{
  "id": 1119615,
  "title": "They Flanderized Coach Beard",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/they-flanderized-coach-beard",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-14T17:43:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The A.V. Club",
    "slug": "the-a-v-club",
    "url": "https://www.avclub.com/ted-lasso-season-4-coach-beard-flanderization-brendan-hunt"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "They Flanderized Coach Beard, a trend that has plagued television shows for years. In a nutshell, it refers to the gradual flattening of a television character over the course of a series' run, as writers play into and exaggerate certain traits, at the expense of a more three-dimensional portrayal. The phenomenon's namesake is The Simpsons' Ned Flanders, who started out as a model citizen contrast to Homer Simpson's sloth, gluttony, and wrath, before becoming the type of person who might shoehorn these traits into everyday conversation. While Flanderization is a real issue, the author of the article argues that Ted Lasso's treatment of Coach Beard exemplifies the pitfalls of this trope, reducing a valuable supporting player to a caricature.",
  "summary": "Ted Lasso has fallen into another pernicious sitcom trap—one with its own, irritating, internet-bestowed name.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}