Prestige TV has been bittersweet in 2023. Fans have been treated to staggering quality in the form of Better Call Saul, Barry, and Succession, but the kicker has been that all of these shows are about to end, if they haven’t already. The same can be said for Ted Lasso. The Apple TV staple is inching closer and closer to its season 3 finale, and based on the comments of co-creator and star Jason Sudeikis, the story ends there.
How ironclad is this statement, though? There are still plenty of stories left to tell in the Ted Lasso universe, even if season 3 has been less critically acclaimed than its predecessors. Is the upcoming finale really going to be the end, or will Sudeikis and company reconsider, and return for another season?
The notion that season 3 will conclude the show is something that Sudeikis introduced early on. He told Deadline that he wanted the show to follow a three-act structure, with each season functioning as an act within the larger story. It makes sense, and the long term plan has clearly paid off, as he’s taken home multiple Emmy Awards for both writing and acting.
Brett Goldstein, who plays Roy Kent in addition to his writing and executive producer duties, confirmed the three-act approach during an interview with Sunday Times. “We are writing it like that,” he noted. “It was planned as three.”
Will there be a Ted Lasso spin-off show?
Jason Sudeikis takes the overwhelming desire for more seasons as a compliment, but he feels that it’s better to leave fans wanting more than to overstay one’s welcome. This is a sentiment that’s particularly smart when looking at the history of sitcoms. Even the most beloved shows (Cheers, Friends, The Office) have been accused of sticking around for too long and coasting to their belated finales on fumes.
In a sense, season 3 is already giving fans more Ted Lasso than they were expecting. While the first two seasons boasted an average episode runtime of 25-35 minutes, season 3 episodes have regularly gone over the 45 minute mark. It’s been a point of contention for some, but it has also given the viewers more time to spend with their favorite characters. The episode “Sunflowers” came in at a whopping 63 minutes, and it’s safe to assume the finale will opt for a similar length. It definitely sounds like the show is planning to leave it all on the field.
It seems pretty definitive that season 3 will be the end of Ted Lasso. On the bright side, Sudeikis has entertained the idea of a spin-off show, given the beloved status that characters like Roy Kent, Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), and Keely (Juno Temple) have attained in such a short time.
“Yeah, I think that we’ve set the table for all sorts of folks to get to watch the further telling of these stories,” he noted. “It’s really kind of folks to even consider that because you never know what’s gonna happen when you make things. The fact that people want more, even if it’s a different avenue is lovely.”
