When I first started watching Apple TV+’s hit series “Ted Lasso” a few years ago, I just assumed that the football club that Jason Sudeikis’ character coaches (and the area it surrounds) was completely fictional. While the soccer (er, football) team AFC Richmond is totally fake, the small suburb of Richmond is totally real.
“Ted Lasso” super fan Allison McGinley enlightened me after she took a vacation (or should I say holiday, as the Brits say?) with her family to London recently. To her surprise, the pub from the show, where Ted and Coach Beard often hang out, is very much real. As well as the entire Richmond area.
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Richmond doesn’t have a Premiere League soccer club, but when the show is filming matches, they shoot at the soccer field where the team Crystal Palace plays.
McGinley explained that Richmond was an easy and quick tube ride (that’s a subway, for us Americans) to Richmond, and the moment she and her family stepped up from the tube, she instantly felt like she was inside the show itself.
“I saw the pub, the bench that Ted Lasso sits on, the soccer field where the kids play, all of it,” said McGinley.
She explained that the pub from the show, which is called The Crown and Anchor, is called The Prince’s Head in real life. She obviously had to go in for a pint and check it out.
“The outside of the pub looks exactly the same on the show,” McGinley explained. “I was expecting the pub to be filled with tourists, but it wasn’t too busy.”
McGinley said she ended up chatting with two gentlemen at the bar, and they told her they don’t notice too many tourists in their neighborhood looking for the “Ted Lasso” experience, which begs the question: do people know that Richmond is a real place in London?
As someone who is also a super fan of the show, I can confidently say that I had no idea Richmond was a real place, so I’m assuming there have to be others out there like me who are equally as clueless about London and its neighborhoods.
Besides the iconic pub, McGinley said there are plenty of little alleys to walk down that are full of shops and restaurants. Some of them even have “Ted Lasso” merchandise in the windows, so it seems that the neighborhood is starting to embrace the “Ted Lasso” hype.
They should be, too, because the new season of the show premieres Wednesday, March 15. It’s been heavily implied this is going to be the last season of the show, too, but Sudeikis has been pretty vague when asked about the future of the hit series. We’re hoping we get a few more seasons at least!
Regardless, if you’re making a trip to London anytime soon and you love the show, Richmond should be at the top of your list of places to visit if you can swing it. Just make sure you bring a box of those delicious biscuits!
