Ted Lasso was the most watched original series in the United States in 2023. Apple TV may be a platform with minority consumption compared to Netflix, Prime Video or Max, but the coach played by Jason Sudeikis exceeded any expectations. After three seasons, however, he ended the sports comedy at the request of Sudeikis himself, creator, screenwriter, producer and star of Ted Lasso, who was tired of spending so many months in the United Kingdom away from his children. And, as indicated by the new project with Owen Wilson, the platform could be looking for a series to fill the void left by coach Lasso.
The series has no title. Wilson, who is a well-known golf lover, will play Pryce Cahill, an eccentric golfer whose career ended abruptly 20 years ago. After living in frustration, being fired from his job in a store and being left by his wife, he decides to reconcile with the sport: he agrees to train a promising golfer who is only 17 years old, having to face the world that rejected and forgot him. It is written by Jason Keller, who signed Ford vs Ferrari, the film with Matt Damon and Christian Bale.
On paper, it has the makings of Ted Lasso. It is a sports comedy that, because of the dramatic conflict that is hinted at, possibly has heart. It features a well-known face from comedy like Owen Wilson, the actor from Zoolander or Wedding Crashers. It's on Apple TV. And the goal is to become a television phenomenon by getting into a genre that is little exploited on television since comedy and that, curiously, has performed so well: the platform won two consecutive Emmy awards for best comedy with the matches of the Richmond club.
This novelty, which is still in the pre-production phase, comes when it has yet to be clarified whether Ted Lasso will have any type of continuation. A tweet from Apple suggested that there was a sequel centered on Beard, Roy Kent and Nate, played by Brendan Hunt, Brett Golstein and Nick Mohammed (and taking into account that Hunt was co-creator of Ted Lasso and both he and Golstein were in the room of screenwriters). Hannah Waddingham, who played the president of the Richmond club, said she was open to playing a spin-off. And, with Sudeikis wanting to return to his homeland, a sequel set in the United States with Coach Lasso trying to transform an American club was even considered.
However, when the acclaimed comedy said goodbye at the end of May, it did so in the midst of a writers' strike. It was impossible to develop projects at that time. And, as it ended in the fall, conversations surrounding possible Ted Lasso sequels cooled down. Is the football fiction universe really finished or, on the contrary, is it a matter of time before a derivative series is announced?
In addition to the creative element, that of justifying possible continuations, there is the monetary one: the third season of Ted Lasso provided large checks to the talent involved. Sudeikis earned a million per episode for his role as actor, producer, creator and screenwriter. Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple, the female secondaries, earned between 125,000 and 150,000 per episode. And it is considered that Brett Goldstein and Brendan Hunt received this same salary per episode only for their acting work (which means that they received another penny for writing the series).
With these salaries to be renegotiated (and with no rush on the part of Apple TV), Ted Lasso finds himself in an unusual limbo: he is terminated but the industry still does not believe that he will not return in some form.
