “Be Curious. Not Judgmental.”

~Ted Lasso

So a little known fact about 2020 is that, apparently, for a lot of people it was not great! Yeah, color us surprised, our staff spent the whole year on a private island (after 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine why are you all mad?) so it was news to us.

But in a, let’s say, “down year”, one of the universally acknowledged high points of 2020 was the release of Ted Lasso, the Golden Globe-winning comedy that was the primary reason you either got Apple TV+ or figured out how to pirate tv shows.

If you haven’t seen it, WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING THIS PAST YEAR THIS SHOW IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEEDED!?!?!? But we’ll pretend you’re a hypothetical reader unaware of this delightful show. Starring Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso had no reason to be as good as it is. It was based off an NBC Sports ad made seven years ago, which is basically like turning an SNL sketch into a movie (which usually does not go well) and making it six times as long.

Yet, with an impressive creative team behind it, including Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, it somehow ended up the EXACT show we needed for this past year. It’s heartwarming, sincere, charming and kind, without any cynicism or irony. Even the bad guys in the show find a way to make you root for them (well, except for a few).

All of this is to say, we have decided to celebrate the release of the official season two teaser trailer. by spending dozens of hours on research and writing 5,000 words to arbitrarily rank every single character from Season 1 of Ted Lasso.

Now, you might be disappointed with some choices in this list, but there’s no way you’ll be actively upset, because Ted Lasso is the rare show that, in a single short season (so far) (it’s locked in to end after Season 3), has already established a good 20 characters you’d take a bullet for. So with that in mind, let’s get this underway.

Every Ted Lasso Character, Ranked

62: James Tartt

The honor of the worst character in this show goes to James Tartt, Jamie’s absentee father who showed up once Jamie got famous, and is only seen berating him for *checks notes* getting a game winning assist for a Premiere League championship team. He sucks, though honestly he only exists to humanize Jamie Tartt’s flaws.

61: George

The former manager of AFC Richmond had the honor of being named the worst character in Ted Lasso, but then we remembered Jamie’s dad and were like, oh yeah, fuck that guy. While Rupert is the effective “villain” of the show, he is charming and likeable, because he’s played by Anthony Head, a.k.a. Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s Giles, so he doesn’t get to show up this early in the list.

George does not have that level of charisma. He’s just a gross misogynist who appears in one scene in the first episode of the show, and shows his balls.

60: Sam

Sam was the hairdresser who Jamie Tartt didn’t want using wax on his hair. We honestly don’t remember him, but, here he is.

59: Trevor

Trevor is a bus driver. Moving on.

58: Sarah

Sarah’s a reporter who asked Ted Lasso how he felt after his first win at Richmond. The picture that her Ted Lasso Wiki posted of her lists her as “Reporter_3.” We’re in that area of this article where it’s needlessly being completist.

57/56/55/54: Kip/Ray/Alex/Robbie

Kip, Ray, Alex and Robbie were fans who watched the last game of the season and had notable reactions to the last second goal by Manchester City. They have NAMES for some reason? Like, they’re on the Ted Lasso Wiki page? Yeah, we really didn’t need to write about them. Strap the fuck in for a needlessly long ride.

53: Stevie

Stevie is a bellhop at the Everton game hotel. We maybe are including way more characters in this list than is necessary.

52: Rupert Mannion

Rupert sucks. Yes, he’s played by Anthony Head and just oozes charisma, but he’s clearly the villain of the show. What’s worse, he’s the clear villain even though most characters in the show view him as a hero. In terms of performance and purpose for the show, he’s a very good character. But as a person, he sucks, which is why he’s as low as you see here.

This was by far one of the most difficult rankings we had to make. Because anyone that remembers Rupert Giles is bound to be smitten by him, but he’s an asshole. But he also is the reason that Ted Lasso came over to England in the first place, if you think about it, but he’s an asshole. But He’s also responsible for Rebecca realizing she was better off without him, which brought her back to her much better, pre-Rupert self, but he’s an asshole.

We ranked him ahead of some assholes here, but that’s not our way of saying that all the characters below him are assholes. They’re just bit parts that for some reason where given a name in the credits (or in a few cases, were assholes). Because asshole or not, Ted Lasso is a much less rich and interesting show without Rupert gumming up the works.

51: Ernie Lounds

Reporter for The Sun, Lounds isn’t even liked by his fellow reporters. He’s boorish, and even though he digs into Rebecca when she’s technically still the villain of the show, no one likes or respects him for it. He’s one of the few asshole characters in this generally wholesome show.

50: Paul John Pope

Paul John Pope apparently was given a full name, despite only being a front desk operator at the Everton hotel where Richmond stays for their game. He talks about fax machines with Ted Lasso and absolutely swings and misses with his chance to to get a date with Flo “Sassy” Collins.

49: Rosie

Rosie sleeps with Jamie shortly after his breakup with Keeley. She’s good at wearing men’s dress shirts, being a huge fan of Keeley, and helping Keeley feel good about her relationship decisions.

48: Headmaster

The headmaster of Phoebe’s school gets Ted Lasso’s name wrong (it’s not “Ed”, dude), but also shows appropriate appreciation to Ted and Roy spending as much time with his students as they do. And honestly, his ability to get both the coach and captain of the local Premiere League team to show up to his school shows he’s pretty good at his job.

47: Bex

Rupert sucks, so dating Rupert makes you suck via the transitive property. Though we’re sure she’s a super nice lady in real life. Jason Sudeikis definitely thinks so.

46: Geoff

He’s the hot waiter who Rebecca sleeps with. He serves a pretty singular purpose, but hey, Rebecca needed the company, so good for him.

45: Gail

Gail appears in one scene, as a Richmond physical therapist who is obsessed with true crime podcasts.

44: Will

You don’t remember Will. He’s the new kit man who replaced Nate when he got promoted, and offered Ted Lasso water at an inopportune time after the team’s relegation. He might play a bigger role in the future, or might get replaced by a totally different actor/character. We’ll see.

43: Scott Van Pelt

The ESPN personality plays himself to introduce the audience to Ted Lasso’s backstory, and hiring by Richmond. He handles that role with aplomb.

42/41: Arlo White/Chris Powell

They’re the announcers of the matches on the show, and they are football announcers in real life. They play themselves. We don’t need to put much more thought into this entry.

40: Cam Cole

The busker musician that Ted Lasso brings in to Rebecca’s fundraiser is an actual musician playing himself. As a character he has roughly zero lines of dialogue, but he does manage the bring down the house when given the opportunity.

39/38: Marcus/Lloyd

Marcus and Lloyd are two of the journalists who occasionally ask Ted Lasso questions. They seem nice? Assuming Ted Lasso got to Liverpool first, one of the two ended up a Scotch egg.

37: O’Brien

The first goalkeeper for AFC  Richmond doesn’t even warrant a first name, but he is a good sport about being the butt (ugh we’re so sorry) of a lot of “he tore his butt” jokes.

36: Cheryl Barnaby

Cheryl is the older lady who won a date with Roy Kent during Rebecca’s fundraiser (woo-hoo). Her two main traits are that she’s rich, and horny.

35: Jeremy

Jeremy is the only person in the trio of fans who continuously troll Ted Lasso that doesn’t really have a memorable moment. He’s here, on the right. He’s just there. He’s whatever.

34: Tommy

Tommy shows up in the series premiere and the season finale to take an “ussie” with Ted Lasso and Jamie Tartt, respectively. He’s kind of funny, but kind of annoying (intentionally so)? We don’t need to focus too much on him.

33: Shannon

She’s credited as “Soccer girl” but is called Shannon by Ted Lasso, so we’ll go with that. This is the girl who is good at soccer who Ted Lasso tries to play with early in the series. She seems very nice!

32: Jacob

Jacob (we think) is the kid who gets a soccer ball signed by Ted Lasso, which Ted bleeds on. It’s actually much more adorable than that sounds.

This entry required so much more sleuthing than was likely emotionally healthy for our staff, because he’s listed in the Trent Crimm episode, but IMDB says that he’s played by a 50-year-old actor. BUT we think that’s just IMDB being wrong, as we think Jacob is played by a kid with the same name. We’re going full Pepe Silvia here.

Anyway, he seems to like Ted Lasso, so we seem to like him.

31: Richard Montlaur

His whole schtick is that he’s French, and he once got emotional about having sex with a supermodel on a beach. He’s a fairly dismissible character, but still is memorable, because Ted Lasso manages to make even the most minor characters memorable. We really like this show.

30: Colin Hughes

Of the players who are desperate for Jamie Tart’s approval (and who are assholes to Nate), Colin is the worst. Mind you, he’s more of a follower than an actual asshole.

He gets headbutted by Roy, and honestly deserves it. But he does eventually give Nate the respect he DESERVES, so we’ll give him some props for that.

