Popular Apple TV+ comedy series Ted Lasso earned three nominations in the upcoming 26th annual Critics Choice Awards.
The show, about a hapless Kansas football coach who is somehow hired to lead a U.K. soccer team, earned nods for Best Comedy Series, Best Actor in a Comedy Series (lead actor Jason Sudeikis, who plays the title role) and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (for Hannah Waddingham, who plays club owner Rebecca in the show.)
“We are so thrilled to be celebrating the incredible work that was released during this extended season,” said Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin. “In a year when the need for entertainment was undeniable, the industry rallied to deliver beautiful series that delighted us, educated us, challenged us, and most importantly, brought us all together.”
Netflix’s Ozark and The Crown each received six nominations to rank as the most-nominated shows. The Critics Choice Awards will air March 7 at 4 p.m. PST on The CW.
Ted Lasso on Apple TV+
Ted Lasso‘s success comes as something of a surprise after a slow start. The show’s premise stems from so-so promo spots for NBC’s Premier League soccer coverage. And yet, during a year sullied by the COVID-19 pandemic and political turmoil, Ted Lasso offered a ray of hope.
Sudeikis’ character, perceived by other characters as a simpleton or rube, displays uncanny instincts and a relentlessly optimistic spirit. Throughout the first season, his quiet leadership strategy pays off in ways big and small.
“Sometimes a good mentor — a good coach, parent, partner (romantic, platonic or creative) — is someone that can see more in you than you see yourself, because your baggage disallows you,” Sudeikis said in a recent Los Angeles Times interview. “Your intuition is pure, and we’re born these golden Buddhas, and then we take on all this muck through our life. A good mentor can scrape a little of that off, let you see your gold, and then you start scraping it away.”
Apple TV+ and awards
Apple supposedly made winning awards a big part of its Apple TV+ strategy. While awards don’t necessarily translate to audience figures, they do bestow a sense of quality on a service. For Apple TV+, which is all about quality over quantity, that can only be a good thing.
In a recent press release, Apple crowed about its success in terms of awards and nominations:
“Since its global launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV+ has been honored with 159 awards nominations and 45 wins and accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, Daytime Emmy Awards, a SAG Award, an NAACP Image Award, a Peabody Award, Critics Choice Award, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, Cinema Eye Award, Kidscreen Awards, and more.”
Ted Lasso certainly seems to have been a big critical and audience hit for Apple TV+. On Rotten Tomatoes, it achieved a critics’ score of 90%. And the show’s audience score does even better, with 98% of viewers approving of the show. Those numbers dip — but only very slightly — on IMDB, where Ted Lasso earned an average of 8.7 out of 10. (You can read Cult of Mac‘s mostly positive review here.)
Apple doesn’t reveal viewing figures for its shows. But it seems highly likely that Ted Lasso has proven to be one of the company’s biggest hits. The company has already signed it for second and third seasons.
Source: Deadline
