I came to Ted Lasso with some positive anchoring bias as a result of watching a short of the dart competition scene and - full disclosure - I'm writing this after having watched episode 2.
I try to temper judgment on pilot episodes, at least as far as actor performances go. Even in a well written pilot, the characters have no backboard, no prior performance from which to leverage their development. I think this can be particularly tricky with comedies, as actors often try too hard to be funny in order to deflect from the fact they aren't comfortable in the character yet.
I'm not sure if it was intentional on the part of the writers and director, but the pilot felt a little reigned in. Not to imply anything negative, it just came across to me as like a performance engine with the power limiter dialed back a bit. There's more power in reserve, but it's not the time to release it. The comedy was gentle, nothing laugh out loud for me, yet the characters seemed so sure footed right out of the gate. I immediately understood who each was and none seemed superfluous or underdefined. That's actually a pretty impressive accomplishment considering it addressed 10 recurring characters in 31 minutes.
Sudeikis' Lasso came off uber earnest at first, which had me wondering if that manner was sustainable, but even within the episode, he dialed it down eventually. The culture clash bits were obvious but tactfully delivered. The script and pacing kept me interested for the duration.
Overall, I think the approach worked, even if it didn't grab me by the collar, as I had hoped going in. I can sense this will grow on me quickly.
