What to watch after Ted Lasso: 8 shows to watch next after the Apple TV+ comedy, from Shrinking to Trying

Ted Lasso has come to a close - so, much like AFC Richmond when a player is injured during a match, you’re probably looking to try and make a substitution.

Maybe you’ll want a series that blends comedy with drama, wrapping its heavier moments in upbeat jokes. Maybe you’ll be looking for another fish-out-of-water comedy that pits a big name American star against a cast of reliable UK comedians. Or, maybe, you’re just looking for another show on Apple TV+ so you can get a little bit more out of that subscription.

Whatever it was you appreciated most about Ted Lasso, here are nine suggestions for what you might want to watch next now that the series has (probably, maybe, perhaps) ended for good.

The First Team (2020)

What’s it about? A young American footballer starts playing for an English team, where he tangles with the other players and the eccentric American club chairman. Jake Short (ANT Farm), Shaquille Ali-Yebuah (The Children Act), Jack McMullen (Waterloo Road) and Will Arnett (Arrested Development) star in this sitcom from Damon Beesley and Iain Morris (The Inbetweeners).

Why would I like it? Squint a little, and The First Team looks like a version of Ted Lasso from a parallel universe: it’s a touch more focused on the players than the club management, sure, but otherwise it’s a similar sort of American fish-out-of-water adjusting to soccer football style comedy that (according to Damon Beesley) hoped to explore the collision of “masculinity and insecurity”. Plus, it began just a few months earlier than Ted Lasso did. In the end it got mixed reviews at best, and never did return for a second series, but with the similarities between the two shows The First Team seems worth a watch just to check out the road not travelled.

Where can I watch it? The FIrst Team is currently only available to purchase.

A League of Their Own (2022 onwards)

What’s it about? A League of Their Own (loosely inspired by the Tom Hanks/Geena Davis movie) charts the formation of the Rockford Peaches, an all-women baseball team that played during World War II. Abbi Jacobson (Broad City), Chanté Adams (Roxanne Roxanne), and D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place) star in this dramedy from creators Jacobson and Will Graham (Daisy Jones & The Six). 

Why would I like it? It’s one to check out for fans of the character-driven stories in Ted Lasso’s first two seasons, in particular anyone who hoped for the show to be more diverse and representative (A League of Their Own having been especially praised for its depiction of its lesbian characters). Plus, with the hints towards a Ted Lasso spin-off focused on an AFC Richmond Women’s team, watching this will set a high benchmark for the Apple TV+ team to try and meet for you. 

Where can I watch it? A League of Their Own is currently available to watch as part of a boxset on Amazon Prime Video. A second and final season of just four episodes is currently in development.

Trying (2020 onwards)

What’s it about? Trying follows Jason and Nikki’s slow, faltering attempts to adopt, each step forward seemingly leading to two steps back. Rafe Spall (Black Mirror), Esther Smith (Uncle), Sian Brooke (Blue Lights), and Darren Boyd (The Outlaws) star in this half-hour comedy from first-time writer Andy Wolton. 

Why would I like it? Everything that put Ted Lasso on the map – its saccharine sweetness, its faultless earnesty, its sheerness niceness – is present in Trying. But beneath the lighthearted comedy, beneath the endearingly schmaltzy plink-y plonk/whistling music, there’s always real emotional substance to Trying – it’s sweet but never slight, like Ted Lasso could be at its best. Of Apple TV+’s big comedies, Trying is by some margin the strongest – but also probably one of the least watched. It’d be good to change that.

Where can I watch it? All three seasons of Trying are currently available as part of a boxset on Apple TV+. A fourth season is currently in development.

Shrinking (2023 onwards)

What’s it about? Still grieving his wife and struggling to rebuild his relationship with his daughter, therapist Jimmy Laird decides to start telling his patients what he really thinks. Jason Segel (Freaks and Geeks), Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones), Jessica Williams (The Daily Show), and Lukita Maxwell (Genera+ion) star.

Why would I like it? It’s a little bit like Ted Lasso Season 2.5, in a sense. Shrinking was created by original Ted Lasso showrunner Bill Lawrence and Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein – Lawrence ended up stepping back from Lasso to run Shrinking, while Goldstein would play Roy Kent during the day and write Shrinking at night – and shares a lot with its predecessor in terms of its themes and interests and style of comedy/drama. (Plus, it’s even got another Hollywood Jason S.) The opening few episodes are a little rocky, and it never shakes a certain ungainly quality, but by the end becomes something deeply watchable and often quite moving. 

Where can I watch it? Shrinking is currently available to stream on Apple TV+ as part of a boxset.

Intelligence (2021 onwards)

What’s it about? A workplace sitcom following an American NSA agent seconded to GCHQ, who immediately decides he knows best and conspires to take over the whole organisation. Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso) and David Schwimmer (Friends) star.  

Why would I like it? It’s one to check out if you’re a fan of Nick Mohammed’s Nate: this is very much his show, with Mohammed both starring in and creating Intelligence. Plus, Intelligence’s premise offers another riff on that idea of the American fish-out-of-water in a UK context (although Schwimmer’s character here is a much more belligerent and domineering take on the American archetype, compared to Sudeikis’ folksy alternative). 

Where can I watch it? The first two seasons of Intelligence – and a recent one-off special – are currently available as a boxset on Sky Comedy and NOW TV. 

Scrubs (2001 - 2010)

What’s it about? A workplace sitcom set in a hospital, following newly qualified doctor JD as he treats patients and tangles with the hospital senior staff. Zach Braff (A Good Person), Donald Faison (Clueless), and Sarah Chalke (Roseanne) star in this sitcom from Bill Lawrence.

Why would I like it? A pretty simple throughline here: Bill Lawrence, creator and lead writer on the first two seasons of Ted Lasso, was behind Scrubs. It’s the same logic behind the above Shrinking recommendation – you might also want to check out his other shows Cougar Town (starring Courtney Cox as a recent divorcee starting to date again) and Spin City (starring Michael J. Fox as a political fixer for the Mayor of New York). 

Where can I watch it? All nine seasons of Scrubs – and all six of Cougar Town – are currently available as part of a boxset on Disney+. (Spin City, meanwhile, isn’t currently available to watch in the UK, but you can watch it on Paramount+ in the US.)

Go On (2012)

What’s it about? A radio talk show host, still grieving after the death of his wife in a car crash, starts reluctantly attending group therapy sessions. Matthew Perry (Friends), Brett Gelman (Fleabag), and Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary) star in this half-hour sitcom from creator Scott Silveri (Speechless). 

Why would I like it? It’s one to check out if you enjoyed Ted Lasso in its heavier moments – when Ted is discussing his anxiety, or his grief at his father's death, or his sadness at the end of his marriage – you might respond to elements of this. There’s a similar sort of tonal balance going on here, which – strange as it can sometimes be – elicits a great performance from Perry. 

Where can I watch it? You can currently purchase Go On via Apple TV+.