Ted Lasso's third and final season is in full swing — yay! But now we're back to waiting a week between new episodes — boo! While we take bets on whether Roy (Brett Goldstein) and Keeley (Juno Temple) will get back together and debate what will happen with the Nate (Nick Mohammed) of it all, here are some shows like Ted Lasso to keep you company.
Whether you're looking for more feel-good shows, more sports comedies, or moreJason Sudeikis(he's done a lot of TV), you'll find something here that you'll enjoy as much as Ted enjoys a Billy Joel concert.
Ted Lasso
Watch on Apple TV+
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Welcome to Wrexham
If Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney were both real-life Ted Lassos, but they were the owners instead of the coach — so they're both Rebecca Welton — the documentary about them would be Welcome to Wrexham. Basically. This FX docuseries follows Reynolds and McElhenney's purchase of a struggling Welsh football club, Wrexham A.F.C., in 2020, and their attempts to turn its fortunes around while learning the ropes. I hope they sing Frozen on team karaoke night. -Kelly Connolly
Shoresy
You've seen how Ted Lasso motivated his team with positive energy and hope; now see how Shoresy does it with insults, harsh realities, and a hatred of losing. Hulu's hockey series, a spin-off of the dorm room favorite Letterkenny, is a charming underdog sports comedy about a small Canadian hockey team on the verge of shutting down when its star player-coach Shoresy (Jared Keeso, who also created the show) vows to never lose again by any means necessary. In this case, it means pulling some players out of prison and recruiting old friends and rivals who don't even play hockey any more. Though Shoresy has a very different approach to coaching than Ted, the heart of sports, teamwork, and community still shines through. -Tim Surette
Only Murders in the Building
When talking about the similarities between Ted Lasso and Only Murders in the Building, it's less about the content and more about the vibes. Remember how caught off guard you were by the cozy feel-good energy of Ted's first season? I had that same feeling while watching the first few episodes of Only Murders, mostly because I just wasn't expecting it to be another addition to my list of comfort TV. For a comedy with a plot that hinges on a murder, the real draw (for me, anyway) is the friendship between the core trio of neighbors, who find unexpected camaraderie in each other when they decide to investigate the sudden death of a man in their apartment building. All three are lonely in their own ways, but they're bonded together by their passion for playing amateur, slightly bumbling detectives. There are no sports involved here, and the stakes feel higher because of the, uh, dead person, but the jokes are great, the plot is engaging, and the characters are complex people you can't help but love. It helps that the posturing Oliver (Martin Short) does to save face in front of others is reminiscent of Ted himself, and I see shades of Roy's (Brett Goldstein) gruff loner streak in Mabel (Selena Gomez). If you're looking for another sweet show and you don't mind a certain amount of darkness to go along with it, check this one out.
In many ways,Eastbound & Down's self-serving blowhard Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) and Ted Lasso are two sides of the same coin. When we meet Kenny at the beginning of the series, he's a down-on-his-luck major league baseball player who, on account of having such a bad attitude, was forced into early retirement. He returns to his hometown to teach physical education at his old middle school, only to learn that he's not nearly as respected as he thought. It's a lot like the situation Ted finds himself in, but where he's relentlessly optimistic, Kenny is just looking for a way to con his way back into the spotlight.Eastbound & Downis the id toTed Lasso's ego, and that's why it's so much fun to watch. Plus, Sudeikis himself has a recurring role in the third season.
Detroiters
Jason Sudeikis executive produced (and played a recurring role!) on Tim Robinson and Sam Richardson's criminally underrated comedy about Tim (Robinson) and Sam (Richardson), two best buds from Michigan trying to make their dreams of succeeding in the world of advertising come true. As a pair, Tim and Sam are as gloriously optimistic as Ted even as they continue to fail upwards, and each episode finds them getting involved in goofy new hijinks as they make real efforts to get taken seriously, spurred ahead by their shared drive and undeterred by their (many) failures. Detroiters may not be set in the world of sports, but it shares buddy comedy sensibilities with Ted Lasso, so if you're ever missing the Diamond Dogs, allow Tim and Sam to pick up the slack.
Brockmire
Ted Lasso is one of the two best sports comedies of the last several years. The other? That'd be Brockmire, which aired for four seasons from 2017-2020 on IFC.Hank Azaria gets the role of a lifetime as Jim Brockmire, a former Major League Baseball announcer who is demoted to the minor leagues after a very disturbing on-air meltdown when he discovered his wife was cheating on him. Brockmire is in no way the positive, cheery guy that Ted Lasso is, frequently unloading barrages of incredibly descriptive insults in a cadence than only Azaria can do (the show's bread and butter), but deep down, Brockmire is a show with a ton of heart that's about picking yourself up (and others) from a terrible situation. Doesn't that sound familiar? -Tim Surette
Schitt's Creek
For another sweet-hearted series, watch Schitt's Creek. Like Ted Lasso, it's a show about people thrown into an environment they don't fit into, centering around the formerly rich Rose family who, after losing all their money, move to a small, quirky town called Schitt's Creek. While the very American Ted is certainly out of place in England, the Roses might as well be on a different planet than the residents of their new town. As Ted Lasso embraces all the oddities of the AFC Richmond team members, Schitt's Creek treats its many weirdos with just as much love and care. It's nice to see characters with such particular personalities — like Dan Levy's finicky, spoiled David and Catherine O'Hara's flighty, eccentric Moira — are never the butt of the joke, contributing to the show's overall feel-good nature. It's just a nice, wholesome time.
