Credit: Apple TVTed Lasso was arguably the single biggest shared experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, a beloved comedy-drama about an American fish out of water in the world of British football. Now that the Apple TV+ series has officially concluded with a third season, fans have been desperately hoping for some kind of spinoff series to keep the good feelings flowing.
According to one of the primary directors of the series, there is little to no chance of a Ted Lasso spinoff actually happening, at least in the foreseeable future.
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‘Ted Lasso’: Origins
Interestingly enough, for a show that became a globally discussed phenomenon and eventually led to its cast visiting the White House, Ted Lasso originated as a character that creator/star Jason Sudeikis portrayed in a series of NBC commercials.
While the original commercials (created to promote NBC Sports’ coverage of the Premiere League) depicted Jason Sudeikis’ character as a belligerent outsider, the show reenvisioned him as a preternaturally cheerful figure with hidden wells of sadness and trauma. In short, it was the ideal show for an emotional time when people needed some hope.
Potential ‘Ted Lasso’ Spinoffs
In a recent interview with Awardsradar, veteran director Declan Lowney discussed the possibility of spinoffs and did not sound particularly positive.
After shooting down ideas about the finale (which he directed) as “fan fiction,” Lowney said “I think the most exciting one was Keeley’s (Juno Temple) pitch to Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) to create a Richmond women’s football team… We’ve seen captain Roy (Brett Goldstein) take over and we’ve seen Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) get married and stay in England probably. So there’s potential there for spin-offs. And then you’ve got Ted coaching a football league back in Kansas, so there is a potential spin-off there. If they want to do more, I’d be well up for it. But I don’t think that’s gonna happen for a while.”
As much as Declan Lowney might be up for it, it is clear that there are no actual plans for a spinoff, regardless of what fans think or want.
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Jason Sudeikis, who co-created Ted Lasso with Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly, announced back in March that the third season was the “end of this story that we wanted to tell,” which sounds pretty definitive. As much as he acknowledged the possibility of spinoffs occurring, would it really be the same Ted Lasso without Ted Lasso himself?
Would you watch a Ted Lasso spinoff without Jason Sudeikis? Let us know in the comments below!