Ted Lasso, the show developed by TV veteran Bill Lawrence and starring Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, was exactly the kind of show we needed during the pandemic. As Lasso, Sudeikis’ had endless positivity in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacle. The character turned his college football coaching skills on an English Premiere League soccer team was sports comedy-lightning in a bottle. It was funny. It was nice. There were homemade biscuits in pink boxes. And even though we got three seasons of laughs and sometimes tears, we’re still not over that it’s, well, over. (Roy and Keeley forever!) So when we heard that our very own author, Alise Chaffins, was writing a book about the relationships on the show, we could barely contain our excitement. (I’m pretty sure there was some jumping up and down involved.)
Well, it’s here, and it’s spectacular. And we can’t wait to dive in and read the review copy this weekend. The book, aptly titled The Ted Lasso Relationship Guide, is a comprehensive exploration of all the four main different relationships seen in the show. It covers romantic relationships, coaching/mentoring relationships (Hello, Ted!), parenting relationships, and friendships. There’s even a section on parasocial relationships. Given some of the behavior on social media lately, there’s a ton of value in having perspective in how to navigate that.
What’s really special about this book is that in addition to featuring a ton of personal anecdotes and show examples, these relationships are also explored with cited research from noted psychologists. Just the description of what it covers reminds me of another pop-culture relationship book, Leaders Assemble! Leadership in the MCU by Dr. Sy Islam and Dr. Gordon Schmidt. That one covers leadership and professional relationships using MCU examples.
This is Chaffins’ second book, but it’s her first one to focus on a TV series and use it as a lens to examine the world. This makes sense, given that Chaffins has been working quite successfully as a Film and TV critic for the past several years, even recently being admitted to GALECA. Her first book, Embracing Grief: Leaning Into Loss to Find Life, was also deeply personal. It examined how she dealt with cataclysmic loss of all kinds and the lessons that came out of that experience. It was published in 2015. With her unique perspective and expertise, we’re confident that The Ted Lasso Relationship Guide will be a compelling and insightful read.
This morning, Chaffins revealed the cover for the new book on her Substack, MacGuffin or Meaning, and we got the go-ahead to post it, too. The cover, designed by artist Jen Cretu has a cute yellow and blue title sign that wouldn’t be out of place in the AFC Richmond locker room. If you like illustrated covers on your fiction or non-fiction, this will be right up your alley. The pop art of the characters from the show channel laptop stickers and have this millennial itching to hit ‘buy.’ (If you’re reading this, Alise, the people want to buy stickers! )
If that wasn’t enough for you, the book also has a foreword by Matthew Paul Turner, the #1 New York Times best-selling children’s author.
The Ted Lasso Relationship Guide will officially release on May 24, 2024, just in time for the first anniversary of the show’s series finale.
You can pre-order The Ted Lasso Relationship Guide on Amazon.
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