Ted Lasso wins best comedy at the Emmys, and for a moment, all is right in the world. A show that thematically orbits around kindness, redemption, and broken people finding means to believe takes the crown, and if this doesn’t showcase how important this type of hopeful storytelling is, I don’t know what will. I’m so proud. (If I could see through my tears, I’ll write a little bit more. I’m trying. I am.)
But this is more than just a win. It’s hopeful. It’s promising. When I was taking creative writing classes in my undergrad, I was often told: “happy stories aren’t revered enough,” “but wouldn’t it be great if this person never got a redemption?” “What if this problem isn’t solved? Leave the ending ambiguous.” And that stung. It stung a lot. I started to believe that what if we live in a world where hopeful stories would never be credited with the same type of accolades as ambiguous ones? What if people just hate happy endings, and I’m sitting here in dire need of it because I want to escape from my own darkness.
Ted Lasso wins best comedy, and it’s a big deal. Sure, it’s just an award, and it’d be great without it too, but the win is so well deserved it demands we celebrate for the cast and crew.
Also, what Ted Lasso’s win tells me (and all of us hopefully) is to believe in rom-communism. It tells us to believe in belief. It tells us to believe in the idea that even though there’s darkness and terrors in the world, it will all work out in the end. We were introduced to a character who isn’t optimistic by nature but by choice. We were introduced to flawed, messy, brilliant characters who were just trying to figure things out. It does so in a way that is reflective of our own brokenness without ever harping on it unnecessarily.
But that’s not all for the Ted Lasso wins at the Emmys—Jason Sudeikis takes home the award for Best Actor, Brett Goldstein wins Best Supporting Actor, and goddess extraordinaire Hannah Waddingham wins Best Supporting Actress.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Hannah Waddingham’s speech: “Juno Temple! I swear to God, if I could break off one of her arms and give it to you because that’s what you are to me. There is no Rebecca without Keeley. And if you ever leave my life I’m going to stalk you.” Followed by what she said later about her daughter: “I think it shows her that you know, when she’s older, she just has to fight that little bit harder and magical things happen.” Because that’s it—that’s the essence of this whole show, it’s about this cast and crew that have taken chances on each other and the story they want to tell.
It’s all about continuing that fight a little bit longer to find the magic in love and kindness and hope.
At its core, Ted Lasso is a show about hope—it’s a love letter to humanity. And as I’ve said before in my Reasons Why You Should Watch Ted Lasso article: It’s a love story that emphasizes the importance of kindness and the reverberating, lasting effect it has on a person’s happiness. It’s a love story centered around parents and children, teammates and coaches, friends, lovers, and even enemies. It’s a love story about a soccer team and its fans. It’s a love story about the people we meet in life, and it’s a love story about what humanity can be when we each choose to be the kindest version of ourselves.
Ted Lasso wins Best Comedy at the 2021 Emmys, but it won best comedy of our hearts long before this. Cheers to the cast and crew and the fans. I know I speak on behalf of many people when I say we’re grateful for the hope this show has brought into our lives.
And one last thing, while it didn’t win writing or directing, let it be know that “Make Rebecca Great Again” is the winner of my heart. Period.
Also, we can all agree that Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple were best dressed of the night, right? Right.