‘Ted Lasso’ Season 2 Will Be Another Summer 2021 Treat

Despite the presence of an A-list comedy lead in Jason Sudeikis, Apple TV+'s sports comedy Ted Lasso surprised everyone when it was released in August 2020. Not only did it seemingly come out of nowhere, but the show's origin—being based on a series of commercials from half a decade ago for soccer on NBC Sports Network—is admittedly rather unorthodox. But then it went and became one of the best new shows of 2020.

The thing is, though, those commercials were hilarious back then, and the show managed to pull off a rarity: the character of Ted Lasso himself not only remains great, but got even better when fleshed out into a full-series character. The show itself is never sub-par, but it certainly gets better and better as it moves through the 10 episodes of its first season and the titular coach begins to change everyone in his orbit with his infectious positivity. Sudeikis has the talent as a performer where he can be a jerk if you want him to (thinking a little bit of Horrible Bosses or We're The Millers), but his characters always have a likability to them.

That's probably why Ted Lasso seems to work so well— it leans all the way into this Sudeikis-ism. And where Season 1 finds audiences, like Ted, learning about the new setting, the new goals, and all the new characters, (while even transforming the moods of a few former front office cynics along the way), Season 2 should have the chance to even further expand the show's sports comedy footprint.

Here's what we know about the upcoming Ted Lasso Season 2.

Is there a trailer for Ted Lasso Season 2?

There sure is. The first trailer for Ted Lasso Season 2 was released on June 21, 2021, and gave us our first extended look at how AFC Richmond will deal with its first season after relegation, and how Ted will deal with possibly needing to motivate his squad even more than before.

The trailer hints at even more warm feel-good moments, and it seems like the bond between Ted and Rebecca will grow even stronger. We see more of Coach Beard and Nathan in the locker room, and even a sneak peak at Ted's mean alter ego, Led Tasso. Dark stuff.

A couple people we don't see who will surely show up, though, are Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt. Roy has retired, so it's a decent guess that he'll show up as some sort of coach or TV personality? It's harder to figure out how Jamie will figure into things, considering he's playing for Manchester City, one of the biggest teams in the Premier League, and Richmond has just been relegated. Regardless, we trust in this show to figure out the best path forward.

When will Ted Lasso Season 2 be released?

We now know officially when we'll see more of Ted, Coach Beard, Rebecca, Keely, Roy Kent, and the rest of the gang: July 23rd. Ted Lasso is back on July 23rd!

A tweet from the official @TedLasso account made the news official, writing a note in a typical Ted fashion. "I always hear the question: who let the dogs out (who who who who)? With respect to The Baha Men, I prefer WHEN let the dogs out (when when when when)? ‘Cause guess what, Greyhounds? Our 2nd season starts 7/23! Can I get a Bah Amen!? That’s what I used to think they were called"

Apple TV+ also shared a clip announcing the show's return.

Season 2 will have more episodes than Season 1.

It's been confirmed that Ted Lasso season 2 will have 12 episodes, as opposed to Season 1's 10, according to Collider.

That publication talked to Juno Temple (who plays Keeley Jones in the show), asking if the show had a longer shoot for Season 2, due to Covid-19 situations or delays. She responded, letting them know that it was going to be a longer shoot, but only because the season would contain more episodes. "Well we've joyously been picked up for a few extra episodes this season," she said. "So it's a longer shoot due to actually shooting more."

The cast should mostly return.

Some major spoilers for Season 1 here, so don't read too much further if you don't want to be spoiled. But if you remember how the end of Ted Lasso Season 1 went down, you'll remember that the team lost their final game against Manchester City, and as a result will be relegated and no longer play in the English Premier League.

So, while that's kind of a bummer, Ted kept his job, and outside of Jamie and Roy (who we'll talk about in a moment), the team and coaches should remain intact. That means Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt, a co-creator of the show alongside Sudeikis) and the newly-promoted Coach Nate (Nick Mohammed) will return, as should players like the good-natured Sam (Toheeb Jimoh) and the living Energizer bunny Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernández).

It wouldn't be Ted Lasso without the off-the-field characters, either. That means that owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) and her crony Higgins (Jeremy Swift), along with new hire Keeley (Temple) should all be back as well.

The two most notable players from Season 1 are no longer on the team by the end of the season; legend and former captain Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) ended the season headed toward retirement, but the curmudgeonly player is so instrumental to the show that he'll almost certainly be back in whatever capacity for Season 2.

Cocky-but-talented star Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) was on Manchester City's roster by the end of Season 1, but we think he'll find a way to be loaned back out to Richmond, considering the fact that it seems like Ted's relentless positivity has finally gotten through to him (especially in the wake of the latest verbal abuse from his father).

It seems pretty clear what Ted Lasso Season 2 will be about.

Well, Season 1 didn't end how our friends at AFC Richmond wanted it to—the team was relegated from the English Premier League. And while that kind of stinks for the players and coaches we'd grown to root for, it does a nice job of setting up exactly what we know to expect for in Season 2: a whole lot of winning.

After all, for Richmond to return to the Premier League, they'll now need to finish in the top 3 slots of the new league. And with players learning (little by little) to play together, and Ted and his whole staff now having a full season of experience under their belt, we think they'll find a way to do it—hopefully with only minimal bumps in the road along the way.

It'll also be interesting to see how the characters continue to develop off the pitch. Rebecca was initially sabotaging the team in an attempt to hurt her asshole ex-husband Rupert, but by the end of the season she told Ted about her scheme and the duo got back on the same page. With Roy now retired, could he perhaps become a broadcaster advocating for Richmond? Could he become a coach or a front office guy? The possibilities are endless.

We also need to consider how Ted Lasso's own personal life and story could go. His one rough moment in Season 1 came as we saw the dissolving and eventual end of his marriage play out on screen. Ted had a flirtation late in the season with Rebecca's friend, but it remains to be seen how he'll move forward after signing his divorce papers. Could a new love interest perhaps be introduced?

Ted Lasso has already been renewed for Season 3, too. But it might be curtains after that.

The first season of Ted Lasso was such a success that Apple TV+ renewed the show for Season 3 before Season 2 even began filming. Which is great!

However, don't get too far ahead of yourself, because there probably won't be much more—if any—after that. Showrunner Bill Lawrence (who also ran hit comedies Scrubs and Cougar Town in the past) appeared on a Scrubs podcast hosted by that show's stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison, where he said that Ted Lasso felt like a show with a limited lifespan.

“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 said. “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.”

Lawrence said that he would try his best to get Sudeikis to do a Season 4, but he really did not seem to think it would take. "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," Lawrence said.

So, for those following at home: Ted Lasso, 3 seasons. Seems pretty set in stone, for now at least.

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