The Kansas City Mayor Didn’t Watch ‘Ted Lasso’ — Until Ted Lasso Came to Town

Ted Lasso is back on Apple TV, and Ted Lasso is back in Kansas City. He’s not there for long, but he’s there long enough to give the KC Tourism Board the best free advertising money can’t buy.

The Kansas City side ultimately got paid for hosting the filming location for the season four premiere — ain’t Ted Lasso nice? Speaking of Kansas City and sides (I’m not talking about the cheesy corn, pit-smoked baked beans and seasoned fries — yet), it is the Missouri side of the state line that reaped the rewards thanks to a film tax-incentive program the Kansas side does not (yet) have.

In the hit show’s premiere, which released on Wednesday, Ted (played by creator Jason Sudeikis) visited the American Jazz Museum, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Gates Bar-B-Q and other local hot spots. All that those on the Kansas side could do is watch, despite the suburbs over there marking the actual hometown of the Ted Lasso creator and star.

One day ahead of the highly anticipated Ted Lasso return, which also happened to be a local Election Day, The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Kansas City, Missouri, mayor Quinton Lucas about the show. He wasn’t on the hot seat in terms of his job, but we got a simmer going when asking about the best barbecue in his constituency.

***

As we speak, it’s Election Day where you are. But is this your Election Day?

This is not. As mayor, there are about $1.7 billion of bonds and housing funds, and all of that I have on the ballot. But no, this is not my political survival. So unfortunately, I’ve got to do that some other time.

What I’m hearing is that I’m the most important part of your day.

By far. People are asking [me], “What the hell are you talking to The Hollywood Reporter about?” [They’ll have] to wait until the piece comes out.

Have you seen the Ted Lasso season four premiere?

I have seen the premiere.

What are your thoughts on it?

First of all, there’s this thing about Ted Lasso that I love — it just builds this joy within you. If I can tell you a little secret — even though I’m telling a reporter on the record — I don’t actually have Apple TV. I really haven’t watched Ted Lasso. I’ve seen episodes here and there, but my wife and children’s viewing habits are still more at the Ms. Rachel-era of television-watching, so it just hasn’t been on our list.

I know and I’ve met and I like Jason Sudeikis. I know the theme of the show and, obviously, its Kansas City presence. But I left impressed because. It you don’t have a great understanding and think, “Alright, I I’ve seen Ted Lasso,” whether it’s in ads or whatever else, “I kind of know the whole shtick” — it has this kind of way of roping you in. At the end of an episode, you are intrigued by the characters, you seem to know a decent amount about them, and you’re smiling. Which, as somebody who’s viewing habit last night was watching [The Bombing of Pan Am 103] on Netflix [smiling], is just a lot better and I think that’s part of its success.

Are you suggesting, Mr. Mayor, that three hours of Ms. Rachel doesn’t leave you smiling?

(Laughs.) The sad thing is that my kids love the repeats, so I can sing the hell out of “Bingo, Was His Name-o.”

How old are your kids?

I have a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old, and just as the 5-year-old transitioned maybe a year ago over to Paw Patrol, the 2-year-old is like, “Wait, what is this?”

Paw Patrol can be tough too, but soon you’ll get to the Bluey phase — Bluey is like Ted Lasso for kids both in terms of its niceness and its quality.

I cannot wait. My mother raised me — probably why I’m in this business now. I had to watch Meet the Press press and stuff. [I said to my wife,] “Why don’t we just make this kid a total nerd like me, and they’ll be mayor in no time?” I’ve lost that battle so far.

Did you know before any of us that Ted Lasso was returning because of permits and things like that?

Oh man, our film commissioner will be mad at me, but yes, I did. There are both other things going on every day in a city like mine and larger ones, but I think I was aware. And you know, I’ll be honest, I think I probably thought, “Oh, that’s cool.” I had no idea what exactly the impact will be. You hear from your city film commissioner, and you’re like, “I look forward to learning more.”

How well does the character of Ted represent “Midwestern Nice” to you?

The first thing that Ted Lasso gets right is this familiarity among the residents. In Kansas City, you can be in the most posh establishment, and you actually still do have people wearing Kansas City sports gear, whether it be Missouri or Kansas, the Chiefs or Royals. And there is this other part, which is the sheer friendliness.

I went to college in the Midwest, but I attended law school at Cornell University [in Ithaca, New York] and, this is no knock on my alma mater, but I was like, “People don’t just say ‘Hi’ when you pass them.” My mother was probably like, “You’re so dumb, I should have gotten you out more.” I would call home, and I was just expecting that — it really does happen. To the extent someone doesn’t acknowledge you, it’s a bit strange. We’re not as far as small town where people become your best friends and have your life story and are nosy. But it really is this transcending of economic class, race, part of city, all of that. You get this really positive, almost uplifting community vibe. It was part of why I came back to Middle America.

One of the running jokes of the Ted Lasso season four premiere is the tourists — Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), Keely (Juno Temple) and Higgins (Jeremy Swift) — never know which Kansas City they’re in. How true to life is that for your visitors?

You do get a lot of people — and we got to test it for the World Cup just a few weeks ago. The smallest American city with World Cup matches. It’s nice. I’m far from famous, but Argentina Instagram kind of adopted me on TikTok. They’re like, “El alcalde es Argentino,” meaning “The mayor is Argentine,” and the number of people that were like,” It’s the mayor of Kansas!” Ironically, I’m Kansas City, Missouri. Nonetheless, you get a blank slate every time somebody comes because the number of tourists — not just from the World Cup, but even other tourists — know absolutely nothing about where we’re from. It’s interesting they’re even here, but you love that. Every time you get a chance to teach them about who we are and what we’re about, I find that rewarding.

The filming was pretty much all on your side of State Line Road, correct?

