On Monday (20 March), the White House will welcome the cast of Ted Lasso, hosted by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, to raise awareness for mental health and well-being.
The White House has announced that Jason Sudeikis, who plays the role of the titular character, an American soccer coach in London, and the rest of the Ted Lasso cast, will meet with the Bidens “to discuss the importance of addressing your mental health to promote overall wellbeing,”
According to the press release, Bidens had seen some of the show and are familiar with its “message of positivity, hope, kindness, and empathy.”
Cast members expected to be in attendance are Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Toheeb Jimoh, Cristo Fernandez, Kola Bokinni, Billy Harris, and James Lance.
Biden has previously called on lawmakers in both parties to expand resources to fight the “mental health crisis” in the nation as part of his “ unity agenda.”
His administration has surged funding to bolster the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and expand school-based mental health professionals.
Ted Lasso has tackled mental health issues in its storyline in the past.
In 2021, Sudeikis told Us Weekly: “In regard to the mental health stuff, it was just there. It’s been there forever, but it’s really come up a lot in just knowing where the characters were headed and how important it is to work on yourself to help your team.
“And I think that we were trying to explore that and personify it in a way and kind of trojan horse that there’s bigger issues in this fun, silly little comedy show.
“People have really responded to that,” he added. “And myself and other people in the cast and the writing staff get messages daily from people thanking them for really opening their eyes to what it means to go to therapy and what it means for someone in their own life to go to therapy and just speaking about these things and taking the stigma off of any form of health whether it be nutrition or mental, emotional health.”
The third season of Ted Lasso began streaming last week.