Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple & More Weigh In On 'Ted Lasso's Finale at FYC Event

Ted Lasso star Brendan Hunt found love off the soccer field with Shannon Nelson, announcing on Thursday, June 29, that are engaged.

BreAnna Bell It’s a bittersweet goodbye for “Ted Lasso.” During the May 29-June 4 viewing window, the series jumped 62% in viewership from the previous week on the Nielsen Streaming Top 10 chart, pushing it to No. 3 on the list of overall titles with 1.2 billion minutes. According to Nielsen, the Apple TV+ title first appeared on its Streaming Top 10 list rankers midway through Season 2 in 2021. In total, it has made the overall list 11 times, and the originals list 19 times. Throughout the weekly episodic releases of Season 3, which premiered March 15, Ted has made the overall list in 9 of the 12 weeks, and has landed itself on the originals list in all 12 weeks. The finale episode, which was released on May 31, 2023, received 529 million viewing minutes by itself this week, marking the highest weekly total for a single episode of ‘Ted Lasso’ ever. Since the show was released in August of 2020, Ted Lasso has generated almost 25 billion viewing minutes in total.

The African American Film Critics Association will honor Jennifer Hudson, Delroy Lindo, Marla Gibbs, “Ted Lasso” and “S.W.A.T.” at the fifth annual AAFCA TV Honors.Hudson will receive the “We See You” Award, given to performers who demonstrate versatility in their work with consistent excellence in their craft. Delroy Lindo (“UnPrisoned”) will receive the “Legacy Award” presented to an artist or institution that inspires others to follow their path.Marla Gibbs will receive the “Legend Ward” for changing the landscape of TV and Film.The “Inclusion Award” will go to AppleTV+’s “Ted Lasso,” for it’s ability to “prioritize representation of people from all walks of life.” CBS’ “S.W.A.T.,” produced by Sony, will receive the “Impact Award” for its influential storylines and performances to the African American community.On July 19, the AAFCA will also announce winners in 14 categories, including Best TV Comedy, Best TV Drama, Best New Show, Breakout Star, Best Ensemble, Best Writing, Best TV Directing and more.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Imagine you’ve been given a role in a pilot: The exciting news appears in the trades, you film the episode and take the cast publicity photos. Then your show is picked up! But there’s a caveat: Your role is being re-shot with a new actor. Devastating! Cue sad trombone sound effect. That’s why I like these kinds of stories better: The background actors, guest stars and recurring actors who eventually graduate to series regular status thanks to sheer persistence and talent. That’s the case this season for “Ted Lasso” standout James Lance, who plays Trent Crimm — formerly of The Independent, now just independent — on the show.

David Benedict Having the audacity to harness stabs and slashes of Prokofiev’s celebrated ballet score for “Romeo and Juliet” for a production of Shakespeare’s play suggests remarkable confidence on the part of white-hot director Rebecca Frecknall. It’s not misplaced. Her startlingly visceral production, with a cast led by Toheeb Jimoh of “Ted Lasso,” is not only lit up by the power of bodies leaping in space and dramatically alert even when in repose; it’s also alive to the detailed drama of Shakespeare’s language. The intensity she engenders in her actors is sometimes ramped-up too highly and everything boils over, but at its finest, the fiercely articulate passion is electrifying. The fact that the rulebook is being rewritten is made plain from the get-go. The famous opening address about “two houses alike in dignity” is not spoken: The text is lit up on the wall covering the entire front of the stage. Beneath Gareth Fry’s low growl of a soundscape, the company gathers one by one to claw against it before sending it crashing to the ground. But this is not just a shock tactic. Frecknall is illuminating the line about “taking the wall of any man” and using physical energy to punch into a vigorously staged fight between the warring Montagues and Capulets.

On their latest shows, Brett Goldstein and Theo James have created characters who unpeel deeper truths beyond their hunky appearances. Goldstein, who’s won two Emmys for portraying soccer player and coach Roy Kent on “Ted Lasso,” returned for the Apple TV+ comedy’s third season. (He’s also a co-creator and writer on “Shrinking,” about a therapist played by Jason Segel.) James joined the second season of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” set in Italy and from creator Mike White, as a chiseled, privileged vacationer. THEO JAMES: How did you end up writing for “Ted Lasso”? BRETT GOLDSTEIN: I’d done a pilot for Bill Lawrence. The pilot didn’t get picked up, but we stayed in touch, and he knew I was a writer as well as an actor. When people ask me for advice, I’m always like, there’s no magic phone call. It doesn’t happen. But I did get a magic phone call here, from Bill, out of the blue, saying, “I think you’d be good for this football show.”

