‘Ted Lasso’: Juno Temple Talks Girl Power, Keeley’s Potential Female-Focused Football Spinoff & Reveals Her Pick Between Roy Or Jamie

Rosy Cordero and Katie Campione
·8 min read
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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.

But across three seasons, Keeley really came into her own as she discovered the value and love she sought out from others resided within herself. She was complete all on her own but it sure was lovely to share it all with friends like Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) and even Roy and Jamie, who slowly warmed to one and now are in a full fledge bromance.

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Temple breaks down Keeley’s journey across three seasons, picks between Roy and Jamie as her character’s true love and whether or not she’d be into a female football spinoff.

DEADLINE: When we first meet Keeley, she’s just a girl who is figuring out who she wants to be when she grows up and maybe even find some folks to believe in her. She’s come such a long way. What can you share about going on this journey with her?

JUNO TEMPLE: Getting to watch it now, after shooting it, I’m mostly watching it completely for a bit of fun. That emotional rollercoaster this season took me on, was quite a profound experience. I was able to just be lost in the story and forget I was even on a show, to be honest with you. It’s quite an extraordinary thing. I was really moved by everybody’s arcs. I’m so with you. I’m so proud of Ms. Keeley Jones. She takes some hits this season, yet she comes out really strong and believing in herself and with incredible friendships, it’s something I’m going to miss for sure. But as they say, it’s better to have loved and lost than never loved at all. I feel that very strongly about this show and Keeley as a character. I’m so happy that she became a part of my life, and I will have her forever. I know that if there were to be more seasons, or futures that we could see on a screen or not, she would continue to make us all proud.

DEADLINE: I think that an AFC Richmond women’s team spinoff would be brilliant. How would you feel about that?

TEMPLE: Also, just that final moment to have it be with Keeley and Rebecca, that to me was something that was so important because that relationship on and off camera has been something that has changed my life forever for the better. I also think it has created such an amazing conversation about how female friendships need to be viewed in this industry as extraordinarily important, powerful, brilliant, and uncompetitive, just loving relationships. And that’s been something that I couldn’t be more proud to be part of. I get to see that with Hannah [Waddingham], who’s one of the greatest women I’ve ever met in my life.

DEADLINE: I am so excited about the possibility of what those two could do for women’s sports. 

TEMPLE: I think that’s a really great way of also looking at it. They want to help women believe in themselves because they’ve done that for each other, and they know how good that feels and how much strength it gives you. Even when you take a knock, you’ve got somebody that can help support you.

She had this moment, Keeley, this season when she doesn’t quite know what to do when she’s really vulnerable with a piece of her past being exposed. The person she goes to is Rebecca and Rebecca’s advice is so brilliant. That’s the way their friendship works, right? It’s down to the real, raw, honest parts of who they are. That’s why they can give each other the strength to be the women that they should be and that they deserve to own and, however many knocks there have been, there’s also a step up or higher heel to put on.

I think it would be amazing to see how they would continue to do wonderful things together and also how that then would bleed out into other women passing that on to other women. You see that also with this last season, how it ended with this extraordinary team. And all the boys were so magical together in this last episode where you just saw it was a family that they couldn’t live without. It was something that was really amazing to watch, how that team has grown into such an extraordinary family.

DEADLINE: All of that was also reflected in Keeley’s relationship with Barbara. Rebecca and Keeley aren’t clicky, they cheer for other women and lift them up. Would you agree with that?

TEMPLE: That’s right. Katy Wix is such a brilliant actress and as well as an intelligent, inquisitive and gorgeous woman. We had such an amazing time together. I will say it was hard to keep a straight face sometimes, she’s very, very funny. We developed this relationship with the two of us, where they are so different, but as Keeley did with Rebecca in Season 1, she won’t let the differences be the issue. It doesn’t mean we can’t actually really get on and learn from each other and respect each other, because respect is key.

I think Barbara sees also what it feels like to actually be respected by somebody because you really learned that actually, she’s sort of been a pawn in a test game and that hasn’t been as fulfilling as she wants either. So you see the transformation of this more by-the-book way of approaching an office like that, because that’s all she’s known, and then being encouraged to let loose with that a little. And in doing that, Keeley also learns about what it is to run a business.

Obviously, that goes down to the ground and falls apart for a moment. But then the fact that Barbara comes back to help her because she knows that this woman also believes in her and that together they’re going to do something fantastic. Can you imagine the incredible people they could represent with a PR company with brains that offer different insights into femininity and walks of life? I think that’s something that is really, really special.

I really love the relationship between the two of them. I love that it challenges healing, but also, really, it nurtures her. The moments when Barbara has to give her news that she knows isn’t going to be easy on her, you really see that affect Barbara, too. But Keeley doesn’t necessarily see that in those moments either. I love their insights into characters that the other character, at that moment, isn’t even aware of. I think that’s so beautiful to watch as an audience member. And that’s what makes the show so nuanced with all these characters.

DEADLINE: When we first meet Keeley she’s in a love triangle. And then in Season 3, even though they have progressed so far in their personal evolutions, they are still just a couple of knuckleheads fighting for the same girl. Why was it important for Keeley to pick herself in the end?

TEMPLE: I think at that moment it’s about the journey that all three of them come on together. Keeley knows from the get-go that those two are supposed to help each other. So even when closing that door, I think she knows that they’re going to punch and bite and kick and scratch, right? It’s going to be like, ‘Alright, what should we do now?’ Because she knows that there’s that element to them that they are so similar. They are the ones that can really be there for each other in a way that maybe they didn’t realize themselves, but Keeley’s known all along.

I think she chooses to be the independent woman that she needs to be so that she can really listen to her heart and allow that to be her guide when she feels she’s stable and unstable in her workspace and in her thought space. Also, it seems so funny, like you said, that these two boys have both come so far. And also the throwback to how in the first episode where Elodie is sitting at the table, Roy’s niece, the same kind of positioning of that.

But at the same time, she doesn’t hate them or judge them or anything like that. She just goes, ‘Get out and go figure out. Like, I’m not gonna fix this. You guys know how to handle this.’ And I think that’s something that I love about her too. She needs her heart. I think that’s where people fall in love with her as well. I fell in love with her. I think that that triangle is also an incredible support system that actually, hopefully, they’ll all be in each other’s lives forever.

DEADLINE: The men are just so competitive.

TEMPLE: I think so too, but I think it’s gonna make them better. It’s gonna make Roy a better coach, and it’s gonna make Jamie a better player, ultimately. Through that, there’s gonna probably be a few more squabbles, but there’s gonna also be a lot of respect and an incredibly strong friendship. Keeley knows that for sure, she’s known since the beginning.

DEADLINE: Okay, but she also has to have known that in the end, Roy is the one, right? 

TEMPLE: Yeah. I think so.

DEADLINE: He’s so intent on making those improvements to be the kind of man that Keeley would be proud of.

TEMPLE: That’s a huge step. I think that’s a step that a lot of people are scared to take…

DEADLINE: As the story we’ve known all this time is now over, what are you taking with you from the experience?

TEMPLE: Never judge books by their cover. That was something that I was raised to really go out into the world with, but Keeley just reinforced that hugely. Believe in yourself. Believe in the people you love. Believe in the people that you meet. And believe in learning and growing and being accountable and being a human that’s a f**cking disaster sometimes and sometimes a beacon of light.

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