Spoilers ahead for Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 1.
Jamie Tartt's gone from scoring goals to scoring hearts. Because after being recalled back to Manchester City from AFC Richmond, Jamie stars on Lust Conquers All on Ted Lasso. Why exactly this top-scoring striker has forgone his successful football career to be on a reality dating show isn't clear just one episode in (though I'd bet Keeley dating Roy has a little something to do with it). But what is clear is that Lust Conquers All is Ted Lasso's spoof of Love Island.
Jamie's not much of a team player, which makes him perfect reality TV fodder. And what better reality show for him to be on than a Love Island-inspired one? And yes, it's of course the original U.K. version and not the CBS ripoff... as if you had to ask.
Love Island has gotten the scripted TV series spoof treatment before with Hulu's Four Weddings and a Funeral. Though rather than a tropical setting, Love Chalet had a winter theme. Ted Lasso's version may have only gotten about a minute of screentime in the Season 2 premiere, but it already nailed so many of the Love Island particulars:
- Drone shots of the remote villa on an island in the opening
- Weekly eliminations by the TV audience
- An attractive female host
- Neon signage
- Slo-mo pool exits
- Mic belts strapped around the contestants' incredibly toned stomachs with their weird mic necklaces
- Corny lines (Jamie's? "You can't get rid of me. I'm the island's top scorer... sexually.")
- On-camera interviews with a (fake) scenic background
Just look at Jamie on Lust Conquers All versus a screenshot from the Love Island Season 7 premiere below and tell me if you can spot the difference.
The Islander above is actually a footballer on this current season of Love Island — Toby Aromolaran. Sure, he plays on a "social media team" (??), but it still counts. And footballers were both the winner and runner-up of the previous season, leading The Guardian to question the connection between the sport and the reality show, so Ted Lasso tapped into this weird quirk of British pop culture.
While I would've preferred if Jamie had been on the horrifying Sexy Beasts, Lust Conquers All is still a decent parody. And if Jamie Tartt is going to go far on the "U.K.'s number one show," we're all going to need a top off of rosé like Roy. Cheers!
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Images: Apple TV+, ITV