Jason Sudeikis, the star and co-creator of the Apple TV+ series "Ted Lasso," hosted a watch party Saturday night in Kansas City, Missouri, for the World Cup quarterfinal match between Argentina and Switzerland. The event took place at CPKC Stadium, home of the National Women's Soccer League club Kansas City Current.
The gathering coincided with the lead-up to the fourth season of "Ted Lasso," which is scheduled to premiere on August 5. Sudeikis, who grew up in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, expressed his deepening appreciation for soccer, influenced by his immersion in the sport for the show. "As much as we've loved football before we got started, I've grown to love it more as we got more immersed in the soccer culture," Sudeikis stated.
Scenes for the upcoming season of "Ted Lasso" were filmed around Kansas City, including at CPKC Stadium. This venue is notable as the first of its size built specifically for a professional women's soccer club. The show's new season is expected to focus on a newly formed AFC Richmond women's team, a concept introduced by the character Keeley Jones, played by Juno Temple, at the end of the third season.
"It feels like a perfect moment to be talking about women's football, and representing it," said Juno Temple, who attended the watch party wearing a Kansas City Current jersey. "I hope that's something people really treasure. And I also hope people enjoy the journey each of the characters are going on."
Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard and is also a writer for the show, reflected on the growing popularity of soccer in the United States. "I've certainly heard from some people that didn't care about soccer at all until they started to watch ‘Ted Lasso,’" Hunt said. He compared the current enthusiasm to the 1994 World Cup hosted in the U.S., noting a greater public awareness and readiness for the sport now. "Yes, the world has come with this great energy, but we were more ready to be aware of their presence, and reciprocate energy," Hunt added. "And we're not as far behind as far as the sport's popularity as it's made out to be, and this World Cup is showing it."
Hunt humorously attributed the timing of Argentina and Switzerland playing a World Cup match in Kansas City during the show's hiatus to a "luck of the draw" or possibly a "corporate choice."