Book Review: 2026 Nonfiction Challenge # 6

Believe: The Untold Story Behind Ted Lasso by Jeremy Egner

Read By Christopher Grove

Published: November 2024

Summary from Goodreads:

When Ted Lasso first aired in 2020, nobody—including those who had worked on it—knew how a show inspired by an ad, centered around soccer, filled mostly with unknown actors, and led by a wondrously mustached “nice guy” would be received. Now, eleven Emmys and one Peabody Award later, it’s safe to say that the show’s status as a pop culture phenomenon is secure. And, for the first time, New York Times television editor Jeremy Egner explores the creation, production, and potent legacy of Ted Lasso.

Drawing on dozens of interviews from key cast, creators, and more, Believe takes readers from the very first, silly NBC Premier League commercial to the pitch to Apple executives, then into the show’s writer’s room, through the brilliant international casting, and on to the unforgettable set and locations of the show itself.

Egner approaches his reporting as a journalist and as a cultural critic, but also with an affection and admiration fans will appreciate, carefully and humorously telling Ted Lasso’s story of teamwork, of hidden talent, of a group of friends looking around at the world’s increasingly nasty discourse and deciding that maybe simple decency still had the power to bring us together—a story about what happens when you dare to believe.

Confession:

I first heard about Ted Lasso when it won all of those Emmy Awards after the first season, or maybe the second. I remember thinking at the time that it was probably good, but still a show about a soccer coach, just wasn’t something I thought I would like. But then when I finally got a subscription to Apple TV I decided to give the show a chance, and I really enjoyed it. This nonfiction book about how the show came about with a behind the scenes narrative was more interesting than I would have guessed.

The first part of the book took an in depth look at how the creators, Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, took the characters created for NBC’s commercials for the Premier League games, and turned them into a fully realized tv show. It took many years for this to happen and for them to find the show a home on Apple TV. We also got a glimpse of how the actors were selected. I especially liked the story about how Brett Goldstein, who was originally a writer for the show, decided to audition and then got the role of Roy Kent. He continued to write for the show, even after winning the role.

The rest of the book was all about the show and its various themes and how different movies and tv shows influenced it. There were a few in depth looks at key episodes as well. I especially liked the chapter about how they filmed the soccer sequences and how they made the actors, who could all play soccer to some extent, look better than they really were. I found this very interesting and something I hadn’t really thought about while I was watching it.

As a latecomer to the show, I hadn’t really thought about how the pandemic in 2020 affected the show. The first season came out in the summer of 2020 when most people were running out of things to watch, this may have contributed slightly to its early success. The book does go into the difficulties of filming during the pandemic as well, which was interesting to hear about.

The one thing I didn’t particularly like about this book was the enormous use of quotes by the author. There were a few chapters that felt like that was all we got. While it was interesting to hear what the cast and some of the writers thoughts about the show were, I think the quotes added to the repetitive feel of the book overall. Also because I listened to the audiobook, it was hard at times to keep track of who said what in the quotes.

If you are a fan of the show, you will probably enjoy this book. It certainly made me want to watch the show again. Especially now that we are getting a new chapter in Ted Lasso’s coaching career later this summer when season four is set to air. I am looking forward to it, especially with the knowledge I now have of the show.