Ted Lasso ending explained: Is this the end of Apple TV+ hit?

Meanwhile, AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) also has a decision to make, having been mulling over selling the underdog club in recent episodes.

The answers to these questions and many others are delivered in an emotional episode, which could very well serve as the show's farewell – but potential spin-offs may be hard for Apple TV+ to resist.

Read on for everything you need to know about the ending of Ted Lasso season 3 – and what it could mean for the future. Warning, there are full spoilers below.

Ted Lasso ending explained: Is this the end of Apple TV+ hit?

Did Ted Lasso really leave Richmond FC?

‌Sadly, he did. Ted told Rebecca and the rest of the Richmond squad that he would be leaving off-screen, in between episodes 11 and 12, and throughout episode 12 his mind was set.

Rebecca tried to convince him to stay and that Richmond was his home, but the pull of being with his son Henry was too great. He had one last-minute wobble on the plane, but in the end followed through and went home, going on to train his son's junior soccer league.

Did Coach Beard leave with Ted?

‌It was a close call, but in the end Coach Beard did not leave with Ted. From the start of episode 12 it seemed that his mind, like Ted's was set and that wherever Ted went, he would go too.

However, as he sat on the plane, he confessed to Ted that he didn't want to leave and that he was in love with Jane. Faking a medical episode in order to get off the plane, he then returned to Richmond and his coaching position.

Right at the end of the series he was seen getting married to Jane at Stonehenge, surrounded by the Richmond team, as well as a couple of other familiar faces - the couple who he ended up embroiled with in season 2 episode Beard After Hours.

What happened to Rebecca Welton?

After at one time considering selling the club, Rebecca decided to instead sell 49 per cent of it to the fans, and to stay on as owner.

She was then seen visiting the airport for one last goodbye with Ted, and upon leaving she bumped into the handsome stranger she met in Amsterdam earlier in the season, revealed to be a pilot, along with his daughter - setting up that perhaps they could become a family going forward. They are later seen together at Beard and Jane's wedding.

What happened to Roy Kent, Keeley Jones, and Jamie Tartt?

‌Midway through the finale, Roy and Jamie have a fight about which one of them should end up with Keeley, with the pair then heading to her door to ask her to choose one of them. She turns them both away, and by the end of the season she has got back together with neither of them.

She has, however, had success with her PR firm, and comes to Rebecca with a proposal for a Richmond Women's Football Team, which it seems likely they will pursue.

Meanwhile, Roy is promoted to Richmond manager, and is Beard's best man at his wedding. He also goes into therapy with Dr Sharon, something he had previously resisted.

Jamie on the other hand starts to repair his relationship with his father. The trio are seen at a barbecue with the rest of the Richmond squad at the end of the season.

What happened to Nathan Shelley?

In the Ted Lasso season 3 finale, Nate is seen to have returned to Richmond - he's no longer part of the central coaching team, but is happily back working at the club.

He is reinitiated into the Diamond Dogs, and seems at peace having returned to the fold. He gives a tearful apology to Ted, who forgives him immediately.

In Richmond's final match of the season one of his strategies proves crucial to beating his former team of West Ham, and after Ted has gone he has seemingly become part of the central coaching staff once more.

He is seen at the end of the season having dinner with his family and his girlfriend Jade at the Taste of Athens, having now repaired his relationship with his father.

Was this really the end of Ted Lasso?

There's not yet been official confirmation as to the future of the series, but it seems likely that the show Ted Lasso has come to an end. Ted's journey is complete, he has left Richmond, and it would be difficult to see how he could be brought back any time in the near future due to his decision to go home and be with his son.

It also seems likely that Jason Sudeikis is ready to shave off the moustache and end his time as Ted. Of all those involved with the show, he has been the most definitive about this being the end for Ted.

He has said previously: "This is the end of this story that we wanted to tell, that we were hoping to tell, that we loved to tell. The fact that folks will want more and are curious beyond more than what they don’t even know yet – that being season 3 – it’s flattering.

"Maybe by May 31st, 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."

Read more:

• Ted Lasso season 3 review: Wins big again with assured (final?) outing
• Ted Lasso soundtrack: Every song in seasons 1 to 3

However... that's not to say that the world of the show won't continue in some form. A number of other individuals involved in the show have said they could see it continuing in some form, including co-creator and Beard star Brendan Hunt.

He said: "Yes. Another arc is possible after this, for sure. We have always seen it as some kind of three-beat thing. Originally those three beats were more going to be modelled on what The Office did, you know, six eps, a special, boom, we’re done. We’ve certainly expanded those beats, but it does not mean that the whole kit and caboodle is getting chucked."

Even Sudeikis said of the potential for continuations in another form: "Yeah, I think that we’ve set the table for all sorts of folks… to get to watch the further telling of these stories."

There's therefore a very real possibility that the show will continue under another title, with the official focus moving away from Ted and towards the rest of the series' ensemble cast.

In the final episode, Trent Crimm is told by Ted to change his book's title from The Lasso Way to The Richmond Way, with Ted leaving a note which says: "I'd change the title. It's not about me. It never was. Ted."

Could we be about to see a sequel series called The Richmond Way, or simply AFC Richmond, which continues the stories of Roy, now as manager, Rebecca, Keeley, Nate, Beard and the rest of the show's characters?

Only time will tell...

Ted Lasso seasons 1-3 are streaming now on Apple TV+. You can sign up to Apple TV+ here. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.

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