Ted Lasso has become a pop culture sensation for its uplifting form of comedy, promoting kindness with its characters and storylines. But according to one of the cast members, the show is about to take viewers on a bumpy emotional ride.
Nate Mohammed, who plays AFC Richmond assistant coach Nate Shelley, told The Playlist’s Gregory Ellwood, that Season 2’s final eight episodes get “quite devastating” and “some tough times are coming.”
Fans have surely noticed early in Season 2 that the nice, timid Nate has a bit of an edge to him, particularly in how he acts toward Will, his successor as clubhouse attendant (or kit manager). Nate scrutinizes Will’s every move, whether it’s how he puts out the players’ clean uniforms, washing the laundry with lavender-scented detergent, or flavoring the team’s water with pineapple.
Is Nate on sort of a power trip or is something bothering him in his personal life?
“He’s not quite the Nate that we know and love, I guess, from season one,” Mohammed told Ellwood. “There’s something going on. He’s struggling with something. He’s struggling, maybe being in this new position of slight responsibility and having someone beneath him that used to do his job. And the truth is, and we were about to episode five, but from five onwards, five to 12, it gets quite devastating.”
Mohammed went on to say the direction for his character was challenging, but didn’t want to give away any spoilers before viewers get to see the storyline.
“Yeah, he’s being a complete dick,” said Mohammed, hinting that we’ll get some answers in this week’s Episode 5, “Rainbow.” “But it’s also because he’s just maybe misunderstood, or he has misunderstood what his promotion to assistant coach at the end of season one means. And he’s never been in this position before in his life.”
The entire interview with Ellwood is worth reading for what else is revealed, including which Ted Lasso role Mohammed originally auditioned for and how much of Nate’s future storyline the actor knows.
New episodes of Ted Lasso premiere on Apple TV+ every Friday through Oct. 8. Here at Awful Announcing, we recap each episode every Monday.
About Ian Casselberry
Ian is a writer, editor, and podcaster. You can find his work at Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He's written for Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation.