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• Ted Lasso made me smile!

• Creed 3made me cry!

• Schmigadoon! made me squeal!

• RuPaul made me get all worked up!

• Joaquin Phoenix made me furious!

Ted Lasso Is Back to Make You Feel Good

It’s been one of those weeks where I felt like I really needed a hug. Being that I’m a person who fastidiously avoids other humans at any and all costs, that was not in the cards for me. But I did get the next best thing: I got to watch some new episodes of Ted Lasso. 

Season 3 of the Emmy-winning Apple TV+ sensation begins Mar. 15, and, if the episodes we’ve screened are an indication, that’s exactly what the show now is: a pop-culture equivalent of a hug. That’s both high praise and, I suppose, fair criticism. Whichever side of the spectrum you might fall on when it comes to your relationship to Ted Lasso, it’s also what makes the new season quite refreshing. 

A third season of a show this confident in its signature tone, cadence, and characters doesn’t have the burden of winning over new fans, defending itself against its detractors, or solidifying its reputation by avoiding a sophomore slump. It is what it is, and it does what it does. 

If you’re a person for whom Ted Lasso and its intrinsic loveliness hits a sweet spot you crave, as if the show itself is the anomaly and antidote to the jadedness and cynicism in the world that the character Ted Lasso is in the world of the series, then the return will be gratifying. It’s a comfort for those seeking that out. It’s a hug. You know if you’re a hugger or not, and you know, at this point, if you’re a Ted Lasso person or not. 

That’s not to say the show is all sunshine and rainbows. Season 2 of Ted Lasso incited much debate among fans for taking a turn towards darkness. It dove into Ted’s past trauma, his mental health issues, and his need for therapy. 

While some wished the series just let the man make his little biscuits and toss off his folksy, Pollyanna sayings, others appreciated the richer exploration of what was beneath Ted’s optimistic demeanor. And while the Cinderella story of the first season nailed every right note of the predictable narrative, Season 2’s exploration of what happens at the end of the fairy tale—maybe things aren’t always so great for Princess Cindy once she’s in that castl!—brought the sweetness of Ted Lasso down to earth in a rather daring way. 

Season 3 opens with Jason Sudeikis as Ted, staring off into the distance, depressed and forlorn. His son has spent six weeks living with him in England, and now it’s time for him to go back to the U.S. On the way home from the airport, Ted rings his therapist (Sarah Niles) to talk through his sadness and guilt. “I know why I came,” he says, about his decision to fly across the ocean and away from his child for a job. “It’s the sticking around I can’t quite figure out.” His friends notice. “No arriving salutation?” Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) asks when Ted glumly arrives at her office. “Is something wrong?” 

Don’t be alarmed; there’s no incessant wallowing to be fearful of. Sudeikis still gets to deliver a ticker tape of Lasso-isms. The genuine affection that’s grown between Ted, Rebecca, and the rest of the Richmond employees is irresistible and endearing. I can’t think of a show—even more traditional laugh-track sitcoms—on which people smile at each other as much as they do on this one. I almost feel ridiculous marveling at it, but it did really strike me. It’s not just infectious; it’s meaningful. And proof, again, of, even as it has evolved, how well Ted Lasso knows itself and what is intrinsic in its DNA. 

When it premiered during the start pandemic, there was something restorative about Ted Lasso that led to its word-of-mouth surge in popularity. The series offered near-incessant revelations about who we are as people and the potential for goodness in our lives. On the surface level, those revelations are portrayed as a joke—Ted Lasso, what a goofball—a creative sleight of hand that only makes more profound the series’ ruminations on humanity and its indictment of our instinct towards cynicism and nihilism.

Ted Lasso reminded us of our own happiness agency, at a time when we had become certain that such serotonin would never be experienced again. It would never be instant, and the work might be brutal and uncomfortable. But it might also be the most rewarding kind of work there is. The world of Ted Lasso wasn’t entirely a fictional, fantasy one in which everything was nicer than in our reality. It begged us, as Ted himself does his team, to realize that our world can be nice too—rather, is nice—if we only did the work that would allow ourselves to see it. 