29/28/27/26/25/24: Terry/Chris/Dana/Stevie/Lindsay Higgins

We could rank out each of the five Higgins sons, but honestly, we’re already spending too much time on this article, and we don’t hate our staff that much. Terry is pictured because, guess what? That’s the only picture that came up when we searched “Ted Lasso Higgins Kids.” We only have so many hours in the day, you know?

23: Jane

Jane is Coach Beard’s date for Rebecca’s fundraiser (for the children), who initially decides to turn him down, but eventually changes her mind after Coach Beard berates Ted Lasso for not making the hard (right) decisions. Her interests include chess, and getting to the fucking point.

22: Julie Higgins

Higgins’ wife lives with many children, pets, and a dying cat in a small house and hates Rebecca as well as Higgins’ goatee. That, and that she conceived out of wedlock, are what we know about her character.

She seems to be a very loving and supporting wife and mother, who gave birth to a “cool priest” out of wedlock. We can get behind her.

21: Ollie

Ted Lasso’s driver in the first episode, and his invitation to his father-in-law’s Indian restaurant makes him a server in the third episode. He is introduced to Trent Crimm by Ted Lasso as a “cool person” which is enough of an endorsement for us. Also, the pure joy behind his delivery of, “Dad, he says it’s perfect!” is enough to make you think he’s a cool person too.

20: Michelle Lasso

You would assume that we’d place Michelle Lasso closer to the bottom of our list, because she had the audacity to dare hurt our sweet, sweet boy. But she was the reason why Ted went over to Richmond in the first place, and the ending of their marriage didn’t come from a malicious or mean place. It’s frankly one of the kindest divorces you’ll see in pop culture. Plus, we love the actress who plays Michelle from her work in Better Off Ted, and we really can’t let ourselves fall into the wormhole of what if Ted Lasso and Better Off Ted have the same characters.

We’ll pocket that for another 5,000 word article.

19: Henry Lasso

Henry Lasso is Ted’s young, adorable child. He’s basically there to be cute, and show how great of a dad Ted Lasso is (he’s like, the best dad), but his gift basket of toy soldiers was a pretty clutch move, so he’s gotta get some credit for that.

18: Phoebe

Phoebe, like Henry Lasso, is an adorable child who does adorable child things with a smile. She’s also Roy Kent’s niece who does a lot of heavy lifting in letting you know how Roy Kent is a lot more than his stubborn and crass demeanor shows.

17: Thierry Zoreaux

It’s pronounced “Zor-eaux.” As a character, he doesn’t really do much, outside of lining up a running gag of people pronouncing his name as “Zoro.” But as a goaltender, he’s a champion. He wasn’t even the first choice to tend goal for the team, he only was brought in after O’Brien tore his butt.

But he got a clean sheet for Richmond’s win over Everton, and was nearly superhuman in his attempt to keep the team in the game against Manchester City. Zoreaux is going to be a legend in the last two seasons of the show, you heard it here first.

16: Baz

Of the three fans who constantly jeer and heckle Ted Lasso, who eventually respect Ted even as they call him a wanker, Baz is the one who has the most lines. He’s got some funny moments (like his horrified reaction when he realized he swore at Ted in front of his wife and kid), which is why he made it all the way up to 16. But this is as far as he’ll get.

15: Isaac McAdoo

Isaac starts off as one of Jamie Tartt’s sycophants, works his way up to being a guy who really likes Rollos and NO other candy, smashes a TV because of Jamie Tartt shit-talking Ted Lasso, and is hand-chosen by Roy Kent to replace him as captain. That’s an extremely impressive resume. He honestly should be higher, if not for the fact that Ted Lasso has more well-developed characters than just about any other show, which means his role as an ancillary character for most of the season bumps him out of the top 10 here.

14: Paul

Let us pull back the veil to the creative process here. Paul is one of the trio of fans (with Baz and Jeremy) who both heckle Ted Lasso and serve as the avatars, the Greek chorus if you will, of the Richmond opinion of Ted Lasso. But if you Google Paul, or Paul Ted Lasso, or Paul Ted Lasso Fan Ted Lasso, or Paul Ted Lasso Fan Troll Richmond, or even just Ted Lasso Kevin Garry (who plays Paul), the clearest picture you can get of him is below.

We added the circle. Originally that was going to be the picture we posted, until we realized we couldn’t get pictures of everyone without doing some our own damn screenshots for people with lower ranks on this list, and that Paul is too delightful for that to be his only representation online. After all, he’s the only Richmond fan that was at least nice to Ted from the start. So we went back and got our own screenshot of him too.

