‘Ted Lasso’ editor A.J. Catoline: ‘Jason Sudeikis is there with us 10 hours a day in the editing room’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
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You get the feeling that “Ted Lasso” editor A.J. Catoline kind of likes his job a little. He marvels at the ride he’s been on with an Apple TV+ comedy series that’s won 11 Primetime Emmys – including Best Comedy Series two years running – as well as his own Emmy victory in 2021. And when you ask him what he finds trickiest about editing the soccer-centered hit, he looks at the big picture and living up to the legacy of what’s become a classic piece of television.
“The trickiest thing is probably knowing how many fans (the show has) out there,” Catoline believes. “In Season 3, it almost felt like there was a lot of pressure on me as an editor as I’m looking through these amazing dailies with our incredible cast and so many choices. Which take should I use? Do I use this one? Which take would Twitter want me to use? Which take would the fans want me to use? And you really think about that, but you try not to let it get to you. You stay in the zone and you know what makes the show work?” He adds, “It’s just been a lovely, amazing journey.” Catoline spoke to Gold Derby as part of our “Meet the Experts” editors roundtable. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
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One of the toughest things for Catoline has nothing to do with his editing work and everything to do with not ruining the viewing experience for friends and family who want him to ruin it for them. “They’re constantly reaching out to me with questions about what’s going to happen next, and I have to do my best not to give up any spoilers,” he says. “But look, as (star and executive producer) Jason (Sudeikis) has said many times, ‘Ted Lasso’ is more than a show; it’s a vibe. And I think that’s really true. It’s amazing to watch our cast be invited to the White House to talk about mental health, and to go to so many events where fans approach them and talk about how the show has changed their lives.”
The cast and crew of the show also take the “Ted Lasso” teamwork vibe to heart. And it all begins with Sudeikis, who is clearly enormously hands-on with every show aspect. “He’s absolutely wonderful,” Catoline gushes, “and it’s great that he gets involved in editing. The entire show is his vision, and I think everyone on the crew realizes it’s about how we can get the vision out of his head and onto the screen. And he loves to come in (and help with editing). He’s there with us 10 hours a day in the editing room digging into the possibilities.”
SEE‘Ted Lasso’ team heads to White House to meet President Joe Biden and raise mental health awareness
In terms of what may have been different editing the show in Season 3 than it was during the first two seasons, Catoline admits not much changed. He and his fellow show editor Melissa McCoy generally don’t know the direction “Ted Lasso” is going in prior to embarking on cutting the individual episodes. “Jason very much likes to work on things and is constantly rewriting just days before they shoot them, so we didn’t know exactly how the show was going to end (in Season 3),” Catoline stresses. “We don’t lock shows, so we can go backward if, say, something gets revealed in a later show that (requires a different edit) and using some different shots.”
And the term “We’ll fix it in post” truly applies to “Ted Lasso,” Catoline asserts. “Jason is a big believer in that,” he says. “He’s said to me many times that the show is written three times – the third and final time in the editing room. That’s a real compliment coming from him. He believes in the power of editing. So there are several (scenes) that was shot one way, but now knowing where we are, Jason wants to try it a different way and that kind of gets creative. We’re constantly doing things with what Jason terms ‘movie magic’.” That magic, he says, involves digging into his editing tool bag to create a shot, or a visual effect that would be invisible to the viewer but that make a scene flow better. “When we’re doing our job, we’re staying invisible.”
“Ted Lasso’s” first two seasons and 11 of the first 12 episodes of Season 3 are available to stream of Apple TV+. The Season 3 finale drops May 31.
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