‘Ted Lasso’ Stars May Return for Season 4 in Surprise Development

Warner Bros. TV is picking up the options on Waddingham, Goldstein and Jeremy Swift’s contracts, with talks underway for the likes of star Jason Sudeikis.

Jason Sudeikis in 'Ted Lasso' season 2, now streaming on Apple TV+.

Preview:

Apple TV+’s ‘Ted Lasso’ may return for a fourth season.
The production company behind the show has picked up options on several actors.
Negotiations will be needed with the likes of creator/star Jason Sudeikis to return.

After a slow start in August of 2020, the (initially) sweet-natured ‘Ted Lasso’ took pop culture by storm as it became reliable pandemic viewing for those in need of a shot of kindness and uplift.

It ran for two further seasons, with the most recent wrapping up last year, seemingly ending the show for the foreseeable future.

Turns out, the foreseeable future might not be as long as we all thought. According to Deadline, there is chatter about a potential fourth season.

Ted Lasso

"Believe in believe."

TV-MA3 SeasonsAugust 14th, 2020

Watch Ted Lasso Online

What’s happening with ‘Ted Lasso’?

(L to R) Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis and Brett Goldstein in 'Ted Lasso' season 2, now streaming on Apple TV+.

Nothing is concrete as yet, but there are some encouraging signs.

Warner Bros. TV, which financed and produced the series created by Jason Sudeikis (who also starred), Brendan Hunt (who played Coach Beard), Joe Kelly and Bill Lawrence, based on a series of NBC Sports commercials about Lasso, an NFL coach drafted into manage a failing British soccer team, has picked up three actors’ options.

The three –– Hannah Waddingham (team owner Rebecca Walton), Brett Goldstein (growling veteran player-turned-assistant-coach Roy Kent) and Jeremy Swift (Director of Football Operations Leslie Higgins) –– are all British actors who were contracted via the U.K’.s Equity.

And lest you think this is leading the one of the proposed spin-off shows, Deadline also mentions that WBTV is exploring negotiations with SAG-AFTRA members Sudeikis, Hunt and Juno Temple (who played Keeley Jones).

And that’s not all –– though an official greenlight is still far away at this point, there are hints that a writers’ room for a potential new batch of episodes that, if things work out, could be shooting next year.

Who might not return for a fourth season of ‘Ted Lasso’?

(L to R) Nick Mohammed, Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis and Brett Goldstein in 'Ted Lasso' season two, now streaming on Apple TV+.

So far, the likes of Phil Dunster (cocky star player Jamie Tart) seems unlikely to come back, since he’s already got a couple of shows on the go: Prime Video’s ‘The Devil’s Hour’ and Apple’s own ‘Surface’.

And while the cast have generally said they’d be thrilled to return to the roles, they’re all very popular in the wake of the series’ ending, so schedules may have to be juggled.

Plus, it’ll all depend on whether Sudeikis, who has always been the lynchpin for this one, actually has a good idea for a new run of episodes. Whether the show continues without him or not is something we’ll have to wait and find out.

Should ‘Ted Lasso’ return?

(L to R) Nick Mohammed and Jason Sudeikis in 'Ted Lasso,' season 3 coming soon to Apple TV+.

That’s a much bigger question. Even by Season 2, there were concerns that the dial was being shifted from the cuddly comedy side to weightier dramatic demands, and opinions were further mixed on Season 3.

Still, it ended on a relative high, so any future season will be judged against it, and that’s not something anyone should go into blindly. Do we want more ‘Ted Lasso’? Yes, but not if it turns into ‘Led Tasso’ (the “evil” alter ego Ted has sometimes used in coaching).