Love for creator James Burrows’ barfly sitcom started early on in “Ted Lasso” when someone said “Cheers” to Ted and he awkwardly replied, “Night Court,” referencing legendary NBC Thursday programming. mid-’80s night. There’s also a natural connection between sports and drinking between the two shows. Sam Malone is a retired Boston Red Sox relief pitcher and one of his first bartenders, the silly but lovable coach character (Nicholas Colasanto), was his former coach when they were both in the big leagues. Coach was killed off at the end of Season 3 and later replaced by Woody Harrelson. All the Cheers regulars talk about life on and off the pitch the same way Ted, Coach Beard and the Richmond faithful do in Mae’s (Annette Badland) pub, Crown & Anchor in “Ted Lasso.”
The pub scenes are a clear parallel between the two shows, and the ending scenes of “Cheers” and “Ted Lasso” mirror each other almost exactly. After eleven seasons, the final shot of “Cheers” features Sam straightening a framed photo of Geronimo before turning off the lights for the night. It shows just how much affection Sam has for the bar, but it’s also a little hats off to Coach and Colasanto, who passed away a few years after ‘Cheers’ debuted, eventually becoming one of the sitcoms. the most successful of all time.
At the end of “So Long, Farewell”, Mae approaches a photo containing the exact same photo of Geronimo and straightens it. It’s a perfect nod to “Cheers” and a fitting ending for “Ted Lasso” which sees Mae tending to her pub and thinking about Ted in the same perfect little moment.