A Tale of Two TV Series: 'TED LASSO' and 'THE BEAR'
By breaking down and comparing superficially dissimilar, but narratively identical series, you can learn much about how to structure your own
I’m not the first person to draw parallels between the television series “TED LASSO” and “THE BEAR”, with many suggesting they are essentially telling the same story except for “tonal differences”. But whenever I see people trying to explain these so-called differences, it quickly becomes clear that “TED LASSO” is seen as the lighter, even slighter one of the two, more interested in entertaining you than being “serious”. Serious, of course, is what the best art is, right? It needs to have a certain weight to it, which is probably why I’ve also noticed “THE BEAR” referred to as “heavy” when compared to “TED LASSO”. I want to suggest that these distinctions are a kind of art classism that muddies how brilliant both series are in terms of character development and thematic plotting over three acts/seasons - which is what I’ll be discussing here today.
What I’m going to do now is break down how “TED LASSO” and “THE BEAR” are, yes indeedy, essentially the same story, follow mirror universe versions of the same characters, explore the same themes, and adhere to the same three-act structure – and, more importantly, what we can learn from those similarities. Trust me, this is a much better use of anyone’s time than trying to distinguish the two from each other — read, elevate one over the other — based on conventional ideas of what “serious” art is.
Keep in mind that when I say “learn from those similarities”, what I really mean is, “learn how to interrogate others’ art better and, in doing so, become better storytellers ourselves.” In my fashion, this won’t involve telling you how to do this; rather, I’ll be demonstrating how I’ve come to do it and let you work out how to do it yourself in whatever way is appropriate to you and your own creative journey.
THE SAME STORY
As I said above: “TED LASSO” and “THE BEAR” are telling the same story when you strip away their sharpest details. This itself isn’t that surprising, as many films, TV series, books, etcetera are just recycling a lot of what we’ve already seen or read or otherwise experienced before in new delivery vehicles. As they say, Shakespeare did it all first. What makes their similarities more notable than most is how many character types, thematic arcs, and series plot turns are more or less identical.
For example, both series focus on an anxiety-ridden male protagonist who changes jobs following a personal crisis/tragedy, enters a new environment where he is unwelcome, and must, together with an unconventional team using unconventional strategies, create something new, healing, and beautiful.
Let’s look at these parallels more specifically now:
“TED LASSO”
Created by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly
Ted Lasso (Sudeikis) is an American football coach who, for personal reasons that amount to “running away” from his failures, transplants himself to Richmond, England to coach a different kind of football team. In this case, a struggling soccer team that’s plagued by individuals’ inability to communicate with each other and, thus, play well as a collective. More, everyone involved with this Richmond club is dealing with profound levels of personal grief and/or shame that often involve unhealthy parent-child relationships. Healthy teamwork is the ultimate goal.
“THE BEAR”
Created by Christopher Storer
Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is a professional chef working at the highest level of his craft who, for personal reasons that amount to “running away” from his failures, takes over a failing Chicago restaurant called The Beef. The Beef’s staff is plagued by an inability to communicate with each other and, thus, work well as a collective. More, everyone involved with this restaurant is dealing with profound levels of personal grief and/or shame that often involve unhealthy parent-child relationships. Healthy teamwork is the ultimate goal.
THE SAME CHARACTERS
This parallel only works if you focus on specific central characters, as one significant difference between the two series is how many characters make up the cast of each. “TED LASSO” begins focused on eight, but that number increases significantly by Season 2. “THE BEAR” kicks off focused on only three characters, preferring instead to give bigger moments to the rest along the way in Season 1; by Season 2, like “TED LASSO”, the supporting cast members acquire their own bigger storylines and begin to drive story themselves.
Let’s discuss the three that overlap: