‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 features fun Kansas City nod to Taylor Swift
The Taylor Swift effect.
“Ted Lasso” kicked off Season 4 with a fun nod to the pop star and her legendary Eras Tour.
In the premiere episode, Hannah Waddingham’s character, Rebecca Welton, who is owner of the AFC Richmond football team in the Apple TV series, stumbles upon Dazzle Me Moi, a local Kansas City, Mo., boutique that gained success from Swift’s influence.
As Rebecca, Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) and Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift) visit Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) in Kansas City to try to convince him to return to England to coach AFC Richmond’s new women’s team, the ladies embark on a shopping spree at the fictional store.
Despite Rebecca being initially put off by the store’s rhinestone-covered pantsuits, the owner of the boutique explains to the women how she became such a local success because of the Grammy winner.
“Luckily, a couple summers ago when Taylor Swift was performing in town, one of her backup singers — a wingless angel of color — she floated in, bought an outfit, posted it on her Insta!” the owner says.
“We’ve been poppin’ and hoppin,’ and guys have been shoppin’ ever since. Women helping women, am I right?”
Rebecca, inspired by the story, ends up buying a bedazzled pantsuit and notes the importance of women supporting each other.
Executive producer Jamie Lee said that the decision was made to include Swift in the script because many of the women in the writers’ room were inspired by her record-breaking tour and its cultural impact.
“There are a lot of really fun, funny women in our writers’ room, and I’m sure it came from a conversation that we all had,” she told E! News at the Season 4 premiere in Los Angeles last week.
“The Eras Tour was happening while we were writing, or right before, and some people had been to it, other people wanted to go to it.”
Lee added, “Taylor’s always in the mix of the conversation. It’s kind of impossible not to talk about her because she’s just so famously incredible.”
The July 2023 Kansas City stop of Swift’s Eras Tour was also special for the singer in real life. That is where her now-husband, Travis Kelce, made his first move on her.
At the time, the athlete told his “New Heights” podcast listeners that he put his number on a friendship bracelet but was unable to give it to Swift because she “didn’t want to meet” him.
“She doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings,” Kelce explained. “I took it personal.”
But two months after Kelce tried to shoot his shot, Page Six reported they were dating — and the rest is history.
Season 4 of “Ted Lasso” is now streaming on Apple TV.