So here he is in his well-deserved 14th place spot.

Once again —Paul is delightful, and we want that on the record. He (and Kevin Garry) needs more internet love.

13: Mae

Mae is the bartender for the Richmond pub, who basically serves as the diplomat between Ted and the fanbase. She’s a matriarchal figure who rules her domain with an iron but kindly grip. As Ted is jeered before his first game, she’s the one shouting, “Oy, give him a chance.” She’s the one who politely says to Ted, “You don’t want to let them call you a wanker…that’s bad.” Before gesturing what a wanker is.

Of the townspeople, she’s probably the best character, even though Paul is a close second.

12: Flo “Sassy” Collins

Sassy Collins is memorable for a few different reasons. Yes, she’s cute, charming, charismatic. And sure, there’s a very high chance she’ll show up in season two to complicate some sort of interpersonal situation between Ted and (like, we don’t want it to be Rebecca, it probably will be Rebecca). So it’s easy to focus on her for the fact that she hooked up with Ted Lasso, which ultimately let Ted Lasso truly internalize and accept that his marriage was over and he had moved on.

But Ted Lasso is not the kind of show that’ll introduce a character for, basically, a single episode (we know she’s briefly in the next episode, but we’re like 4,000 words into this, let’s not nitpick) just so to sleep with the main character.

Her character is introduced immediately and memorably and is given a rich backstory—without spending too much time, she’s convincingly established as a carefree divorcee with an ex-husband worth little mention and a young daughter very much worth mention. She grew up with Rebecca, was abandoned during Rebecca’s doomed marriage, was willing to forgive her, but also did not let her forget why that was wrong.

While she sleeps with Ted to help him get closure, she also helps Rebecca unlock a part of herself that she had kept dormant, and did so by requesting a karaoke rendition of a Frozen song.

Just to remind you, this is an award-winning comedy. God it’s so good.

11: Trent Crimm

Trent Crimm from The Independent. This magnificently-maned, world-class reporter should just be relegated to the spot on this list reserved for…well just random reporters. But Trent Crimm is both A-memorable and B-responsible for the first episode of Ted Lasso where the show really starts to show how good it can be.

In his day with Ted Lasso, Trent Crimm gets to see how truly unique and special Ted Lasso is. For anyone who was skeptical of a show based off an old NBC ad, Trent Crimm was us. And so as he was swooned and smitten, so were we. When Ted Lasso, sweating from eating overly spicy Indian food, tells Trent Crimm how much he enjoyed spending the day with him, a truly charmed and suddenly no longer skeptical Trent says, “You really mean that, don’t you?” It’s a touching moment.

Also, if you have an episode named after you, you probably belong high on this list.

10: Jamie Tartt

Some will want Jamie Tartt higher on this list, and some lower. He starts the show as a vain budding star, and ends the first season as the vain budding star who puts a dagger in the collective heart of his old team.

That said, he is the star of the team. And he grows a lot throughout the season. He starts off as an objective, to steal a phrase, twat, but finds ways to (somewhat) look inward, and become a team player as he reveals he was the product of an absentee, fame-hungry father. Hell, he was charming enough for Keeley to date him, even if she ended up in a better situation with Roy.

Plus, if the Ted Lasso Season Two teaser trailer is any indication, Jamie’s character growth is going to continue to grow starting this July. (The army figure that is briefly seen in the trailer is the same one Ted Lasso gave to Jamie after he won the game winning goal to send Richmond to relegation) (We are kind of obsessed with this show).

(As a side note- when we originally wrote this, we misspelled Jamie Tartt’s name as “Jamie Tart” because we just totally forgot that he has two T’s in his name. We should feel bad about that but it also took several months for anyone to point it out to us, so in the grand scheme of things, it’s probably not a typo people care too much about, we guess?)

9: Sam Obisanya

The defenseman from Nigeria, Sam is truly delightful whenever he takes center stage. He was an emotional driving force of the second episode, and Ted’s decision to have the team celebrate his 20th birthday so he doesn’t feel so homesick is both a genuinely sweet act, and also the first sign that Ted Lasso knows how to do team morale.

Sam is also responsible for some of the biggest moments in Richmond gameplay, including a crucial goal for Lasso’s first win, as well as some crucial assists. But mostly, he’s nice, and nice characters just make sense in the Ted Lasso universe.

8: Dani Rojas

Football is life.

