Ted Lasso: The Richmond Way

During the quarantine of 2020, Apple TV+ granted everyone the option to watch a show called Ted Lasso, a new series about a Wichita St. football coach who takes a job coaching a premier futbol club in England, which he has no knowledge of the sport. This little series quickly became the best show on television. Due to the extremely excellent word-of-mouth campaign, this character Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), and its amazing co-stars entered everyone's hearts and have become one of the most beloved television shows. It's witty, completely funny, and one of the sweetest and most heart-warming shows to ever flicker on the small screen. It's just too bad this series came to a close after only three seasons. 

Bill Lawrence (the creator of Scrubs and Shrinking) has perfectly developed this show with Sudeikis who created this character as a series of commercials for NBC Sports for the coverage of the Premier League. The first season was set with ten episodes that followed Ted's arrival in England and being met with a ton of brash and abusive people who think a Yankee has no business coming to coach their beloved futbol team. Right off the bat, it's easy to see Ted's extremely inviting, warm, and funny attitude as she doesn't mind so much for wins or losses, but rather cares deeply for his players and wants to see them become the men who better themselves on and off the field. It's a joy to watch. Ted was able to take the Richmond futbol team that was not getting along and playing selfishly to create a family within the team. His players banded together to play the game better while managing to win the hearts and souls of fans, his boss and owner of the team Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham of Game Of Thrones and Fall Guy), who originally wanted to destroy the team from the inside - similar to the storyline in Major League. 

This second season takes place soon after the events of the first season which saw the Richmond team losing the last game and being knocked down to the championship league rather than the Premier League. The veteran star of the club Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) played his last game and hurt his knee. The young and cocky Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) was traded to another team. Dani Rojas enters the picture as the new star player who consistently thinks futbol is life and nothing else. The second season starts during a game when an unfortunate accident occurs that gives the Richmond team a big scare that allows for a sports psychologist Sharon (Sarah Niles) to enter the house to help make everyone think clearer and better. She is an integral part of the second season and comes head-to-head with Ted Lasso. 

The third and final season of Ted Lasso brings everyone full circle with big transformations and unlikely partnerships with each character. Richmond is slowly getting their way back into the Premiere League when Lasso struggles with his own crippling anxiety. Coach Beard is still trying to figure out his romantic life with some wonderful and whimsical moments, and Roy Kent and Keeley Jones have to make some difficult decisions about their relationship after Keeley becomes independently successful. But if the third season and the entire show teach anything, it's to follow that heart muscle to find someone and something that is worth the fight - for better or worse. 

Ted Lasso became a worldwide sensation with virtually anyone who watched an episode of the show fell in love with almost every character. It's the sweetest damn show with some of the funniest and most joyful characters that bring about some truly satisfying moments - even Nate and Jamie have some of the most-heartfelt sequences of the series and they're supposed to be the antagonists. There's nothing like Ted Lasso and let's all hope one day this series returns with a new season.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats
Ted Lasso: The Richmond Way scores its way to Blu-ray via Warner Bros. The 7-Disc set features every episode from the three seasons. There are no extras included. The artwork features Lasso himself with a smile while the other six main characters are below him without smiles. There is a fold-out poster of the Believe sign included. An episode guide is on the reverse side of the cover art. 

Ted Lasso: The Richmond Way comes with a 1080p HD transfer. This is so annoying since the streaming version on Apple TV+ is 4K with Dolby Vision. This Blu-ray-only release feels like a lazy effort from WB to just put it out instead of celebrating the show. 

It's not often, but the streaming version of Ted Lasso looks better than this HD release. Still, the colors are bold with pitch-perfect green fields and the many blues of the uniforms that contrast with the grey and light blue skies above. The red stripes and interior of the locker room make for some great-looking visuals. Even the famous yellow Believe poster sticks out. The pub everyone congregates at showcases some wonderful ambers and browns of hardwood. It's just a shame that a true native 4K image was not included here since those nuanced colors in the wardrobe and at a packed stadium could really bring out those vivid colors. Black levels are inky and the skin tones are natural. 

The detail is sharp with closeups that reveal individual hairs, the famous Lasso mustache, beads of sweat, blades of grass on the field, and the many textures in the uniforms and wardrobe worn throughout the show. Wide shots of stadiums look good here but can be a little pixelated with all of the CGI effects of fans in the crowd. There is a tiny bit of video noise and aliasing too. This is not the video presentation anyone wanted, but it's what we have to work with at the moment. 

This release comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 audio. track that sounds very good. It would have been nice to have a Dolby Atmos track to hear the whole crowd from more speakers, but maybe they are saving that for another release. The sound effects are solid with soccer ball noises, grass sliding sounds, and vehicle engines roaring coming off nicely. Nothing is ever too pushy or over-the-top. The bigger sounds come into play inside the big stadiums where the crowd is going wild with either praises or jeers. Inside nightclubs, restaurants, or the pub is where the surround speakers pick up a hefty amount of other sound effects. Ambient noises all sound wonderful too. The music selection is simply amazing and always utilizes the full dynamic range of the sound system. The low end of the bass kicks in during big games as well. Dialogue is clean, clear, and easy to follow along with the English subtitles.

Warner Bros. really let everyone down here. After three glorious seasons and being one of the most talked-about shows in recent history, it makes no sense that there are ZERO bonus features. This is a damn shame. This set should have been packed to the gills with great extras that everyone would want to see. But there is nothing except a fold-out poster of the Believe sign featured in the show. 

Ted Lasso was one of the sweetest shows in the world when the world needed a bit more sweetness and a lot less anger. It brought a ton of wonderful characters that everyone fell in love with and taught so many people the ins and outs of soccer. Warner Bros. did a bad job of releasing any sort of set worth loving though. This series deserves more than this puny Blu-ray set. The 1080p HD image looks good and the DTS-HD 5.1 audio track sounds better, however, why is there no 4K or Dolby Atmos track to one of the most popular TV shows? And why in the world are there no bonus features? Ted Lasso is still great and this must be a quick money grab. It's always nice to have physical copies on hand in case Apple TV+ decides to charge more or erase the series, but this set is FOR FANS ONLY.