'Ted Lasso' First Look Brings Jason Sudeikis To Apple TV+

Holy crud! Lock the doors, hide the kids, turn off all the lights, because here comes Ted Lasso! The new Apple TV+ comedy series stars Jason Sudeikis as a college football coach from Kansas who is hired to coach a professional soccer team in England. Comedy ensues! Have I mentioned this cool cat's name is Ted Lasso?! Far out! Apple revealed a Ted Lasso first look today, and you can see it below.

Behold! It's Ted Lasso! Who is he, and what does he want from us? According to Apple, Ted Lasso is "a small-time college football coach from Kansas hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite having no experience coaching soccer." The show hails from Sudeikis and Bill Lawrence, and will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, August 14.

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. Jeff Ingold also serves as an executive producer with Liza Katzer as co-executive producer. The series was developed by Jason Sudeikis & Bill Lawrence & Joe Kelly & Brendan Hunt, based on pre-existing format/characters from NBC Sports.

Yes, that's right: Ted Lasso is a pre-existing character. Per Wikipedia, "Sudeikis has portrayed Ted Lasso, a hapless American football coach brought to England to coach the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, as part of two promotional videos for NBC Sports in 2013 and 2014 for their coverage of the Premier League." Here's the proof:

Apple TV+ is still chugging along, releasing new originals while not drumming up much buzz. The Morning Show seemed to generate some heat when it arrived, but since then, the reaction to their programming has been muted. For instance: they have a new show – Defending Jacob – starring Chris Evans, Captain America himself, and I hardly see anyone talk about it. Perhaps Ted Lasso will change all of that and give Apple TV+ the hit they've been waiting for. Maybe America has Ted Lasso fever, baby!