The cast and creatives of Apple TV+’s Emmy-winning comedy series Ted Lasso assembled on Monday evening to celebrate its historic second season. The Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills hosted the outdoor event, which featured a panel discussion with the cast, followed by an outdoor tailgate experience for TV Academy members.
Season two of Ted Lasso earned a total of twenty Emmy nominations, making it the most-nominated comedy series for the second year in a row. Of the twenty nominations, ten were for acting, and seven of the nominees — Toheeb Jimoh, Juno Temple, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, James Lance, Sam Richardson, and Sarah Niles — were in attendance.
Co-stars Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Cristo Fernández, and Kola Bokinni rounded out the panel, which focused on the storylines of season two. The panel had several laughs when discussing the romance between Soccer club owner (Hannah Waddingham) and star player Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh).
“I knew they were filming and didn’t want to say anything,” Waddingham jokes regarding a moment between herself and Jimoh that was ultimately used in an episode montage. Much like his character of Sam Obisanya, actor Toheeb Jimoh was all smiles when reflecting on his first-ever Emmy nomination.
Juno Temple, who plays Keeley Jones, is once again nominated for her incredible work on the series’ second season. Temple balances the pressures of dating Roy Kent (Goldstein), a rising career that’s sending her away from boss/bestie Rebecca Welton (Waddingham), and a conflicted friendship with former assistant coach turned rival Nate Shelley (Nick Mohammed).
“It was just a devastating scene,” Temple recalls of shooting a scene between her character of Keeley Jones and coach Nate (Mohammed). Keeley takes Nate clothes shopping to help his wardrobe (and self-esteem), but Keeley’s support as a friend is mistaken by Nate, who goes in for a kiss.
Keeley’s reaction is soft and kind, but it triggers Nate to return to the dressing room and angrily spit in the mirror. “When he goes back in and spits at the mirror, you could cut the tension with a knife,” Temple says.
Temple handles the comedy and drama brilliantly in her role, which carries a lot of pathos in season two.
Actor James Lance is a first-time Emmy nominee for guest actor, portraying journalist Trent Crimm from the Independent. In season two, Crimm is tasked with running a negative story on coach Ted Lasso’s sideline panic attack during a match.
While Crimm did his duty as a journalist and covered the story, he chose to notify coach Lasso that it was his assistant coach, Nate Shelley, who leaked the story. That choice cost Crimm his job, but he has no regrets, as we see at the close of season two.
“It’s exciting, isn’t it?” Crimm says on the surprise turn. “At the time when the episode came out, they felt that Trent had betrayed Coach Lasso,” Lance shares. “But really, you see the humanity coming out in him because Trent goes against his journalistic instincts and tells Lasso that Nate is working against him.”
Actor Jeremy Swift, who plays Higgins, reflected on the standout second season for his character and the fact that he received an Emmy nomination for the series’ first season. “It’s just such a joy to see the success of the show and how the ensemble keeps growing,” Swift shares. “There’s so many in the cast, but somehow everyone gets their time in the spotlight… it’s really democratic and cool in that way.”
You can really see the size of the cast when the entire soccer team joins Higgins’ family at his house for Christmas dinner. “That was potentially a super spreader scene,” Swift jokes. “It was really enjoyable because so many people were there I didn’t get to know in the first season, so I took full advantage.”
Swift also shared details of a difficult scene that saw him film through a terrible illness. “It was one of those scenes where we’re in the stands watching the team play in a very famous football stadium,” Swift says. “I was very ill, but we had to shoot because we only had so much time… I had to keep running to the bathroom, and I look as white as paper. My voice was so high and weak, and I figured I’d have to ADR the entire scene!”
Emmy-nominated actress Sarah Niles, who plays therapist Sharon Fieldstone, hadn’t seen any of the show when she auditioned. “This is my first time to America, and it’s very exciting!” Niles shared. “When I got offered the part, I had to dive into season one, and I quickly realized what a massive hit this thing was… it was quite nerve-wracking.”
Niles has nearly all of her scenes with Jason Sudeikis’ Ted Lasso, and each showcases his character in various stages of distress and grief that is masked with humor and longwinded stories. Niles found Sudeikis’ approach quite challenging.
“When Jason would come into the therapy office, I had no idea what he would do physically,” Niles shares. “One time, he comes in and sits with the pillow under his knees… I had to just keep it simple and still and not let any of his movements register on my face.”
“Jason is such a wonderful actor and brings so much to the role, and he’s very generous to offer the space to you as well,” Niles shares. “I’m thrilled for Jason for the success of the show and thrilled they took a chance on me.”
The panel closed with a warmly sung Happy Birthday to writer and birthday boy Brett Goldstein, who plays Roy Kent. Waddingham, who showcases her incredible singing ability in season two, closed out the song with a sustained high note.
Winner of seven Emmy awards for season one, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Ted Lasso is currently available to stream on AppleTV+. Actors Jason Sudeikis, Brett Goldstein, and Hannah Waddingham were Emmy awarded for their performances in season one.
Season two’s twenty Emmy nominations are listed individually below for your voting consideration:
- Outstanding Comedy Series
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Jason Sudeikis
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Brett Goldstein
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Toheeb Jimoh
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Nick Mohammed
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Sarah Niles
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Juno Temple
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Hannah Waddingham
- Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Harriet Walter
- Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Sam Richardson
- Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: James Lance
- Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
- Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
- Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour)
- Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series
- Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing (x2)
- Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing (x2)
- Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling
- Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation
- Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation