Jason Sudeikis Responds to 'Ted Lasso' Season 3 Criticism in New Oral History

It seems that not everyone was on board with the direction Ted Lasso took in its third season. In Believe: The Untold Story Behind Ted Lasso, the Show That Kicked Its Way Into Our Hearts by Jeremy Egner, series co-creator and star Jason Sudeikis opens up about the mixed reactions the Apple TV+ hit received during its third (but potentially not final) season.

The book recounts how some fans voiced their discontent with the season, particularly criticizing how the core cast had been “scattered into different storylines.” Some found the narrative “too diffuse and unfocused,” with particular attention given to the separate arcs of characters like Keeley (Juno Temple) and Nate (Nick Mohammed). While fellow co-creator and star Brendan Hunt (Coach Beard) brushes off the criticism, calling it easy to compartmentalize, Sudeikis offers a more direct rebuttal.

“I’ll never understand people who will go on talking about something so brazenly that they, in my opinion, clearly don’t understand,” Sudeikis responds. “And God bless ’em for it; it’s not their fault. They don’t have imaginations and they’re not open to the experience of what it’s like to have one.”

As fans of the show know, the message of Ted Lasso has always been about curiosity over judgment—a mantra that Sudeikis feels some viewers missed in the critique of Season 3. He continues: “Much like live theater, the show, especially Season 3, was asking the audience to be an active participant. Some people want to do that, some people don’t. Some people want to judge—they don’t want to be curious,” which echoes Coach Lasso’s own advice to "be curious, not judgmental."

Despite the critiques, Sudeikis remains proud of what the season accomplished, particularly in terms of character growth. “Everybody’s in better shape than when they started,” he says. “Like a good Boy or Girl Scout at a campsite, we left it better than we found it. And if you don’t see that in that show, then I don’t know what show you’re watching.”

In the end, Ted Lasso Season 3 received 21 Emmy nominations—a record for the series—taking home awards for Outstanding Guest Actor and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. However, the show lost the coveted Outstanding Comedy Series award, which it won in Seasons 1 and 2, to The Bear Season 1.

As for the future of the show, nearly 14 months after the Season 3 finale, there’s still hope for more. Warner Bros. Television recently picked up options on three of the original stars—Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, and Jeremy Swift—for a potential Season 4, though no official updates have been made regarding deals with SAG-AFTRA members Sudeikis, Hunt, and Temple. Fans are eagerly awaiting more news, but for now, it seems the story of Ted Lasso might not be over just yet.