Online OriginalsAugust 3, 2026
The TV That Made Me: Brett Goldstein
Ahead of Ted Lasso‘s new season, which premieres Aug. 5, the EP-actor reveals the shows that shaped him.
After some time away, the team is getting back together for another season of Apple TV’s Ted Lasso, as season four premieres August 5. According to executive producer–actor Brett Goldstein (also a cocreator and actor on Shrinking), it didn’t take long for the cast’s muscle memory to kick in.
“I remember the first read-through we did, and how everyone immediately slipped back into their roles,” he says. “It felt like the family was back together, and I looked around and thought to myself, ‘You guys are really good at this.’ It was beautiful.”
Goldstein is mostly mum about what we will see from his character, former coach and new AFC Richmond manager Roy Kent, in season four, except to mention, “His knee is really fucked this time.”
We asked Goldstein to share some of the TV projects that help define him.
The show that first caught my interest as a child: Sesame Street
It really is an astonishing and beautiful thing, made with love for genuinely good reasons, and it still holds up. Having had the privilege of visiting Sesame Street twice, I can say that it is truly a place of magic, filled with pure-hearted artists of the highest caliber. Plus, Cookie Monster is fucking funny.
The show that was formative for me as a teen: Twin Peaks
I saw it at 9 years old, and it changed my life. My sister and I watched it with my dad, and it scared the absolute shit out of us, but it also hooked us, and we watched every episode. Ever since, I have been obsessed with David Lynch, dreams and how Annie is.
The show I consider way ahead of its time: The Wire
I know it’s obvious, but The Wire is truly the greatest TV show of all time. It’s just magnificent in its scope and ambition and how it lays out how civilization truly works at every level. A life-changing, eye-opening, ambitious and profound work of genius. Deadwood is a close second for similar reasons.
A show that was must-watch viewing for me: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
I love the Tina Fey/Robert Carlock-iverse, and this is one of my favorites of theirs. There are more jokes per minute than I can keep up with. They make stuff that is so funny, you can’t believe it exists.
The show I can watch over and over again: Everybody Loves Raymond
I always feel this is underrated. Deceptively simple, Everybody Loves Raymond is a brilliantly written and performed show about family that knows exactly who its characters are and how to wring the most laughs out of them. I love when a multi-cam gets to the stage where a huge laugh can happen before a character even reacts, just because we are delighted by the expectation of what’s to come.
The show I’d love to see brought back for one more season: Soap
My dad got obsessed with Soap and would watch it over and over throughout the years. It’s the forgotten one from Susan Harris’s incredible backlog. A proper soap with addictive storylines that happened to be uproariously funny and profound — and still manages to make you cry every week.
It brought the world Billy Crystaland Katherine Helmondand Richard Mulligan and a ventriloquist dummy. And line for line, it contains some of the best sitcom writing of all time. Also, the acting was so good that you find yourself taking alien abduction and demonic possession storylines seriously. I wish it never ended.
The show I love that may be surprising: Smallville
I watched every episode of Smallville. I was forever impressed by how they kept the plot moving forward while always holding back the final reveal, even though we knew what it was, and somehow they kept it compelling and heartbreaking. Great show.
The show I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never seen: Tiger King
Everyone watched it in lockdown and says it’s brilliant. I think I could bluff a joke about it at a party, but I’ve never seen it. I just know that Carole Baskin is a thing.
Ted Lasso is streaming on Apple TV.
