10 Shows to Watch If You Love Ted Lasso

We thought we said goodbye to lovable goof Ted Lasso back in 2023, but he’s returned for a surprise fourth season on Apple TV+. Jason Sudeikis is, of course, back as the title character, an American college football coach hired by Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) to coach her Richmond football club, despite his lack of experience with the sport. Having won the team in a messy divorce, she figured Ted was destined to ruin the franchise her ex-husband loved so much. Of course, we all know how that went: Ted (and the team) persevered, mostly thanks to his unrelenting good nature and belief in others.

If you are looking for more streaming shows with the same can-do spirit, here are 10 to consider — not all of them having anything to do with sports, because in 2026, we need to take joy and inspiration wherever we can find it.

Chad Powers (2025 – )

One minute, Russ Holliday (series star and co-creator Glen Powell) is the biggest name in collegiate football, with a future that couldn’t be brighter. The next, he’s fumbled a touchdown and shoved a fan into a wheelchair-bound cancer patient. Not great! Eight years later, he’s looking for a comeback and, with shades of Mrs. Doubtfire, he reinvents himself via prosthetics and a wig as the title’s Chad Powers, a charmingly naive athlete who signs on to the football team at a tiny Georgia college. It’s a goofy premise, but Powell’s performance sells it, and the show becomes more engaging as Russ/Chad is forced to ask himself whether this new persona is a total con, or the person he’d actually like to be. Stream Chad Powers on Hulu.

Parks and Recreation (2009 – 2015)

Amy Poehler stars as Leslie Knope, a can-do go-getter in the sleepy town of Pawnee, Indiana. Irrepressibly perky, she’s the deputy director of the local Parks and Rec Department, with ambitions that extend to the White House. Her dream is as inspiring as it is unhinged, but she’s hard not to root for — at least a little. In the best workplace comedy tradition, her office is filled with lovable oddballs: gruff libertarian Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman); cynical underachiever Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari); and saucy Donna Meagle (Retta), whose mysterious but definitely wild personal life is only ever alluded to. It’s all amiably silly, and full of characters determined to do their best, albeit with mixed results. Stream Parks and Recreation on Peacock.

A Man on the Inside (2024 – )

Another well-loved TV celebrity stars in a lightly satirical comedy that’s a bit more plot-oriented than a typical sitcom. Ted Danson plays Charles Nieuwendyk, a hapless retired professor and recent widower who listens to his daughter’s plea that he find something to keep him occupied. He answers an ad from a private investigator seeking someone to go undercover by moving into a retirement community to solve a theft. What follows is a warm, funny, and surprisingly touching series about connection, reinvention, and the unexpected friendships that can bloom at any stage of life.

Each of these shows shares Ted Lasso’s core appeal: characters who choose optimism, communities that look out for one another, and stories that leave you feeling better than when you started watching.