Is ‘Ted Lasso’ Returning for Season 4? If Not, We Have Some Spin-Off Ideas
GOOOOOOOALLLL! “Ted Lasso” fans got a special treat this weekend when it was revealed that the show’s studio, Warner Bros. Television, had picked up the options on three of the original cast members who were contracted through the UK actor’s union Equity. According to Deadline, those cast members are Hannah Waddingham, who played owner of AFC Richmond Rebecca Welton, Brett Goldstein, the man behind player-turned-coach Roy Kent, and Jeremy Swift, Rebecca’s assistant and Director of Football Operations Leslie Higgins.
In a separate announcement, Puck News revealed that Jamie Tartt actor Phil Dunster is not expected to return, as he’s contracted for another project that conflicts with the scheduling for the apparent upcoming fourth season. Co-creator Bill Lawrence also spoke on the topic recently with Collider, claiming that most of the team were down to return, but it was up to the show’s lead Jason Sudeikis to pull the trigger.
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“Groupthink sometimes happens, even without talking to each other, and every actor, actress, writer, producer on that show — and [we didn’t get] together and decide this was the message — we all loved the experience,” Lawrence said. “As fans, we’d all kill if it was going again, but everybody would say the same thing, which is: whatever Jason feels like doing and whatever his decision is, we’re all down with it.”
Speaking to CBS Sports’ “Morning Footy” hosts in April 2023, prior to the series coming to a close, Brendan Hunt, who helped developed the series, wrote on it, and starred as Coach Beard, dispelled notions that the show would end with Season 3.
“I don’t know that it’s the last season of ‘Ted Lasso,'” Hunt said as he stroked his beard with intrigue.
Nonetheless, Sudeikis, the real force behind the show, has yet to make any official announcement of the show’s return, implying that this recent contract news may not be for a Season 4, but potentially a spin-off centered around one or more of the beloved “Ted Lasso” side characters. In considering this possibility, IndieWire has put together our list of spin-off ideas we’d like to see happen.
“The Richmond Way”
Teased in the final episode of Season 3 was the possibility of a new female-centered show focused around a Richmond Women’s Team and while we think this would be a phenomenal idea — one that, frankly, should’ve already been developed and airing by now — we also feel that there’s a bigger opportunity with this concept than just replaying the hits with female characters. Taking a page out of Trent Crimm’s book, “The Richmond Way,” what this spin-off could explore is not just the building of a women’s football team, but how the city as a whole acclimates to such an expansion.
This would fit within another premise set up at the end of Season 3 that sees Rebecca handing over stake in the team to fans. Emboldened by this new level of accessibility, it might be interesting to see the conflicts that come about as a result of fans taking issue with the choices of management. It would also serve as a great extension of the ethos Ted Lasso put in place in that helping people do the right thing may not be the easiest endeavor, but it’s always the thing most worth doing. It would also expand the greater mission of the original series by exploring how Richmond grows together not just as a team, but as an entire community.
“F**k It”
A serialized version of “Challengers” set in the world of football? Yes, please. While many feel the love triangle between Keely, Roy, and Jamie was handled poorly in the initial run of the series, a spin-off would offer an opportunity to not only course correct, but expand on a plot-line most believe was given short-shrift. However, rather than just pair up Keely with one or the other or play deeper into some kind of ménage-à-trois between the three characters, we believe this spin-off should be Keely’s own version of “Sex and the City.”
Having been put in charge of discovering new financial sponsors to support both the men’s and women’s team at AFC Richmond, Keely is sent on a globe-trotting mission to meet with some of the richest philanthropists and football enthusiasts the world has to offer. From Paris to Mozambique, Abu Dhabi to Sydney, Keely is given the chance to experience new cultures, as well as new romantic partners, continuing her journey of self-discovery, all the while still pining for her boy at home, Roy Kent. Like many sitcoms, the narrative push of the series will come from a will they/won’t they between Keely and Roy, but with the possible subversion that Roy fully endorses Keely’s escapades as he’s still working on fixing himself and the team he’s inherited from Ted. In the end, both of their missions will serve as tests they must endure on the path to being the best partners they can be for one another.
“Clean Shaven”
Did somebody say prequel series? In the “Ted Lasso” universe, no character is more deserving of an origin story than Coach Beard and with where things left off for him at the end of Season 3, we’d much rather look backwards than forwards. Much has been hinted at in regards to Coach Beard’s past, including a prison stint for stealing meth, but actually diving into that history could not only illuminate our understanding of this character, but also provide the backdrop for a show that feels like both an extension of the original series and a whole new premise entirely. Consider how “Better Call Saul” managed to expand and recontextualize the world of “Breaking Bad” while maintaining a tone and vision all its own and you’ll have a rough idea of what we’re aiming for with Coach Beard.
With this comparison in mind, the show should probably start in the present, with Beard adjusting to married, conventional life, maybe even a kid on the way and a house in the suburbs, all of which feels like a death sentence to this intellectual wanderer who has such a deep zest for life. From this point, we flash back to Beard’s time in college where he met Ted and felt a similar sensation of being trapped on the bench. As he graduates and drifts apart from his best friend, Beard begins to lean into his baser instincts, taking advantage of this newfound post-collegiate freedom with reckless abandon and landing in heaps of trouble along the way. All of these memories will ultimately serve to remind Beard that being part of a team will always be better than acting like a lone wolf.
“Out of Play”
Honestly, as much as Nick Mohammed’s Nate worked to redeem himself after a villainous turn throughout Season 3, we still don’t want him anywhere near the Richmond pitch or working in professional football whatsoever frankly. Not because he isn’t a talented strategist or even a decent coach, but because he still has a lot of work to do on himself before he can face the pressure of the big leagues. Instead, we’d like to see Nate take a step back, both to focus on his relationship with hostess Jade and to find his love for the sport again in the most low-stakes way possible. Initially, we figured this might be done by seeing Nate coach a pre-teen soccer club, but as we aren’t exactly interested in seeing a children’s show, we realized Nate would be better suited to young adults at the secondary education level in England.
Joining the staff of a public school in Richmond as the football team’s new coach, Nate is given the task of turning a young, losing club into champions, if not on the pitch, then at least in their hearts. Tying in other characters from the series, we imagine Higgins might be involved too, as one of his sons is now being coached by Nate despite having no skills or coordination whatsoever. No matter, though, as Nate knows a good kit man when he sees one. In addition to his work on the field, Nate is also given a role as an educator, teaching gym and sexual education to teens who probably know a lot more than he does. In the process of coaching, Nate may also happen upon a star player who, with a little more training, could be ready to make the leap to AFC Richmond.
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