TED LASSO Interview With Music Supervisor Tony Von Pervieux

Ted Lasso is a show that’s garnered a devoted following over the last few years thanks to the unswerving optimism of its eponymous lead portrayed by Jason Sudeikis. However, while the show was continuously buoyed by the amiable nature and homespun wisdom of Ted, it thrived as a true ensemble piece with a beloved cast of characters.

Behind the scenes, it was very much the same taking a village of creative minds to bring us each episode and that includes the music. With season 3 of the soccer workplace comedy recently coming to an end, we got the opportunity to speak with the show’s musical supervisor Tony Von Pervieux about his work on the show and its latest season. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Tynan Yanaga for Film Inquiry: I know that maybe some of our readers might not know what a music supervisor does so would you be able to briefly explain what your day-to-day looks like?

Tony Von Pervieux: Yeah, absolutely. So a music supervisor’s role is to work with songs and needle drops – sometimes the composer on the show. We’re often hired by a producer on a TV series so I’ve worked with Bill Lawrence for the past, like 8 to 10 years on most of his shows. And when they bring us on essentially, what we’re doing is helping them – especially on a new series – figure out the tone of the show musically.

So we go in there and obviously, if there are any scripted songs we also deal with the clearance process, and budgeting for all the needle drops. But we go in there and we work with the producers and the editors to basically temp in music, figure out what works for the show – how to make improvements on it, and then once we’ve settled on what music sticks in the episode, then we go out and clear all the music to make sure that we have all the legitimate rights for the songs from the rights holders.

I know that you appreciate music, but then there are also a lot of technical aspects to this process. Would you say that your job is both a science and an art?

Tony Von Pervieux: Well, I mean it can be. There’s a big creative component to what we do, right? We often get sent many, many songs by email either directly through a publisher or label or the artists themselves. And so we listen through music that we think could be a good source for a specific type of scene.

Whether it’s like an emotional scene or something that requires a little bit more energy. In Ted Lasso, we used a lot of really good catalogue songs that had a lot of energy.

And so I go through the music and based on my ability to hear through that I either save songs for potential uses in upcoming episodes, and then I get to work with the music editor often to try and find the right song, and use the best parts of the song when they’re cutting in the music for that scene. So it’s a little bit creative and a lot of it is just managing situations.

There’s a lot of different opinions on music, right? Because everyone has a different opinion on what works and what doesn’t and some people have specific tastes – personal tastes – and whether that applies to the actual show you’re working on, your job is to try and help steer in the right direction what music to use and how to use it.

So what we’re often doing is selling the best song for that scene and making sure that we can hopefully convince the producers that this is the best option. But you know, sometimes you go with what the producer wants at the end of the day because they make the final decision. 

From my own experience watching the show, especially season 2 and on, I feel like you introduced the audience to so many songs that I may have not searched out on my own. 

Tony Von Pervieux: Oh, cool, yeah. 

Yeah, it seems like you are a bit of a tastemaker through the process. But is that something that you are thinking about or is it just an added aspect?

Tony Von Pervieux: I mean there are songs that when I come across them – whether they’re from an unknown artist or a rising artist – I love to definitely try and find those gems. It’s important to introduce people because people really want to know new music.

I mean in this show we had the great opportunity to use a lot of songs that we’ve remembered in the past, but have not heard in a while and it was often – between me and Jason – sometimes finding songs that we’re like, Okay, we feel like this song should be like a catalogue song.  Something that was like from the ‘70s, ‘80s or ‘90s and what song haven’t we heard in a long time that could fit in the scene?

So, often we’re looking for those kinds of gems, but then, at the same time, we love using artists that we’ve either never heard or there’s a new song from a new artist that we think would resonate with our viewers. 

So it’s fun to find those gems and to have the opportunity to use a really good variety of the vast network of music and even genres. Like we go from hip-hop to alternative to classic rock. It just depends on the specific scene, but this show’s given us the chance to really use whatever we want.

Yeah, I know it’s very eclectic, which has been amazing. Over the course of the seasons, it must have gotten at least a bit easier to license when you had a popular following.

Tony Von Pervieux: Yeah. 

I was curious if there was any evolution in the soundtrack as far as the themes of the show, or any progressions that you saw between seasons one and three with the songs you used.

Tony Von Pervieux: Speaking to the ability to get access to these songs, it did become easier as people became familiar with the show. During season one, there were songs that were a little bit problematic to try and get at first. Like “Let It Go,” which was a song Rebecca sings in front of the entire team. 

Disney owns the rights to that. There’s a committee that makes a decision on whether or not the song will be licensed for that use and being a season one show, no one had seen it yet. It was not out and it being a comedy, everyone’s always concerned if someone’s gonna make fun of it or butcher the song when they sing it. And you know, initially, it was denied.

