Ted Lasso – How a True Representation of Women in Sport can Finally Get the Success it Deserves

We are finally seeing a true representation of women in sport reaching the mainstream, and this time we can be confident it won’t be cancelled. Apple TV’s Ted Lasso is entering its fourth season after a widely successful, 13-time Emmy Award-winning run of three seasons. It covered Premier League football team AFC Richmond, coached by fish-out-of-water NFL coach Ted Lasso. Season 4 takes a new approach, bringing back key characters to face a brand-new challenge; managing a women’s team.

Visibility and Accurate Representation

Football, like many other contact sports, is typically seen as ‘masculine.’ This means several things; These sports often draw in men with misogynistic or patriarchal beliefs, and that women are often driven away from participating. It’s led to a serious struggle for women’s sports development, especially sports like football and rugby. Female athletes often receive hateful and sexist comments like, “Women should be in the kitchen,” or “Stick to netball you dribbler…”

Often, women’s sports media is based on softball, figure skating, gymnastics, and tennis. Especially media depicting professional athletes.

Portrayals of women in media are often one-dimensional. Leading women are presented to be beautiful, with a full face of makeup and perfectly cared for hair. To go a step further, a study found that the “hot lesbian” is the most common portrayal of LGBTQIA+ women, who are sexualised for the male gaze. Sports like football attract people who are physical, assertive, and loud communicators, which are features that don’t fit the stereotypical ‘ideal woman.’ A League of Their Own, a series about queer female softballers was cancelled after its first season in 2022. Amazon’s executives allegedly said, “Data showed audiences found queer stories off-putting.”

Shows with diverse or extensive portrayals of women are often cancelled early, which leads to inadequate representation. Ted Lasso is challenging this. AFC Richmond’s women’s team is made up of a culturally diverse group of women with a rage of sexualities and gender presentations. It ranges from a single mother trying to balance football with raising a child, to a goalkeeper with a buzzcut who refuses to wear gloves for the joy of feeling pain. The women shown are loud, authentic, gritty, and real.

Potential for Success

So, Ted Lasso has good representation, but how can we know if it will be successful? It has a strong case:

1. Women’s football is rapidly increasing in interest, and this series can ride the wave. With more interest, comes higher audiences, and a reason for Apple TV to keep it going.
2. The show is based on football culture in the UK, which is more representative of the global sports culture than the USA.
3. The producers deeply care about this show. Jason Sudekis and Brendan Hunt (actors, writers, producers), were often attending WSL matches.
4. There is a large pre-existing audience, who are already invested in the lead characters.

As we saw with Bend it Like Beckham, women’s football can resonate strongly with audiences, especially if it includes themes of inclusion, relatability, and humour. These are all themes Ted Lasso bases itself on.

Shows about women’s sport have all the ingredients for a production company to cancel it, but Ted Lasso has all the ingredients to break this cycle. With a strong existing fanbase, creators with power who value the story, and pre-established characters, this show is likely to succeed. Season 4 of Ted Lasso is true representation and showcase of the gritty, authentic, and challenging world of women’s football, and the traction generated can help audiences appreciate another side of womanhood rarely seen in media. With the mainstream visibility of this series, these representations can help the world accept a realistic type of womanhood and help women’s sport develop further.