There are certain givens about the Emmy prospects for Apple TV+’s breakout hit, “Ted Lasso.” Comedy Series nomination? Check. An acting nomination for Jason Sudeikis? A given. Writing and directing nominations? Absolutely. The question then centers on which of the stellar supporting actors get recognized by the Television Academy. And, in this writer’s humble opinion, the most deserving contender is the owner of the AFC Richmond footballer herself, Hannah Waddington.
READ MORE: “Ted Lasso” is more than a one-joke show [Review]
As Rebecca Welton, Waddington plays the ex-wife of Rupert Mannion (Anthony Head), who broke her heart by leaving her for a younger woman. Looking for revenge, Rebecca gained control of his prized football team in their divorce settlement and brought in an inexperienced American football coach, Ted Lasso (Sudeikis), to manage the team. As the season progresses, Rebecca’s pain becomes more apparent as does her increasing respect for the ever-optimistic Coach Lasso.
The show quickly became a word of mouth wonder in the U.S., but many wondered how it would translate back in the U.K. Imagine a British or European take on this concept around an NFL or NBA team. Would viewers be skeptical at that prospect? If the show is as stellar as “Ted Lasso” it clearly doesn’t matter.
“If there was a graph of the interest in the UK, it would have been steeply rising in the last couple of months in particular,” Waddington says. “And, all people from different walks of life, different backgrounds, different cultures, different ages. More than ever, I get stopped in the street and it’s almost like people kind of whisper it to you like, ‘We are in Ted Lasso Club. Thank you so much.’ ‘O.K., you’re welcome.’ ‘We’ve told everyone we know and now they are watching it with their children.’ It’s brilliant.”
Confirmed for just three seasons, Waddington and the cast recently wrapped the second go around, but don’t expect any spoilers in our interview.
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The Playlist: How was Rebecca pitched to you initially?
Hannah Waddington: She was actually quite loosely presented to me as this kind of ballbuster new owner of the club who gets deeply affected by the arrival of the new coach that she’s put in place to destroy the team with hilarious and not so hilarious outcomes. That was it really. I had no idea that she would be this fragile character that had built a kind of ivory tower for herself. And the chance to play comedy and pathos even in one scene. So God, I just stumbled upon an absolute honey of a role.
In another version of this show, your character could have been much more of a villain. Thankfully, she’s not. Did you know that at the beginning or was that just something that you sort of figured out while you guys were shooting it?
No, I think I figured out quite early on that they were very open to showing every character’s crests and troughs. And, once I realized that it was just a very much kind of hold on for the ride of it. And then when I saw the final edit, I just thought, “Oh, my gosh. This is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on television. And, I hope to God that people are receptive to the fact that these characters aren’t entirely what you see at first. I hope it doesn’t derail people. I hope they come along for the ride.” And, my God people have in spades.
The success of the show sort of reminds me of “Schitt’s Creek” where it sort of had a nice initial fan base and eventually became a massive hit. The only difference being that “Ted” has done it on a much faster timeline. Are you seeing that popularity in the UK too? Do people talk to you about the show?
They are more and more so and it’s extreme. If there was a graph of the interest in the UK, it would have been steeply rising in the last couple of months in particular. And, all people from different walks of life, different backgrounds, different cultures, different ages. More than ever, I get stopped in the street and it’s almost like people kind of whisper it to you like, “We are in Ted Lasso Club. Thank you so much.” “O.K., you’re welcome.” They’re, “We’ve told everyone we know and now they are watching it with their children.” It’s brilliant.
Is that a normal reaction for a show? Or is it more the Americans made this show about our country’s sport but we’re still fans?
Oh, no, no, no. I think it’s more that they find it an unexpected hug.
Interesting.
Yeah. They’re just, “Oh, we thought, oh, it’s going to be football comedy and we thought, well, we quite like football in this house. So we’ll have a look at that. And then all of us are sitting there in tears and then we’re laughing then we’re in tears and grandma joins in and she was watching it. And then the neighbor from next door comes along and he loves it. And he’s usually an arsehole, but he loved it as well.” That’s the kind of conversations I’m having with people.
