How ‘Ted Lasso’ turned a charming London suburb into a tourist hotspot

A Fictional Football Coach Is Reshaping a Real London Suburb

Earthguardiansonline.com – Every weekend, cobblestone lanes in Richmond-upon-Thames fill with visitors clutching cameras and following scripted itineraries through a neighborhood that, for centuries, drew attention only for its royal deer park and Tudor-era palaces. The catalyst is not a new museum or a royal visit. It is a television show about an American football coach who stumbles into English soccer armed with relentless optimism and a vocabulary of motivational quips. Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso,” now deep into its fourth season, has turned this leafy Thames-side suburb roughly 20 minutes by train from central London into one of Britain’s most sought-after pop-culture destinations.

The show’s fourth-season premiere last month set a record as the biggest launch in Apple TV+ history, sending millions of viewers back to the screen and, increasingly, to the streets of Richmond itself. Local hospitality operators have noted a sharp uptick in American visitors since the series debuted, with some establishments reporting visitor numbers from the United States have effectively doubled.

Why the Show Travels

The appeal extends well beyond football. Natalia, a Brazilian fan who made the trip specifically to walk the streets where her favorite scenes were shot, summed up the experience outside a pub in the suburb:

“I just love it. The first time you watch it, you think the series is about football. But the culture, the messaging — it’s about so much more.”

That broader resonance — themes of mentorship, redemption, and community — is what keeps audiences returning season after season. Jason Sudeikis anchors the cast as the title character, a coach who cannot parse the offside rule but instinctively grasps how to build trust in a locker room. Hannah Waddingham plays club owner Rebecca, Phil Dunster embodies the ball-hogging winger Jamie Tartt who slowly learns to pass, and Annette Badland delivers Mae Green, the no-nonsense publican who keeps order at match time. Brett Goldstein and Juno Temple round out the ensemble as Roy Kent and Keely Jones, whose on-screen romance has its own pilgrimage route along the river.

The Pilgrimage Itinerary

Visitors arriving in Richmond now follow a loosely mapped circuit of locations that double as both genuine heritage sites and show set pieces. Paved Court, a narrow lane lined with window-shopfronts including a delicatessen and a millinery shop, houses the exterior used for Coach Lasso’s apartment. A short walk down the same lane brings fans to the official “Ted Lasso” retail outlet, where AFC Richmond kits in red and blue hang beside tins of shortbread labeled “biscuits for the boss.”

At the lane’s terminus stands The Prince’s Head, a pub dating to the 1700s that the show rebrands as the “Crown and Anchor.” Outside its door sits the bench where Lasso perches in contemplation between episodes — a spot now perpetually occupied by tourists posing for photographs. Directly across the street, Richmond Green unfolds: a tree-lined common where medieval jousting tournaments once entertained visiting royalty. Today’s visitors picnic on its lawns, jog along its paths, and occasionally join impromptu kickabouts, mirroring the coach’s own strolls through the park.

Richmond’s waterfront claims the longest continuous stretch of the River Thames within London’s boundaries. Along it, fans recreate the first date between Roy Kent and Keely Jones by strolling beneath Richmond Bridge, accompanied by the melodies of local buskers. A puppet-theater barge drifts past, and one riverside pub sits so close to the waterline that high tide periodically floods its ground floor — the owners keep a rack of complimentary gumboots by the door.

For those extending their day, the Richmond Theatre, open since 1899, provides a fitting curtain-call. It was the venue for Rebecca’s charity gala in season one, and its Georgian façade anchors the suburb’s cultural identity independent of any television franchise.

What You Will Not Find

One notable absence: the AFC Richmond stadium itself. Match-day scenes are shot at Selhurst Park in south London, home of Crystal Palace Football Club. In the show, the ground is affectionately dubbed “the dog track,” a nod to the greyhound racing venue that once occupied the site. Fans hoping to stand in the stands must travel beyond Richmond’s borders.

Guided Routes and Local Friction

The tourism boom has spawned a small industry of its own. Ted Lasso Tours, launched in 2022 by Richmond resident Emmy Mac, operates private and group excursions covering 27 on-screen locations. Mac reports a clientele dominated by American visitors but also welcomes fans from India, Singapore, and Mexico.

Not every resident welcomes the influx. Steve Lloyd, who has called Richmond home since 1992, says he has lost count of how many times he has appeared uninvited in the background of a tourist’s souvenir photograph. His own attempt at understanding the show’s appeal ended quickly:

“I tried to watch it — got 15 minutes in and thought, ‘this is crap.'”

Yet Lloyd does not necessarily oppose the visitors themselves; his frustration is aimed at the disruption to a neighborhood that has long defined itself by quiet river walks, weekend markets, and the rustle of deer in the park. The tension between Richmond’s centuries-old identity as a royal retreat and its new role as a global pop-culture waypoint remains unresolved — and, for now, the cameras keep rolling.