‘Ted Lasso’s Roy Kent is our New Nick Miller

No matter how you feel about Ted Lasso Season 2 so far, there’s something everyone who watches the Apple TV+ show seems to be in agreement about: Brett Goldstein‘s Roy Kent is absolutely swoon-worthy. Whether it’s the way he continues to swoon over girlfriend Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) or ferociously protect little niece Phoebe (Elodie Blomfield), the gruff football star-turned-coach clearly has an irrepressible heart of gold. So much so that people actually began to wonder if the actor playing the character was even real (or CGI).

Everyone’s obsession with Roy Kent shouldn’t be a total surprise. This is far from the first time that sitcom audiences have fallen head over heels over a male character simmering with frustration or struggling with basic adult communication skills. Our attachment to Roy Kent seems to be a natural evolution from our mid-10s crush on New Girl‘s Nick Miller (Jake Johnson). Both Roy Kent and Nick Miller are introduced as men caught in a state of arrested development, boxed in by their own deep-rooted insecurities and everyday frustrations. They both inspire huge crushes because although they are relatable messes of men, but more importantly, they really listen to and care about the women in their lives. And through those relationships, they — and their love interests — find growth. (And hilariously, through researching this piece, I discovered I’m not the first person to point this out!)

Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso tells the story of an optimistic American football coach who finds himself charged with leading a dysfunctional Premiere League British football team to victory. However the show’s success hinges on so much more than just that premise. Specifically, Ted Lasso is popular because of its brilliant ensemble cast. Two of the show’s biggest fan favorites are the aforementioned Roy Kent and Keeley Jones. Keeley is first introduced as a sweet, underestimated WAG dating Roy’s locker room nemesis, Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster). They soon break up and when Keeley begins to start a career marketing the team’s players, she and Roy can’t stop flirting with each other. Their romance is one of mutual respect, right down to Roy desperately wanting to do things right for once with Keeley. Which is harder for him than it might seem on paper…

We’re repeatedly told that Roy Kent is defined by his anger. When he speaks, he growls, and half the words that come out are expletives. He is a barely-healed bruise pushing through life. It’s only when Coach Lasso begins to show Roy his penchant for leadership that he starts to focus his rage for good. He stands up to bullies and sticks up for the bullied. Oh, and he finally begins to soften just enough to romance Keeley. Their romance is one built on two older, wiser people trying not to make the same mistakes of the past. A key to this is honesty, but more importantly, listening.

If you’re still perplexed by how Roy Kent has seduced so many viewers, it’s tied to how he’s never underestimated Keeley. Rather, he sees and appreciates her in all her glory. And so, Roy and Keeley’s relationship is so endearing because we’ve seen them make each other better through their love. If that sounds familiar, it’s because a similar thing happened with Nick and Zooey Deschanel’s Jess on New Girl.

Like Roy Kent, Nick Miller doesn’t initially seem like pin-up material. Instead of Roy Kent’s prickly, scary exterior, Nick Miller suffers from acute laziness and stagnation. A wannabe novelist, his real career when we meet him is bartender. Of Jess’s three roommates in the loft, Nick is the most dirty, messy, and disgusting. He misses basic social cues and seems trapped in arrested development. And yet, Nick Miller is the one most viewers swooned over. Part of it is, like Roy, Nick’s imperfections were bizarrely relatable. Many adults struggle with the whole, uh, being an adult thing. The bigger reason though? Nick saw, listened to, and appreciated Jess and her whole sweet, twee, quirky deal.

The thing about both Roy Kent and Nick Miller is they are hopelessly imperfect characters. Roy can’t stop cursing and Nick struggles to complete simple, adult tasks (like keeping his bath towels straight). But we go nuts for both because underneath their imperfect exteriors are sensitive hearts of gold. Moreover, they actually see the women in their lives as full, complete, three dimensional people with their own dreams, needs, and desires. If that sounds like a low bar for a male character to hurdle, it is. And it’s also bizarrely rare.

So yeah, we’re head over heels for Roy Kent. And it’s obvious why. He’s our fucking new Nick Miller.

Where to stream Ted Lasso