The final episode of the Emmy award-winning show Ted Lasso has finally premiered on Apple TV Plus. The show brought us the highs and lows of coaching an English Football team, but more importantly, it gave us a message of the power of positivity and self-care. With many starting off skeptical about the show, much like the Brits were with Lasso, we were all won over in the end. The show is now sadly over, but why did it end?
Ted Lasso actually started some time back, when Sudeikis played the character in a series of commercials for NBC Sports to promote the Premier League back in 2013. In 2015 it was Sudeikis’ then-girlfriend Olivia Wilde who suggested that he take another look at the character and perhaps flesh him out a little more, paving the way to what we ended up with. The series was bought by Apple TV Plus and they brought on board Bill Lawrence, creator of Scrubs, to work on the series.
The first season ran in 2019 and started with a few raised eyebrows only for its charm to eventually shine through and win over many. Since then Ted Lasso has had a further two seasons, won numerous accolades, and set a record for the most Primetime Emmy nominations received by a show with 20 in total, seven of which it went on to win, including the Outstanding Comedy Award. Now, four years on, the show has finally come to an end, with the final episode having just aired on Apple TV+. But why did it finish? Was it canceled?
Was Ted Lasso cancelled?
Well, to address the latter question is easy, so we will start there, no, Ted Lasso was not canceled. Back during the second season, Lawrence had stated that they didn’t believe the show would run past season3 for a few reasons, one of which is that Sudeikis’ schedule may not have made it feasible beyond season three.
Another reason was that they simply felt this was where the story was naturally going to end, with Sudeikis telling Deadline back in March of this year:
“This is the end of this story that we wanted to tell, that we were hoping to tell, that we loved to tell. 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.”
There is still a potential for a spin-off with Sudeikis open to the idea, saying, “Yeah, I think that we’ve set the table for all sorts of folks…to get to watch the further telling of these stories.” That, however, is just a dream at the moment it would seem, so for now, we must saw farewell to Ted and the gang, and thank them for everything they have taught us and for entertaining us with messages of positivity in a rather gloomy time.