Television series play an increasingly significant role in the storytelling of sports cultures (Tirino, 2023), including through the construction of transmedia narrative ecosystems (Pescatore, 2018). The paper focuses on the TV series Ted Lasso (2020 - 2023), created by Bill Lawrence and Jason Sudeikis, which tells the story of the American football coach of the same name as a coach in the Premier League. By means of narrative analysis and media content analysis (Krippendorff, 2004), the aim of the paper is to analyse: 1) the narrative, within the series, of some of the crucial transformations of professional football cultures, as a result of the processes of mediatization, commercialization and globalization of sport (Tirino, 2019b, 2022b; Frandsen, 2020); 2) the transmedia expansions (commercials, video games, promotional campaigns, merchandising). The narrative structure adopted by the scriptwriters brings out the inconsistencies, excesses and contradictions of contemporary professional football, projecting us, at the same time, into that social world of its own that is the locker room.
Go AFC Richmond, Go! Transmedia storytelling and mediatization of football cultures in Ted Lasso
Tirino, Mario
2024
Abstract
Television series play an increasingly significant role in the storytelling of sports cultures (Tirino, 2023), including through the construction of transmedia narrative ecosystems (Pescatore, 2018). The paper focuses on the TV series Ted Lasso (2020 - 2023), created by Bill Lawrence and Jason Sudeikis, which tells the story of the American football coach of the same name as a coach in the Premier League. By means of narrative analysis and media content analysis (Krippendorff, 2004), the aim of the paper is to analyse: 1) the narrative, within the series, of some of the crucial transformations of professional football cultures, as a result of the processes of mediatization, commercialization and globalization of sport (Tirino, 2019b, 2022b; Frandsen, 2020); 2) the transmedia expansions (commercials, video games, promotional campaigns, merchandising). The narrative structure adopted by the scriptwriters brings out the inconsistencies, excesses and contradictions of contemporary professional football, projecting us, at the same time, into that social world of its own that is the locker room.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
