MJ Delaney

In MJ Delaney's comedy, the actors have room to be funny and then to show that something hurts. That is a useful skill in Ted Lasso (2020), where warmth and an uneven supply of jokes have to share an episode. We warmed to Jason Sudeikis because the ensemble responds to him so readily; the pleasure comes from watching people play well together. Delaney contributes to a programme with several directors, but her handling of shifts between comedy and drama suits it particularly well.

The reservation is that Ted Lasso sometimes asks goodwill to do a joke's work. Its cultural clashes can feel laboured, and the cast cannot make every exchange worth the wait. Delaney directed multiple episodes across its three seasons, including The Hope That Kills You and No Weddings and a Funeral, where her ability to handle emotional comedy matters. We would not assign either the programme's warmth or its unevenness to one director, but the balance she handles is central to its appeal.

Her move from a parody music video in 2010 and advertising to the feature comedy Powder Room (2013) brought her into longer storytelling. Directing every episode of Frank of Ireland (2021) then gave her a whole series in which to work with a comic ensemble. Her collaborations with writer-producer Sharon Horgan and performer Morgana Robinson fit that interest in actors. Delaney has described her job as helping performers do their best work, a practical priority for a programme such as Ted Lasso, which needs its cast to carry both comedy and feeling.

Episode work on Renegade Nell (2024) took her into period adventure, but we would still look first to the comedy when deciding where to start. Ted Lasso makes a persuasive case for her patience with performers when the emotional scenes need time. It also reminds us that giving actors space is only part of making an episode funny. Start there if the pleasure of good company can compensate for the occasional long wait between laughs.