• Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso, an American college football coach from Kansas City, Missouri, who is hired to coach AFC Richmond, an English soccer team. He is frequently ridiculed for his folksy optimism and inexperience with the sport, but gradually wins people over through his kind and compassionate approach to coaching.
• Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca Welton, the new owner of AFC Richmond. She initially hires Lasso as a ploy to sabotage the team, but eventually comes to appreciate him. She's a mentor and friend to Keeley Jones. At the end of season 3, she becomes the angel investor of Keeley's second firm.
• Jeremy Swift as Leslie Higgins, the timid but quirky Director of Football Operations. He has a large family with five sons.
• Phil Dunster as Jamie Tartt (seasons 1–3), a talented but egotistical young up-and-coming striker.
• Brett Goldstein as Roy Kent, a veteran box-to-box midfielder, captain, later assistant coach, then head coach of AFC Richmond. Kent is primarily based on hot-headed Irish former footballer Roy Keane.^[3]
• Brendan Hunt as Coach Willis Beard, Lasso's grounded, laconic longtime assistant coach and friend, from Peoria, Illinois. He meets his London girlfriend over a game of chess.
• Nick Mohammed as Nathan "Nate" Shelley (seasons 1–3), AFC Richmond's former kit man turned assistant coach who became publicly known as "The Wonder Kid". He becomes the head coach at West Ham United until he quits mid-season and returns to Richmond as an assistant kitman/coach.
• Juno Temple as Keeley Jones, a model who becomes the club's manager of marketing and public relations, before starting her own firm.
• Sarah Niles as Dr. Sharon M. Fieldstone (season 2; recurring season 3), a no-nonsense sports psychologist.
• Anthony Head as Rupert Mannion (season 3; recurring season 1; guest season 2), Rebecca's vindictive, philandering ex-husband, the former owner of AFC Richmond, and later the owner of West Ham United.^[4]
• Toheeb Jimoh as Samuel "Sam" Obisanya (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2), a young Nigerian right back, later converted to a right winger.
• Cristo Fernández as Dani Rojas (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2), an enthusiastic young forward from Mexico who joins midway through the first season, after recovering from an injury.
• Kola Bokinni as Isaac McAdoo (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2), a center-back who is the vice-captain, promoted to captain in season 2.
• Billy Harris as Colin Hughes (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2), a young Welsh left winger who is initially closeted.
• James Lance as Trent Crimm (season 3; recurring seasons 1–2), a pragmatic reporter for The Independent until the end of the second season, when he is fired for leaking his anonymous source for Ted's panic attack. In the third season, he is a freelance writer, authoring a book about the club, ultimately titled The Richmond Way.

• Kieran O'Brien as James Tartt, Jamie's abusive father
• Jimmy Akingbola as Ollie (season 1), Ted's driver when he arrives in England, who also works at his family's Indian restaurant
• Kiki May as Nora (season 2), Sassy's teenage daughter and Rebecca's goddaughter^[11]
• Harriet Walter as Deborah (seasons 2–3), Rebecca's mother
• Sofia Barclay as Dr. O'Sullivan (seasons 2–3), an ER doctor and surgeon who treated Sharon after her bike accident, later confirmed to be Roy's sister and Phoebe's mother
• Sam Richardson as Edwin Akufo (seasons 2–3), a petty Ghanaian billionaire who buys Raja Casablanca and tries to convince Sam to sign with the team
• Edwin De La Renta as Francis, Edwin Akufo's assistant and handshake surrogate
• Scott Van Pelt as himself, a SportsCenter anchor who breaks the news regarding Ted's hiring at AFC Richmond
• Karen Johal as Nicole Shelley (season 3), Nate's sister
• Sam Liu as Michael (season 3), Colin's boyfriend.^[12]
• Matteo van der Grijn as Matthijs, who lives on a house boat in Amsterdam and rescues Rebecca after she is knocked off a footbridge into a canal. His name is never spoken on screen but seen in the credits
• Nonso Anozie as Ola Obisanya, Sam's father
• Becky Ann Baker as Dottie Lasso, Ted's mother (season 3)^[13]
• Leanne Best as Georgie, Jamie's mother
• Steve Edge as Simon, Jamie's stepfather

Many sports and television entertainment personalities appeared on the show, often appearing as themselves in cameo roles throughout the series:

