…And that’s okay. Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso, Scrubs) recently sat down for a chat with some podcast hosts to discuss shows like Ted Lasso and The Mandalorian (two huge hits in their own right), and divulged that the former of the two may only have a limited run compared to the latter.
Lawrence, the creator of hit shows like Scrubs and Ted Lasso, chatted with the folks over at the podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends, and Scrubs (via The Loop, ComicBook.com). The topic of conversation veered from one show to the other, but the central thread was seasons. And, according to Lawrence, Ted Lasso already has a set plan: three seasons. Apparently the series was designed as a finite experience right from the get-go:
I think that ours is a little different because Jason, as he’s kind of mapping it out, it’s a three-season show,” Lawrence explained. “So…super-fans know that [The Mandalorian is] connecting tissue in the Star Wars universe, and for us, everybody knows that they get an end to this story in the third season.
It’s not the best news, considering the first season wrapped not too long ago earlier this year. But, and this appears to be a widely accepted truth at this point, Ted Lasso is fantastic. It’s one of the best shows out there right now in this writer’s opinion, full of comedy and heart and great acting. It’s especially surprising when you realize that the whole idea of the character Ted Lasso started as a marketing scheme, all in an effort to promote football (or soccer, if you prefer) on NBC Sports.
When Ted Lasso the series was first announced, there was plenty of speculation about how good it would be. Maybe even more so because it would be streaming exclusively for Apple TV+. Since then, though, the series has propelled itself as a primary reason to subscribe to the service at all.
Anyway, there might still be hope for a season 4 — but only if the main plot takes a hard left turn. From Lawrence himself:
Ted Lasso is a three-season show. After the third season, I will desperately try to get Mr. Sudeikis to do a…” Lawrence started, and then he stopped to rephrase. “The only way I think a fourth season of Ted Lasso exists would be if TL went and coached a soccer team that played about a block from Jason’s house in real life, you know what I mean? He’s got young kids.
So, we may only get three seasons of Ted Lasso. But that’s not a bad thing! If the creators have a story planned out for three seasons, and with Apple TV+ already renewing the series for its second and third seasons, then that means we’ll get a complete story (more than likely). And that’s good news for a show like this.
In any event, we have some waiting to do before we catch the second season. It may debut before the end of 2021, or could premier in the first part of 2022. Fingers crossed it’s sooner rather than later.