Word Count 94: Ted Lasso S4 confirmation, The House audio sitcom to take submissions
Plus Meta tries to silence Facebook whistleblower, Broken Veil, Alex Andreou's Podyssey and more!
Hi there,
Last week, I went to my first football game in about *cough* years, supporting Wrexham away at Reading’s Madejski Stadium. It would have been a great evening – the weather was dry if not warm, there was a pre-match band, and we were very excited for our only opportunity to see Wrexham play this season. Sadly, they played like they’d never seen a ball before, whilst the ref acted like he was actually umpiring a cricket match. It was, in fact, Wrexham’s worst performance of the season.
It’s a good job, then, that I’ve got this to look forward to…
What I’ll be watching: Ted Lasso, Season 4
It’s official! Apple TV+’s huge footie hit Ted Lasso will be back for a fourth season. Writer, showrunner and actor Jason Sudeikis confirmed the news on the New Heights podcast:
Rather than trying to wrangle a men’s team reset, Ted will have moved on to creating and coaching a women’s team. This is great for so many reasons, not least of which is the appalling way that women’s football has been treated over the last hundred years.
Women’s football used to be incredibly popular. In 1920, for example, 53,000 people watched a women’s charity match between Preston-based Dick, Kerr Ladies (teams were often formed around and named after their workplaces, in this case Dick, Kerr & Co) and St Helens, with another 10-15,000 people unable to enter the ground.
Rather than celebrate and nurture this success, the UK’s Football Association instead effectively banned women’s football by barring them from FA-affiliated grounds. This ban lasted for 50 years, until it was lifted in 1971. But the problems female players face didn’t end there. Women did not get bespoke fitted kits until 2019, so were having to use men’s socks and sometimes children’s boots. And women’s kit was still not up to standard when this review was published in 2022.
Sudeikis and co-writer Brett Goldstein, along with others, have a history of writing very thoughtful and thought-provoking TV, so I hope that they’ll tackle head-on the prejudice that women’s football still faces.
Opportunity: The House audio sitcom
If you’re a BCG Pro member, you will soon have the opportunity to submit ideas to the The House original audio sitcom.
The pilot episode's script will be shared [on BCG Pro], with members invited to suggest improvements and contribute lines and jokes.
We hope to progress to a full series, where scripts will be created entirely by BCG Pro members from the initial storylining stages through to final draft. This is an extensive, multi-year project with plenty of opportunity for involvement at all levels.
More details outside the paywall.
Read this: Meta wins emergency ruling to stop whistleblower promoting Facebook tell-all
Sarah Wynn-Williams, whistleblower and former Facebook director, has been told that she cannot promote her new book, Careless People, after parent company Meta was granted an emergency ruling in the US curtailing her publicity activities. Meta’s case was based on a non-disparagement clause in Wynn-Williams’ severance agreement and does not address any of the claims made in the book.
Wynn-Williams joined Facebook in 2011, eventually becoming the company’s global public policy director. Her book makes several serious allegations, including that the company worked closely with the Chinese government to enable censorship. She has also filed a whistleblower complaint in the US claiming that Meta misled investors.
The book’s publisher, Macmillan, is not bound by the agreement, which may be reassessed at a future hearing.
What I’m listening to: Broken Veil and Podyssey
I have two great new podcasts for you this week!
Broken Veil
Broken Veil, from Will Maclean and Joel Morris, is a Lovecraft Investigations-style look at strange, possibly supernatural, happenings deep in the Essex countryside, “a psychogeographic journey into the strangeness close at hand”.
When three friends independently report peculiar experiences in which mundane events – a routine medical, a stand-up gig, and a location scouting visit – all turned a bit weird, Will and Joel’s curiosity is piqued. Visiting the alleged location of two of the events reveals nothing, but their exploration of a second location throws up more questions than it answers.
Alex Andreou’s Podyssey
Alex Andreou’s Podyssey takes a look at classical Greek myths and asks if there is more to them than meets the eye and what lessons they have for modern times.
He starts off with the myth of Narcissus and Echo, a story frequently assumed to be about “conceit or vanity”, but which is really “a story of unrequited love and pain, of the corruption of innocence, of losing oneself.” Alex talks to a variety of experts to get their view on everything from ancient Greek attitudes towards nature, the impact of the invention of the mirror on how Narcissus has been portrayed and his story interpreted, and the way that the myth influences modern films.
Both Broken Veil and Podyssey are great listens, so give them a go and let me know what you think!
Obligatory cat picture
Copurrnicus looking coy in his cat tree.
He’s had a bit of a rough week this week, poor lad, as Fluffbomb the Greater, whom we now know is called Cloud (with Fluffbomb the Lesser’s real name being Luna), has decided that his garden is hers.
The back fence is being replaced, so Cloud and Luna currently have unfettered access to the garden. Poor Copurrnicus is feeling both a bit frustrated that he can’t just go out when he fancies it, and that other cats are taking his territory!
That’s it for this week. Be well, and I’ll see you in a fortnight!
Suw