Jason Sudeikis is bringing back his clueless football coach character Ted Lasso for a new series at Apple TV+, the streamer announced on Monday.
“Ted Lasso” — named for the character Sudeikis first originated on NBC during the networks Premier League coverage — stars the “Saturday Night Live” alum as an idealistic all-American football coach hired to manage an English football club, despite having no soccer coaching experience at all.
In addition to starring, Sudeikis will serve writer and executive producer on the comedy, which has been given a series order by the upcoming streaming service. He co-wrote the pilot with “Scrubs” creator Bill Lawrence, who also serves as executive producer.
Sudeikis first appeared as the character — then the fictional new head coach for the very real Tottenham Hotspurs — in 2013. He returned the following year for a six-minute mockumentary and a series of TV spots.
Lawrence’s Doozer Productions will produce “Ted Lasso” in association with Warner Bros. Television, where Lawrence has an overall deal. Doozer’s Jeff Ingold is an executive producer, and Liza Katzer is a co-executive producer.
Since his departure from “Saturday Night Live,” Sudeikis has starred in a number of films including “Horrible Bosses” and its sequel, “We’re the Millers,” “Colossal” and “The Angry Birds Movie.” On television, his recent credits include a recurring role on “The Last Man on Earth,” executive producing Comedy Central’s “Detroiters” and voicing the title character in Fox’s short-lived hybrid animation-live action comedy “Son of Zorn.”
For Apple, “Ted Lasso” joins a growing slate of original series, which also includes the Jennifer Aniston-Reese Witherspoon series “Morning Show,” the alternate-history drama “For All Mankind” and the Jason Momoa-led “See,” among others. Apple TV+ launches on Nov. 1.