This Day in Pop Culture for August 14

2020: People ‘Believe’ in Ted Lasso

The character of Ted Lasso began long before the TV series debuted on this day. Jason Sudeikis developed the character for a series of TV commercials for NBC Sports’ coverage of England’s Premier League. The TV series (which was developed by Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt and Joe Kelly) dealt with the trials of an American football coach working as a soccer coach in the UK where the team’s owner secretly hopes that he will fail.

In addition to Sudeikis, the three-season series also starred Hannah Waddingham, Phil Dunster, Brett Goldstein and Juno Temple. The show was crazy popular with fans and a huge win for the new streaming service, Apple TV+.

Ted Lasso was nominated for 61 Emmy Awards during its three seasons and won 13. No premiere date has been set yet, but season 4 is expected to air in 2026.

1965: Sonny & Cher’s Song Becomes a #1 Hit

Written late at night in the basement of Sonny and Cher Bono’s home, the song, “I Got Your Babe” became the couple’s first #1 hit song on this day where it stayed for three weeks. It was the first single taken from the couple’s debut album, Look at Us and became their biggest as well. More than a million of the singles were sold and the song was certified Gold.

In a bizarre stunt, and many years after the death of Sonny, a version of the song was re-recorded by Cher and animated characters Beavis and Butt-Head in 1993.

In 2011, Billboard and Rolling Stone magazine declared that the song was one of the greatest duets of all time. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017. (Image: Wikimedia)

1976: Move Over Scooby-Doo?

Hanna-Barbera’s Scooby-Doo cartoons were so popular, the duo continued to make numerous teenager mystery-themed shows. Like the Mystery Inc. gang, the Clue Club, which debuted on this day in 1976 on CBS, also featured four teens (Larry, Pepper, D.D. and Dottie).

Instead of the Mystery Machine, the gang rode in a dune buggy and they were aided by a bloodhound (Woofer) and a basset hound (Wimper) in their crime-solving adventures.

The 16-episode show ran for one season but sections of the show featuring just the dogs were cut down and repackaged as Woofer & Wimper Dog Detectives for The Skatebirds in 1977 and The Three Robotic Stooges in 1978) and then later rebroadcast as a whole in 1978 to 1979. (Image: Hanna- Barbera)