It's the hope that kills you, but have no fear—the third season of Ted Lasso is finally on the horizon!
The two-time Emmy winner for Outstanding Comedy Series returns to Apple TV+ this spring, and things have never been more tenuous for Ted (Jason Sudeikis) and AFC Richmond.
At the end of season two, team kit man-turned-assistant coach Nate (Nick Mohammed) jumped ship for rival West Ham United, which is now owned by Rupert Mannion (Anthony Head), the former owner of AFC Richmond who lost the club to ex-wife Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) in their divorce.
In a first look photo released by the streamer Jan. 18, Ted and Nate are seen staring each other down—Ted with his trademark grin, Nate with an ominous scowl—inside an elevator at the West Ham offices.
When it comes to the third season of Ted Lasso, however, the biggest question remains: Is this the end?
Sudeikis and the Ted Lasso creative team, including Brett Goldstein, have long maintained that season three would be the show's swan song. However, when Apple TV+ announced details about the third season earlier this month, the word "final" was nowhere in sight.
Before we break out the biscuits later this spring, keep scrolling for everything we know about Ted Lasso season three.
In a photo released by Apple TV+ on Jan. 18, Nate and Ted (Jason Sudeikis) are pictured together inside at an elevator at the West Ham headquarters, with West Ham owner Rupert Mannion (Anthony Head) ominously looming in the distance.
In an exclusive conversation with E! News in August, Mohammed was prepared for Nate's dastardly turn.
"I knew quite early," he said. "Jason had pretty much, broadly speaking, outlines for Nate in seasons one, two and three. So I've always known where it's heading."
On Feb. 14, Apple TV+ released even more details about the season. "Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) steps up as assistant coach," the streamer teased, "alongside Beard (Brendan Hunt). Meanwhile, while Ted deals with pressures at work, he continues to wrestle with his own personal issues back home, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) is focused on defeating Rupert and Keeley (Juno Temple) navigates being the boss of her own PR agency."
While major changes have come to AFC Richmond and its rambunctious cast of characters over the course of its first two seasons, Ted Lasso editor Melissa McCoy assured fans that their favorites aren't going anywhere.
"Everybody is back and in new ways," Melissa told The Hollywood Reporter's Behind the Screen podcast in August 2022, "but that feels very authentic to Ted."
Indeed, the third season of Ted Lasso will introduce some new characters—and they're coming for spots in the AFC Richmond lineup.
"We have new blood on the team," Melissa revealed, "and that invigorates what's happening in the locker room."
Something tells us Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) won't be thrilled.
Short answer: It's still a mystery!
In June, Brett Goldstein, who also writes on the show in addition to playing Roy, insisted that the third season would be the show's last. "We are writing it like that," he told the UK's Sunday Times. "It was planned as three."
Meanwhile, Hannah Waddingham told E! News that same month that co-creator Sudeikis had made no indication that the plan had changed.
"I asked him recently," she said. "And he went, 'Yeah, I think so, for now.' And I was like, 'OK.'"
If season three really is the end of the road for Ted Lasso, could the story continue in spinoff form?
Toheeb Jimoh, who plays AFC Richmond midfielder Sam Obisanya, certainly hopes so! As it turns out, Toheeb already has an idea for Sam, who revealed plans to open a Nigerian restaurant at the end of season two.
"I keep trying to pitch this to them," Toheeb exclusively told E! News in August 2022. "People keep laughing. But I'm being serious, bro. I want a show with Sam in the restaurant on Apple TV. Let's make it happen!"
The third season of Ted Lasso premieres March 15 on Apple TV+.
Put the tea on.