Have we seen the last of "Ted Lasso"?
Al Roker told one of the show's stars, Hannah Waddingham, Nov. 13 on the 3rd hour of TODAY that a nice Christmas gift for fans would be another season of the Emmy-winning comedy or a spinoff, prompting Waddingham to voice her thoughts on the matter.
"I would love that. But, I mean, one thing's for sure: Unless the man himself is down with that, then it's not for me," Waddingham said, seemingly alluding to star Jason Sudeikis.
Al asked if one of the characters may wind up with his or her own show, but Waddingham, who has won an Emmy Award for her portrayal of AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton, didn't give anything away.
"I don't know. I don't know. AFC Richmond is so close to my heart," she said, adding she has been trying to get her castmates to get greyhound tattoos, in honor of the Greyhound team at the center of the show.
There has been no word about any future in the "Ted Lasso" universe, but Waddingham said the cast remains close.
"We are so firmly in each other's pockets, it's ridiculous, and I have an uncommonly large amount of them on my Christmas special," she said, referring to her Apple TV+ musical special, “Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas.”
"It is a big reunion, and the whole audience went completely nuts," she continued.
While the future of "Ted Lasso" remains a mystery, one of its directors has already come up with some ideas for potential spinoffs.
In a recent interview with Awards Radar, Declan Lowney, who directed several episodes of the show, including the final two of Season Three, shared how the story could continue.
“Jason always said it was three seasons, he’s wrapped everybody’s stories up very nicely,” he said. “But there’s a whole bunch of things aren’t there that have been set up in the last montage in the last few minutes that are potential spin offs.”
It seems like spinoffs might be the only way fans will see their favorite coaches and players again. The hit Apple TV+ series aired its Season Three finale in May, and the streamer has yet to confirm what — if anything — is next for the series.
Many are clamoring for the beloved comedy to continue, but Lowney told The Hollywood Reporter the future of the show is unclear.
“Everybody knew it was the end, but it’s also the end for now," he said during an interview.
He added that fans shouldn't get their hopes up anytime soon.
"It’s going to be two or three years before anything happens — if anything happens," he said.
Here's everything to know about the ongoing calls for more "Ted Lasso."
Potential ‘Ted Lasso’ spinoffs
When asked by Awards Radar about a potential spinoff, Lowney was clear that he thinks "Ted Lasso" is over for now. Still, he said he'd be open to continuing the story and highlighted a few threads from the show's last few minutes that could lend themselves to potential spinoffs.
Lowney said the "most exciting" idea is following Rebecca and Keeley's efforts to start a women's soccer team.
In an ending montage closing out the Season Three finale, Keeley (Juno Temple) brings a binder to Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham). The first page reads "AFC Richmond Women's Team." The characters don't speak further about it, and the fate of the team is unclear.
Lowney's second idea for a spinoff would be following Roy (Brett Goldstein) and Coach Beard's (Brendan Hunt) attempt to coach AFC Richmond in Ted Lasso's (Jason Sudeikis) absence. Another would involve a return of Ted Lasso himself, who left England in the finale.
"Then you’ve got Ted coaching a football league back in Kansas, so there is a potential spinoff there," Lowney said.
What the ‘Ted Lasso’ cast has said about a spinoff
Before Season Three premiered in March, Sudeikis — who co-created the series, led the show and also served as executive producer — addressed if it truly marked the end of the Emmy-winning show.
“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," Sudeikis told Deadline.
Without getting specific, he also confirmed the possibility of spinoffs.
“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 at the time.
As the season aired, it became clear that fans weren't ready to say goodbye. While Season Three ended with Ted returning to Kansas to raise his son and Coach Beard getting married, the stories of the rest of the AFC Richmond crew back in England felt unfinished — with Rebecca on the precipice of a potential new relationship and the love triangle between Keeley, Roy and Jamie (Phil Dunster) going unresolved.
After the May 31 finale, Kola Bokinni, who plays AFC Richmond captain Isaac McAdoo, sparked spinoff fervor with an ominous Instagram post to mark the end of the show.
"So long, Farewell.. for now," he captioned a photo of his character. "Thank you to everyone who believed."
Then, a few weeks after the finale aired, Apple stirred more speculation by tweeting a photo of AFC Richmond's new coaching staff — Coach Beard, Roy and Nate (Nick Mohammed) — with the caption, "Smells like potential."
On a June Reddit "Ask Me Anything" thread, Hunt could not confirm a possible spinoff or fourth season.
“We need a break and will take one presently. Nothing has been ruled out, everything is possible; but that includes the possibility that we’re done. We won’t know until we’ve sat with it for a while, decompressed, etc," he added.
Waddingham remained tight-lipped about a potential spinoff in an interview published Aug. 8, but she told the Los Angeles Times her character's story "feels like it's finished but not finished."
“The hard part is the fact that unless I play her, Rebecca doesn’t exist anymore,” Waddingham told the outlet. “And I want to see her through. If you are left at a moment with the character, you want to see them through that moment. Does it work with her and the Dutchman? Does she have a female league? I mean, I hope so! It feels like it’s finished but not finished, because none of our lives are. Jason and I have talked about it: It’s like you take a three-season glimpse of people. But it is a glimpse.”
In regards to Lowney's idea about following an AFC women's team, Waddingham said she and Temple "couldn't contain our excitement" at the possibility.
“When Juno and I read that, we didn’t know how we wanted to convey our excitement about the potential of that,” Waddingham said. “I was meant to look up from the folder and just be like, ‘Oh, it’s on.’ But we couldn’t contain our excitement. So if you look at it, we do have a moment of ‘Aghhhh!’”
On the 3rd hour of TODAY Nov. 13, Waddingham said she "would love" another "Ted Lasso" season or spinoff only if Sudeikis was "down" for it.
Until then, she said the cast remains close.
"We are so firmly in each other’s pockets, it’s ridiculous."