The great thing about Season 3 is that it doesn’t confuse that niceness for delusion. Yes, Richmond won the key game that promoted them to the Premier League, but they are also being mocked by the media and predicted to finish dead last. Their former coach, Nate (Nick Mohammed), left them for a rival team and is diabolical about his mission to take them down. (Fans of Season 1 who were more lukewarm about Season 2 rejoice: Richmond is the underdogs again.)

The characters who had made great strides in their personal lives are all in “now what?” phases. It echoes not just Ted’s wondering of whether it’s right for him to still be in England, but something many of us are feeling, as we start to feel more emerged from the trauma of the last few years and unsure how to handle what that means in our lives. 

Rebecca, while coming into her own as the woman in charge of the team, still can’t shake the bitterness of her divorce and desire to best her ex-husband both in life and at work. Roy (Brett Goldstein) broke up with Keeley (Juno Temple), but has mixed feelings over whether it was the right move. Keeley’s career is blossoming, as she now runs her own PR firm, but the workload is such that she must schedule time at her desk to cry. “Crying is the best, isn’t it? It’s like an orgasm for the soul,” Rebecca tells her, one of my favorite lines.

But, again, what the early episodes of the season—we’ve seen four—mostly deliver is its version of that hug. It really is giving fans what they want, even if that means that the story arcs are frustratingly repetitive. Maximilian Osinski, in a new role that we won’t spoil, does a lot of work—some might say too much—to spice that up. And sometimes I’m jarred, in a great way, into remembering that this is a streaming series that, despite the whole “Ted Lasso niceness” thing, is not G-rated, whether it’s a well-placed “fuck” or the sight of a bare bum. 

By the time Ted Lasso gives us Goldstein as Roy Kent shouting enthusiastically, “Fuck yeah, Princess Diaries!” you’ll either be ready to cheer along with him or boo, mortified at the fan service. Me? I clapped. Things are bleak enough as it is. Let me—and my fellow Ted Lasso Heads—have this.

Creed III Is Great for Surprising Reasons

The cinema landscape today can seem like an overwhelming party where the only invites extended are to films with a sequel number in the title. For some people, it’s like showing up to a crowded orgy only to find that no one is your type. So when you hear that one of those exhaustingly numbered movies is doing well at the box office, and then you see it and think it’s actually good, it can be both a relief and a surprise. That was the case with Creed III, which I enjoyed for reasons that surprised me. 

Despite kind of hating sports, I’ve always loved sports movies and TV shows. I don’t understand it. I can’t explain it. I just live with the truth and pretend it makes me even moderately interesting. Like any good American, the Rocky franchise ranks high in the genre for me, and I’ve found the Creed films to be a fascinating, clever continuation. Creed III certainly isn’t the best of the new trilogy, but it’s still a knockout effort (sports phrase!), and one that pulled a punch (another one!) that really impacted me. 

I found the movie to be a brutal, difficult watch. That’s not because of the boxing scenes, which were filmed so stylistically that I felt some remove from the violence, or because, as my brothers pointed out, the actual sports of it all made little sense. (Apparently, it would be outrageous for a no-name rival—a figure from Adonis Creed’s past, played by Jonathan Majors—to come out of nowhere to challenge a heavyweight champion.) Instead, it was the family drama that had me wincing and holding my breath. 

Michael B. Jordan as Adonis (“Donny”) and Tessa Thompson as his wife, Bianca, have crafted one of the most beautiful marriages I’ve seen on screen, evolving over the course of the three films. You see the mutual respect they have and the grace they give each other because of it. 

There’s a tragedy that happens at the movie’s midpoint that I won’t spoil, but it’s the catalyst for an intense, honest conversation between the couple. Filmed in intense close-ups, they reveal just how wounded recent changes in their respective lives have made them, and how they each have struggled to deal with it. It’s terrifying to admit to feeling so broken, especially to someone who knows you so intimately; it’s the kind of confession one might expect to be cathartic, but actually ends up being more painful, because now you have to acknowledge it’s real. As the scene goes on, both Jordan and Thompson telegraph their characters’ hurt, which is amplified by now taking on the weight of their partner’s damage as well. 

