Why ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 3 Premiere May Be Delayed

ted lasso season 2 episode 4 rainbow ted jason sudeikis brendan hunt coach beard
Apple TV+

A third season of the popular Apple TV+ comedy series Ted Lasso is definitely happening, but it might be a while before fans get to see the new episodes.

The previous two seasons of the Jason Sudeikis-starring series premiered in the summer, August and July, respectively, but, according to the show’s co-creator Brendan Hunt (who plays Coach Beard), that is unlikely to be the case this year. This is due in part to what Hunt calls a “football wrinkle,” meaning the logistics of filming the show’s soccer scenes.

“We’re in pre-production and scripts are written,” Hunt told TVLine before admitting, “We are definitely starting later this year than in Season 2, that’s for sure. So I would be surprised if our delivery dates were the same.”

He continued, “That’s above my pay grade; I don’t know for sure, but I do have a vague understanding of the limits of this dimension we call time, and I would say it seems pretty unlikely that we would [premiere] as early this year. It’ll happen, and it’ll take longer than people want it to, [but] we’re just going to try and get it right.”

The plot details regarding the third season are being kept tight-lipped, with even the show’s stars being kept in the dark. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham said of the show’s creative team, “They are just brilliant, brilliant brains, but they know better than to tell me anything at all.”

A central plot point of Season 2 involved Waddingham’s AFC Richmond team owner Rebecca Welton and her secret romance with young defenseman Sam Obisanya, played by Toheeb Jimoh. However, Waddingham said she isn’t sure if the couple has a future together.

“If I’m speaking on Rebecca’s behalf, I feel like [Sam] has been the door opening to her finding her confidence again,” she explained. “But knowing Rebecca’s way of doing things, I don’t think she would think she’d be able to keep hold of him.”

In the meantime, Waddingham is starring in her first-ever Super Bowl commercial, playing a cackling high-roller in an ad for Japanese electronic and online retail company Rakuten.

Ted Lasso, Seasons 1-2, Streaming now, Apple TV+