BreAnna Bell As the cast of Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” gathered outside the Saban Media Center on Saturday night for their FYC event, audience members were greeted by handouts from several picketing writers of the WGA in front of the entrance. But despite the ongoing picketing that’s halted several productions including new seasons of “Abbott Elementary” and “Yellowjackets,” stars Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple reveal their upcoming projects haven’t been touched by the strike’s effects just yet. Temple is set to star in “Venom 3,” which is scheduled for an October 2024 release. But the actress shares that she hasn’t started shooting on the film just yet but is scheduled to start “very, very soon, which I’m thrilled about.” Whereas, Waddingham’s role in “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part Two” is already underway.

Whitney Friedlander Whether it’s a collision in an office elevator or a case of mistaken identities, fans of romantic comedies have a love-hate relationship with meet-cutes: The central couple must meet somehow and, since this is a love story, preferably they should do so in a cute way. But how many more white shirts must be killed in the name of clumsy-cute trip-and-falls while holding cups of coffee or orange juice?  For serialized romances, the challenge is even greater. Directors and writers must create interesting run-ins for characters to help sustain interest for longer than it takes for audiences to eat a bucket of popcorn.  “I feel like the bar now is, if you are expected to figure out a meet-cute, it has to be your new slightly subversive never-before-seen version of it,” says director Jay Karas. “I don’t think it’s a trope that we can totally get away from, because people have to meet somehow, and it’s just about how do you modernize it.” 

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor In the penultimate episode of “Ted Lasso” season 3, “Mom City” features Sam Ryder’s song “Fought & Lost,” a collaboration with Queen’s Brian May. Playing toward the end of the episode, the song acts as a bridge as Ted (Jason Sudeikis) as he has a heartfelt confrontation with his mother Dottie (Becky Ann Baker). The next day, he’s in his office to reveal a “truth bomb” to Rebecca, but the end credits roll before audiences get an answer. Ryder performed the piece in front of an audience at the Grammy Museum in Downtown Los Angeles at a special event with the show’s star Hannah Waddingham joining him.

Ted Lasso wrapped up its three season story just last week on Apple TV+, and one of the show’s creators/stars, Brendan Hunt, has revealed why it avoided a romance between Ted and Rebecca.

EXCLUSIVE: The Golden Trailer Awards has unveiled its nominees for its 23rd annual extravaganza taking place on Thursday, June 29th at The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The awards show honors the creative teams that are tasked with condensing two-hour films into two-minute trailers.

Nick Mohammed still can’t believe how lucky he was to have scored the role of Nate Shelley in Apple’s multi-Emmy Award-winning series Ted Lasso—but it almost didn’t happen. Mohammed had set his sights on a different role which he didn’t land but at the time he didn’t realize it didn’t work out for a reason.

The question on the mind of all Ted Lasso fans, and some of its stars, is will there be a Season 4 or any spin-offs of the Apple TV+ series.

Looking back at Season 1 of Apple’s hit comedy series Ted Lasso, Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) is figuring out the kind of woman she wants to be, and what man could offer her the love and support she needs—all while Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) compete for her attention and affection.

The Season 3 (and presumed series) finale of Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso brought closure for most of the characters, including Phil Dunster’s reformed bad boy Jamie Tartt. After one more squabble with foe-turned-friend and mentor Roy Kent over who can date Keeley — a dilemma she easily solved by throwing both of them out of her house — Jamie and Roy are seen in the final seconds having a beer together, sitting alongside Keeley and their AFC Richmond teammates. In the flashforward, Jamie also has a friendly conversation with his father, a sign of a possible reconciliation.

SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the Season 3 finale of Ted Lasso.

ended its acclaimed three-season run on Wednesday with Jason Sudeikis' titular coach returning home to Kansas, though it's safe to say that none of the show's beloved characters ended up in the same place they were when the series began.None more so, perhaps, than Jamie Tartt, played by Phil Dunster, whose emotional evolution over the course of the Emmy-winning comedy has made him a fan favorite. The star striker of AFC Richmond, Jamie was a prototypical diva in season 1, though Ted's kind and gentle coaching style began to break him down.

“Ted Lasso” wrapped up its acclaimed three-season run on Wednesday, as the Apple TV+ comedy took its final bow as AFC Richmond came so close to taking home the Premiere League Title, winding up second behind Manchester United in an appropriately humbling and hopeful conclusion to an honest and meaningful series.

SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points from the Season 3 finale of Apple’s Ted Lasso.

Note: This story contains spoilers from the Season 3 finale of “Ted Lasso.”Yeah, this might be all that we get. This might just well be it.It’s almost like the “Ted Lasso” theme song anticipated that the Season 3 finale would close nearly all major storylines of the Apple TV+ series as the show’s future remains unclear.Season 3, Episode 12, titled “So Long, Farewell,” debuted Wednesday and wrapped up many of the loose ends left behind in previous episodes.