The cast includes Hannah Waddingham (pictured left), who plays AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Walton, Jeremy Swift (pictured left), who plays Director of Football Operations Leslie Higgins, and Brett Goldstein (pictured right), who plays soccer player Roy Kent.
After signing the trio, the studio is expected to begin reaching out to Ted Lasso cast members with SAG-AFTRA contracts whose options had expired, requiring them to negotiate new deals, sources said.
In addition to co-creators/executive producers Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso) and Brendan Hunt (Coach Beard), Juno Temple (Keeley Jones) is also on the list. Sources say one of the original Ted Lasso cast members, Phil Dunster (Jamie Tart), was not hired, likely due to a conflict with another series; he stars in both Prime Video's The Devil's Hour and Apple TV+'s Surface.
It's unclear what other actors will be approached for season four. The cast has all repeatedly said they would like to reprise their roles if the opportunity arises, and many will likely be guest stars.
Getting the cast back paves the way for a season four greenlight, subject to budget and schedule approval, as actors whose options have expired may have joined other shows that have them in the top spot, sources said.
While the cast is being approached, preparations are also underway to open a writers’ room. If all the pieces come together, production on a fourth season could begin in early 2025. Representatives for WBTV and Apple TV+ declined to comment.
Starting the process to greenlight season four signals that the main driving force behind Ted Lasso on and off screen, Sudeikis, is on board for another season, as the studio would not have moved forward without his approval.
The fate of Ted Lasso has always been in the hands of Sudeikis, who’d originated the character in NBC Sports videos. While Apple and Warner Bros. are openly stating that they would like to renew Ted Lasso, one of the biggest and most critically acclaimed comedy series of the past decade, they have made it clear that it is up to Sudeikis whether the series continues.
The Saturday Night Live actor, who co-created Ted Lasso with Hunt, Joe Kelly and Bill Lawrence, originally envisioned the comedy series as a three-season story and stuck with the plan despite the series’ huge success. But he hadn’t closed the door on more Ted Lasso — which is why season three wasn’t considered final — depending on finding the right idea. To the delight of Ted Lasso fans, more than a year after the season finale, it seems that has happened.
With its uplifting tone and good-natured, eternally optimistic lead character, Ted Lasso was the perfect show to launch at the height of the pandemic in August 2020. The comedy became an instant global hit and Apple’s most-watched original series ever.
In addition to its immense popularity that catapulted it into the pop culture zeitgeist, Ted Lasso earned 13 Emmy Awards during its original three-season run, including two back-to-back Outstanding Comedy Series trophies and acting wins for Sudeikis (2), Goldstein (2), who is also a writer-producer on the show, and Waddingham.
The season three finale in May 2023 saw Keeley and Rebecca potentially team up for a new venture, AFC Richmond Women's Team, with all the main characters getting a happy ending, including Ted, who was last seen coaching his son on a soccer field in Kansas.
