Why Jason Sudeikis, 50, Brought ‘Ted Lasso’ Back

Ted Lasso is coming back, and Jason Sudeikis, 50, says he needed the return as much as the show’s fans did.

In a July 22 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sudeikis described his decision to revisit the hopeful soccer coach in personal terms. “I know I needed this,” he said. “I needed it as much as other people do.”

More Ways to Benefit

View All

MEMBERS ONLY

View Benefit

MEMBERS ONLY

View Benefit

MEMBERS ONLY

View Benefit

MEMBERS ONLY

View Benefit

MEMBERS ONLY

View Benefit

Previous Next

1. Related Benefit 1
2. Related Benefit 2
3. Related Benefit 3
4. Related Benefit 4
5. Related Benefit 5

The show’s fourth season premieres Aug. 5, three years after a finale that sent Ted home to Kansas to be closer to his son. Sudeikis once considered that the end of the story. This time, he’s coaching a women’s soccer team, according to Apple TV. Now that Ted’s (almost) back, Sudeikis has begun reintroducing him to the world.

During the FIFA World Cup Final’s halftime show on July 19, Sudeikis appeared in character alongside Brendan Hunt, 54, as Coach Beard. When Justin Bieber emerged with an acoustic guitar, Ted gave the singer a pep talk.

“All right, young man, it’s your big shot. Now listen to me. Go out there, don’t be nervous. Nobody’s watching. Make us proud,” Sudeikis said. 

Sudeikis, who has won four Emmys for the series, is already thinking beyond the upcoming fourth season to what might come next. The Hollywood Reporter reports that he is hoping for another three-season arc.  

Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham are seen in a season three episode of “Ted Lasso,” from 2023.

©Apple TV/Courtesy Everett Collection

The actor has spoken before about the overlap between his character’s optimism and the attitude he tries to maintain in his own life. In a 2023 interview with The Guardian, he said he had little reason to abandon that outlook, unless he or someone close to him faced a major crisis.

“Until I’m faced with being on a plane that’s supposed to go down,” he said, “or some biopsy brings back some bad news or some other major shift happens in my life or someone near and dear to [my] life, I have no reason not to be as optimistic as the character I’ve been lucky enough to portray for the last three years.”

That optimism has persisted alongside changes in Sudeikis’ life outside the show. He and his former partner, Olivia Wilde, 42, share son Otis, 12, and daughter Daisy, 9.  

For viewers drawn to Ted’s positive outlook, research suggests that small positive actions may have measurable benefits.

In June 2025, AARP highlighted a study of 17,598 people who participated in the Big Joy Project, a weeklong online program built around small daily activities. Participants spent five to 10 minutes a day doing things such as noticing something positive, performing an act of kindness or listing what they were grateful for. Their average age was 54.

By the end of the week, participants said they felt happier, less stressed and more in control of their well-being. They also reported small improvements in sleep and overall health. Those who completed more of the daily activities generally saw bigger gains.

For Sudeikis, returning to Ted Lasso meant returning to a character whose outlook had already changed his own. Playing someone who looks for the best in people, he told The Hollywood Reporter, was “good to live in.”