BELIEVE! 'Ted Lasso' cast to discuss 'importance of mental well-being' with President Joe Biden at the White House
WASHINGTON D.C., USA: Apple TV+ series ‘Ted Lasso’ is one of the best TV shows on the planet right now and it has made people realize that simplicity triumphs over everything. Apart from being such an extraordinary series, it has also given a voice to people who experience mental health struggles while working in different fields and it seems even the President of the United States appreciates how the series is managing to create a lot of impact in the lives of the people. So much so, that the POTUS is set to meet the entire cast of ‘Ted Lasso’ in the White House.
According to a tweet by Jennifer Molina, the White House Deputy Communications Director, Jason Sudeikis, along with the show's entire cast, will meet President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden in the White House to discuss “the importance of mental health and well-being.”
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Tomorrow: Jason Sudeikis and @TedLasso cast will meet with @POTUS and @FLOTUS to discuss the importance of mental health & well being https://t.co/FcB3B3Chmx https://t.co/1mO6ISN4qy
— Jennifer Molina (@JenMolina46) March 19, 2023
The official Twitter account of POTUS also shared a photo of a yellow poster with ‘BELIEVE’ written all over it. The sign has been taped above a door leading to the Oval Office. If you have been watching the show closely, you’ll realize that the poster is the exact replica of what we see in the show.
Who will be present during the meeting?
The cast members that will be joining the discussion include Brett Goldstein, Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift, Brendan Hunt, Phil Dunster, Toheeb Jimoh, Cristo Fernandez, Kola Bokinni, Billy Harris, and James Lance.
Since the beginning, the Emmy-winning series has focused on the issue of mental health and taken viewers on a journey that’s so rewarding. In Season 2, the titular character played by Sudeikis had to take therapy sessions after it was revealed that he was suffering from panic attacks due to the things that took place during his younger years. The show also gives a wonderful look at how therapists work as well. In one of the scenes in Season 2, Lasso makes it clear that the reason he never went into therapy because the therapist is paid to listen to your problems. The therapist asks the coach if he cares about his players even though he is paid to train them. That scene depicted an important aspect of therapy.
The series is currently airing its third season on Apple TV+ and in one of the upcoming episodes, we’ll see the show talking about a person’s mental well-being again and give us a perspective that a person can look pretty normal from the outside, but a lot of things might be bothering them from the inside.
1 in 25 Americans lives with serious mental illness
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 50% of people are diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their life, and 1 in 25 American lives with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression. Meanwhile, in a report released by Mental Health America in 2023, 20.78% of adults were experiencing a mental illness during 2019-2020, equivalent to over 50 million Americans. On the other hand, 1 in 10 youth in the US is experiencing depression that is severely impairing their ability to function at school or work, at home, with family, or in their social life.
Kansas, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Idaho, Nebraska, Virginia, Florida, and Washington are some of the worst-affected states and indicate a higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care.