For nearly two years, Ted Lasso fans have been tapping their ‘Believe’ signs and hoping for a season 4 of the Apple TV+ show. Now, after months of speculation, Jason Sudiekis confirmed that the award-winning show will be back for a fourth season; and this time, the focus will be on a women’s football team.
“We’re writing season four now. That’s the official word. Ted’s coaching a women’s team,” Sudeikis said on the podcast New Heights.
Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV+, confirmed his delight. “Ted Lasso has been nothing short of a juggernaut, inspiring a passionate fan base all over the world, and delivering endless joy and laughter, all while spreading kindness, compassion and unwavering belief. Everyone at Apple is thrilled to be continuing our collaboration with Jason and the brilliant creative minds behind this show.”
When season three ended in 2023, Sudeikis insisted the show was written with a three-season story arc which had been played out in its entirety. There would be no more seasons. Ted had gone back to his family in America. Coach Beard married Jane. Nate had found redemption; Keeley had her PR business back and Rebecca appeared to find romance. All loose ends were tied.
Or were they? It was the suggestion of an AFC Richmond women’s team by Keeley to Rebecca in the last few seconds of the season three finale that set tongues wagging at the possibilities of further seasons. Speculation became so intense that in recent weeks, bookies have even been taking bets on which players from England’s women’s football team would be making appearances in the show.
Looking objectively, a show about a women’s football team was always likely. It is hard to imagine a more powerful real-life underdog story. Women were banned from the sport for more than fifty years until 1971. But the Women’s World Cup in 2023 changed everything, with ticket sales and viewing figures breaking global records. Women were finally seen in a cultural space they had long been denied.
That will not have been lost on sports fans Sudiekis and Brendan Hunt, the original creators of the show. Positive messages for women are central tenets of Ted Lasso, and there’s even a hint towards the show’s interest in women’s football in the very first episode of the first season when Ted watches schoolgirl, Shannon Hayes, single-handedly take on a group of boys on Richmond Green and dribbling the ball away from them. “Sometimes the best way to stick it to the man is to go right through his legs,” Ted remarks to Coach Beard.
Speculation will now begin on other story lines possibilities. Perhaps Shannon Hayes will join the team. Perhaps Ted’s wife will have a role to play. My money’s on Rupert Manion, the casual destroyer of women’s lives, finally redeeming himself.
Bring it on. Ted Lasso has often been described as a great big warm hug. We need that, now more than ever. Even Channing Dungey, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros admitted she felt the same way. “If ever there was a show the world needed more of right now, it would be Ted Lasso. We — along with countless fans around the globe — have been rooting for another season, and it is an incredible feeling to be able to say, ‘Yes, it’s happening!’”
