Season 2 of the Jason Sudeikis-led comedy series Ted Lasso will be two episodes longer than expected. Originally created as a way to promote NBC’s coverage of Premier League football in America, the series spun off from the eponymous character played by Sudeikis as a clueless American college football coach turned Premier League manager.
Apple TV+ brought the concept to series in August of last year, where it quickly became the highest-rated original series for the streaming service. Since then, it has garnered two Golden Globe nominations and had a third season greenlit, despite not yet having released its second season. Recent reports have revealed that the filming of the program’s second season is currently about one-third complete, though at present there is no official release date. Nonetheless, fans are eager to see more, and the series has found particularly strong support among football fans, despite the fact that the AFC Richmond club that Lasso coaches is entirely fictitious. In the original NBC promos, Lasso was set to coach North London’s Tottenham Hotspur (a very real Premier League club) and one of the series’ first trailers offered a hilarious Q&A with Spurs’ real-life current manager, José Mourinho.
While speaking with Ted Lasso actress Juno Temple recently, Collider was able to reveal that the second season of the series will offer 12 episodes instead of 10. Temple cited this extension in episodes as the reason why the program’s shoot is slightly longer than expected. Clearly, this latest bit of news is going to please fans, and Temple also pointed out how great it is for all involved with the series that more episodes have been added to the season: "Well we've joyously been picked up for a few extra episodes this season. So it's a longer shoot due to actually shooting more."
Originally slated for a ten-episode season, Apple’s decision to increase the length of season 2 likely comes from Ted Lasso’s recent Golden Globe nominations. To gain such acclaim after just one short season is no easy task, and it speaks to Sudeikis’ comedic skills as well as the general quality of the series that the situation is what it is. At present, there’s no real indication of what direction the second season will go in, but the material is such that there are countless opportunities for laughs along the way. Previously, Ted Lasso co-creator Bill Lawrence has said that he feels the series will likely be limited to three seasons, due mainly to Sudeikis’ availability. However, the series could potentially continue on without Sudeikis, though it’s hard to say how such a thing would go over with current Ted Lasso fans.
Regardless of what the future may bring for Sudeikis’ involvement with Ted Lasso, what’s important is that right now, people are certainly paying attention. Should the series manage to win the Golden Globes that it’s nominated for, Ted Lasso’s status is sure to grow beyond what it currently is. That equates to great news for fans and the cast, as the world can always use more Lasso.
Source: Collider