Ted Lasso has become a sleeper hit for Apple TV Plus. The comedy-drama starring Jason Sudeikis started life as a series of NBC Sports adverts designed to promote NBC Sports’ coverage of Premier League soccer. The commercials became so popular that they quickly spawned a popular stand-alone TV series that has just been renewed for its third season.
Ted Lasso follows the titular Ted Lasso, a folksy American football coach who usually trains and leads college teams. Rebecca Welton, owner of Premier League team AFC Richmond, hires Ted to manage the team. Unbeknownst to Ted, this is all part of Rebecca’s underhanded scheme, as she plans to use Ted to sink the team to get revenge on her ex-husband. However, despite this, Ted quickly endears himself to his new players and, while he struggles with culture shock, he tries to help the team improve on and off the pitch.
British football fans will likely find many locations in Ted Lasso familiar as the producers shot large amounts of the series in and around British football facilities, which helps give the show a realistic and immersive feel. Here are all the locations where Ted Lasso was filmed.
Richmond
The AFC Richmond team is based in Richmond, a town in the Greater London area. Fittingly Ted Lasso filmed many scenes on-location in real-life Richmond.
For instance, the building that houses Ted’s apartment is an actual building in the area, and the recurring Crown And Anchor pub is actually a popular local bar called the Prince’s Head.
Greater London
Many street scenes are shot in and around Greater London, with the Twickenham area being used frequently.
In fact, eagle-eyed Brits will likely recognize most of the locations that Ted and his friends visit, as most of them are well-known locations in and around Greater London.
AFC Richmond Training Ground
The training ground used by the fictitious AFC Richmond is actually the SkyEx Community Stadium, which is the real-life home of Hayes and Yeading FC. Formed in 2007 by the merger of two other teams, Hayes and Yeading FC is based in the London borough of Hillingdon.
The team competes in the Southern League Premier Division South, a semi-professional league that acts as the seventh tier of the English Premier League football system.
“The Dog Pound” Nelson Road
AFC Richmond plays at the Nelson Road stadium, lovingly referred to as the Dog Pound. These sequences are shot in London’s Selhurst Park stadium.
This stadium is home to real-life premier league team Crystal Palace, a club formed all the way back in 1905. Designed by famous football ground designer Archibald Leitch, Selhurst Park first opened in 1924, and it can hold over 25,000 people.
Everton
Interestingly, in season 1, AFC Richmond plays a match against Everton. Everton is actually a real team, and it plays its games in Liverpool’s historic Goodison Park stadium.
However, eagle-eyed fans will spot that the stadium shown during this segment is not actually Goodison park. These scenes are actually shot at Craven Cottage in London. Craven Cottage is the home ground of Fulham FC, a team that plays in the Championship (the league under the Premier League).
West London Film Studios
Most of Ted Lasso’s other scenes were filmed in the West London Film Studios in Hayes. This film studio has been used by many film and TV productions. This includes 2014’s The Imitation Game, Killing Eve, and 2019’s Good Omens.
Filming Ted Lasso in London was an excellent move by the producers. It helps give the show an authentic British feel, which adds to the comedy and drama of Ted’s fish-out-of-water antics. And while modern CGI is powerful, it simply can’t recreate the feel of a historic Premier League football ground.
Published: Aug 16, 2021 02:56 pm