In a bitter divorce settlement from her billionaire husband Rupert Mannion, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) becomes the new owner of British football club AFC Richmond. She’s assisted by her Director of Football Operations, Higgins (Jeremy Swift), who formerly worked for her husband. Her first order of business is to fire the team’s current manager and replace him with an idealistic all-American football coach Theodore “Ted” Lasso (Jason Sudeikis). Ted and his friend, assistant Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) cross the pond to take up the management of the team’s “long, albeit modest” history. Ted gets to know the team – including Team Captain Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein), top scorer Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) and more – but finds his first friend in the locker room assistant Nathan (Nick Mohammed). Half a world away from his wife and child, Ted could use a friend. But he presses on, nevertheless. Richmond is about to change the way they’re doing things — and from now on — that is the Lasso way.
For thoughts on Ted Lasso: The Complete Series, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:
Video Quality
Ted Lasso arrives on Blu-Ray with a fetching AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.00:1. This release brings all three seasons together for the first time in high definition with 34 episodes on seven discs. We thought this would be stuck on streaming, so we are thrilled to have this in HD on our shelves. The series keeps within the creative confines of a modern streaming comedy, and it delivers a presentation that is crisp, clean, and lovely. The details in the clothing and modern production design are rich and easily observable with excellent textures and clean lines.
When compared to the Apple TV+ stream in 4K UHD, this presentation offers a comparable level of quality with improved stability. There are no unexpected instances of aliasing or compression artifacts detectable throughout. The series finds nuances within the natural colors on screen which are very appealing. Black levels are deep and give way to a welcome amount of detail in shadows. The highlights of the show do not succumb to any blooming in this presentation. Skin tones appear very consistent across the entire cast. The Blu-Ray presentation is exactly what we dreamed of for the show.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that comfortably realizes the soundscape throughout all three seasons. The only minor disappointment is that the series is in Dolby Atmos on streaming, and we wish that could have been carried over to the physical release. Dialogue comes through clearly without being drowned out by any music, roars from the crowd, or other sound effects. The sound design is not exceptionally complex, but ambient sounds are distinctly placed in the rear channels. The music often saturates the room and perfectly accompanies the developments on screen. Kinetic moments pop up on the pitch and give some power to the mix in the low end. The audio track comes to life in all the ways it needs to. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
There are no special features provided on these discs. There is a two-sided poster packed with this release.
Final Thoughts
Ted Lasso is simply a balm for the soul, as trite as that may sound. In a television landscape filled with morally challenging antiheroes and cynicism, it is downright refreshing to have a series that is uplifting without sidestepping challenging topics. Not every development is handled to perfection, especially in the final season, but this series scores way more than it doesn’t. The roster of talent on display here is unimpeachable with not a single false note in the ensemble. The series also is just plain hilarious with numerous laugh-out-loud moments per episode. The series is so genuine that it may feel necessary to take it down a peg, but it is alright to allow something to delight without irony. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released a great complete series Blu-Ray set featuring a top-tier A/V presentation but nothing in the way of special features. If you have not given this a shot yet, you are in for a treat. Highly Recommended
Ted Lasso: The Complete Series can be purchased on Blu-Ray or DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