The League
Admittedly, The League is darker than Ted Lasso, but if you're looking for another show that will immerse you in the world of sports, look no further. The comedy revolves around a group of highly competitive friends who absorb themselves in their fantasy football league, often to the detriment of their personal lives. While Ted cares less about winning than he does about getting to know his teammates, the characters of The League will do just about anything to come out on top, always ready to sabotage and backstab each other if it means getting what they want. If you wish Ted Lasso took more time to get into the real nitty gritty of English soccer culture, The League is so involved in American football culture that tons of actual football players, like Marshawn Lynch, J.J. Watt, and many others, even guest-starred as themselves.
Mythic Quest
Ted Lasso has shades of a good ol' workplace comedy, but if you're looking for a show that will give you a group of strange people bopping around an actual office, check out Mythic Quest. The show revolves around the employees of a video game studio that produces a popular online role-playing game. While Mythic Quest pokes fun at the gaming industry and its avid fans, the show is most notable for its characters, a kooky group that includes narcissistic creative director Ian (Rob McElhenney), neurotic engineer Poppy (Charlotte Nicdao), and out-of-touch head writer C.W. (F. Murray Abraham). While Ted believes the professional success of AFC Richmond relies on the team becoming a family, the crew over at Mythic Quest are just trying to get through the day without clashing egos to the point of no return. It's a joyfully silly watch.
Superstore
And for a different kind of workplace comedy, meet Superstore. It's not a locker room or a video game studio, but instead a big-box store called Cloud 9. Superstore and Ted Lasso share similar comedic voices, but as is the case with many of the shows on this list, it's the web of relationships between the characters that will remind you most of those great ensemble moments from Ted Lasso, like the episode where the whole team gathers to debate on Martin Scorsese's best film. Plus, if you love the unlikely, endearing love connection between Roy and Keeley (Juno Temple), you'll have fun watching Jonah (Ben Feldman) and Amy's (America Ferrera) relationship develop over the seasons.
Lodge 49
If Ted Lasso's eternal optimism in the face of a bunch of Debbie downers is what you're looking for more of, then don't miss out on the critically acclaimed (but vastly underwatched, of course) spiritual comedy Lodge 49, which ran for two bodacious seasons on AMC from 2018-2019.Wyatt Russell stars as a surf-obsessed vagabond in Southern California whose life loses meaning after a snakebite leaves him with a limp and unable to catch any more waves. Ever the positive thinker, he finds a home at a fraternal lodge full of eccentric characters, where he may be the chosen one described in the order's prophecy. Lodge 49 is definitely a "vibe show," but its goofy charm and the way its characters lean on each other will remind of you of Ted Lasso. -Tim Surette
A.P. Bio
Much like Ted Lasso, A.P. Bio begins with a guy starting a new job he's not a great fit for. The sitcom, created by Saturday Night Live's Mike O'Brien, follows Jack Griffin (Glenn Howerton), a Harvard professor who loses his dream job to a rival and goes from teaching philosophy to teaching biology at a high school in Ohio. If your favorite thing about Ted Lasso are the scenes between Ted and his boss Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), the relationship between Jack and Principal Durbin (Patton Oswalt), as Durbin struggles to keep Jack under control, is like a more contentious version of that, only with less baked goods.
What We Do in the Shadows
Once you get past the fact that What We Do in the Shadows is about vampires, it actually has a lot in common with Ted Lasso. The mockumentary series has nothing to do with sports, and it has much more of a madcap energy, but both are ensemble shows, both are very funny, and both delight in placing its seemingly clueless main characters in ridiculous situations. Shadows chronicles the daily lives and antics of four vampire roommates who live together on Staten Island, but the draw has less to do with the supernatural elements than it does with the relationships between the characters. Like Ted Lasso, the cast is just so good together, and there's probably an alternate timeline in which Nate (Nick Mohammed) and Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) meet up to commiserate about being the group punching bag.
The Last Man on Earth
Maybe you're just looking for another show that stars a Saturday Night Live alum — if so, it's time to check out The Last Man on Earth. Will Forte plays Philip Tandy, seemingly the only survivor after a virus decimates the global population (this show was created pre-Covid, believe it or not). Naturally, he comes to discover that he's not, in fact, alone in the world, and the comedy is at its best when it lets all of the characters' distinct personalities — like Kristen Schaal's moralistic Carol and January Jones' Melissa, who struggles with mental illness — mesh with each other. That said, the highlight is getting to see a different side of Forte than we saw on SNL, much in the way that Ted Lasso is fun because it gives us Jason Sudeikis doing something different than just playing Joe Biden. The show also features guest turns from other SNL icons, including Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, and, yes, Sudeikis himself, who shows up in the hilarious, tragic role of Phil's astronaut brother, Mike.