Dani Rojas doesn’t get a compelling arch, or a lot of individual focus (though it is clear he will get a LOT of that in Season 2), outside of the fact that he’s delightful, and he’s very good. It’s fitting that the “surprise ace-in-the-hole” player is a perpetually running around like a raven-haired Golden Retriever, who loves football with a pure and simple joy that is never spoiled, even in defeat.

While we’re excited to see what will be done with his character in season 2, even outside of his potential, Dani Rojas is one of the more memorable and delightful characters in the first season. Just try reading, “Dani Rojas, Rojas, Dani Rojas” without hearing it in his excitable voice. You can’t. That’s science.

7: Leslie Higgins

Higgins gets shit on a lot in the show, but he’s also a member of the Diamond Dogs, which puts him in truly rarified company. The pilot episode sets him up as a less-than-sympathetic character (as he enables/covers up Rupert’s many discretions during his marriage with Rebecca) but he also owns up to that past and ultimately wins the respect of both Ted and Rebecca.

He also, from the very start, had a clear love of Ted Lasso that leads to him physically gagging at having to be a part of the attempted destruction of the team, and he has a large family with many pets that clearly loves him. He’s a good guy, even if he looks trash in a goatee.

Part of the reason that Ted Lasso resonates as entertainment is that it’s one of the few shows to nail “kindness” without making it seem like a weakness, a flaw, or something so saccharine you just can’t stand it.

Higgins is a condensation of that ability—he was assuredly the first front office person to realize, “Oh, I like this guy,” and everything he does is either for his family (keeping his mouth shut about Rebecca’s sabotage to support them) or for decency (finally snapping and deciding that Ted doesn’t deserve that).

Higgins is just one of many examples of the heart behind Ted Lasso.

6: Coach Beard

Coach Beard was the only other character/actor, apart from Ted himself, to appear in the original NBC Sports ad that spawned this whole thing. He was hilarious in that spot, though one-note. While parts of him remain, the original Beard was an American assistant coach that only existed to know everything about British soccer, and correct Ted in a monotonous tone.

The expansion of his role in the show is a revelation, and one of the anchors of the whole darn thing. Our first exposure to Coach Beard in the pilot episode involved Ted telling him that if they ran into each other in their dreams while sleeping on the plane, to have some fun and pretend they didn’t know each other, to which Beard responded, “You got it, stranger.” It’s adorable.

Beard is a perfect companion to Ted. While Ted knows how to bring out the best of his players, Beard knows the strategy and culture that Ted lacks. Together, they make a formidable force, and as much as Coach Beard is loyal to Ted, Ted also feels that loyalty to Coach Beard. And when Beard tells Ted he’s wrong (like Ted’s decision not to bench Roy), Ted respects Coach Beard enough to listen.

He’s also a helluva karaoke singer.

Coach Beard is a delight on this show, and honestly in any other sitcom he’d easily be the second strongest character. But Ted Lasso is not just any sitcom.

Oh by the way, we should point out…Coach Beard (or Brendan Hunt, who portrayed him) is also a writer on a show…he is the one that wrote the series finale (a.k.a. The Hope That Kills You). We have no idea what to do with this information other than post it here, for you, the gentle reader.

5: Rebecca Welton

The fact that Rebecca starts off the show as its default villain, one whose motivation was literally copy/pasted from the movie Major League, and ended up as a top-five character on this list is proof of how strong her character’s journey really is.

We need to take a moment to blow some of your minds by pointing out that the actress who plays Rebecca is also the “Shame” priestess in Game of Thrones. But let’s carry on.

Rebecca gets the most personal focus of any character outside of Ted Lasso himself. Now, Ted Lasso has, like, literally one scene where he’s a jerk (when he yelled at Nate at the Liverpool hotel), followed by him immediately apologizing. Rebecca gets her apology scene, but that’s after a whole slew of bad things.

But it’s telling that, even early on, when she was doing everything she could to undermine Ted and the entire club…you still liked her. She’s clever, competent, intimidating-yet-charming, and growing back into herself after suffering through an emotionally abusive relationship, while still managing to wrap all that complexity into a compelling performance in, you know, a comedy.

Because “Stinky” is funny. And, yes, there’s a strong chance she’ll end up dating Ted by the end of the series, and we’re not sure if we’re good with that or if that feels too lazy, but even outside that, she’s one of the essential parts of the show. Just consider that she nailed this scene and just one episode later had to confess everything to Ted, and is immediately forgiven, shows how nuanced and human her character is.

And if you have an issue with her place on this list? Fuck the haters.

