Ted Lasso’s third (and potentially final) season concluded in June 2023, with Ted’s storyline sending him back to Kansas and plenty of spinoff series options packed into the final minutes of 3×12, “So Long, Farewell.” But one is better than all the rest – the one that would focus on the AFC Richmond Women’s Team. Led by Hannah Waddingham’s Rebecca Welton in ownership and Juno Temple’s Keeley Jones in all things PR, that team would be unstoppable with a great manager and fantastic players.
Much like AFC Richmond under the tutelage of Ted Lasso, Coach Beard, and eventually Nathan Shelley and Roy Kent, this spinoff series would be comfortable in its familiarity but not a continuation of the same show. Instead of sticking with more of the same, which Apple TV+ teased with a “smells like potential” post on X (formerly Twitter), the streaming service could make an organic pivot to a female-led series. That change of pace would be more than welcome, especially after Keeley and Rebecca’s arcs in Season 3.
After such a strong representation of female friendship in Season 1 and most of Season 2, Keeley and Rebecca are separated for a massive chunk of Season 3. In fact, Keeley Jones is separate from nearly the entire ensemble for most of Season 3 after Roy ended their relationship, the highs and lows of KJPR, and her tumultuous relationship with Jack Danvers. At least Rebecca interacts with the ensemble a bit more during her self-discovery and romantic journey that eventually leads her to a Dutchman and his daughter.
Some of those twists come with a side of whiplash, but this spinoff series focusing on Rebecca, Keeley, and a women’s team could soothe that pain – and the loss of Ted Lasso. Not to mention, it would reflect the ever-growing support for the women’s game.
The BBC reported, “A record global audience of more than 365 million people watched this summer’s Euro 2022, while 50 million tuned in for England’s victory over Germany in the Wembley final.” After its launch in 2011 and its first game in 2012, the National Women’s Soccer League has become “the most successful professional women’s league in American history,” according to FIFA. Those stats speak to monumental viewership worldwide, but the women’s game is having a significant financial impact, too.
“For the first time in history, the Women’s World Cup broke even, having an economic impact of $1.32 billion in Australia, according to Football Australia’s Legacy ‘23 report,” Attacking Third shared on X (formerly Twitter). Barclays Women’s Super League is also making history, with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur’s March 3, 2024, match being the first WSL fixture to have an all-female grounds team. Plus, more documentaries are coming out about the women’s game, like Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team on Netflix. A Ted Lasso spinoff series about the AFC Richmond Women’s Team would contribute to the desire to know the ins and outs of women’s football – or soccer.
Vlad Dima, a Syracuse University professor who has taught classes on soccer and pop culture, told the Los Angeles Times that the Apple TV+ has “marginally” helped the game’s popularity in the United States. In 2023, amid Ted Lasso’s third season, Apple and Major League Soccer began a landmark 10-year partnership and launched the MLS Season Pass, a one-stop subscription service for MLS matches in more than 100 countries and regions. Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, Eddy Cue, told the LA Times that Ted Lasso’s success wasn’t a factor in the company’s investment in the MLS but described it as “obviously complementary” and “more coincidence.”
There’s no reason not to believe that an AFC Richmond Women’s Team-centric spinoff series couldn’t marginally – if not more – help the women’s game’s popularity in the US, too. It certainly helps that Hannah Waddingham and Juno Temple are excited about the idea. “When Juno [Temple] and I read that, we didn’t know how we wanted to convey our excitement about the potential of that. [In the script] I was meant to look up from the folder and just be like, ‘Oh, it’s on.’ But we couldn’t contain our excitement. So if you look at it, we do have a moment of ‘Aghhhh!’” Waddingham told the Los Angeles Times.
When speaking about what Rebecca and Keeley could do in women’s sports, Temple told Deadline, “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.” In that same conversation, Temple spoke about Keeley and Rebecca’s friendship (and her off-screen dynamic with Waddingham), and Keeley’s working relationship with Katy Wix’s Barabra at KJPR turned KBPR.
There is one notable hitch – Waddingham sounds opposed to any future of Rebecca Welton without Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso. “Everyone keeps asking this, but no, there’s been no word of a spinoff at all, and I have made it quite clear that unless Ted was in it… I can’t imagine really a world where Rebecca exists without Ted because they are each other’s inspiration,” Waddingham told The Hollywood Reporter.
While it is difficult to imagine a show with one character and not the other, Ted always prepared Richmond for a time when he wouldn’t be around as manager. In 1×03, “Trent Crimm: The Independent,” Ted tells Trent, “For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field,” which Pep Guardiola echoes in 3×11, “Mom City.” Then, Ted suggests Trent change the title of his book from The Lasso Way because “It’s not about me. It never was.”
If that’s true, then a shift to focus on the formation and journey of an AFC Richmond Women’s Team is not a far reach. Director Declan Lowney told Awards Radar that “the most exciting” idea for a spinoff series is the one following Rebecca and Keeley’s efforts to start a women’s soccer team. Really, there have been hints as to why this spinoff series would be Ted Lasso’s best option throughout its three seasons. Of course, the incredibly special friendship between Keeley and Rebecca is paramount.
But it goes beyond that, too. In 1×09, “All Apologies,” Rebecca describes a profile on women in football for The Football Financial Quarterly as “not a big deal” because there are only “like four of us: me, Karen, Delia, and Posh Spice.” But Ted reminds Rebecca that “being a role model is a huge deal.” Ted goes on to say that there is likely some little girl somewhere who dreams of being a sports executive one day, and this article that Rebecca is posing for will show that little girl that her dreams are possible. Cut to 2×03, “Do the Right-est Thing,” when Nora tells Rebecca that she “always wanted to see what it’s like to run a football club” because Rebecca, her godmother, started doing it.
Nora’s connection to Rebecca makes her interest in AFC Richmond’s ins and outs slightly different than someone more removed from the club’s staff. Nonetheless, Nora is an example of a “mysterious” and “silly” and “powerful” little girl who wants to know more about football. Keeley’s interest became an investment during her relationship with Roy, but it evolved into something completely independent of him. Even though Shandy Fine’s time at the agency didn’t last or end well, Barbara’s interest in the sport also grew by attending a few matches. “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,” Temple told Deadline.
Beautifully, one of the people KBPR could represent has been a part of Ted Lasso since the pilot, and she would be a stellar addition to the AFC Richmond Women’s Team – Shannon. Ted is in awe of her skills from the beginning of the series. She sports an Isaac McAdoo jersey at the Richmond vs West Ham match and gets a signed copy of Trent Crimm’s book, The Richmond Way, in the Season 3 (or series) finale. Shannon may be a minor recurring character on Ted Lasso, but she could be a main player on the AFC Richmond Women’s Team. Ultimately, Apple TV+ has most of the key ingredients for this spinoff series – and Ted Lasso proves that’s all one needs to create a tasty biscuit and inspire belief in believe. So, here’s to hoping that Rebecca and Keeley get to team up again – soon!
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Would you watch a Ted Lasso spinoff series about the AFC Richmond Women’s Team? Let us know in the comments below!
Ted Lasso is streaming now on Apple TV+.
