Apple TV+ scored so big with this one, you knew the squad from AFC Richmond had to come back for more.
“Ted Lasso,” the surprise mega hit that ran for three seasons between 2020 and 2023, is closing in on an official deal to return for a fourth season, according to reporting from Deadline.
The show starred Jason Sudeikis as the title-character, a Kansas college football coach who took over the reins of a dysfunctional soccer team in the English Premier League. Deadline reports that Sudeikis is in talks to reprise his role as the wholesome, happy-go-lucky coach.
The report comes as series studio Warner Bros. Television picked up options on three key actors: Hannah Waddingham (AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Walton), Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent) and Jeremy Swift (Leslie Higgins).
Others that are likely to return include Brendan Hunt (Coach Beard) and Juno Temple (Keeley Jones). It’s unclear how many of the wide cast of characters would return for season 4.
The show supposedly came to an end with season 3, but its success gave executives hesitation to end the phenomenon so early.
Deadline reports that the fourth season could start production as early as 2025.
The show’s revival depended on the willingness of Sudeikis to return to the starring role, per Deadline.
The show was based off of a series of comedic sketches produced by NBC Sports in 2013 to promote the network’s English Premier League coverage. In those sketches, Sudeikis portrayed Lasso, a former American football coach who took his talents to London’s Tottenham Hotspur to coach the team.
The sketches, which shared jokes with the eventual Apple TV+ series, poked fun at Americans’ misunderstanding of the sport of soccer.
Keeping in with the uplifting theme of the show, “Ted Lasso” became an underdog story of its own in the world of entertainment. The scoffed-at idea became a cultural hit and won 13 Emmy Awards, including two for Sudeikis.