Remember when “Ted Lasso” was a sitcom? The show might have included plenty of unexpected pathos and the faster cuts of a single-camera production, but its first season still set up an accessible fish-out-of-water comedy about an optimistic American football coach (Jason Sudeikis), heading to England during a time of personal crisis, to try his hand at soccer. It felt like Apple TV+ took the core of a network-TV project and, using strong characterization and well-chosen swear words, polished it into a streaming gem.
In its third and possibly final season, there are still aspects of “Lasso” that recall network
television — though not always comedy.