So I had to go back and make sure that we got the song that we wanted and had to prove to them that Hannah Waddingham is on the West End. She’s an amazing singer. She will not butcher this song, and it was such a beautiful moment because it was relating to her goddaughter. So there were factors that they were unaware of that I had to go back and make them aware of, and we got our reversal so that we were allowed to use it. 

I think after that point, after season one, and just the word of mouth on the show, everyone realized, Okay, this is a really good show. It’s very well written. The cast is amazing, so people were a lot more lenient on obviously letting us use the songs. And of course, a lot of them really wanted to get their songs in there.

So you have famous artists who have hit up their publishing label, Please get our music on the show. So it was kind of a compliment to have people really resonate with this, and love the way we use music, and really wanted to try and get their music in there.

And I think the progression was just that things got a little bit easier as we went through it, but the music didn’t change. I think the one thing is the episodes got a little longer, so we got to use a lot more music and create these moments where we got to spend a little bit of money and use some of the bigger songs, and in some big situations, too – like “She’s A Rainbow” by The Rolling Stones – where we utilize not only the full song but extend it by 2 minutes, and it’s really a moment for  Roy Kent.

Thematically, Tom Howe, the composer on the show, did a really amazing job of defining different character themes and show themes, and that obviously progressed and continued to get even better. But even in season one you can hear what he did with Marcus Mumford on the main title, and everything seemed pretty, almost effortless for him to define what those themes were.

I was thinking over Season 3 in particular, and I really enjoyed the Amsterdam episode, and how some of the music was used there. I’m a big Butch Cassidy fan, so to have both the bicycle scene and then the bromance between Roy and Jamie that was fun. Then the Chet Baker sequences with Higgins, I really appreciated both of those. I was wondering if you had any comments about any of those moments, or how those came about.

Tony Von Pervieux: Yeah, so the Chet Baker was scripted. I communicated with some of the writer-producers like Joe Kelly early in the process for some of the music, and the producers will have songs in their heads relating to famous films that are like an homage. 

I think the bicycle scene is one that was really well done, and such a great moment highlighting those two finally getting along and figuring each other out so that was really cool. And then with Chet Baker – they planned to shoot this in Amsterdam, and they really make things authentic with everything that they do, and all the music choices, especially, so this was one that they felt Higgin’s character was going to be – they had to use a Chet Baker song.

So in that process, I worked with them in the script stage and made sure that the choice that they ended up wanting to use for this, which was “Let’s Get Lost,” let’s make sure we can clear the rights, which typically is not problematic in that genre. It’s just a matter of making sure we know exactly where the writers are, and that I can get access to who owns the rights or who reps the rights.

So for that one, it was mainly just going after it and making sure that we had everything all set, and that in production we were able to get the audio done and pre-produced prior to shooting it so that we can shoot on-camera.

That whole episode – Brendan Hunt is a music geek, I mean, he is a very knowledgeable person when it comes to music so it’s really cool working with him. Because when we were discussing this episode, he had been to Amsterdam many, many times, so the idea was we wanted to keep it authentic and try and use as much of the old school Amsterdam artists that were popular, but also that boat scene required so many different songs. 

So as we progress through the episode we’re using Shocking Blue [“Venus”] and then André Haze‘s song [“Zij Gelooft In Mij (Hazes In Ahoy)”] was a big moment because we wanted to have that on-camera visual vocal between the two characters and sing that powerful song. So that was something that we had discussed with Brendan, who helped tee up some of those choices.

That’s great. Thank you. Do you have any moments from Season 3 with the music that were a favorite of yours for some reason?

Tony Von Pervieux: Yeah, there were a few because we had so many good songs, it’s hard to pick one, but I could probably tell you a few of them that just kind of made me feel something.

I mean starting in episode one, season three, when I was working with the editor early on in the process after they were trying to put together their first cut, there was the moment near the beginning where Ted is cleaning his apartment with all the Legos his son just left behind.

And you know the editor was like, Okay, we need something that’s not going to step on the dialogue because he’s talking to Dr. Sharon but we want something that’s going to carry us all the way through that scene.

So I went on an extensive search for music because there’s a lot of times you won’t find an instrumental for a song from the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s. They just don’t exist. So I finally came across Bob Dylan’s “Wigwam,” and I thought it just kind of fit perfectly in my head, and I sent A.J. [Catoline] one song. I usually send multiple songs to try out, but I said, “Please use this. I think this is gonna work.”

And then, of course, we got to use a Beatles song [“Let It Be”], which was one to check off my list. The “Three Little Birds” [Bob Marley and The Wailers] was pretty fun to bookend with Rebecca, and then the whole cast singing it in the bus through the end credits. That was a fun one.

I will say both original songs in episodes 11 and 12 were very special to me. The Sam Ryder “Fought & Lost” in 3-11, which is towards the end, that was a product of me discussing with Tom Howe, the composer, wanting to do an original song for season 3 almost 2 years ago and then him saying, I’d love to, and then he’s like I’d love to write something with Jamie Hartman, who’s a good buddy of mine and of course, I know Jamie’s work really well. 