• Lloyd Griffith as Lloyd, one of the regular reporters at the AFC Richmond press conferences
• Arlo White and Chris Powell as themselves, providing commentary for AFC Richmond's matches
• Jeff Stelling (seasons 1–3), Chris Kamara (seasons 1–2), Paul Merson and Clinton Morrison (season 3) as themselves, as presenter and pundits on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday, the show in which Roy briefly appears
• Thierry Henry and Gary Lineker as themselves, playing soccer pundits throughout the show
• Seema Jaswal and Ian Wright (season 2) as themselves, as a soccer TV show presenter and pundit
• Fleur East as herself (season 2), the host of Lust Conquers All, the reality dating show that Jamie appears on
• Mike Dean as himself (seasons 2–3), the referee who officiates several of AFC Richmond's games
• Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, as themselves (season 2), presenters of ITV's This Morning who interview Jamie about his appearance on Lust Conquers All.
• Eni Aluko appears as Georgia (season 2), a member of the street soccer team in the second season.
• Peter Crouch, Tom Fordyce, and Chris Stark (season 2–3), who are members of That Peter Crouch Podcast are heard in radio show clips describing current events at Richmond.
• Rebecca Lowe and Jermaine Jenas as themselves (season 3), presenter and pundit on the Premier League Round-up show.
• Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles (season 3), who are heard (but not seen) as Canadian TV soccer commentators Lanny and Bruce in season 3's "International Break".^[14]
• Pep Guardiola as himself (season 3), manager of Manchester City.
• Kasali Casal, Lee Hendrie, Jermaine Pennant, George Elokobi and Jay Bothroyd as opposition players.^[15]

Jason Sudeikis originally portrayed the title character in 2013 as part of a series of television commercials for NBC Sports promoting their coverage of the Premier League, in which Lasso is depicted as the new head coach of Tottenham Hotspur F.C.^[18][19]

In about 2015, Sudeikis's then-girlfriend Olivia Wilde suggested that he revisit the character, perhaps in a story in which Lasso found his career direction change. Whereas the original Lasso was more broadly comic and, as Sudeikis described him, "belligerent", he decided to make Lasso more sympathetic for the television series, explaining his reason for doing so in a May 2023 interview with The Guardian:^[20][21]

It was the culture we were living in. I'm not terribly active online and it even affected me. Then you have Donald Trump coming down the escalator. I was like, "OK, this is silly," and then what he unlocked in people ... I hated how people weren't listening to one another. Things became very binary and I don't think that's the way the world works. And, as a new parent – we had our son Otis in 2014 – it was like, "Boy, I don't want to add to this." Yeah, I just didn't want to portray it.

The series was commissioned in October 2019 by Apple TV+, with Sudeikis reprising the role.^[18] Television producer and Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence was brought in to work on a television series based around the character in 2017.^[22] The series is co-owned by Warner Bros. Television, where Lawrence's production company Doozer is based, and which controls linear distribution rights to the series, and NBC subsidiary Universal Television, which is a "passive partner".^[23]

On August 19, 2020, Apple TV+ renewed the series for a 10-episode second season.^[24] It was later confirmed that the second season had been expanded to 12 episodes.^[25] On October 28, 2020, the series was renewed for a third season.^[26] On an episode of the Scrubs rewatch podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends with Zach + Donald, Lawrence indicated that Ted Lasso would likely be a "three-season show" due to Sudeikis's limited availability beyond the third season, and that the story had a planned resolution within those three seasons.^[27] In June 2022, Brett Goldstein also commented that the series would end after three seasons—"We are writing it like that."^[28] In March 2023, Sudeikis said that the third season "is the end of this story that we wanted to tell", and that there are possibilities for spin-offs.^[29] In an interview published in August 2023, Declan Lowney, who directed multiple episodes of the series, reiterated that the third season was "the end for now" and that it would be "two or three years [from filming the season] before anything happens — if anything happens".^[30]

In October 2021, Apple TV+ reached a licensing deal with the Premier League worth as much as £500,000 (around $682,000) for the series to feature the league's logos, kits, and trophy starting from the third season.^[31] On March 6, 2022, a day before filming for season 3 began, Nike, Inc. posted on its official Twitter account a photo of its trademark Swoosh logo incorporated onto an AFC Richmond kit, implying that the show's production had reached a deal with the company to act as the fictional club's "official" kit manufacturer on future episodes.^[32]

Some sources have noted the many similarities between the character of Ted Lasso and Terry Smith, an American football head coach who became the first American to be the manager/head coach of a professional English soccer club.^{[33][34][35][36]} AppleMagazine.com (which is not affiliated with Apple Inc.) writes that the series "was actually inspired by the story of Terry Smith, an American gridiron football coach who took over the English association football team Chester City and subsequently installed himself as the first-team coach".^[37]

In June 2024, Warner Bros. Television CEO Channing Dungey talked about the possibility of returning for a fourth season. In August 2024, cast members Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, and Jeremy Swift signed contracts for a possible fourth season. In March 2025, the series was officially greenlit for a fourth season and that it was in the early stages of production. Juno Temple and Brendan Hunt were later confirmed to be returning as well.^[42]

Actors in the series Brett Goldstein and Brendan Hunt also joined the writing team along with Sudeikis as the second and third members of the main cast to do so.^[43] While Hunt and Sudeikis were part of both the cast and writing team from the start, Goldstein was initially a writer and story editor. It was only after a video audition of some Roy Kent scenes was sent to the showrunner, Bill Lawrence, that Goldstein was added to the cast.^[44]

The episodes "Carol of the Bells" and "Beard After Hours" were the two episodes developed when the second season was expanded by two episodes, fitting in to the continuity of the second season without affecting storylines of the written episodes.^[45][46]

In March 2025, Sudeikis said that scripts for a fourth season were being written and that "Ted's coaching a women's team."^[40][47]

Theo Park is the series's casting director.^[48] Nick Mohammed, who portrays Nate Shelley, originally auditioned for the role of Leslie Higgins, which in the end went to Jeremy Swift.^[48] Park pushed for Phil Dunster to play the role of Jamie Tartt, even though the character was originally supposed to be from Latin America and portrayed by Cristo Fernández.^[48] The character of Sam Obisanya was originally going to have been of Ghanaian heritage, but the character was changed after Toheeb Jimoh's casting.^[49] In March 2021, Sarah Niles was cast as Dr. Sharon Fieldstone, a sports psychologist for AFC Richmond in a main capacity for the second season.^[50] About Niles' casting, Park said that "It was really important with that role that [Niles] had a real sense of security and almost completely unflappable."^[48] Kiki May portrayed Nora, Sassy's teenaged daughter, in a recurring capacity during the second season.^[11] Casting for season three was set to begin near the end of 2021.^[48] Jodi Balfour was cast as Jack, a venture capitalist, in a recurring capacity for the third season in April 2022.^[10]

New cast members for the fourth season include Tanya Reynolds, Jude Mack, Faye Marsay, Rex Hayes, Aisling Sharkey, Abbie Hern and Grant Feely, who will play Ted's son, Henry, taking over the role from Gus Turner.^[51]

Production began on the second season in January 2021.^[52] In March 2021, Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham were spotted filming outside a pub in London.^[53] Filming wrapped for the second season on June 4, 2021.^[54] Filming for the third season was set to take place between January and June 2022.^[48] Most of the pub and street scenes have been shot in the actual London Borough of Richmond. AFC Richmond's training field and complex in which Rebecca's office is based is filmed at the SkyEX Community Stadium which is the home ground of Hayes & Yeading United F.C. who are a semi-professional club playing in England's seventh level of competitive football, whereas Nelson Road, the home stadium of Richmond, is actually Selhurst Park, a real-life Premier League stadium used by London club Crystal Palace F.C. Exterior shots of Craven Cottage, the home stadium of Fulham F.C. were used in season 1 to pass off as fellow Premier League ground Goodison Park when AFC Richmond played away at Everton. Wembley Stadium was used in season 2 to portray the FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City.^[55]

The show incorporates many real-life members of the British football and television entertainment community. This also includes using a number of genuine television shows which feature the actual presenters, sets and theme songs, including the Sky Sports programme Soccer Saturday. The daytime ITV show This Morning also features in season 2.^[56]

For the second season, assistant director Sophie Worger hired former professional player Kasali Casal to manage the football choreography. Casal enlisted a team of former professional players to play for the opposition teams facing AFC Richmond during game scenes, these included former Premier League and England internationals Lee Hendrie and Jay Bothroyd, as well as former Liverpool player Jermaine Pennant and Wolverhampton Wanderers defender George Elokobi.^[15]

