Set designers thrilled to go Dutch in 'Ted Lasso' Amsterdam episode

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Ted Lasso's production designer and set decorator had a "fantastic" time bringing the show to Amsterdam -- and hauling a bit of Dutch atmosphere back to U.K. sets -- for the Emmy-nominated "Sunflowers" episode.

The crew even filmed at the Van Gogh Museum, home to many of Vincent Van Gogh's masterpieces, including his famous "Sunflowers."

"They didn't seem phased at all that we were shooting next to these paintings that are worth millions and millions," production designer Paul Cripps told UPI in a recent video interview. "They've had filming, but more in a factual sense rather than dramas."

Ted Lasso has been a darling of critics and viewers since its 2020 premiere on Apple TV+. Jason Sudeikis plays Ted, an American football coach hired to manage the British soccer team.

"Sunflowers," Season 3-Episode 6, brings AFC Richmond to Amsterdam for a soccer match, which required Cripps and set director Kate Goodman to work on location, but also build some sets at their West London Film Studio.

"It was fantastic going around and going to lots of beautiful antiques places in Amsterdam," Goodman said in the interview.

She especially enjoyed shopping for the London houseboat set where team owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) spends time with a local man (Matteo van der Grijn) who pulls her from a river after she falls off a bridge on location.

Team member Colin (Billy Harris) visits the actual gay bar Prik, and Rebecca's assistant Higgins (Jeremy Swift) brings team clubhouse attendant Will (Charlie Hiscock) along to experience significant jazz clubs.

The actual Cafe Alto in Amsterdam proved too small for filming, so Cripps and Goodman found a studio in Amsterdam with a bar set they could dress. They filmed in the real Prik.

The Yankee Doodle Burger Barn, which serves up Americana in Amsterdam, and the Amsterdam hotel lobby were built in a hangar space near Heathrow Airport, Cripps said. Ted and Coach Beard's (Brendan Hunt) hotel room was an actual Hilton Hotel room in London.

The office of Keeley's (Juno Temple) company was an actual office space, Goodman said. He designed it to reflect her style, from the neon pink KJPR sign to the pink walls adorned with pink splatter art.

Cripps said they ultimately bought too much for her space, where Sudeikis ultimately decided to go minimalist.

"They're just going to push two desks together like Ted and Beard do in the first episode," Cripps said. "We ended up with a load of stuff that we hadn't gotten to use."

Meanwhile, pulling together the Season 3 cast brought a second Ted Lasso Emmy nomination for casting director Theo Park, who won for Season 1. (Many of the show's actors in all three seasons have been nominated).

New cast member Van der Grijn, Rebecca's rescuer, was chosen for his "magnetic energy," Park said in a separate interview.

"He wasn't typical to what we might assume Rebecca Welton would go for," Park said.

Viewers also meet Ted's mother, Dottie (Becky Ann Baker), who unsurprisingly expresses the same compulsive friendliness as her son. Park said Baker conveyed the Lasso family positivity in a "natural and real" way.

But, their confrontation over ignoring Ted's grief over his father's death is one of the show's big moments. Ted realizes extreme positivity prevented him from addressing important feelings.

"That parental relationship is so vital to why Ted is like he is," Park said. "Yes, she neglected him slightly. It's very complex."

New Season 3 guest stars also include Max Kosinski as AFC Richmond's temporary new player, superstar Zava; Jodi Balfour as Keeley's love interest Jack; Ambreen Razia as Keeley's aspiring but incompetent friend Shandy; and Katy Wix as Barbara, the chief financial officer at KJPR.

Park said Zava was inspired by real-life Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimmović. Kosinski's audition tape showed he met the requirements: He "had to be very tall, very athletic, ideally play football and also would be able to do some sort of Eastern European accent. I seriously thought we would never find this person."