The season 3 finale of Ted Lasso was a little bit ambiguous, both on and off the screen. Everyone might have gotten the ending they wanted (except for Roy and Jamie), but the viewers were left wanting more. We knew this was coming. Ted Lasso producers Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt have said before that the show would only run for three seasons. But over those short three years, the series became so popular that fans might not let it end.
Ted Lasso began in 2020 with the titular American college football coach being forced to learn how to play soccer when he travels to England to coach a British football team. Now, after warming so many hearts and winning two Emmys, the entire series may be coming to an end. But not everyone is so sure.
Even though folks like Jason Sudeikis and Bill Lawrence said that season 3 would mark the end of Ted Lasso, no one has confirmed that the show is completely finished. If fans want more of a show, studios will usually find a way to keep giving it to them. And with Ted Lasso, there are plenty of possibilities but also some serious challenges to continuing the series.
How Ted Lasso Ended
Ted Lasso ended with some ambiguity. Just as the creators promised, the story wrapped up quite neatly. Or did it? The scenes that resolved most of the plot were contained in a series of flash-forwards that occurred in Ted Lasso’s head as he dreamed his way through the flight back to America. In that dream sequence, everyone got what they wanted, including the viewers, but did it actually happen?
As Ted and Beard board their plane back to America, Beard admits that he’s in love with Jane but is conflicted about abandoning Ted. With Ted’s blessing, Beard fakes a burst appendix to get off the plane, and as Ted’s flight leaves, the flash-forwards start. We see Rebecca meeting the handsome Dutchman from the Amsterdam episode. Trent changes the title of his book from “The Lasso Way” to “The Richmond Way” under Ted’s advice, and it sells amazingly well.
Rebecca appoints Roy as the new manager of Richmond AFC, and with Beard and Nate, they rehang the Believe sign. Keeley and Barbara find success at the newly renamed KBPR. Sam achieves his dream of being added to the Nigerian national team. Jamie reconciles with his father. Nate, Jade, and his family have a lovely night at A Taste of Athens. Keeley proposes a Richmond women’s team to Rebecca. Everyone comes together for a BBQ at Higgins’ home. And Beard and Jane get married at Stonehenge.
But after the whole montage, Ted wakes up, having landed back in America, so one wonders if all of this was just a dream. The sequence is a good way of satiating the audience’s desire to tie up loose ends without having to work the protagonist’s perspective into all the events, and it’s a lovely idea to think that this is what Ted wanted for everyone in the club. But whether it actually happened is still a bit of a question.
Over its lifespan, Ted Lasso, just like its fictional football team, became extremely successful. And if the people want more, the studios will likely give it to them. We might see a spinoff with Keeley’s women’s team, or there might be some kind of sequel coming up in the future. Remember, this is Apple TV+’s biggest TV show yet, so it’s unlikely they’ll let it go without cashing in. But it might be all we get.
Is Ted Lasso Over?
In the real world, there are a lot of signs that Ted Lasso might be completely finished. Though it was the original intention of the series to finish at the end of season 3, no one has officially said the show is over. However, Hannah Waddingham (Rebecca) posted on Twitter that this would be her last day as a Richmond Greyhound. And production designer Paul Cripps posted several photos on Instagram of the Ted Lasso set being taken down. So, it certainly seems like the series is coming to an end.
The show has another real hurdle to overcome: the Hollywood writers’ strike. With the WGA shutting down production on many shows, Ted Lasso couldn’t continue even if it wanted to. Waddingham posted a photo of her and several of her costars on a WGA picket line. Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt were there as well.
Many of these actors and creators have joined the WGA in trying to change the entertainment industry to secure a better deal for writers and, in doing so, have effectively shut down Hollywood for the time being. So while it might be a good financial decision for Apple TV+ to make more Ted Lasso content, nothing will be moving forward for a while.
