UNIT9 delivers Lasso vs Mourinho for DAZN

Jason Sudeikis stars as Ted Lasso who calls on José Mourinho for advice on his position as coach for the fictional British football team AFC Richmond. 

The new series on Apple TV that launched on August 14th follows Lasso's journey discovering the differences between British and US football.

Created by the sports streaming service DAZN and produced by UNIT9, these films are a teaser for these comedy series.

Director James Kibbey states: "Having ploughed a comedy furrow in the field of sports for the last few years, this project - combining genuine A list comedy and football talent - really was the dream ticket. The first conversations were around making this another Zoom call, but I felt strongly that we could elevate this further and create something that had some genuine laughs, some Mourinho in-jokes, but also deliver a production value in line with the TV show itself."

"But that came with challenges! We battled quarantines, Covid shooting restrictions (the cameras for the LA shoot were all remote operated), and ‘extremely fluid talent diaries’ whilst working with production teams in London and LA to get these films over the line. Remote directing the Special One from a tiny bedroom in a rented cottage in Devon will live long in the memory for sure.

The final product is credit to the work of a huge number of people on both sides of the pond. If these films convince just one more person to go and check out the Ted Lasso series then we will have failed. But I’m hoping we’ll have steered a fair few more in the show’s direction as it’s a gem."