Plot Twist newsletter: How Ted Lasso became more than a TV character
This is the introduction to Plot Twist, our weekly culture newsletter, in which correspondents spotlight important authors and performers, and tell you about the works of art and the stories they love—and the ones they don’t.Sign up for Plot Twist. Ted Lasso has had a busy few months. (Apple TV) Ted Lasso has had a busy few months. He has appeared in adverts for Visa, a giant payments firm, alongside Erling Haaland, a star Norwegian striker. He featured in the halftime show of the FIFA World Cup, exhorting Justin Bieber to “make us proud”. And now he is back for the fourth season of his titular show on Apple TV+. The boundaries between fictional character and public figure have been curiously blurred. Ted, and his extraordinary popularity, are a product of their times. He made his debut on screen in 2012, in a short video NBC released to advertise its Premier League offering. Many of the character’s signature traits were there from the beginning: his thick moustache, Kansas drawl and obliviousness to even the basic …









