The love for creator James Burrows’ barfly sitcom began early on in “Ted Lasso” when somebody stated “Cheers” to Ted and he awkwardly responded, “Night Court,” referencing the legendary NBC Thursday evening lineup of the mid-80s. There’s a pure sports activities and ingesting connection between each exhibits as properly. Sam Malone is a retired aid pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and one among his first bartenders, the dim-witted however lovable character Coach (Nicholas Colasanto), was his former coach after they had been each within the huge leagues. Coach was killed off on the finish of season 3 and later changed by Woody Harrelson. All the regulars inside Cheers speak about life on and off the sphere in a lot the identical method that Ted, Coach Beard, and the Richmond trustworthy do inside Mae’s (Annette Badland) pub, Crown & Anchor in “Ted Lasso.”
The pub scenes are a transparent parallel between each exhibits, and the ultimate scenes of “Cheers” and “Ted Lasso” mirror one another virtually precisely. After eleven seasons, the ultimate shot of “Cheers” options Sam straightening a framed image of Geronimo earlier than turning the lights off for the evening. It exhibits how a lot affection Sam has for the bar nevertheless it’s additionally a little bit tip of the hat to Coach and Colasanto, who handed away just a few years after “Cheers” began its run, finally changing into one of the crucial profitable sitcoms of all time.
At the top of “So Long, Farewell,” Mae walks as much as an image holding the identical very same picture of Geronimo and straightens it. It’s an ideal nod to “Cheers” and a becoming ending for “Ted Lasso” that sees Mae tending to her pub and enthusiastic about Ted in the identical, good little second.