Jason Sudeikis addresses ‘Ted Lasso’ spinoff rumor: ‘Desire to come back...’
Jason Sudeikis has shut down the rumors that AFC Richmond’s women’s team was first planned as a ‘Ted Lasso’ spinoff. In an interview with ScreenRant, the actor and co-creator said the Season 3 finale left several story possibilities open for viewers on purpose. Although the women’s team became the focus for Season 4, it was not designed to launch a separate series. Sudeikis said the creative team believed the show was ending after Season 3 and wanted fans to imagine what could follow.
Talking about the rumors, he said, “Oh gosh. Well, that was never true. The whole end montage was with the spirit and the idea definitely being that the show was over, but to leave some things open-ended and let people, fans of the show or even the more creative lot that like to do their own sort of fiction, whether for others to consume or just each other. Here are a bunch of launching-off points for you. [A spinoff] was never the case.”
He continued, “But eventually, at some point when the desire to come back was a clearer path for us, it was a no-brainer that it was going to be the women's team. We had a few dalliances of, ‘Oh, would it be maybe over here in the States?’ But it just felt right once we figured out the reason why Ted would go back, because that happens all the time. You leave places, you go back to places, see what happens and who's changed and what's changed.”
The Season 3 finale showed Ted returning home to the United States. It also featured Keeley Jones presenting Rebecca Welton with a proposal for an AFC Richmond women’s team. The scene fueled speculation that Apple TV could continue the story through a spinoff without Ted, but Sudeikis said it was one of several open endings. Apple senior vice president of Services Eddy Cue said Season 3 was initially considered the end. The women’s-team concept changed that position by offering another way into AFC Richmond’s story.
Cue said, “Look, we were done. Jason was done. One of the things that I love about working with the best people is we felt like we had reached the top. There was nothing more to the story. We wanted it to end. And Jason and the team came up with this whole new story on their own, which we loved. There was a completely different angle to it, but it's going to bring all the heart. The love, the laughter, all the things that you loved about it. We got to believe again.”
Season 4 brings Ted back to Richmond to coach its new women’s team. Sudeikis said the writers briefly considered setting the story in the United States before finding the reason for Ted to return to England. New episodes of ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 stream on Wednesdays on Apple TV.
