Ted Lasso, the comedy series following an American soccer coach at fictional English Premier League club AFC Richmond, will return for a fourth season.
Apple TV+ has confirmed Jason Sudeikis will reprise his role as Coach Lasso in the Emmy award-winning show, with the release date for the fourth season still to be announced.
Speaking on Jason and Travis Kelce’s podcast New Heights, Sudeikis explained his character would be coaching a women’s team in the new season.
“We’re writing season four now, that’s the official word,” Sudeikis said. “Ted’s coaching a women’s team.”
Sudeikis will act as executive producer on the latest season, alongside Brendan Hunt (Coach Beard), Joe Kelly, Jane Becker, Jamie Lee and Bill Wrubel. Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent) and Leanne Bowen will serve as writers and executive producers.
Season three premiered in March 2023 and the final episode appeared to indicate the end of the entire show, with the character of Ted departing AFC Richmond to return home to Kansas.
The season finale had left the door open to the show venturing into women’s soccer, with Juno Temple’s character Keeley presenting AFC Richmond owner Rebecca (Hannah Waddington) with a proposal for the club to start a women’s side.
Asked if Ted would be returning to the United States in the upcoming season, Sudeikis replied: “Yeah that’s too many questions… it’s only because I don’t know.”
Ted Lasso debuted on Apple TV during the Covid-19 pandemic and became a word-of-mouth success. It was the most Emmy-nominated comedy series in its first season, and earned successive Outstanding Comedy Series Emmys for seasons one and two. Season three, however, received mixed reviews.
In October 2021, The Athletic reported the Premier League had secured a lucrative licensing deal worth as much as £500,000 ($647,000) with Ted Lasso.
Sudeikis said in a press release: “As we all continue to live in a world where so many factors have conditioned us to ‘look before we leap, in season four, the folks at AFC Richmond learn to LEAP BEFORE THEY LOOK, discovering that wherever they land, it’s exactly where they’re meant to be.”
(Apple TV+)
