Will ‘Ted Lasso’ End With Season 3? What to … believe
“Ted Lasso” returns for its third season on Wednesday, and while there are certainly questions about whether AFC Richmond will finally go all the way – or whether Nate will get what he deserves – there’s one big question: is this actually the last season?
The Emmy award-winning Apple TV+ series, about an American coaching a football team in London has long been described as a three-season series — but executive producer, writer, and star Jason Sudeikis is non-committal about what comes next.
“I’m still in it,” he said in a recent interview.
“We’re still editing the last few episodes, so it’s really something I haven’t had time to do, despite the fact that there’s a lot of wonder and curiosity… from the press or fans – and certainly it seems that people in show business are equally interested,” he laughed. “That answer will probably come when there’s enough room for the question to really land.”
Brendan Hunt, who plays assistant coach Beard, (whose first name “has not been revealed,” the actor said. “We don’t know if he doesn’t have one, but he certainly doesn’t seem to be taking advantage of it.”) is also an executive producer and writer of the show.
“We always envisioned it as this three-part suite or three-part story,” Hunt says, but admits the show’s success has added more questions than answers to that original plan. “So the door is still open to — after this suite is done — that we might pick up something else in this world.
When asked if there is a character from the series that Hunt would like to see explored further, Hunt replies, “Phoebe (Roy Kent’s young niece) as she battles London’s drug-ridden underworld.”
Brett Goldstein, who plays Roy Kent, the Richmond player turned coach with a gruff look and a heart of gold, is a clear escape. He played Hercules in the credits of ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ and is the creator and executive producer of ‘Shrinking’.”, also on Apple TV+. He credits “Ted Lasso” for giving him creative opportunities he had only dreamed of.
“I had worked for years and years and years and 12 people had seen everything, you know, and then doing a show that a lot of people watch is different. It’s really different,” says Goldstein. “Without being cheesy, I learned an awful lot from working on ‘Ted Lasso,’ and I will carry those lessons into everything else I do,” he said.
Toheeb Jimoh had only been acting professionally for two years when he was cast as player Sam Obisanya.
“I am at a stage where this show allows me to stand on my own two feet as an artist. I more or less absorbed the lasso way in the same way as all the other players,” says Jimoh. “Ted says, ‘It’s not about wins or losses, it’s about these players becoming the best version of themselves, both on and off the field.’ I really feel like this is the same lesson that ‘Ted Lasso’ taught us young actors on the show, it’s about becoming the best version of ourselves both on and off screen, you know?”
Hannah Waddingham, who plays AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton, was already an accomplished stage performer prior to “Ted Lasso” and has other exciting jobs lined up, including a role in “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two.” But she still wonders if she’ll ever be able to duplicate the ‘Ted Lasso’ experience.
‘I don’t know about you guys here, but Brits are natural brooders. It scares me that I may never have that again, because it’s such a beautiful form of symbiosis with all of us,” she says.
For now, Sudeikis seems more willing to dig into what the show has meant to him than what lies ahead.
“I see it through the eyes of my kids when we go somewhere and the way people stand up to myself and… each of us, how loving people are,” he says, jokingly doubting the cast of “Succession gets about the same reception. “I’m sure they’re excited to see them because they’re all insanely talented, but it’s a different vibe on that show and a different family, if you will. So being surrounded by that kind of kindness and having it reflected back to you – especially in front of kids or family – was really, really touching.