It’s a fantastic scene that, for me, was as explosive and (at least emotionally) as violent as anything that happens in the ring.

The Schmigadoon! Trailer Will Heal Us All

As a treat for me, exclusively (OK, and maybe you, too), Apple TV+ released the trailer for the second season of Schmigadoon! this week. (Watch it here.) 

Season 1 of the musical comedy starred Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key as a couple who stumble upon a fantasy town in which all the residents act as if they’re in a classic Hollywood musical. The likes of Kristin Chenoweth, Alan Cumming, Ariana DeBose, and Aaron Tveit played characters inspired by Oklahoma!, The Music Man, and, of course, Brigadoon, complete with original music and big production numbers that pay homage to those shows. 

Season 2 will take place in a new world called “Schmicago,” where everyone seems trapped in the edgier era of musicals from the ’60s and ’70s. To celebrate the trailer, as we wait with giddy anticipation for the premiere in April, here’s a running list of every time I shrieked, clapped, and cheered with glee while watching it:

First, there were the sound effects of medical equipment being used in the intro to recreate the opening pops and squishes from Chicago’s “Cell Block Tango.” 

Then, there was this exchange from the leads lamenting that they couldn’t return to Schmigadoon. Key: “Maybe it’s one of those places you only go once and never return.” Strong:  “Oh, like SoulCycle.” 

Then came the parade of theater vets spoofing iconic Broadway characters, songs, and shows: The Pippin hands when Titus Burgess’ character is introduced, along with the “at one point, a lot of musicals had narrators” line. Dove Cameron sporting a Sally Bowles/Velma Kelly bob. The Sweet Charity “Big Spender” reference. Shots of Cumming and Chenoweth doing Mrs. Lovett and the demon barber from Sweeney Todd! DeBose doing the Emcee from Cabaret! Strong doing the Chorus Line headshots reveal!

I just about lost it when my beloved Tveit shouted, “Who wants to get naked?” in the Hair homage, followed quickly by footage of Jane Krakowski doing her version of Billy Flynn from Chicago, which is just about the best casting I’ve ever seen. Her splits on the jury box alone! 

Please join me in watching this teaser once an hour until the new season premieres on April 5. 

Posting This Just Because

It should be fairly obvious the level of disgust and outrage that I—a rational and compassionate human being and not a putrid monster with all the enlightenment and class of a sentient porta-potty—feel over the spate of drag ban and anti-trans legislation sweeping the country. 

So here is what RuPaul had to say about it: 

“Hey, look over there! A classic distraction technique, distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on: jobs, healthcare, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school. But we know that bullies are incompetent at solving real issues. They look for easy targets so they can give the impression of being effective. They think our love, our light, our laughter and our joy are signs of weakness. But they’re wrong because that is our strength… Drag queens are the Marines of the queer movement… Don’t get it twisted and don’t be distracted. Register to vote so we can get these stunt queens out of office and put some smart people with real solutions into government.”

Here’s a link, too, that you might want to click on. 

Just Cancel the Oscars at This Point

Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix, you will pay for your crimes. 

More From The Daily Beast’s Obsessed

There’s nothing more gratifying than when a TV show sticks the landing in its season finale. Natasha Lyonne’s Poker Face did just that. Read more here.

This Vanderpump Rules cheating scandal is occupying the celebrity gossip space usually reserved for Angelina Jolie and J. Lo, not reality stars. Why is it such a big deal? Read more here.

Remember when John Travolta’s “Adele Dazeem” gaffe stunned the Oscars audience? Here’s why we can’t stop thinking about it. Read more here.

• Ted Lasso: Just let yourself enjoy a nice thing. (Wed. on Apple TV+)

• The Oscars: I haven’t spent the last four months never sleeping and constantly working just for you not to watch the Oscars. (Sun. on ABC)

• You: The final twist in the new season finale still has me laughing. (Now on Netflix)

• Scream VI: I don’t need a movie to remind me that the New York subway is a horror show. (Now in theaters)

• Champions: An impressive new level of schmaltz discovered! (Now in theaters)

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