Most of the things they stopped through were in Kansas City, Missouri, if I remember the episode — the American Jazz Museum, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The reason I know I’m right about that is because the state incentive. I believe all filming was in Missouri because of the state film incentive that exists that Kansas does not have, which is interesting because Jason Sudeikis is from the Kansas suburbs, which is kind of an interesting wrinkle.

Between Ted Lasso and the World Cup, your tourism board barely needs to do any work right now.

Iif you would ask me — and I would assume Jason, when he was a kid since he’s got a few years on me — if Kansas City would be the center of any type of national program also be based on soccer, I’d be like, “Huh?” Like, 1990s me would be like, “Who did what? What you talking about, man?”

Let me just interject — “1990s you” would have an awesome Chiefs Starter jacket.

God, yes. And by the way, I am still so angry because I I had one like every other kid did. Why did we get rid of all of those?

Because our parents were dumb. Same deal with how we treated our baseball cards.

Right? I don’t just see [this moment] as sheer serendipity. I actually see it as community and hard work coming together. I give credit to our creative community and high schools in this region raising this interesting set of people in Jason Sudeikis and Paul Rudd and David Koechner and Eric Stonestreet, who are not far apart in age and have gone on not only to do wonderful things, but have this commitment to their hometown in a way that is different than with others.

I think the community, and a lot of smart midwestern and southern cities, probably saw the Georgia narrative of a decade to 15 years ago, and saw that film and media is an important potential growth industry. [We also see] the nexus between investment and incentives towards film and media broadly, and how you grow the brand of your city. There are big American cities that are really neat for a lot of things, but for example — I’m an attorney by training. I usually get to New York for business, and what’s always interesting to me is how New York, really at its core as an economic factor, tourism is such a big part. Whereas I was going there to meet with somebody at a law firm, and I feel like we’re an infinitesimal part of what keeps the city going.

Whereas largely it’s foreign tourists taking pictures, like, “Oh, that’s cool. Buildings are tall, and there are a lot of them.” We’re not necessarily that, nor do we necessarily wish to be, but I think what we have done responsibly, and what Ted Lasso and the World Cup helps us secure, is a reason to be there. A reason to get this good slice of affordable Americana.

You really do have some gems, celebrity-wise, representing the area. Paul Rudd is a wonderful guy.

Oh, he’s great. If I can just tell you probably more than you want…

Of course.

I met Paul Rudd at the Super Bowl as the mayor. When you’re mayor, you’re lame kind of, and you’re in a suit. I ended up at this taco bar beside a Chiefs Super Bowl celebration with Paul Rudd and his son. And we’re just, like, hanging out, no pretension at all. He was like, “Oh, Mr. Mayor, great to meet you.” I’m like, “Who the hell am I? I’m a temporary office holder, and I still remember you from Clueless.” He was great, and same thing with Jason… couldn’t have been kinder. Couldn’t have been better. He had time for everybody, enough connection for everybody, and I think he left feeling like, “I’m loved in a community and a place.” That more than anything is what I would argue sometimes it’s all about.

The Chiefs have been in five Super Bowls and I’ve been around too many famous people, and I ended up kind of in the the aura of J. Lo — I obviously couldn’t even talk to her — but you saw the crowd, whoever she was with at that point, I don’t even remember. But it just being this thing of like real distance. Meanwhile, Paul Rudd’s walking around as if he still feels like he was lucky to get tickets.

You’ve got another pretty famous singer/sudden Chiefs superfan. Did you attend the Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift wedding on our fair coast?

Man, I did not make it. Nope. I met the couple — obviously, I know Travis Kelce better. No, the mayor did not make the cut. I was gonna call [New York City] mayor Mamdani, see if he could just get me in working security, but no such luck.

I will say this about her though, briefly. I ended up on the field next to them when they embraced after the Super Bowl we won, and I got a little video. I posted it and left it up for like eight minutes. There were too many people, too many things — like her super fans, there’s also this crowd of total non-superfans who just hop on things. That has been a phenomenon to itself. I remember it slightly from my youth, seeing Michael Jackson mobbed when he went places. In a city where famous people can usually just exist, as happened in the World Cup, Taylor Swift still largely can’t. It’s really interesting seeing the world that she exists in.

OK let me pester you with a question every outsider probably asks you: What’s the best barbecue spot?

(Laughs.) You know that Ted Lasso, and really Jason Sudeikis, have created this trend in Kansas City where you wear a barbecue T-shirt with all of [the four big BBQ restaurants] on it. It says, like, “Joe Arthur KC Gate Stack” because there’s Joe’s [Kansas City Bar-B-Q], Arthur Bryant’s [Barbecue], Gates [Bar-B-Q] and Jack Stack Barbecue.

The show films that first episode at Gates Bar-B-Q. That’s where I make it to the most, primarily because I live closest to it. That being said — I ain’t gonna answer! Who’s your favorite kid, right?

I could probably answer that today, actually.

(Laughs.) I hear that from people! Like, “No that’s very simple!”

So no real answer on it, although I go to Gates a lot, but the better answer from a politician-type is: what are you getting at each? Better ribs at one place, better fries at another. I won’t bore you with that other than to note they’ve done it right on Ted Lasso in balancing a little bit of all of them, as well as the spill on one’s clothing being a part of when you get way into your barbecue.

American football is back the day after the Ted Lasso season four premiere. You must be excited, you guys are building a new stadium…

Yeah, yeah. There is a lot going on in Kansas City: new stadiums for football and baseball. Now we want a women’s World Cup. And I’m sure Taylor Swift will be around a little bit. I’ll tell her you said hi.

***

Ted Lasso returned with season four Wednesday on Apple TV, releasing new episodes weekly. Read The Hollywood Reporter‘s cover story on the show’s return.