On March 14 at 9:48 a.m., Apple TV+ posted a teaser for a fourth season of “Ted Lasso.” This was a horrible idea.
Don’t get me wrong — I love “Ted Lasso.” When the show originally released in 2020, my 15-year-old self was immediately hooked. It came out at the perfect time; the pandemic had just confined everyone to their homes with nothing to do but bake bread, stress out and watch TV. By the time the premiere rolled around, everyone needed a good laugh, and “Ted Lasso” was ready to deliver.
After binge-watching the first season on my own, I forced my parents to put it on during dinner, introduced all of my friends to it over weekly Zoom chats and even bought show merchandise for myself (a “Believe” sticker still sits proudly on my laptop today). And I wasn’t the only one who shared these sentiments — the first season alone received 20 Emmy nominations and brought home seven wins.
The show centers the titular Kansas native, Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis, “We’re the Millers”), a Division II American football coach hired to train Premier League soccer (or as the British say, football) in England. His fish-out-of-water story creates both dramatic and comedic tension throughout the first season as he learns his way around the soccer pitch and English culture. But what makes the story so universally adored aren’t the circumstances that Ted finds himself in, but rather Ted himself. Through relentless kindness, resounding enthusiasm and genuine authenticity, Ted immediately becomes the main draw to the show.
In seasons one and two, we watch as Ted struggles through a difficult divorce, panic attacks and traumatic memories, all while keeping a positive attitude and a smile on his face. The show became iconic for its feel-good tone and its ability to make viewers laugh, cry and smile at the same time. Beneath the surface of the two seasons, however, there was a lingering but undeniable truth: Ted Lasso won’t be there forever.
The premise of the show — his status as a fish out of water — implies that, eventually, he’ll find himself back in his usual pond. Although Ted is coaching in London now, he will inevitably return to Kansas. Multiple episodes focus on Ted’s relationship with his son, Henry (Gus Turner, “Loki”), who visits occasionally but mostly chats with his dad over video calls. These moments reinforce the reality that there is only one clear ending for Ted: He must eventually be reunited with his son and, in doing so, leave London behind for good.
Season three makes this abundantly clear. Although it’s not my favorite season by any means, it establishes very quickly that Ted Lasso is ready to go home. The first episode begins with a goodbye between Ted and Henry as his son leaves for America after visiting London for the summer. As Henry walks into the airport terminal, Ted looks on with deep longing in his eyes.
Throughout the entire season, there is a thick tension between Ted and the rest of the cast; he seems distant, unfocused and distracted when it comes to the football team and his relationships there. In episode 11, “Mom City,” Ted’s mother comes to visit for the express purpose of telling him that Henry misses his father. The episode ends with Ted breaking the news to his boss and dear friend, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham, “The Fall Guy”), that he has to go home. The final episode, “So Long, Farewell,” is dedicated to saying goodbye to Ted Lasso — not just the character, but the show itself. In the final moments of the series, viewers watch as Ted gets out of his taxi after a grueling nine-hour flight and falls right into the arms of his son.
After feeling like an outsider for so long, Ted is finally back where he feels most comfortable. It’s a lovely ending to highlight the show’s themes of change, acceptance, love and the strength and importance of close relationships, however temporary they may be. Season three was a fitting goodbye for Ted’s character, allowing him to finally receive well-deserved comfort and closure for himself and his family.
But now there’s a new season in the works, and Sudeikis is set to return for the new season, leaving fans asking one question: Why?
“Ted Lasso” clearly was a popular series beloved by hundreds of thousands of people, and it’s always hard for executives to say goodbye to that kind of success. However, regardless of any temptation to squeeze the show for every last dollar, it was clear the showrunners wanted to find a tasteful way of laying “Ted Lasso” to rest. Season three was that final goodbye, a respectful send-off for the series.
And when Apple TV+ announced the newest installment of the show, it inadvertently ruined the beautiful goodbye the showrunners had built. It’s clear that Apple TV+ misses the critical success and the fan reception the show provided the platform with, and it is not above stooping so low as to spit on the show’s grave. Whether Sudeikis is given a leading role or is simply a recurring guest in the new season, one thing is certain: Ted’s happy ending has been revoked.
Many fans speculate that this new season will be about women’s football. The last episode of season three showed Keeley (Juno Temple, “Fargo”), the Public Relations staff for Richmond, and Rebecca, the owner of the club, considering starting a women’s team. This idea has a ton of potential, allowing the two characters to be further developed while leading the new team to victory. But instead of branching this idea off into a show of its own, the showrunners decided to resurrect the original series even after season three had been designated the finale.
Like plenty of other fans, I miss my favorite characters like Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster, “Surface”) and Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein, “Shrinking). I would love to continue watching them develop after nearly winning the Champions League. There are many more plotlines to be explored, especially with the love triangle between Jaime, Roy and Keeley left unresolved at the end of the show. There is plenty of story to be told without Ted, but those stories could never be told in a fourth season of the original show.
With a title like “Ted Lasso,” the show just can’t function without the namesake’s presence. This creates a frustrating paradox: Season four can’t work with Ted there, but the show itself can’t work without him. So now Apple TV+ is in a bind — they could either have started a new show without the beating heart of the original series or beat a dead Kansan horse they dragged all the way back to London. Clearly, they chose the safe option.
If the platform wants more of Ted Lasso, the answer is simple: make a spin-off. People would love to watch Keeley, Rebecca and other beloved characters continue to evolve in a show of their own. Sure, Ted wouldn’t be there as the star, but his presence would have always been there in the background, especially after he touched the hearts of every character in the original series. Let those stories be told, but not in the shadow of “Ted Lasso.”
Daily Arts Contributor Ana Torresarpi can be reached at atorresa@umich.edu.
