Jason Sudeikis confirmed he made $1 million per episode for Season 3 of Apple TV’s Ted Lasso, with the possibility of an increase for Season 4.
Ted Lasso‘s third season was purportedly its last, culminating in the lovable soccer coach’s move back to Kansas City following AFC Richmond’s second-place finish in the Premier League. Season 3 came out in 2023, and Sudeikis was satisfied enough with the show’s arc that the money didn’t tempt him.
“That wasn’t a negotiation tactic,” Sudeikis said in a new interview. “The story was told. Ted went home to be with his son. I wasn’t going to have Ted uproot their life to justify the money truck. It made no sense to me.”
But, in early 2024, Sudeikis started questioning whether Ted’s story really had ended. He convened the show’s writers to see if there were any ideas worth developing.
“We were just kind of kicking the tires on it—or, as we were saying at the time, checking the viability of the soil,” said Brendan Hunt, a co-creator who plays Coach Beard on the show.
The group landed on a plot that would return Ted to the U.K., this time to coach AFC Richmond’s all-female team. Hannah Waddingham, who plays Rebecca Welton, was initially apprehensive about returning, because she didn’t want to “do it a disservice, this beautiful thing.”
Ted Lasso‘s third season was a smash hit with 283 million viewing hours, and its previous two seasons won 13 Emmys and a Peabody. The cast was invited to meet with then-President Joe Biden at the White House in 2023. Sudeikis, in character as Ted Lasso, introduced Justin Bieber during the World Cup Finals Halftime Show. Ted will return to the U.K. on August 5, where he’ll be greeted with open arms.
“Welcome back, Coach,” an AFC Richmond fan tells Ted in the Season 4 teaser. “Too bad you’re coaching a bunch of girls, ya wanker.”
