There’s a lot to learn from the unlikely success of Ted Lasso, the hit Apple TV+ show featuring Jason Sudekis as its mustachioed, wholesome namesake. Jeremy Egner’s Believe: The Untold Story Behind Ted Lasso, the Show that Kicked Its Way Into Our Hearts is the best place to learn it.
As television editor for The New York Times, Egner had a front-row seat to the show and the cultural phenomenon it became. That background offers readers an enlightening and entertaining guide, though it’s definitely geared toward fans of the show.
Written half as an oral history and half as a guide to key episodes, Believe offers plenty of interesting tidbits about the making of the show and provides inspiration for fans to give Ted Lasso another viewing.
Egner leaves no detail uncovered, including the taste of Ted’s famous biscuits (dry, at least in the first season) and arguments over what the Believe sign hanging in the locker room should look like.