Filming for the third season began on March 7, 2022.^[57] The series filmed on location in Amsterdam for the third season.^[58] With the emergence of Nate becoming West Ham United's head coach during season 3, the club's London Stadium was used for filming.^[59] Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea, was used for filming in the third season episode "4–5–1". The appearance sparked controversy amongst Chelsea supporters after the show's editing team modified a memorial banner for the late Chelsea player Ray Wilkins that was paid for by the club's supporters. The banner which reads "They don't make them like Ray anymore" was changed to read "Roy" to tie in with the storyline of Richmond coach Roy Kent returning to his old club. Owner Todd Boehly released a statement apologizing to fans and to Wilkins' family, claiming the deal with Apple was agreed before he had purchased the club.^[60]

During the third season, further Premier League stadiums including Manchester United's Old Trafford and Burnley's Turf Moor were briefly filmed for on-field action, while Dutch Eredivisie side AFC Ajax's Johan Cruyff Arena was used for on and off the field scenes at the beginning of the episode "Sunflowers".^[61][62] Later episodes in Season 3 also filmed at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and Manchester City's City of Manchester Stadium.^[63]

Production on season four began in July 2025, with some filming locations being scouted in Blue Springs, Missouri and other locations in the Kansas City metropolitan area.^[64] Filming began on July 21, with a photo of the main cast seated at Gates, a Kansas City barbecue restaurant.^[65] Other locations included scenes filmed at CPKC Stadium during a Kansas City Current match, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, and Country Club Plaza.^[66] Filming shifted back to London later in summer 2025.^[67][68]

In March 2021, Bill Lawrence revealed that official Ted Lasso merchandise would be for sale ahead of the season two premiere.^[69] The merchandise, including football jerseys, became available in June 2021.^[70]

In 2023, to coincide with the release of season three, Nike released a full range of AFC Richmond merchandise including jerseys, hoodies, tracksuits, and practice shirts.^[71]

The first season received 20 nominations at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, becoming the most nominated freshman comedy in Emmy Award history at that time.^[92] It won 7 awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series and acting awards for Jason Sudeikis, Brett Goldstein and Hannah Waddingham; while Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed, Jeremy Swift and Juno Temple received nominations.^[93] Sudeikis also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for 2020 and 2021.^{[94][95][96][97]}

The series won in the categories for Outstanding New Program, Outstanding Achievement in Comedy and Program of the Year at the 37th TCA Awards and also won for best Comedy Series and New Series at the 73rd Writers Guild of America Awards.^[98][99]

The second season received 20 nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.^[100] It won four awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, acting awards for Sudeikis and Goldstein, and a directing award for MJ Delaney. Several actors received nominations, including Toheeb Jimoh, Mohammed, Temple, Waddingham, Sarah Niles, James Lance, Sam Richardson and Harriet Walter.^[101]

The third season received 21 nominations at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards. It was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, Sudeikis for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Phil Dunster and Goldstein for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Temple and Waddingham for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Becky Ann Baker, Sarah Niles and Harriet Walter for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, and the finale episode was nominated for both outstanding writing and directing.^[102] At the 75th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Sam Richardson won for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.^[103]

Following the debut of the third season, the cast of Ted Lasso were invited by US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden to the White House to promote mental health and well-being, a theme that was featured in storylines during the second and third seasons of the show.^[104]

Ted Lasso became the most watched television series on Apple TV+.^[105] The first-season premiere episode became Apple TV+'s most watched premiere^[106] and it ranked 89th overall among other television series or shows measured across streaming platforms from November 1, 2019, to July 18, 2021.^[105] According to TV analytics provider TVision, Ted Lasso has been viewed by panel members 8.4 times as much as the average Apple TV+ original series or shows TVision has measured since Apple TV+ launched in November 2019.^[106]

Over the second-season premiere weekend, Apple TV+ expanded its number of new viewers by 50% week over week.^[105] Apple also announced the second season of Ted Lasso "increased its viewership by six times over season one".^[105] In 2021, the final episode of the second season ranked ninth place among all SVOD programs and fifth place in the SVOD originals category with 507 million minutes (MM) viewed.^[107]