So they wrote this amazing demo and put that together and sent it to me. Obviously, it was super rough at the time, but then they ended up meeting Sam Ryder, and Sam is also friends with Jamie, and everything just fit perfectly and so they got together and finished the song, and the next edition of that song was the final product pretty much, and it was phenomenal – so well done – and the way Tom kind of wove it in to start the scene where it felt like score and then came into the vocals near a minute later, then you realize it’s a song.

And then working with Max Martin and Ed Sheeran on “A Beautiful Game” was amazing because Max has always been one of my favorite producers of all time.

It feels like he’s so under the radar – most people don’t even know about who he is, and he’s created some of the best pop songs in history. And he’s a genius, and he’s just a humble, nice guy so to be able to work with somebody like that on something, and then have Jason completely write the scene for the song, and shoot it, and have this moment that just works so well, I thought it was such a good original song to have for the show.

And then, you know you have “So Long, Farewell” so I feel like there’s been a lot of music in season 3 that I can kind of point to. But then there’s the episode where we use Primal Scream and The Monkees, Alabama Shakes and Smokey [Robinson] and [John] Fogerty, and Supergrass.  

It’s all over the board! 

Tony Von Pervieux: All over but it just fit pretty effortlessly, and even at the very end, the song by Tekno, the Nigerian artist, called “Enjoy,” I think it’s the end of 7, season 3. It was such a happy song with Sam’s dad and him after the crew just helped fix up his restaurant, and they are cooking up some great Nigerian food and even that moment just gives me goosebumps sometimes. 

And then the one that I really loved using because I thought it was super funny and perfect in 10 — it was over Roy Kent’s character. He gets that tie-dyed shirt he’s forced to wear at the office, and everyone’s just staring at him.

You get the awkward laugh from one of the characters, and then we have “Red Right Hand” playing by Nick Cave, which just fit his character so perfectly to me. So by the end of it when we’re spotting that episode you have a chuckle because it’s pretty spot-on for Roy Kent.

Yeah. That was a great one. I wanted to sum up by asking, it seems like a lot of modern shows or movies are using music ironically, but it seems like Ted Lasso respects the songs as much as it respects the characters, and I was wondering if that was a concerted effort by everyone, or if that just kind of happened.

Tony Von Pervieux: I think everything is a concerted effort. The way they script things – not just with music, but everything is very detailed, everything is envisioned by the writer-producers. They knew exactly what they were doing in every situation. So it was cool to even watch seasons one through three and be able to see all those Easter eggs and watch things come to fruition. 

Everything got pieced together and it was all by intention. These guys have such a great sense of creating these characters with these storylines and then linking them all together.

And I felt like they did a really good job, even with the music, making these funny moments paying homage to some of the pop culture references that we used that I often had to clear. And there are some that didn’t need to be cleared for certain reasons because we didn’t sing a line or something. But everything was planned so nothing really happened perchance that I can remember. I think it comes down to genius writing. 

That’s very true. The very last thing I wanted to ask you was, is there anything you hope that audiences take away from this show, and its music, either in season 3 or the entire series?

Tony Von Pervieux: Yeah, this show’s a comedy, but it’s definitely more than comedy, right? It’s almost like a dramedy, because there’s so many moments where it’s like real life, and there’s no laugh track.

Everything is done purposely and very well executed, and we really spent a lot of time making sure that the music was as good as it possibly can be throughout the entire series. And I’ve worked on a lot of comedies before, most of them like half-hour comedies, and you’re obviously putting in music that works.

But for me the music in this show had a lot of meaning and a lot of heart and stayed true to what we do on the show overall, the show’s theme overall. Even though we used a lot of different genres so there’s nothing specific – it wasn’t like one specific genre that we used and that was the entire theme of the show. 

We got to explore a lot of different avenues, and I feel like what people don’t realize is there was a lot of thought put into what we used, how to make it better, and even how to sell these songs through the editing process. 

A lot of the time we’re up for some Emmy considerations and on the music end for original songs and supervision. But we’re competing against all the big dramas, and the music is lumped into one category, unfortunately, so we’re competing against everybody, and when you’re doing that it just makes things a lot more difficult. 

It would be great for people to realize this isn’t just your typical comedy. This is a special show with amazing writing, great acting, and hopefully, people recognize that the music – even though it’s a small part of everything on the show – that it was a meaningful part of it.

Yeah. Well, I definitely think it was so thank you for that. 

Tony Von Pervieux: Thank you, I appreciate that.

Film Inquiry would like to thank Tony Von Pervieux again for taking the time to speak with us!

Seasons 1-3 of Ted Lasso can be streamed on Apple TV+. This conversation was edited lightly for length and clarity.