Ted Lasso Seems to Be Done After Season 3. But Could Ted Lasso ...

HAVE WE seen the last of AFC Richmond? Is the English Premier League's premier little-town underdog team, come to us via the world of Apple TV+'s hit series Ted Lasso, ready to say goodbye? Is it time for them to go the way of Friday Night Lights' Dillon Panthers and East Dillon Lions—and live on only in our hearts and memories and no longer on our screens? For now, it sure seems like it.

Ted Lasso wrapped up its third, and possibly final, season, with Richmond playing one last big game against Rupert Manion's West Ham United. It comes at the end of a tumultuous season that certainly came with a bit less praise than the show universally received in its early years, spending time on storylines that didn't go anywhere (Zava's arrival and departure) and unnecessary B-plots (Keely's PR firm and Nate's romantic pursuits).

Still, though, when Ted Lasso hits, it really hits. There were some great moments for Coach Beard, as always: the "Hey Jude" scene is the show at its absolute best, and Ted (Jason Sudeikis) wasn't even really involved. The expanded role for journalist Trent Crimm has also been a great choice, as he's turned into one of the show's best characters—and proved pivotal for Colin's surprising Season 3 storyline.

But as Season 3 wraps up, and presumably Ted Lasso rides off into the sunset, we're left wondering how Ted Lasso could continue, possibly without its lead titular character.

As of now, Season 4 of Ted Lasso appears to be very much up in the air. While Apple TV+'s branding officially refers to the final episode of Season 3 as a "Season Finale," just about everything else has been hinting that the end of Season 3 would be the end of this story.

“This is the end of this story that we wanted to tell, that we were hoping to tell, that we loved to tell," Jason Sudeikis told Deadline in an interview before the season began. "Maybe by May 31, once all 12 episodes of the season [have been released], they’re like, ‘Man, you know what, we get it, we’re fine. We don’t need anymore, we got it.’ But until that time comes, I will appreciate the curiosity beyond what we’ve come up with so far.”

In a nutshell: it sounds like what they wrote, and what they filmed, is the end of the story—at least for now. But they aren't against doing more.

The official @TedLasso account even referred to the Season 3 finale as "our final match."

This story, it seems, could continue. At the end of Season 3, the only character who really leaves, is Ted himself, who heads back to the United States to spend more time with his son. Beard, even, decides to stay behind and get married (But, dude, that relationship is TOXIC. Easy treading, Coach.) Roy is named the new manager of AFC Richmond, and Keely even pitches an idea to Rebecca about a female AFC Richmond team. There are seeds planted for the future here.

But whether it will still be part of a show called Ted Lasso remains to be seen.

Now, look. There are a few options. Ted Lasso could continue under the name Ted Lasso. That's totally possible, especially considering Apple TV+ hasn't referred to the Season 3 finale as a "Series Finale." It's possible that Ted Lasso continues without its titular character. It's also possible that Ted Lasso opens a Season 4 without Ted on board, and he returns after long, pulling a Glenn Howerton-returning-to-Always Sunny move.

But it's also not super likely for that to happen.

Ted Lasso has done a strong job throughout its three seasons building up various characters who could spin off into their own shows. A couple key candidates would be Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), who could, let's say, move on themselves to a new club as a package deal—head coach and star player. That would be fun. We could also follow Sam, Nate, or even Trent Crimm, as he embarks on a journalistic endeavor.

We already basically followed a Keely Jones (Juno Temple) spinoff, as she went off on her own Public Relations adventure during Season 3, so that could be a possibility as well—though it would need some reworking, as that plot was frequently criticized by both fans and critics.

So whether we're watching Ted Lasso, Roy and Jamie, or On The Road With Trent Crimm..., it does seem likely that we'll get to keep watching this story one way or another.

One more option? Ted Lasso turns into a new show for Season 4, maybe called AFC Richmond—that way we can follow all of these characters as they continue doing what they're doing, but Ted himself remains out of the picture in the United States.

We don't know for sure, but it's hard to imagine that we've really read the final chapter in this book.