Ted Lasso comes to Washington

The White House briefing room can be a very dull place — until it’s not.

Tense exchanges between reporters and administration officials can make the daily press briefings more entertaining. Special guests — national security experts or economic advisors, usually — can make the briefings more informative.

But on Monday, a special guest of a different sort arrived in the press room: Ted Lasso came to Washington, and it was fabulous.

If you have been living under a rock, Ted Lasso, an American football coach who travels across the pond to coach an English soccer team, is a fictional character from the Apple TV+ show of the same name. Season 3 of the hit show premiered last week.

During Monday’s briefing Lasso, who is played by comedian-actor Jason Sudeikis, was joined at the lectern by some of the show’s cast, including Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt and Toheeb Jimoh, as well as White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Sudeikis even took a question from Trent Crimm, the show’s fictional sports journalist for the Independent played by James Lance.

Sudeikis spoke for about 10 minutes about the importance of fighting the stigma that’s often associated with seeking help for mental health problems. He encouraged everyone to make sure to check in regularly with family, friends and neighbors who may be struggling and ask how they’re doing.

The White House on Monday touted President Biden’s designation of nearly $500 million to increase capacity for the national suicide hotline and to help connect local callers with local responders. In 2020, Congress in approved transitioning the 10-digit suicide hotline to three simple numbers — 988.