The character Trent Crimm (portrayed by James Lance) in season three, episode seven of “Ted Lasso”, where he can be spotted wearing an Ashland University t-shirt underneath his scarf. Photo courtesy of Apple TV+. Colin Hutton
SOURCE: Ashland Source | Nathan Hart, Report for America Corps Member
April 26, 2023
ASHLAND — Eagle-eyed viewers of the most recent episode of the critically-acclaimed Apple TV comedy show “Ted Lasso” may spot a piece of merchandise from right here in Ashland.
At around the 28-minute mark of Season 3, Episode 7 of the show — which was released on April 26 — the character Trent Crimm (played by James Lance) can be spotted wearing a purple Ashland University T-shirt underneath a blazer.
The costume designer for the show, Jacky Levy, said she bought the AU shirt at a “really cool vintage shop” on Brick Lane in London, England. Her and James Lance “loved the colour and everything about it” and decided to use it for Crimm’s wardrobe, she said.
“It just seemed to suit his style so well,” she said.
Beyond that, there is no “deep and meaningful” reason he wore the shirt, Levy said.
“Ted Lasso” follows American college football coach Ted Lasso (played by Jason Sudeikis) as he coaches an English soccer team despite having no experience with the sport. The comedy-drama premiered on Apple TV+ in August, 2020 to critical acclaim, and the show has won 11 Emmy awards since.
“We’re blessed with the capability to be able to make our own merchandise,” Brown said. “So we were able to kind of latch onto this pretty quickly.”
This morning, Daniel Gullotta, a religion and history instructor at AU, woke up and checked social media and was in “disbelief and shock” when he saw some of his Ashland colleagues posting images of Trent Crimm wearing an AU T-shirt, he said.
Daniel Gullotta started watching the show with his wife in 2021 after multiple friends recommended it, telling him it was “optimistic and feel-good.” They quickly “devoured” all the episodes and have followed it ever since. They plan on watching the AU T-shirt episode tonight, he said.
The surprise shirt appearance quickly became the top conversation topic among faculty, who spent the morning developing theories and texting each other.
“It’s been funny because I’ve shown people on my phone like, ‘Hey, have you seen this?’ And then later when I was getting a coffee, I literally saw other people saying like, ‘Hey, have you seen this?’ I was like, ‘Yes, I have seen it.’ So, like everyone’s talking about it,” Gullotta said.