‘Ted Lasso’ Actor Brendan Hunt Once Appeared in ‘Parks and Recreation’
Ted Lasso is only in its second season on Apple TV+, but the show has quickly become beloved by fans. In Ted Lasso, Brendan Hunt plays Coach Beard, an assistant coach at AFC Richmond. Hunt is also the co-creator of the show and a writer. Before starring on Ted Lasso, Hunt had a small role in an episode of Parks and Recreation.
[Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for season 2 episode 6 of Ted Lasso.]
Brendan Hunt of ‘Ted Lasso’ had a role on ‘Parks and Recreation’
Parks and Recreation aired on NBC from 2009 to 2015. The workplace comedy starred Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O’Heir, and Retta. Like Ted Lasso, Parks and Recreation became beloved for its upbeat and positive nature.
In season 2 episode 15 of Parks and Recreation, titled “Sweetums,” a candy manufacturer called Sweetums markets snack bars to citizens of Pawnee. Leslie Knope (Poehler) and Ann Perkins (Jones) find out the snack bars are actually unhealthy and they try to warn the town with a public forum.
Public forums are often standout scenes in Parks and Recreation because of the outlandish things townspeople say to Leslie and her co-workers. In “Sweetums,” Hunt appeared as a citizen of Pawnee and attempted to get Ann’s phone number for his friend.
“How do we know you’re really a nurse?” Hunt’s character asks Ann at one point during the forum.
He then boldly says, “Well the point is my friend thinks you’re cute. Give me your number so he can have it.”
When Ann declines, he asks, “Can I have your email address?”
Coach Beard has dating troubles in season 2 of ‘Ted Lasso’
In season 2 of Ted Lasso, Coach Beard has a tumultuous relationship with a woman named Jane (Phoebe Walsh). The two originally met in the show’s first season. During an interview with Access Hollywood, Hunt shared that there will be more of Jane and Coach Beard throughout the new season.
“I can tell you nothing, but I will tell you Coach Beard’s still there. He’s still Ted’s rock, giving him the tough love when necessary. And him and Jane are still off and on, and off and on, and they’re just doing their best,” the actor said.
Because of the toxic nature of their relationship, some of Coach Beard’s friends do not approve of Jane. While most of the characters decide not to say anything, in season 2 episode 6 of Ted Lasso, Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift) chooses to speak his mind.
Higgins mentions his concerns to Coach Beard and they hug. However, Coach Beard is shown going home with Jane just a few minutes later, showing he is not at a point where he wants to break up with Jane yet.
‘Ted Lasso’ is renewed for a third season
The second season of Ted Lasso has achieved critical acclaim, but it has also received some criticism on social media for certain plot lines. Regardless, Apple TV+ already renewed Ted Lasso for a third season.
“No, it’s just great because it allows us to write, it allows us to write toward a bigger picture since we know we don’t have to like have some wacky doodle cliffhanger at the end just to make sure they want to get us back,” Hunt told Access Hollywood.
New episodes of season 2 of Ted Lasso premiere on Fridays on Apple TV+.
