Jason Sudeikis admits there were ‘a lot of tears’ during the last day of Ted Lasso filming

Jason Sudeikis admitted there were “a lot of tears” during the last day of filming for Ted Lasso after the final season was released on Apple TV last week.

The 47-year-old actor, who plays the titular character and co-creator of the show, said that while many fans are hoping for a fourth season, it was only intended for three.

Ted Lasso follows an inexperienced American struggling to coach a fictional London soccer club, and Jason compares the last day on set to a real-life team’s last game.

Speaking in an interview with ew, explained: ‘Lots of tears, lots of cheering, lots of applause. It felt like a real sports team after their final game.

“But not really knowing if we had won or lost, which, as Ted says, isn’t the most important thing, so in a lot of ways we won.”

Jason continued: ‘Everyone went into the locker room. It was a great connecting moment. It felt like a culmination, and it’s definitely a cherished memory of this whole experience.

He described the sentiment as “a call to arms” adding that the cast and crew will take the series “wherever we go next”.

It’s the good-natured fish-out-of-water comedy that has become a worldwide hit, thanks to the irrepressible positivity of its cheerful lead character.

But when Ted Lasso returned for his third, and probably last, series on Apple TV+, there’s only been one question on fans’ minds: what the hell is wrong with Ted?

The exploits of the charmingly optimistic Ted as he coaches the fictional AFC Richmond generally delight viewers, but many have been put off by an unexpectedly pessimistic tone in the opening episode.

And here may be a good reason for that, as its star, writer and executive producer Jason’s private life was in turmoil while the series was being made.

At the time he was in a bitter feud with his ex, actress Olivia Wilde, who had left him for former One Direction star Harry Styles.

Shortly after the new Ted Lasso series began filming in London last year, custody papers were handed over to Ms Wilde by lawyers acting for former comedian Sudeikis while she was on set in Las Vegas.

Onscreen: Speaking in an interview with EW, he explained: ‘A lot of tears, a lot of cheering, a lot of applause. It felt like a real sports team after their final game’ (Jason pictured as Ted Lasso)

She criticized the “outrageous legal tactics” which she said were “clearly intended to threaten me…he chose to serve me in the most aggressive manner possible.”

The couple’s acrimonious split came in late 2020, when Apple execs ordered the third series of the comedy and realized they had a hit on their hands.

Sudeikis, now 47, and Wilde, 39, have been together for nearly a decade and have a son, Otis, now eight, and a daughter, Daisy, six.

Just weeks after they announced their supposedly ‘amicable’ split, Wilde was photographed holding hands with Styles, who is a decade her junior, and they met on the set of their film Don’t Worry Darling.

Sudeikis, who was said to be heartbroken at the time, seems to have drawn from his agony to inspire Ted Lasso, as his character went through a divorce, which strained his relationship with his son. At the end of last week’s episode, he found out that his ex-wife is dating a new man.

On Sunday, a source who knows both Sudeikis and Wilde said: “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that the drama in his private life could spill over onto the page.”

“The entire narrative of the new series speaks to the pain of a marital breakdown.”

Drama: The private life of its star, writer and executive producer Jason was in crisis while the series was being made with his ex, actress Olivia Wilde, leaving him for Harry Styles.

More: The couple’s acrimonious split came in late 2020, when Apple execs ordered the third series of the comedy and realized they had a hit on their hands.

However, ‘pain’ is not what the fans are tuning in to. At the Prince’s Head pub in Richmond, south-west London, which also acts as The Crown and Anchor on the show, an onlooker lamented on Friday: “I’ve never felt so down watching a sitcom.”

The change in tone did not escape television critics, who have advanced the first four chapters of the new series.

The Washington Post noted that the “main character is stuck” and said the show was afloat. “Ted is already gone, whether he realizes it or not,” wrote critic Lili Loofbourow.

And Los Angeles writer Valerie Ettenhofer said the show “is more likely to make viewers cry than laugh.”