Brett Goldstein on 'wonderful' 'Ted Lasso' revival and his first HBO standup special

USA Today

25-04-2025

Brett Goldstein on 'wonderful' 'Ted Lasso' revival and his first HBO standup special
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Trying to connect with Brett Goldstein for a virtual interview is something out of a comedy.
About five minutes into a chat with the writer, actor and standup, best known his portrayal of gruffy, 'Don't you dare settle for fine' Roy Kent on 'Ted Lasso,' he disappears from the screen. He returns, squinting and scrunching his scruffy face while searching for a solution to his glitchy internet connection. Over the next few minutes he repeatedly reappears and vanishes, even briefly adopts his Roy Kent voice and playfully drops an expletive. Eventually we are in business.
Comedy is about extremes, Goldstein says. And a reporter with finite time eager to talk to Goldstein about his debut comedy special, HBO's 'The Second Best Night of Your Life' (April 26, 10 ET/PT) and 'Ted Lasso' returning for a fourth season, battling an internet connection acting like Lucy from 'Peanuts' with a football is funny.
In 'The Second Best Night of Your Life' Goldstein draws punchlines from a 2023 episode of 'Sesame Street,' hailed as the best day of his life, being famished during a 2023 trip to the White House when food was scarce out of respect for taxpayers, and even his own love life.
"I love standup," says Goldstein, 44. "I do think it's the purest in terms of there's no one you have to discuss it with.' There's no need to pitch writers or executives. Goldstein writes for 'Ted Lasso,' is a co-creator of Apple's dramedy 'Shrinking,' and appeared in the most recent season. 'With standup, I could have an idea in the afternoon, I can try it that day, and if it works great. And if it doesn't work, fine. We tried it.'
The vulnerability of Brett Goldstein's standup
Goldstein started performing standup in 2007. Before going on stage he felt fear, after a high.
'I'd say the next two years were probably bad gigs,' he says. But he persevered. Goldstein launched The Second Best Night of Your Life tour in 2023, now a 63-minute descent into his mind available for home viewing.
In the special's opening, Goldstein puts on a confident façade, puffing on a cigarette and greeting fans in a fur trapper hat and coat. Really, he's so nervous he vomits. The bit is inspired by material Goldstein once performed.
'It's insane how casual they are,'" he says in an interview, "when I'm like, there's no way I would be that relaxed before. They're always just, like, chilling. 'Ohh, time for this show, is it?''
In his debut, Goldstein remembers not eating or drinking before his White House visit "because I assumed we were going to live like kings!... We were there nine hours. Hour eight I was sat with the president going, 'Are you sure, just a thimble of water? Please sir, let me Uber Eats.'"
Regardless of the subject matter, Goldstein says he always feels vulnerable the first time he tests new material.
'When I try a joke, it's not really me saying, 'Is this funny?' What I'm saying is, 'Am I mad? Am I insane?'' he says. Am I alone here? 'If they laugh, maybe you're not. Or you are, but it's OK, we accept you. But then everything is truly, tragedy plus time.'
'Ted Lasso' Season 4: 'In my heart I thought there'd be more'
Goldstein is currently busy writing the highly anticipated fourth installment of 'Ted Lasso,' announced to all believers in March. The comedy centers on the character, played by Jason Sudeikis, who transforms an English soccer team with his unyielding optimism. In the new season, Ted has been named the coach of a women's team.
As to whether he's resurrecting that lovable Cadbury Creme Egg of man (with hard exterior and gooey center), that's a secret currently being guarded like an AFC Richmond goal. When asked, Goldstein playfully echoes his publicist, nearly verbatim. 'What I can say is I'm back in a professional capacity as an executive producer and writer,' he says with a wide grin.
The revival of the Emmy-winning comedy didn't entirely surprise Goldstein. When the series wrapped, "I cried and we had such an emotional goodbye,' he says. 'But I do think a part of me thought this wasn't the end. I just felt like it's such a lovely world. It sort of felt like surely there'll be a way to do more.'
But as more time passed since the May 31, 2023 finale, he reconsidered. 'I guess I then thought maybe it isn't going to happen,' he adds. 'So then when it was happening, I was like, 'Ah, wonderful.' But I wasn't completely surprised, because I think in my heart I thought there'd be more.'
Recently, Goldstein appeared on "Shrinking" as Louis, the driver involved in the car accident that killed Jimmy's (Jason Segel) wife. Segel thought the role would distance Goldstein from Roy.
"Jason was into that," Goldstein says, "and I think, because of his experiences, I was more worried about doing this difficult part well" and joining one of the "greatest casts ever."