Jason Sudeikis, creator of hit comedy Ted Lasso, made up his mind to end the show with season three.
However, during the filming of it, England’s women’s team won the 2022 UEFA Women’s Championship.
According to co-creator Brendan Hunt, “We got to watch in real time as the country went from “Oh right, yeah, sure, women’s football” to “Yes! The Lionesses are the greatest ever!’ because they beat Germany in added time at Wembley.”
The nation was gripped by England’s football fever, said the producer, adding, “Suddenly, the whole country was women’s football crazy in a way that they had not been a mere five weeks earlier.”
The dramatic success of England’s team, eventually, moved Sudeikis to go for a season four.
“So that really stuck with us. Once we were on break, I think that idea just continued to take hold in Jason’s head.”
Born out of the sensation of victory comes the idea of AFC Richmond – the main team in Ted Lasso – owning its women’s eleven.
However, before finally announcing the renewal, Sudeikis dropped several hints at a comeback.
“We definitely wanted to leave ourselves a breadcrumb in case we wanted to find our way back,” Hunt told Variety.
“The women’s team idea was kind of like, ‘all right,’ because that’s just part of the reality. Almost every Premier League team has a women’s team.”
He continued, “Once we were on break, I think that idea just continued to take hold in Jason’s head.”
“It certainly helped that he was already a fan of the WNBA. He’s had season tickets to the New York Liberty for a while. He walks to their games, so it all just finally came together.”
After months of pondering over the idea and sharing multiple breadcrumbs, Sudeikis, Hunt recalled, finally made the call.
“When finally I got the word of it, “It’s happening. We’re going to do that women’s team thing that I’ve been thinking about.’ It was like ‘Great! Now I can get on with my life! Let’s go!’”
Ted Lasso season four is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on Aug 5.
