A picture may tell a thousand words, but in this case, that’s not enough. Ted Lasso fans around the world are pouring over this first glimpse of Ted Lasso’s Season Three and wanting more.
It’s a still from the show released by Apple TV+ this week, showing Ted Lasso, played by Jason Sudeikis, face to face with his former protégé Nate Shelley, and the sly and brooding Rupert Manion looking on.
“I obviously can’t give away what happens in Season 3, but it’s another rollercoaster,” explains Nick Mohammed, who won an Emmy for playing Nate.
In the picture, Ted is smiling. His expression is confident. We can see that he is still optimistic, charming, positive. In a confrontational situation, we suspect Ted is going win with kindness. That’s the Ted Lasso way. Not surprisingly, Nate looks confused.
When we left Nate at the end of season two, he had betrayed Ted. It had been a shocking end to the season, a backstabbing as brutal as that carried out by Brutus to Caesar. In the background of this new teaser picture, we see the rival team West Ham United badge, where Nate has transferred leaving AFC Richmond, joining Rebecca’s sly ex-husband Rupert Manion who has just bought the football club. The stage is set for drama.
Nate was the underdog who was empowered and encouraged by Ted. But power corrupts. He became bitter. Instead of being grateful for Ted’s kindness, he turned angry and mean, exposing Ted’s weaknesses to the newspapers, committing the ultimate betrayal by joining a rival team, and even worse, tearing up Ted’s ‘Believe’ sign.
Even for Nick Mohammed, tearing up Ted’s ‘Believe’ sign felt like a gut punch. “The sign had been used throughout all of Season 1, and a lot of Season 2, as this absolute emblem of hope and positivity,” Mohammed explains. “So the idea that Nate leaves it on the desk for Ted to see, I think that really packs a punch and I think it says a lot about where Nate is. Rupert’s certainly not going to be a positive influence in this life.
“I can’t give away where that heads, but the ‘Believe’ sign definitely felt for me like the biggest gut punch in terms of betrayal”.
Apple TV+ are not giving away dates when Season Three will be announced. Until then, we only have this teaser picture.