Now that you’ve shot the first two seasons, let’s talk more about Rebecca. I know you can’t spoil anything about season two specifically, but can you tease her arc at all?
I can’t tell you about season two, I’ll get told off.
Understood! Because there are only three seasons planed has Jason or any of the writers given you a heads up on where Rebecca is headed at all?
Oh, Greg, I don’t even get a heads up of what’s happening in the next episode. [Laughs.] At first, I had a problem with that and I was, “I want to know her arc.” And then I thought, “Hold on a minute, none of us know the arc of our own lives from one day to the next do we?”
No.
Really, anything can happen at any time, good or bad. Somebody could walk into your life that changes the rest of your life, or someone can be taken away. And, once I had accepted that with this, it made me really chill my beans and just enjoy playing the moment that Rebecca is in.
I saw in an interview, you referred that one of your inspirations to play her was a woman named Karen Brady. Could you just quickly explain who she is and why she would have been an inspiration for you?
Well, it was more, not as much of an inspiration as certainly for the first episode, [but] guidance of how to be an extremely high level of businesswoman in football. I liked the fact that she never apologizes for her femininity or sexuality, always looks immaculately turned out, and makes sure that she commands a room in a business like fashion and with no arrogance. And, I wanted to make sure that Rebecca wasn’t just a usurped wife trying to stab her ex-husband in the back and take his team. I wanted her to be able to walk into a boardroom or a press room and control the room. So, that’s where the inspiration for her was because of course, she is a hugely successful football club owner. And, I thought, “How do I go about this without being brash and brassy?”
Does the fact that the show’s become such a hit make everyone more confident in what you guys are doing for season two?
Well, some elements of it feel completely the same, we all describe each other as like a comfy pair of slippers. As soon as we get back on set with each other, we’re, “Oh, this is what we do. This is our thing. This is our gang.” But, we all acutely aware as well of how successful the show is. How loved it is. And, the huge responsibility and pressure of maintaining that, which we obviously didn’t have before, because [before] it was a little bit like, “Ted Who? Now? What?”
Yeah.
Whereas now, we’ve got proper Ted-Heads around the world, so yeah, the responsibility is vast. But, of course, when they’re actually in any of the themes and I’ve got everyone sitting in Rebecca’s office, it’s like a hot knife through butter.
You were also quite fantastic on the last season of “Sex Education.” And, I know that the third season of that is on the way.
Oh, thank you.
Does your character return for season three?
Yes. I was meant to be in it more than I am, but I couldn’t be because of “Ted Lasso” so I make a brief appearance in three that is a bit of a gateway to being in it more in four, hopefully.
Was that frustrating?
I think that there was space for Jackson’s mums to fade into the background for a while and let the boy do his thing. So, it made sense to me that as long as if it was a situation where I thought, “Well, that’s ridiculous. Why aren’t they there?” Then I would’ve bolted it more, but I think actually serving the piece is what should come first. And, I think it makes much more sense for Jackson’s moms to have proceeded for a while and then come back into the forefront.
It must be great to be part of two such fantastic comedies that sort of break the genre about what they are, what people might think they are, actually.
It’s incredible. I can’t believe my luck, to be honest, Greg. I’m really, really blessed. And I pinch myself all the time that I’ve had, with “Ted Lasso” and with “Sex Education” and “Game of Thrones.” I’ve found myself in shows that are loved the world over and really compensated by that.
My last question to ask you then is clearly you’re shooting “Ted Lasso” season two now, I don’t know if you guys are taking a break before season three? Do you have plans to do anything else or are you actually just going to enjoy the summer and take a vacation?
Well, I’m probably moving straight on to something else, but we were talking about that at the moment and I don’t think any of us know any dates moving forward, because it’s such a delicate balance with all this COVID restrictions and all the rest of it. So, yeah, I’ve no idea. I’ve pretty much no idea past June 15th, what the hell I’m doing? You see, there you go, that’s like imitating art, isn’t it? What I said before, you just got to see where life takes you. There are things that are stacked up and chalked up, but we’ll see what comes to happen. What gets moved to here, what gets pushed back to there.
“Ted Lasso” is available on Apple TV+ worldwide.