4: Roy Kent

He’s here, he’s there, he’s every-fucking-where, Roy Kent. 

First, something that a lot of fans of this show don’t realize, and that we thinks is great. Brett Goldstein, who plays Roy Kent, is actually a writer on the show. After the first three or so episodes were written, before the show was cast, he decided to audition and got the part. He also wrote the episode “Tan Lines” (i.e. the first game that Richmond wins, and the episode where Ted decides to let his wife go). That’s not as wild as the Coach Beard writing credit, but in some other ways, it kind of is?

Anyway, Roy Kent is the heart of the team (on the players’ side), the captain (until he graciously, with a heavy heart, accepts a benching) of the team, and one hell of an uncle.

Roy Kent is gruff and stoic, but secretly is a big softie. He (mostly) figures out how to captain Jamie Tartt, and ultimately gets the girl. He’s one of the greatest midfielders in the history of the game, but constantly has to face his own mortality and the twilight of his career. We feel just like Phoebe—we love him.

3: Nathan Shelley

Nate the Great! Nate the Great!

For our staff, the moment that we really got a full sense of what kind of lovely, wonderful show Ted Lasso was going to be was in the pilot, when Nathan Shelley, a.k.a. Nate, a.k.a. Nate The Great (Ted Lasso’s date, hopefully at table eight), talks with Ted Lasso and realizes that, unlike everyone else he’s worked with, the new coach remembered his name.

Nate’s path from unassuming kit man to actual coach is one of the most inspirational plot lines of the show, made all the more lovely by Nick Mohammed’s meek, but increasingly confident, portrayal that brought us some A+ moments like his pre-game speech against Everton, or his surprise coaching announcement.

We would fight wars for Nate, and we’ll fight anyone who thinks otherwise.

2: Keeley Jones

Keeley is a force of nature from the moment she makes her first appearance in the pilot episode. The girlfriend of Jamie Tartt, and later the emotional rock for Roy Kent, there were dozens of opportunities for her character to end up just being “the girlfriend”, yet Juno Temple’s fierce, confident, hilarious portrayal, along with a considerate writers’ room, made sure Keeley never was anything more than three-dimensional.

She doesn’t see the same amount of growth as some other characters in the first season, but that’s because she doesn’t need it. She came into things fully self-aware, even if she started as a C-list celebrity in a relationship primarily because it was “easy.”

That isn’t to say she didn’t grow. Her break up with Jamie Tartt, and subsequent relationship with Roy Kent, represented a desire for maturity, and her comforting of Roy Kent in the season finale was one of the most emotional moments of the series.

She also, arguably, is pound-for-pound the funniest character in the show, the person with the most punchlines, the best punchlines, and the most room to have fun with the role. She deserves this spot.

1: Ted Lasso

Of course it was going to be Ted Lasso. It was always going to be Ted Lasso. Ted Lasso will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest TV characters of all time, and definitely one of the best sports characters in TV history.

Some of you might look at this choice and roll your eyes. You might think that it’s the “safe” choice, that the “arch” of characters like Roy Kent or Jamie Tartt are more rewarding. But you would be dead wrong.

Outside of the fact that there would be no Ted Lasso without Ted Lasso, outside of the fact that Jason Sudeikis won a Golden Globe for best Actor in a Comedy for the part, outside of the fact that this show happens to have about fifteen characters who on their own would be the best, most interesting characters on a number of different sitcoms, it’s still got to be Ted, and you’re fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

Think of some of the best moments of the series. Ted eating unbearably hot Indian food to appease a “friend” he had met two times. Ted forgiving Rebecca almost immediately with a simple, kind, “Divorce is hard.” Trent Crimm’s article. Ted bringing in Cam Cole at the last minute to save the day. Barbecue sauce.

Ted is the driving force behind the show. A show that has become iconic not for pure comedy, but for pure heart. A show that came out during an unkind year that stressed, above all else, the importance of kindness, the importance of togetherness, and that there are wins to find in every loss. That is driven by Ted Lasso.

Every character who grows and changes throughout the first season of Ted Lasso due to the show’s title character. He helped Rebecca come to love Richmond. He helped Jamie Tartt realize the value of the extra pass. He made Sam feel at home, when he was far from it, he made Nate believe in himself, and he let Roy Kent be the leader he deep down knew he should be.

He made everyone better, or at least to want to be better, just like he made everyone who watched him want to do the same. Ted Lasso made us want to be better people. Ted Lasso is forever.