An image from a trailer for "Ted Lasso" Season 3. An image from a trailer for “Ted Lasso” Season 3. (@AFCRichmond on Twitter.)

The third season of Ted Lasso premieres on AppleTV+ on March 15, and many involved have confirmed it will be the final season of that show. However, there’s been significant talk for a while about spinoffs in the Ted Lasso universe. And series star Jason Sudeikis gave the strongest confirmation of that yet with comments to Deadline Monday:

Here are some of the specific things Sudeikis said there:

“The fact that folks will want more and are curious beyond more than what they don’t even know yet—that being Season 3—it’s flattering. Maybe by May 31, once all 12 episodes of the season [have been released], they’re like, ‘Man, you know what, we get it, we’re fine. We don’t need anymore, we got it.’ But until that time comes, I will appreciate the curiosity beyond what we’ve come up with so far.”

“…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 said. “Again, I can’t help but take the question as flattery for what all of us that were working on the show has tried to do. 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.”

Of course, people being open to the idea of spinoffs is a long way from spinoffs being fleshed out, pitched, picked up, and aired. There are many hurdles at each stage of that process. And even picked up to aired has been a place where networks and streamers have often decided to bail on spinoffs in particular, and some of the spinoffs that have actually aired haven’t lasted long. So just because Sudeikis is open to this idea doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. But is notable to have him on board with at least the concept, as he has one of the four credits for developing Ted Lasso as a sitcom (alongside Brendan Hunt, Bill Lawrence, and Joe Kelly, and based on the initial NBC Sports character).

The other question about any sort of Ted Lasso spinoff may depend on what happens in Season 3. As Sudeikis notes, there’s currently a lot of anticipation for the show, especially with its last episode before this airing in October 2021. The concept of any spinoff or spinoffs will obviously have a lot to do with what happens to these characters in the third and final season and where it leaves them. And the critical and popular reaction to this season may say a lot about if spinoffs go forward. But it’s certainly interesting to have some inside-the-house commentary on spinoffs.

[Deadline]

 

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.